PSD annual ‘Field Demonstration’ celebrates cultural diversity
Pomp and flair was the centrepiece of the performances of Philippine School Doha (PSD) students, who celebrated the academic institution’s annual ‘Field Demonstration’ at the Al Rayyan Sports Club yesterday.
“This event showcases the talent of PSD students and the creativity of the school faculty,” said school principal Dr Alexander Acosta, who spoke to Gulf Times on the sidelines of the celebration.
“The difference of this year’s field demonstration is that it emphasises the theme ‘Mixed World’, where the students’ performances highlight the different cultures around the globe, particularly the Filipinos.”
“At the same time, the performances also underline that the Filipino culture is rich and that it cannot be underestimated when combined with other cultures of the world,” Acosta continued. Not only is the annual ‘Field Demonstration’ one of the highlights of PSD’s 26th founding anniversary, but it also gives emphasis to the fact that the school “is now levelling up to the standards of international schools in Qatar,” Acosta pointed out.
According to Acosta, PSD successfully completed the Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS), conducted by the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA). Acosta said PIRLS “is designed to measure children’s reading literacy achievement, to provide a baseline for future studies of trends in achievement, and to gather information about children’s home and school experiences in learning to read.”
“The results revealed that PSD surpassed the performance of international schools and public schools in Qatar, and we are very proud to announce this to the parents and to the entire Filipino community in Qatar,” Acosta said.
He continued: “We attribute this achievement to our teachers and to our programmes for reading literacy. We have the clinical reading programme from pre-school up to primary, and we also have different reading remediation classes in intermediate to high school.
“We did not choose the participating students during the assessment but through a random sampling from the Ministry of Education and Higher Education. We have already received the PIRLS graph from the ministry and this is, by far, our greatest achievement for the year.”
Aside from PIRLS, Acosta said other PSD achievements in 2018 include another three-year institutional accreditation from the Qatar National School Accreditation (QNSA). He said this is the second time PSD has received QNSA certification. The QNSA evaluation team spent two weeks at PSD’s new campus in Abu Hamour earlier this year before finalising their assessment, Acosta stressed.
“Once a school is granted an accreditation, it elevates the standards of the school and also gives the school administration the confidence that it is giving quality education to students,” he added.