By Anastasha Montoya

Recently, a fresh batch of incoming Grade 11 students flocked the halls of the Ateneo Senior High School (ASHS) to take the Ateneo Senior High Admission and Placement Exam (ASHAPE)—an event that truly heralds the start of the final semester in the ASHS, and eventually the beginning of another year in the academic calendar.

As the ASHS wraps up the first semester of the school year, we take a look back at all the firsts made in the transition to a full face-to-face environment. With the junior batch having been the first to take ASHAPE post-pandemic, and with the seniors being the first to face a fully onsite school year after a global health crisis, it begs the question: Is the ASHS truly prepared for what Post-Pandemic Schooling holds?

“The Ceiling Problem”

Even from the first glimpse of an entering ASHS junior in the early days of August, it had been apparent that no one was able to completely or accurately predict the learning environment in store for schools post-pandemic. 

Posing as the official rite of passage into the ASHS, the Ignatian Spirituality and Atenean Culture (ISAC) seminar also marks the very first introduction one has to the Ateneo and the long-lasting memory that accompanies it. However, for the juniors, this long-lasting memory had been tainted by the memory of cafeteria-circling lines for overpriced food during the ISAC period, even with only an estimated half of the junior batch present. Since only one food counter had opened at the time, students stood in line for the majority of the given break, leaving them with less than 10 minutes to scarf down their lunches when received. Some juniors even decided to skip lunch altogether. 

While some adjustments to better the cafeteria system have been made since then, the impression of ASHS’ preparedness to face the school year had already been made. And, it is evident that this impression had carried into the first quarter with the prevailing presence of inefficiency and inflated prices, as well as a stark lack of options compared to the JHS cafeteria. 

Moreover, as months passed, students began to notice the physical incapabilities of the ASHS Building in itself as heavy weather conditions prevailed onto the integrity of the structures—largely affecting the class environment. In the experience of Angel, a student of 12-Grodecky, “There were times when we had to transfer to another classroom because heavy rains destroyed the roof or ceiling of our classroom. It was immediately fixed by the proper authorities who are in charge of fixing it; however, there are a number of times wherein the ceiling still got destroyed, so interruptions within the class happened. I would honestly say that it was very distracting.”

The “Ceiling Problem” only scratches the surface of these architectural troubles as Mig, a grade 12 STEM student, shares the disturbance and inconvenience presented by the construction of his neighboring STEM classrooms. “For the classrooms of Oldcorne and Ogilvie, their classrooms were still in the process of [being made]. So, I don’t think the school is necessarily ready for that. […] I think that is a change Ateneo has to make: the quality of their working environment.”

As students continue to brave the various efforts in modifying their senior high homes, we acknowledge that their patience does not last forever as the question prevails: Is the ASHS prepared to house all their students under one roof, if it breaks at the first storm?

Heavy is the Head

Magis, a word instilled within Ateneans from the very beginning of their schooling, describes the need to go above and beyond in every venture one undertakes. Acting as the guiding light to students to do extraordinarily well in their academics and co-curricular activities, it, too, has become the weight of obligation to take on more. 

In the return of the QPI grading system, wherein each letter mark has an equivalent quality point and numerical mark, students are introduced to a new set of demands in order to achieve the grades they aspire to have. With mixed perspectives on the justice this new system provides, students of all strands and grade levels are able to agree on the difficulty of the transition due to its unpredictable nature. Despite their appreciation of the clarification it provides to their class standings, they call for the need of a more detailed criteria, especially in the weight of effort and participation marks, because of the range of grades one qualitative point encloses. 

Nevertheless, the weight of Magis presses on as Angel articulates, “As much as we want to understand the new grading system, I think that its impact on the students is something that the admin should consider. Most of the students are burned out, as most of us aim for honors at the end of the school year. We had to double our efforts and exemplify Magis in everything that we do, which I think is becoming unhealthy in terms of the students’ mental health.”

However, this issue runs deeper than the improvement of classroom methods and materials as it stems from the need for the emphasis on student experience and well-being. Due to the earlier beginnings of the class schedules compared to the past academic year, as well as the extension of school time into the late afternoon with extracurriculars, students start to suffer from the time strain hindering their work and life balance. 

Megan*, a junior STEM student, narrates her regular school day which starts at 4:30 in the morning and is filled with the overarching stress from the plethora of quizzes she must take and the taxing nature of her commute: “When I arrive at school, I have like three tests, and they’re all like sunod-sunod, and then there’s a lot of homework at home. When I get home, I still have to do school work. And plus, commuting home is also a stressful part. I think my whole day is already consumed by school, even at home.”

The life of a student living in Katipunan Avenue proves to be no different as they prove their, albeit short, commute to school one of the most burdensome parts of their daily routine due to the extreme traffic created both in and out of the campus. So, while the majority of other schools might only produce worries of uniforms or gadgets, Ateneo too extends the physical and financial hassle of finding housing in its vicinity so as to regularly reach the 8:30 am bell. 

A Constant Effort

Ultimately, it is an overall consensus of the community that the systems and practices in the ASHS do need to change for the better. Thus, students call for the school to hear the voices of the students that walk its halls and to see them not only as those who play the role of Ateneans, but as people as well. 

Megan continues, “I observed that the students are very vocal about what they experience […], and a lot of people are speaking up about what they experience but I don’t think the school is doing anything much about it.” 

And, while efforts are slowly being undertaken to journey closer to the goal of a full adjustment to onsite learning once more, small-inching steps are no longer enough to sustain the students of the ASHS. Thus, as they carry on with their two-year stay in the ASHS, may we acknowledge that only a paired effort may be able to create the impact that the students need so they can truly believe that this is the place where they belong. 

Names marked with an asterisk (*) are pseudonyms and were used in place for students who opted to remain anonymous.