Published: 5:34 pm May 22, 2021 | Updated: 5:34 pm May 22, 2021

With the new normal replacing the old, FEU Roosevelt Rodriguez battles to preserve the essence of the much-awaited Grand Club Day.

The 28^th of January swiftly passed by, with each minute inching closer to the much-awaited Grand Club Day. Tensions were high and excitement levels rose as the event was anticipated by students throughout the school. A day to mingle and have fun. A day to relieve the stress that academics bring upon.

Only this time, it was different.

What once was a lively and bustling celebration will now be held in front of cellphones and computer screens. With little to no physical interaction – a pivotal part of what makes the Grand Club Day the thrilling occurrence that it is – the success of the event lies in question.

Pushing through with the affair were the teachers and staff of the FEU Roosevelt Rodriguez institution. Together with the newly-invigorated student council, as well as the respective presidents of each clubs, they have worked tirelessly to ensure a smooth transition from what was to what is.

Preparations were made days before the actual event: an evidence of how much both students and moderators care for the much-awaited day. Posts were published and details were shared on each of the clubs’ respective social media platforms, informing their members of the activities that would transpire on that special day.

And with the seemingly tall task of making a day worth remembering, the clock strikes 2:00.

Students from all over the school began joining their respective club’s MS Teams channel meetings, all in anticipation of participating in the activities prepared for them. Some clubs began their days with games, others with competitions, and for some, they used the opportunity to get to know one another. Such was the case for the Girl Scouting and YEP Clubs.

The Girl Scouting Club started their day with a prayer and the singing of the National Anthem. This was followed by the Panatang Makabayan, Panunumpa sa Watawat, and the recitation of the Preamble, the Scout Promise, the Girl Scout Law, and the Senior Girl Scout Pledge, a hefty yet typical start to the club’s activities. Shortly after, they were joined by the club coordinator, Girl Scout Cadet Angela Clarideth Vergara, who gave her welcoming message in place of the club adviser, Ms. Nicole Koh. Once the formalities were through, it was time for the activities.

As one would expect, the teambuilding activities were filled with tasks that promote teamwork and collaboration. To go about with this, the activities were sequenced in a way that would first let the scouts get to know each other more before reaching the

tasks that would require them to trust and rely on one another. An ingenious way to establish bonds, one might say.

Group 1 won most of the activities presented to them. With this, it is no surprise that they bagged the Troop of the Day Award. This accolade, however, is not the true essence of the Girl Scouting Club’s virtual teambuilding activities. It is the chance to know, to bond, and to interact with one’s fellow scouts that truly made this event worthwhile. Surely, the scouts felt the same.

As Senior Girl Scout and Club President Charisse Anne De Mesa gave her closing remarks, the club activities formally came to a close. It was a surprise as to how the efforts of the senior members of the club paid off to surpass such insurmountable task. But upon writing this, it is realized that such feat was always inevitable for scouts like them. They embody the “Laging Handa” motto, after all.

The YEP Club, like the aforementioned Girl Scouting Club, also spent their day getting to know one another. As Club President Liv Anne Acosta and Club Adviser Albenjohn Bandahala formally began club activities, members were called one after the other to introduce themselves. The twist, though, is that once the members finished introducing themselves, they are to answer a random question asked by the facilitators. It was definitely a good way to keep the attention levels up as the tension of who gets called next helped the attendees remain active and listen to the introductions of their fellow club members.

After said activity then came a game of “Bring Me”, in which most of the members participated in hopes of winning lanyards sponsored by the club. Once the activity reached its conclusion, members were asked to follow the Facebook page of the club before they officially ended the meeting. It definitely was a very interactive day for the YEP club and I think that the event was a huge success on their part as they were not only able to keep their members engaged and happy, but they also initiated bonds and connections between them which is a big part of what makes the Club Day the event it is.

Some clubs, however, had other ideas in mind. To bring the most out of their respective members, they organized club-wide contests in which everyone could showcase their very own skills. After all, a little competition doesn’t hurt, does it?

The Music Club held their very own singing competition, the “FEUR Idol”, in which students shared their talents and passion for music and carrying a tune. Participants were instructed to send two videos, with the first one serving as an audition piece, while the other as their final presentation. They were to be judged using meticulous criteria based on vocals, showmanship, and impression. Out of numerous submissions, only 11 entries made it to the final round. And from those 11 hopeful participants, only three emerged victorious.

With a total score of 98%, Nicole Ramos from 11 – STEM C took home the highly coveted first place. Not far behind were Arabella Rivera of 10 – Jacinto and Chris Cacnio of 11 – ABM A, coming in as second and third place, respectively. When asked as to why she chose to join the Music Club, Nicole replied “Ever since I was a child, I am always passionate about music. I am fascinated by singing and playing instruments because it’s the only thing that I do effortlessly without trying so hard. As I grew older, it became my hobby and an escape from reality.” Such sentiments were moving as while people only see the grandiosity of it all, music ultimately is a way for us to express and free ourselves. In this competition, not only our winner, but everyone, did just that.

Speaking of talent and passion, the art of photography is a skill that is often glossed upon. Treated as if it was something done with the mere press of a button when it is so much more than that. Photographs, as the famous photographer Destin Sparks once said, is “the story I fail to put into words.” With each picture holds a story. With each spark comes the start of another journey. And such art was emphasized by the Media Arts Club who held a photography contest of their own.

While a few other games and activities took place within the day, the Photography Contest was the undisputable highlight of it all. With the goal of capturing life within the pandemic, stunning photos were passed by Justine Cole Albutra & Charles Gabriel Pradiel, Ivan Carlo Bustos, and Geraldine del Valle, who won the first, second and third places, respectively.

The Dance Club is another who took the opportunity presented by the Grand Club Day to display the skills in each of their members. Throughout the years, they have continued to expand their family as they discover more talented dancers. The auditions and competitions held by the club are some of the most awaited events by the students. After all, who wouldn’t want to see young performers channelling their feelings using dance movements?

Club President Renzo Dela Peña cited what the club meant to him. “Dance club, for me, is not just an organization, but a family. A family that creates bonding, memories, and happiness through ups and downs. The Dance Club gives an opportunity to all aspiring dancers of FEU Roosevelt to share their talents and express themselves through dancing. On top of that, I’m beyond grateful to everyone who supports the dance club and gives an effort in order to make this club collaborative and effective.”

Due to the circumstances brought upon by the new normal, a personal dance competition became out of question. The officers, however, never lost hope and turned to other conventional alternatives. Technology became a friend as the competition was held using the well-known application, TikTok. A total of 9 students whose videos were posted online to reach a wider audience joined said competition, with the winners to be announced during the Grand Club Day.

As club activities began, a compilation of performances by our very own FEUR Movers were presented for the opening ceremony after the remarks of Mr. Roger Onelan. Once formalities were done, the much-awaited moment of all Dance Club members followed.

Rhianne Santillan of 7 – Anthurium was awarded third runner-up, followed by Arrah Cassandra Parungao, also from 7 – Anthurium, who won second. Tensions were now at an all-time high as the first runner-up and the champion were the next to be announced. Ultimately, it was Mhea Portez and Kathleen Pascual’s performance that was hailed first runner-up, while it was Annalyn Kim Sarong, who garnered a total score of 98.4%, that was hailed the FEUR TikTok Dance Champion.

In contrast to the talent the previous clubs have showcased, the following three clubs focused on a more domestic and caring aspect: who says a student can’t be a plantito or plantita?

The Interact Club, Rover Scouting Club, and Senior Scouting Club proved that even the younger generation can become a plantito or plantita through their Home Gardening contest. It was actually amazing to see how they tried their best to arrange and take care of the plants despite having their online classes.

Before going to the main event, the participants were taught how to knot their ties: who knew that tie-knotting, can be very easy? Back then I really thought that knotting ties is hard especially knotting it properly. If you are knotting your tie without following the proper steps it can really be troublesome. But that’s exactly why steps are invented right? To make our lives a little easier.

Aside from knotting ties, the history of the Philippine flag was also discussed, such an interesting discussion. Amidst all the hindrances, they were still able to proudly raise our flag and appreciate the freedom that we have. And for the finale, the winners of the home gardening were announced.

Different types of plants and arrangement was shown but only three contestants stood out. The winner of the Home Gardening Competition was Ms. Rochelle Dayao. The Second Place was achieved by Ms. Julifer Purification and in Third Place, we have Ms. Elyza Camiguing.

Despite the tiring day, no matter what the circumstances are, a man who is truly passionate about something will find a way to express their love for it. Despite facing a lot of troubles, every club managed to create and spend their time together. This truly proves that the FEURR Tams are resilient

The next club on the list isn’t as artistically inclined as the other clubs but is more academic-oriented. The MATHRIX Club, evident from its name, is all about the subject of mathematics. Surprisingly enough, during their meeting last Friday, no mathematical problems nor computation was involved. As stated by Jamaica Isleta, the club president, “The truth is, it’s not all about math but sometimes we talk about math if there’s a problem and sometimes we share some hobbies so that we can know each other. It’s a math club but it’s a club where we can make friends.” They did multiple activities and mini-games such as 4 pics 1 word, charades, and the whisper challenge. I think we can all agree that the MATHRIX Club sure knows how to have fun and enjoy the founding anniversary of FEU Roosevelt.

With all the clubs mentioned above, we still have a long list of clubs who participated and enjoyed the Grand Club Day event. Imagine if your club had not one, but three competitions for their members to join in on the fun. The Young Historian’s Club is a club that focuses on world history and aims to “equip the students to ask perspective questions, think critically and weigh evidence”, as said on their Facebook page description.

The organization had three interesting competitions that gave their members more opportunity to participate in. They had two quiz bees to help sharpen and test their knowledge. To start the battle of the brains, “Hula-rawan” was their first quiz bee that revolves around the recognition of people whose works have contributed to the scope of knowledge. The winning members for this activity were John Efren Gannaban, who was awarded first place, while Ann Maxene Umali and Leean Ysabela Almoite won their respective spots as second and third placers.

The second part was the “Histo-Bee” that had a quotation of “everything under the sun”, which means everything that exists or is possible, where the participants were tested on their general knowledge. Vincent John Tabarangao came in first for this competition with Aaliyah Jace Padilla as the second winner and Coleen Edson Dajon declared as the third placer.

If that wasn’t enough, they also held a Time Capsule contest where the members had to discuss their chosen historical event. Congratulations are in order for the winners of the essay writing competition, namely Alexander Sicam, Rafael Camillus Bagaoisan, and Carlo Rivera who won first, second, and third place respectively. The energy of this club to continue with their activities just us brings joy as we see the interests of the members spark as they participate and contribute in the games and contests.

Theodore Roosevelt once said that “The more you know about the past, the better prepared you are for the future.” We have the Young Historian’s Club to thank for helping students learn more about our history, to help shape our future without repeating the mistakes of the past.

The history we know isn’t always what it seems, the people of the past also suffered from behind-the-scene problems such as anxiety and stress. After all, we are human and we suffer from problems from time to time. To help cope, the Guidance Club, led by their president Mr. Eugene Andrei Canasa from Grade 11 STEM F, held their online “Kumustahan” and a webinar about self-love.

The Guidance club started with the opening remarks of their club adviser, Mrs. Carolyn Santiago, followed by its president Mr. Canasa. After the formalities, the officers began to interact with the members. They played games to lighten up the mood of everyone, after getting comfortable, the webinar began.

The guest speaker was Ms. Myla Ranjo who is a teacher in FEU Roosevelt Rodriguez. She started presenting her webinar entitled “The Power of Self Love in the New Normal”. Ms. Ranjo gave lessons and examples about the importance of mental health and acceptance throughout the webinar. She emphasized that being flawed is part of your life so as doubting. Doubting is important for you to be able to assess yourself and know yourself more. The most memorable line she said was, “Always remember that your mental health is as important of your physical health”. We tend to forget the importance of our mental health due to stress and problems which may lead to mental illness. An activity entitled “Flip” was given by Ms. Ranjo. The members were asked to write one of their regrets or mistakes and flip it by providing solution to their problem. Loving yourself is being able to accept and work with your flaws.

The webinar ended wonderfully as the members learned something new to improve themselves. After ending the webinar, the officer once again played with the members. They tested the wittiness of the participants by playing 4 pics 1 word and prizes were given to the winners. The meet ended with some encouraging words from the officers of the Guidance Club.

Guidance is not only given by the people around us, but it is also given by strengthening our faith to God. The Salikana Club is a religious club that aims to strengthen the faith of each member through sharing and opening with each other. According to Ms. Janelle Kyle Adonis, they also aim to be an outlet where the students will be able to speak up about the problems and struggles that they are facing.

A quiz bee stirred up the attention of the members; the questions were composed of religious and biblical facts. The members were asked to answer given questions in order to win prizes. Aside from that, the winner of the Saint Impersonation Contest was announced. Rochelle Anne G. Gerarman was announced as the champion of the Saint Impersonation Contest.

The most memorable part of the meet was the time when each member became vulnerable and let down their walls. As they share their struggles with each other, the hardship of life was revealed. Everyone shared their own experiences where they felt that they do not belong to their community. After sharing their experiences, Bro. Ken guided them and said words of wisdom to help each member. The meet was short but very touching since it made the members feel secure to open about their problems.

Sometimes, for us to feel better we just need someone who will be able to listen to our story. Having someone who can lend their ears is the warmest thing that they can do to lift our spirits.

The Fitness Club, on the other hand, used a similar approach but with a different agenda: to promote the value of health towards their members. The Club Adviser, Ms. Genevieve Canillo, and the Club President, Felicity Salvador, organized a Fitness Webinar for their club activity. Their day officially began with Ms. Canillo giving her opening remarks. Soon followed a game of “What’s in the Box”, hosted by the Club President, which kept the audience engaged just before the formal introduction of the guest speaker, Ms. Liecel Paula S. Calucag, RND.

Ms. Calucag is very knowledgeable. She was outstanding in presenting what should have been a boring and dull topic. It was her charisma, or that ever-present feeling of professionalism, that kept the audience hooked into the topic at hand.

As the two-hour webinar went on, tons of valuable advice were given by Ms. Calucag. May it be about the proper portioning of food on one’s plate, the recommended nutritional intake of teenagers, or the proper amount of fuel that should be taken before and after an exercise, Ms. Calucag ensured that whatever it is that we may need, she gave us before we even had the chance to ask. And it was just amazing how all these could be learned from a webinar organized by a club within our school.

As the webinar reached its conclusion, Ms. Calucag gave one last piece of advice: “There should be no endpoint in one’s road to proper nutrition.” This resonated with me, and probably with everyone present within the meeting. It was brief yet powerful, simple yet brilliant. One that you would expect from a woman who knows what she is doing.

When I asked the Club President about what she thought of their webinar, she had this to say: “As a club president, I am really happy and satisfied with the outcome of our preparation. At first, we were not sure about the number of participants that will attend the webinar, but it turned out to be interactive and fun! It’s really a success especially for the officers who worked double time just to accomplish their responsibility.” I could not have worded it any better. The Fitness Club webinar was a huge success and it was all thanks to the combined effort of not only the officers but also the teachers and staff that were involved.

The last club that I had to cover was the Art Club. Unlike the first two, they started their meeting an hour late. Club President Reidan Torres said that their agenda for the day would be to explain the mechanics of their Make a Mascot Contest – a club-wide activity in which the members are to design a mascot for their club, with the twist that it should be based on an animal and that it should have an art medium.

Going in, I thought that this would be the easiest and fastest one for the day. And while I was not wrong, it was surprising to see just how much interaction the members had with one another. They converse through chat as if they already know everyone and all were actively participating in it. The sight was touching to see. It was a concrete proof of how arts could connect different people, as such was the case for the art club.

The results for the competition were given 4 days later. The winners were Johan Regaspi and Reign Corpuz, both Grade 9 students from sections Apo and Arayat, respectively. Their works surely were deserving of the top spots and they got just that.

“As my first time leading a club day online, I think it’s very much successful with all of the things that might have gone wrong so I’m very much thankful for the way it turned out since mostly everyone had fun.”, said Club President Reidan Torres. I could attest that everyone did have fun during their competition, and that it sparked the beginning of not only ventures on the field of arts, but also friendships that hopefully would last.

As all the clubs reached their respective ends, I could not help but think of just how much work and effort must have been put through to make such an event possible. The optimism and hard work of the student council, the support of the institution, and the commitment of the club presidents ultimately prevailed over what looked like an insurmountable challenge brought upon by the new normal.

Now, I sit here with no doubt in my mind: We, Rooseveltian Tamaraws, could rise above whatever obstacles are thrown at us. Armed with the institution’s esteemed values of resilience, competence, and integrity, no amount of deterrence could ever stop the blazing hearts of us Tams.