Philippines Catholic school wins international medals

Holy Infant Academy (HIA), a Catholic school in an island province of the Philippines, carried home medals from The International – World Innovative Student Expo (iWISE), held at Surrey University, Guilford, Surrey, England, from August 14 to August 21.

Known to be a prestigious platform that nurtures and promotes creativity, innovation, and invention, there were about 200 participants or 122 teams from 20 countries.

iWISE aims to facilitate the exchange of scientific ideas, interests, and abilities in the categories of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) and Talent.

Founded by the Holy Spirit Sisters

Holy Infant Academy (HIA) in Calapan City, Oriental Mindoro Province, is the first and only representative school from the Philippines.

This is the second time HIA has been the only Philippine representative in London’s competition. The first was in 2019 during the International Technology Expo, where they got bronze, silver, and gold medals, too.

"The Holy Spirit Sisters established HIA in 1937 to aid the local church in its evangelization mission. In 1997, its ownership was turned over to the Apostolic Vicariate of Calapan and its management to a team of lay administrators, in the spirit of lay empowerment," according to Alona Cueto, who was among that team.

"HIA is committed to the holistic formation of our students. We actualize their academic preparation and character-building in school and at home. We closely partner with parents to make sure that we share the same values and goals. We attribute the achievements of our students to the inspiration and strong support of the school community and their families in bringing out the best in them," said Cueto, HIA principal.

Loving service

Dexter Moreno, a teacher in the United States of America (USA) since 2020 under the Cultural Exchange Program, introduced HIA to iWISE and motivated them to participate.

He is on a Cultural Exchange Program in the USA with a five-year contract. After this, he is required to stay in the Philippines for two years before going back to America.

Prior to his stint in the USA, he had been coaching in different international competitions since he was teaching in the Philippines from 2009 to 2018.

He also worked as a teacher and academic coordinator at HIA and the Apostolic Vicariate of Calapan Parochial Schools as an academic supervisor.

"My commitment to Catholic schools remains. Especially now that teachers are moving to public schools, or even to other countries, for better pay and opportunities," he said.

The Filipino winners who were awarded on August 20 were Mateo Raphael Goco, grade 7, bronze medal, and brother Antonio Gabriel, grade 10, silver medal, both in the STEM category; Rio Joyze Cortez Ramos, grade 6, silver medal in the talent category for her essay "Life Journey, Beauty in Adversity" and Mauriz Jynielle R Casanova, grade 6, silver medal for another STEM category.

Mateo’s project, "Home Security System with SMS Controlled Circuits" is about a house with programmed circuits and sensors that can be turned on and off even if the owner is out.  It is monitored using an Android phone, and the owner has the capacity to control the flow of electricity in different parts of the house.

Like any other boy, he enjoyed the socialization part.  "My favorite part was the international night, where different teams from different countries had a cultural presentation. We get to learn about each other’s countries, and we get to interact with different kids from different cultures," he said.

Antonio’s project "HINTO: Human Intoxication Notification Tool for Vehicles 2.0" is about a system that is programmed in various types of vehicles and can detect whether the driver is under the influence of alcohol.

He found the experience to be very different from the online competitions he had. "I get to see other places, experience different cultures, and eat different foods. I gained new friends from other countries. I also get to see the vast opportunities out there in the world, not only within the confines of our island. iWise is different because we were camped inside the university dorm for a week, and I get to experience what it is like to live in a university dormitory in the UK," he said.

Priceless

The participants went through the virtual preliminaries and the global final, which was in London, where the in-person competition had returned since the pandemic.

Casanova and Ramos were judged virtually because they did not receive their visas in time for the trip.  

The Goco brothers were accompanied by their parents, Doctor Augelito Goco and lawyer Charlotte Aguba-Goco, also president of the HIA Alumni Association.

"It’s quite expensive, but a good investment for the children. We are grateful to the school for endeavoring to provide a holistic education. Making our children participate in international competition is also our way of supporting it", said the couple, who are both alumni of HIA.

".. the experience and the memories they (the boys) had during those times are priceless...  I couldn’t be prouder of you my two stooges! Winning a Silver and Bronze medal is just icing on the cake," said Charlotte as she updated the HIA community in a post on its official page.

They were also accompanied by the Education Program Supervisor in Science, Calapan City Division, Mrs. Noida Castro, who served as the first and only Filipina judge in the STEM Category.

"Her expertise and competence in evaluating projects made her qualified to be on that admired panel of judges," said Moreno. 

However, as agreed by all the STEM judges, she did not evaluate the projects of the Gocos. Castro, in a separate interview with RVA, said, "I acted as their supervising coach during the event, providing technical assistance on how to present orally their project details and how to answer possible questions of the judges."

In 2019, she was also the first and only Filipina judge in the ITE International Invention Trade Expo London," said Moreno.

All participants received an iWISE certificate of participation. Those who performed exceptionally received an iWISE certificate of achievement and a medal.- Madonna T.  Virola)