Sometimes in Mr Walsh's class we will communicate with highschools from different parts of the world. One of these schools is Gulod National Highschool.

    Gulod National Highschool is in the village (Barangay) of Gulod, in the town of Cabuyao, in the province of Laguna, on the island of Luzon, the biggest island. ( Click here for a page with a map.) Gulod is about 45 kilometers from Manila, the capital of the Philippines. Although it is very near the city, it has many farms and nature around it.   It has lots and lots of fresh air and is very beautiful, and the warm weather all year round makes it a very pleasant and relaxing place.

   The students of Gulod National Highschool are very good at English and can write very well. They also like things like music, singing, dancing, and acting. Many of the students go on to good colleges like The Philippine Women's University. They like to study, and work very hard because they are taught that the youth is the hope of the nation.

   Like some highschools in Japan, every student must wear a uniform at Gulod National High School. The uniform is the symbol of being a highschool student. The girls wear long green striped skirts and white short sleeved blouses all year round because the weather in the Philippines is almost the same all year round. The boys wear white collared shirts and khaki pants, just like me! They also have other uniforms for special occasions like the red uniforms when they danced (see picture below) and when they have to perform shows for special guests from different schools.

  Eighty five percent of the people in the Philippines are Catholic, so religion is a part of the curriculum. Students are taught to pray before school starts, and sometimes before every class! In  Mindanao, the southermost island of the Philippines, some people are Muslim but there are also many other religions like Protestant, Iglesia ni Kristo, Jehova's witnesses and even Church of Rizal.
  The dance that you see in the picture below is a typical country side dance that projects what young people wore in the past during harvest season or planting season.

  Most of the teachers are women, including the principal. Men and women are treated equal in society. One of the teachers in Gulod National High School  is very famous because she became the Governor of Laguna. As a matter of fact, she is still the current Governor of Laguna, having won the national election on May 10,2004. The election is a big day in Philippines because everyone wants to enjoy and use their right to vote. She became very famous because prior to becoming the Governor  she was the Vice-governor for two consecutive terms, which is equivalent to eight years.

    Unfortunately, the school has a very small library, but most of the books were donated to the school by volunteer organizations. It also has a computer room but there are only 15 computers for the 1700 students that go there. There is no internet because it is too expensive.

  The teachers and students of Gulod Highschool are very interested in Japan, and want to know more about school life in Japan. Let's communicate with them and learn about each other!

The students have not so much in terms of material things but I noticed that in spite of this, they all smile and their smiles are full of  hope.