All systems go for NSPC 2015 in Taguig City

It’s all systems go for the 2015 National Schools Press Conference (NSPC) to be held for the first time in Taguig City from this April 13 to 17.

 Taguig Mayor Lani Cayetano said plans and preparations are already in place for the successful staging of this four-day campus journalism competition, to be attended by about 5,000 campus journalists from elementary and high schools and their coaches from various regions.

 Television personality Sef Cadayona of GMA-7 and Chi Bocobo of TV5 will both serve as hosts for the formal opening ceremonies, while news personality Tin-tin Bersola Babao and host and actor Slyde Ardiente will serve as next set of hosts for the day.

 Mayor Lani and Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano are also scheduled to deliver their inspirational message for the delegates during the first day of the event, while video messages  will be delivered by GMA-7’s Mariz Umali, Kuya Tonipet Gaba and Atom Araullo.

 Singer Julie Ann San Jose is also set to walk up the stage to entertain the crowd with her live “Galing ng Pinoy” performances.

 Former CNN journalist and Rappler chief executive officer Maria Ressa will deliver an inspiring keynote speech during the opening program on April 13, at the McKinley West, Fort Bonifacio, Taguig.

 To wrap up the opening day, a welcome dinner has been prepared by the City of Taguig for the participating regional directors of DepEd at the Enderun Colleges Tent.

 For the second day of the NSPC, program proper starts with the holding of different competitions in copy reading, headline writing, feature writing, editorial writing, photojournalism, news writing, editorial cartooning, science and health writing, as well as workshops and seminars for non-contestants and school paper advisers.

 Competition and workshop venues include the Taguig City University (TCU), Upper Bicutan Elementary School, and Senator Renato Compañero Cayetano High School, while the awarding of group contest winners for the newspaper category will be held at the TCU auditorium for the elementary and TLC Park for the secondary.

 On April 15, NSPC delegates are scheduled for more competition events that include radio script writing, desktop publishing, sports writing, radio broadcasting and other workshop sessions to be held at the TCU and Hagonoy Gym.

 An awarding ceremony will be held later that night at the TCU auditorium for the outstanding school paper advisers and outstanding campus journalists.

 On April 16, a thanksgiving Mass will be held at the TCU as a show of appreciation to all the delegates and participants. The delegates will be entertained on the same day with a city tour courtesy of the Taguig City government.

 The participating students and their advisers are encouraged to choose from three most visited locations and event sites in Taguig. They can pick whether they would like to visit the Mind Museum at the BGC, visit the TLC Park in Barangay Lower Bicutan, or join the various Larong Pinoy events like patintero, luksong tinik or tumbang preso at the Cayetano Sports Complex.

 The Taguig City government as host for this year’s NSPC is promoting the theme: “Empowering Resilient Communities through Campus Journalism.” For this year’s NSPC, the host region is the National Capital Region while the host schools division is the Division of Taguig City-Pateros.

Tight Security

 City officials are implementing high-tech security system that can effectively monitor the whereabouts of the delegates using the radio frequency identification (RFID) card to be issued to all the registered participants.

 Mayor Lani said the RFID card will be equipped with tracking system and intelligent bar codes. The delegates will be required to swipe their cards whenever they enter or exit a building or a venue and the database computer will register their names and pick up their exact locations.

 On the opening day, traffic enforcers from the Traffic Management Office (TMO) will be deployed along the streets leading to the McKinley West in Fort Bonifacio to organize the traffic in time for the NSPC’s opening ceremonies.

First time in Taguig

 This marks the first time in two decades that NSPC is being held in NCR, and Taguig City has been chosen to host it because of its remarkable achievements and pioneering programs in education.

 Since Mayor Lani assumed office in 2010, her administration has been investing largely to improve the education system in the city. Students from daycare to high school have been provided with free uniforms, shoes, bags and school supplies. Schools have been provided with air-conditioning units, now dubbed as “Taguig Cool Schools”.

 Last year, the DepEd Taguig and Pateros emerged as top among school divisions in the DepEd National Capital Region (NCR) Cluster 1 (Big Division) in the 2014 National Achievement Test