WHAT IS GENERAL ACADEMICS STRAND?
by: Aids Macalino
The General Academic strand is where a lot of students are given the chance to be taught the basics of every strand offered in the Ateneo Senior High School. Their subjects are mixed with STEM’s topics, ABM’s management topics and HUMMS’ social studies. Academics play a big role in the strand of GA since this will help them choose their course in college. Besides all the Academics, GA also promotes activities, most especially during Intramurals, GA week and their Field Trip. The strand is composed of students who excel in sports and who are very much talented. In addition, GA offers subjects like Arts, Management and DRRR(Disaster Readiness and Risk Reduction) that enhance their skills and help them choose a course for college.
GA is a strand wherein teamwork is a must. You will see students hanging out in the cafeteria enjoying their meals and sharing stories to each other. Going back to AHS, brotherhood still retains amongst the old Ateneans. They share this gift to the new borns in the HS. GA is the greatest strand because of it’s persuasion and perseverance to learn and to be compassionate to others. The students never fail to exemplify the 5 C’s in their life.
HOW TO COPE WITH STUDIES SPECIFICALLY IN GA
by: Miggy Liban
Now the first thing which probably will be thought about when looking at the topic is that, isn't GA easy, there's no special ed subject which they need to study unlike the others. Well in fact, this stereotype is completely wrong, due to the fact that one we get a bit of every everything, that means that there are topics which we get in each strand, and two, it's like any other strand, we still have numerous requirements which some of us having a hard time with. So let's continue with some tips on how to cope with academics in GA.
- First tip is manage your time, this is because it really helps to be organized and it will help finish the assignments on time because of the schedule which you placed for all your requirements.
- Second tip is to avoid unnecessary distractions, this is because if you dabble too much on the many distractions which are present like games, TV, phones,etc. then it will stray you away from what is suppose to be your priorities, them being studies.
- Third tip is a tip which everyone is most likely familiar with and that is study, of course you should already know that studying and going back to review before a quiz or LT helps a lot, because it helps you remember all the things you learned.
- Last tip is to get enough sleep, of course this tip is not followed by some because of the numerous requirements which hinder some from their sleep, however, despite all these requirements, still make an effort to at least sleep get a good night's rest because the body and brain need the rest in order to function properly throughout the day.
All in all, the things you need to do in order to help with your academics is not all listed above, however the aforementioned tips said are some of the ways in which it could help you throughout your school year.
STUDENT ATHLETE
By: J Mendoza and Edezon Masangkay
The General-Academics strand or GA is the chosen strand of most effective athletes in grade eleven or even the Ateneo High School. Other people will see them as the “Alphas” of the batch but in reality they are just like any normal student, a student who shows a strict discipline in his chosen sport and in his academics.
The first sport on the list is Basketball
Basketball is the most famous sport in our country. The General-Academics strand houses some of the most dominant players of the entire grade11, these are the likes of Dave Ildefonso, SJ Belangel, Jason Credo, Migo Santos, Amchel Angeles, Joaqui Manuel, and RV Berjay. All of them active members of the Ateneo High School basketball team for the UAAP Juniors Season 79.
The second sport on the list is Handball
Handball is an Olympic sport that is most popular in Europe namely France, Germany, Iceland, Sweden, and Denmark. The rules and regulation are fairly similar to football but only with the use of the hand and not the foot.
The GA strand houses some of the finest handball players in the Ateneo Senior High School, Mico Magturo (11-Chabanel), Julio Matti, Edezon Masangkay, Christian Carl Abrera, JL Lomibao, Anton Benitez, Kyle Gabriel , Ali Pelea , Catherine Basallote , Bea Zamora , Rizzie Rapada , Miguel Liban , Ken Pasa , EJ Medalla ,Karl Adre ,Leandro Carpio ,Xavier Milana ,Andy Lagliva ,Enzo Aganon ,Chio Reyno ,James Agpaoa ,Ian Daniel ,Kristin Santos ,Anette Taquintic, Kimberly Yu ,Patricia Young.
In an interview with one of the captains of Team A, Mico Magturo of 11-Chabanel, he said: “Being a student athlete is a great feeling as there's a privilege to it. Although it may be difficult to balance the two, it's great to represent the school in academics and in sports. To be able to balance school and sports, I set a schedule and I try my best to do projects days before the deadline as so that training and deadlines won't pile up at a high Raw at the same time. I also make sure that I put academics before my sports because without my academics I wouldn't be here anymore.”
As stated by Mico Magturo, “I also make sure that I put academics before my sports” athletes in the general academics strand don’t just have a ball is life mentality but a mentality of a student athlete that the Ateneo has made over the past 157 or so years.
The third and last sport on the list is Football
Football, is one of the most popular sports in the world. It even has an international tournament namely the FIFA World Cup which makes all the greatest football players all over the world compete against each other for the love of the game and for the bragging rights. The ASHS has a football team that consists of highly talented players namely Vinnie Vinculado, Joaquin Nacino, and Jenlord Barcelona. Vinnie Vinculado is also part of the Pilipinas Dragons and scored against the Japanese team in a tournament in Spain last 2016 .The AHS football team recently won bronze in the 79th UAAP Juniors Football. Even though they only won bronze this year Vinnie Vinculado also said: “yes, I believe that we could be champions in the next UAAP season with the right mindset and with the hard work we put in training.”
EXTRACURRICULAR ACTIVITIES
The Ateneo Senior High School debate team is now known to have girls which made it even better and surprisingly exciting to watch and talk about. Two of these girls that represent the ASHS debate team come from the General Academics strand, namely; Nicole Masagca from 11-Chabanel and Julia Ocoma from 11-Favre. These two bright and intelligent women gave much attention to everyone in the Ateneo because of their talent to debate and speak well in front of many. They represent the GA strand and show what they are capable of which led them to wonderful achievements to be proud of.
Firstly, Nicole Masagca was the given the award for Best Overall Speaker of the IDEA Lite Tournament last September 2016. In addition to this, she was the very first ASHS co-ed student to win a top individual speaker award at a major debate competition. Secondly, Julia Ocoma was named the 3rd best speaker in Asia in the Cambridge Asian British Parliamentary Schools Debate Championship last December 2016 in Hong Kong.
Certainly, these achievements show how great these two women are and it also shows how GA is comprised of talented people that would give pride and glory to our school.
GA GALLERY
Notice: We do not take credit of the images found above. Owners of some photos are specifically the Ateneo de Manila Senior High School FB Page, Moca Dator, and photographers of each sections.
