Abot Tala’s new set of classes will start on January 6 and will run until March 26, 2020. These classes are based on the interests of the teen members who can choose the classes they want to attend. They can join as many classes as they want and every week, they have one-on-one mentoring sessions with their fulltime mentor. Members can look forward to community meetings, field trips, Dungeons & Dragons and a block presentation to showcase the projects they’ve been working on.
Abot Tala operates from 9am to 3pm so it’s not for those looking for after-school activities. Teen members can choose to attend Abot Tala full-time, from Mondays to Thursdays, or they can choose certain days of the week when the classes they like are scheduled.
Here’s more information about the classes:
MONDAYS
Life Stories: A Biography Study Class
A class on learning about the lives and deeds of notable people in history and pop-culture in a story-telling format. We believe people’s stories are powerful and we hope our teens will draw inspiration & encouragement from the different personalities we’ll be studying, especially when we talk about the challenges they’ve experienced.
Math Gym
Math Gym is a personalized enrichment program for learners who want to enhance their math knowledge and skills. Each learner’s current level and goals will be assessed at the beginning of the term. Throughout the duration of the course, a personalized curriculum will be develops based on the learner’s aptitude and learning style.
Theater
The class will focus on teaching each individual student how to make effective acting choices in the theatre. It will introduce acting terms and practices to train them in the discipline of acting with their mind, voice, and body. The class will explore contemporary plays using textual analysis and different techniques from theatre academics such as Meisner, Stanislavsky, and Chekhov. The goal is for each participant to discover themselves as actors and to be effective in delivering monologues as well as scenes with different scene partners.
(H)istorya: Philippine History in the context of World History
(H)istorya is a creative 12-week crash course in Philippine History in the context of what was happening with the rest of the world. It’s designed to challenge the students’ perspectives of the Philippines and its role in the world at large.
DigiZen: Digital Citizenship for Digital Natives
Learn how to be a responsible netizen and how to deal with those who aren’t. (Because we know there are a lot of mean people on the internet). Aside from learning about the dangers of the web, our teens will also be introduced to the great opportunities the digital world has to offer.
Safe & Sound for Mental Health (Support Group for Teens)
A full hour every other Monday dedicated to creating a safe and sound space by supporting each other. Our facilitators aim to give our teens hope and they help them take brave and healthy steps forward as they navigate through overwhelming situations. For more info please visit www.facebook.com/safeandsoundformentalhealth
Adulting & Relationships Class
Different guest speakers will be invited to share their stories and nuggets of wisdom when it comes to all kinds of relationships and adult responsibilities, big and small. This class alternates weekly with Safe & Sound.
TUESDAYS
PEPT Review
This class aims to help teens who are preparing to take PEPT. This class will focus on preparing for the Science part of the test and it’ll also teach the teens testmanship skills.
RPG Maker
Learn how basic programming functions allow us to build worlds of stories and adventures. This class will focus on using the RPGMaker application to help us create a video game of our own.
Penmanship, Lettering & Doodling
Learn the art or practice of writing using pen and paper, as well as the joy of doodling.
Entrepreneurship
Do you dream of starting your own business? Do you want to know what it means to have an entrepreneurial mindset? Learn from the founder of Abot Tala and from other seasoned entrepreneurs.
Filipino Sign Language
FSL is English-based (not Tagalog), and is largely based on ASL just with some localization to Filipino culture. The mentors who’ll facilitate this class are siblings. One of them was born deaf/hard of hearing so students will really learn from mentors who use FSL on a daily basis.
3D Design and Printing alternates with Materials Class
This is a class where the teens can create starting from any shape or object using a software program to 3D printing a model prototype. Those who sign-up for this class will need to bring their own laptop. Meanwhile, our teens will get to build structures with a specific material (like popsicle sticks or duct tape) every other week.
Literature and Creative Writing
For this class there’ll be two modules: Fiction and Non-Fiction and the teens and their mentor will tackle a sub-genre of each every week. Under Fiction: Fantasy,
Folklore, Fairytales and Fables, Romance, Mystery/Horror/Thriller, Historical Fiction, and Realistic Fiction. Under Non-Fiction: Biography, Autobiography, and Journalistic Writing A corresponding writing assignment will also be given.
WEDNESDAYS
Tea & Conversations
Every week the mentor and teens will take turns in featuring a video or podcast of their choice about different subject matters. Afterwhich, a healthy discussion about what we watched or listened to will be encouraged.
Math Gym (Day 2 of Math Gym)
Bask in the excitement of solving real-life math problems with our mathemagician one more time because Math once a week just isn’t enough!
DIY Food
Learning how to be resourceful in making meals from scratch, experimental home cooking, and learning how to make simple pantry basics at home.
Painting (Art)
Start your Wednesday afternoon with art. Learn watercolor basics and painting with acrylic on canvas from a professional painter for the first six sessions then learn sculpting during the second half of the block.
Filipino Martial Arts
Learn Arnis as a tool for self-defense from a 10th-degree black belt mentor.
THURSDAYS
Sewing and Prop Making
Learn how to hand-sew your own leather bag from scratch. Once that project is done, learn how to make your own props for your costumes.
Organic Chemistry
This course aims to provide the learners with an understanding of the various kinds of organic compounds, their properties, and naturally-occurring sources. The latter half of the term will discuss some organic chemical reactions that are used in the industry and are observable in nature. (This is a specialized chemistry course which requires prior background knowledge on general chemistry, specifically on chemical bonding.)
Podcasting 101
Our teens specifically asked for this class because they’d like to produce their own podcast. They will be mentored by a professional voice talent and former radio jock, whom they also requested for.
Game Show Hour
This is our version of a fun academic and non-academic quiz night, but obviously held in the afternoon. We’ll be trying out different game show formats like Battle of the Brains, Jeopardy, Pinoy Henyo and more. This is our way of preparing to join quiz nights around the metro. Go team Abot Tala!
Other one-on-one classes that are available upon request:
Piano, Uke, Classical Guitar, and Voice lessons.
For more information or to set an appointment for a family meeting with us, call or text 0915-2864494 .
To register for our January 6 – March 26 program, please send an email to abottala.ph@gmail.com.
For program fees, click here.
To see who our mentors are, click here.
For more photos of our past activities, visit our Instagram account here: https://www.instagram.com/abottala/
Abot Tala is located at Unit 2A Tres Palmas Commercial Arcade, P.Cayetano Blvd (formerly Levi Mariano Blvd), Ususan, Taguig (near Acacia Estates and Medical Center Taguig)
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