DONNA SAN JOSE

DOHA PARENTS watched with admiration as their children performed and received certificates during a function to mark the end of their summer classes in Philippine International School of Qatar (PISQ) on Thursday.

Students who attended the summer classes showcased their skills in dancing and singing. After the programme, teachers, parents and students got together in a small potluck, while the mascot from Mary Brown’s entertained the kids.

The parents praised the school for academic performance of the students.

Talking to Qatar Tribune, the school acting guidance counsellor Maria Allin Purificacion said that the school ensured it hired qualified teachers in order to give the students standard education.

She said the school places emphasis on employing experience teachers, especially with five years experience in teaching and a master’s degree or a first degree.

“We are concerned with academic performance of our students and we are happy about their progress after graduation here. Many of them passed college entrance examinations brilliantly. The exams were conducted by well-known universities and colleges in the Philippines like University of the Philippines, University of Santo Thomas, De La Salle University and Mapua Institute of Technology,” Maria said.

The Philippine International School of Qatar (PISQ) is one of the two Philippine schools in Qatar.

Established in March 2000 and situated in Ain Khalid, the school has three two-storey buildings that accommodate its ever-growing student population.

With 1,600 students last academic session, the school aims to enrol 2,500 students by the beginning of the new academic calendar. It is also planning to add a fourth building to accommodate the increasing population.

“We are offering education, which will not only be useful to the students in school but will also help them face future challenges with confidence.

We produce intelligent and independent students and give them proper training to help them compete with their peers and be the best in their chosen fields,” Maria said.

She said the school won third place in poster-making out of 16 schools in the Gasna competition, a contest aimed at raising awareness about Qatar’s natural resources, held in Qatar University in April. The school also participated in the Order of the Knights of Rizal or OKOR competition, an annual event that celebrates the life and works of the Philippine hero Jose Rizal, in Bahrain last year.

A former PISQ student, who is currently taking engineering course in De La Salle University said, “My professor praised me as I am one of the few students who have managed to keep up on his teachings. This is because some of the subjects he is teaching have already covered when I was studying in PISQ.” Many former students of PISQ graduated this year on their chosen courses. Most of them have finished nursing course, while some are in finance and management courses. There are also former students who are currently working in Qatar after taking their chosen courses.

Aside from Filipinos, the school also accepts other nationalities like Egyptians, Lebanese, Chinese and Sudanese.

PISQ will start its next school year in June 17.