The document provides information about the implementation of Brigada Eskwela in 2015 by the Department of Education in the Philippines. It discusses the dates of the national school maintenance week from May 18-23, 2015. It encourages participation from education stakeholders to help prepare schools for the upcoming school year. It provides guidance to school principals on organizing activities and volunteers during Brigada Eskwela week to make schools clean, safe, and ready for learning.

1. ImplementingBrigada Eskwela
2015
The Department of Education (DepEd) will conduct the Brigada Eskwela 2015
also known as the National Schools Maintenance Week from May 18 to 23, 2015
with the theme Tayo Para sa Kalinisan at Kahandaan ng Ating mga Paaralan.
This school maintenance effort engages all education stakeholders to contribute
their time, effort and resources in ensuring that public school facilities are
prepared in time for the forthcoming school opening.
On May 18, 2015, regional offices (ROs) and schools division offices (SDOs) will
hold a caravan to launch the first day of Brigada Eskwela 2015. A kick-off
ceremony will be held in a public school, the final stop of the caravan. The
national kick off ceremony will be in public school in Region XIII (Caraga), the
host region.
All Adopt-a-School Program (ASP) partners and other organizations which are
interested to be involved in the school maintenance program must coordinate
with the Office of Undersecretary for Partnerships and External Linkages
(OUPEL), the ASP Secretariat or the DepEd ROs and SDOs, for guidance.
The principals or school heads shall take the lead role in planning the activities
geared on making schools disaster-prepared, ecologically conscious, clean and
conducive to learning. Further reminders for principals or school authorities to
ensure order in the conduct of the weeklong activity are indicated in Enclosure
No. 1.
During the Brigada Eskwela week, education key officials in the Central Office
will be monitoring the implementation of the program in schools within the
regions where the key officials shall be assigned.
All DepEd employees are encouraged to join the Brigada Eskwela activities by
offering their skills, sharing their time or providing their in-kind support to public
schools near their residence. Interested employees are given two days to do
volunteer work on official time, provided that such work is approved by their
heads of offices.
Brigada Eskwela accomplishment reports by SDOs will be submitted to the ASP
Secretariat through email address: brigadaeskwela.deped[at]gmail.com not later
than July 30, 2015. The sample official forms to be used in accomplishing the

2. reports are provided in Enclosure No. 2. Reports which shall be submitted after
July 30, 2015 shall no longer be accommodated by the ASP Secretariat.
Conferment of Brigada Eskwela Best Implementing Schools as national
awardees will be on November 26, 2015 at the Meralco Theatre, Meralco
Compound, Ortigas Avenue, Pasig City.
Expenses relative to the conduct of this week long activity shall be charged to
local funds, subject to the usual accounting and auditing rules and regulations.
Reminders for Principals or
School Heads in the
Implementation of Brigada
Eskwela
1. Teaching personnel are entitled to earn vacation service credits arising from
their active involvement in the weeklong Brigada Eskwela activity. A complete
six-day participation in the maintenance effort shall give teachers a three-day
service credit entitlement.
For further details on granting service credits to teachers, kindly refer to DepEd
Order No. 53 s. 2003 entitled Updated Guidelines on Grant of Vacation Service
Credits to Teachers, particularly item no.1.d sub-item k.
2. Brigada Eskwela espouses the spirit of volunteerism. Taking part in the school
repair and other maintenance work is not mandatory nor requisite for parents to
enable their children to be accommodated in the school.
3. No Brigada Eskwela fee shall be solicited from volunteers.
4. Brigada Eskwela volunteers and out-of-school youth from the community who
are aged 15 to 30 years old, have not yet finished basic or higher education and
are currently not in school or not employed, shall be enjoined to register with
Abot-Alam. An Abot-Alam registration desk shall be designated inside the school
for this purpose. Annex A contains the template of the registration form to be
used in administering registration in schools while Annex B contains brief profile

3. of Abot-Alam Program which can be reproduced and disseminated. The
accomplished registration form shall be turned-over to the ALS/Abot-Alam
Coordinator of the schools division, after the Brigada Eskwela week.
5. While the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) members are welcomed to
participate in Brigada Eskwela, carrying guns and fire arms must be prohibited
inside the school premises. Likewise, AFP members as volunteers shall be
advised to wear civilian or work clothes, as against to wearing military uniform,
during the school maintenance activity.
For further details on engagement of AFP members in school activities, please
refer to DepEd Memorandum No. 221 s. 2013 entitled “On Guidelines on the
Protection of Children During Armed Conflict.”
6. Since they will perform the key role in operationalizing this year’s Brigada
Eskwela theme,principals or school heads are expected to revisit or restudy the
following materials:
 School Safety and Preparedness Guide (Annex C of Enclosure No. 1)
 Stakeholder Engagement Strategy (Annex D of Enclosure No. 1)
 Kit’s Menu (Annex E of Enclosure No. 1)
7. Receving assistance or support from companies and other players in the
tobacco industry for Brigada Eskwela is not allowed, pursuant to DepEd Order
No. 6. S. 2012 entitled “Guidelines on the Adoption and Implementation of Public
Health Policies on Tobacco Control and Protection Against Tobacco Industry
Interference”.
DepEd School Calendar for
School Year (SY) 2015-2016
The School Calendar for School Year (SY) 2015-2016 shows the school events
and activities for the said SY. The core events and activities for this SY, which
represent the actual teaching-learning days, shall be strictly observed in all
schools.

4. Implementing Guidelines of
the School Year 2015-2016
Calendar of the School
Activities
The school year shall formally open on Monday, June 1, 2015 and shall end on
Friday, April 1, 2016. The school year shall consist of Two Hundred One (201)
class days. This is inclusive of the 5-day semestral break. The parent-teacher
conferences shall be held on the second or third Saturday after every quarterly
examination. The conference is intended to apprise the parents on the progress
of performance of their children and ensure parental involvement in school
activities. The last week of every quarter shall be the culmination of students’
outputs and performances in order to demonstrate attainment of performance
standards at all grades/year levels. To ensure quality in the school operation and
actual teaching-learning, a 180-day non-negotiable contact time for teachers, and
the physical presence of school heads is expected every school day, even during
attending official business, the 201 days shall be enforced.
As part of the opening rites, all schools are expected to conduct a general
assembly for the purpose of orienting stakeholders on the curriculum, co-
curricular programs and ancillary services lined up for the year in support of
learner development and continuous improvement of school outcomes.
Orientation shall be done the week before the first day to ensure that conduct of
classes is done from the first day of classes. For the secondary level, the general
orientation shall include a career exposure program for the Grades 7-10 students
to acquaint them with the various career pathways they can pursue. Meanwhile,
a career guidance program for Grades 9-70 students, shall be conducted

5. between July and November 2015 to help prepare the students for possible
careers or courses they wish to pursue after high school.
All elementary schools shall administer the Early Childhood Development (ECD)
Checklist for Kindergarten Children during the opening of classes, midyear and
end of school year and the School Readiness Year-End Assessment (SreYA) at
the end of the school year. The Philippine Informal Reading Inventory (Phil-IRI
assessment tools shall be administered to Grades 2-6 as classroom-based
assessment within the school year. The result will be used as basis for planning
and formulating appropriate interventions for children. Meanwhile, all secondary
schools shall perform a diagnostic assessment on the readiness for learning of
Grade 7 students in order to prepare developmentally-appropriate intervention
programs.
At the end of the Second Quarter, a midterm break shall be observed to evaluate
individual teachers and their collective performance, as well as to conduct the In-
Service Training (INSET) activities in support of the continuing professional
development.
The Christmas break shall begin on Saturday, December 19, 2015. Classes shall
resume on Monday, January 4, 2016.
To assure quality of the pupil’s/student’s learning, formative assessments shall
be regularly conducted by the teachers. On the national level, the National
Education Testing and Research Center (NETRC) shall administer the National
Career Assessment Examination (NCAE), theLanguage Assessment for Primary
Grades (LAPG) and the National Achievement Test (NAT). The NCAE shall be
conducted to assess the aptitude and interests of high school students planning
to proceed to post secondary course and other career options and to provide
them with relevant information on their skills, abilities, and readiness for
academic and non-academic courses which help them make wise career
decisions. On the other hand, the LAPG shall be conducted to measure the

6. literacy skills of the pupils in Mother Tongue, Filipino and English, and the NAT
shall be conducted to measure what pupils/students in Grade VI and Grade 10
know and can do in five core subject areas (Science, Mathematics, English,
Filipino, and HeKaSi/Araling Panlipunan) and to assess the attainment of the
21st century skills in varying levels of complexity.
The summer classes shall begin on Monday, April 11, 2016 and end on
Saturday, May 21, 2016 which is the last day for the final examination. The
summer classes shall consist of 3-hour daily sessions per subject area from
Monday to Saturday for 36 days.
In preparationfor the openingof
classes for SY 2016-2017,the schools
shall conduct the followingactivities:
 Early registration on Saturday, January 30, 2016 of pupils/students in the
schools where they wish to study;
 Brigada Eskwela from May 16 to 21, 2016 to enable the community and the
school to prepare their facilities; and
 In-Service (INSET) activities for teachers a week before the opening of
classes.
Conferences and training programs, which are conducted or sponsored by the
Department, shall be conducted during the summer break as part of its capacity-
building program.
Calendar for School Year
2015-2016

9. Activity/School Celebration
Mandated by Law
Month Activity
May 2015 PalarongPambansa
National SchoolsMaintenance Week(Brigada Eskwela)
Stakeholders'OrientationonKto 12 / Basic EnhancedEducationCurriculum
INSET/PlanningWeek
National FlagDayCelebration(May28)
June Openingof Classes
Commemorationof the PhilippineIndependence DayCelebration
WorldEnvironmentDay(June 12)
Safe KidsWeek
PNOY1B TreesProject(Saturday)
PambansangGawadsa Ulirang Kabataan
(National LevelCompetition)
NationwideSearchforthe OutstandingW.A.T.C.HSchools
(National LevelCompetition)
Commemorationof the BirthAnniversaryof Galicano Apacible(June 25)
Commemorationof the HistoricSiege of BalerandPhilippine-SpanishFriendshipDay(June 30)
July CareerGuidance Week
National NutritionMonth
National DisasterandPreparednessMonth
National DisabilityPreventionandRehabilitation Week
Science andTechnologyWeek
SavingsCreditConsciousnessWeek
Eid'l Fitr (Legal Holiday) (Tentative)
PNOY1B TreesProject(Saturday)
Commemorationof the BirthAnniversaryof ApolinarioDelaCruz(HermanoPuli) (July22)
Commemorationof the BirthAnniversaryof ApolinarioMabini (July23)
August International IndigenousPeoplesDay
HistoryMOnth

10. Month Activity
Commemorationof the BirthAnniversaryof PresidentManuel L.Quezon(August19)
1st Quarter Examinations
ASEAN Day
SightSavingMonth
Buwanng WikangPambansa
White Cane SafetyDay
International YouthDay
NinoyAquinoDay(Special Non-WorkingHoliday)
Commemorationof the National HeroesDay(August25)
National HeroesDay(RegularHoliday)
National CareerAssessmentExamination
PNOY1B TreesProject(Saturday)
September National TeachersMonth(September5- October5)
National Crime PreventionWeek(September1-7)
Commemorationof the Openingof MalolosCongress(September15)
Commemorationof the Anniversaryof the Declarationof Martial Law (September23)
Commemorationof the BirthAnniversaryof Gen.Miguel Malvar(September27)
CleanandGreenMonth
LiteracyMonth
Science andMath Week
Linggong KasuotangFilipino
HistoryWeek
International Dayof Peace
Eid'l Adha(Legal Holiday) (Tentative)
PNOY1B TressProject(Saturday)
FamilyWeek
October National IndigenousPeopleMonth
ConsumerWelfare Month
ElderlyFilipinoWeek(October1-7)
Commemorationof the Leyte Gulf Landing(October20)
Children'sMonth
CleanandGreenMonth
ScoutingMonth
Weekof the Elderly
Global HandwashingDay

11. Month Activity
National HealthEducationWeek
National LeadershipTrainingforStudentGovernmentOfficers(Saturday&Sunday)
JuvenileJustice andWelfareConsciousnessWeek
2nd Quarter Examinations
National Level Science andMathFair (SecondaryLevel)
Mid-YearAssessmentandINSET/Semestral Break(ForStudentsOnly)
PNOY1B TreesProject(Saturday)
November National Observance of Deaf AwarenessWeek(November10-16)
National ReadingMonth
FilipinoValuesMonth
Malaria AwarenessMonth
Philippine Educational PlacementTest(PEPT)
Drug Abuse PreventionandControl Week
National YouthDay
PNOY1B TreesProject(Saturday)
Natioal MusicCompetitionforYoungArtists
(National LevelCompetition)
National Weekforthe GiftedandTalented
National CleanMonth/National Environmental AwarenessMonth
Arawng Pagbasa (November27)
Commemorationof the BirthAnniversaryof AndressBonifacio(November30)
December National Children'sDayof Broadcasting
Linggong Kabataan
WorldAIDS Day
EducationWeek
Human RightsWeek
International Dayof PersonswithDisabilities
Historical,Cultural,andArtsFestival of Excellence (RNFE)
(National LevelCompetition)
PNOY1B TreesProject(Saturday)
Commemorationof the Anniversaryof the Martyrdomof Dr. Jose Rizal (December30)
January2016 National CancerConsciousnessWeek
AutismConsciousnessWeek
BreastCancer ConsciousnessWeek

12. Month Activity
3rd QuarterExaminations
Early RegistrationDay(Saturday)
PNOY1B TreesProject(Saturday)
Commemorationof the Anniversaryof the Inaugurationof the FirstPhilippine Republic(January
23)
February National Dental/Oral HealthMonth
AdoptionConsciousnessCelebration(February7)
National AwarenessWeekforthe Preventionof ChildSexual AbuseandExploitation(February10-
14)
Commemorationof the Anniversaryof the Martyrdomof GOMBURZA (February17)
Commemorationof the EDSA People PowerRevolution(February22-25)
Philippine ArtsMonth
PremyoRizal WritingContests
National ChildrenwithIntellectualDisabilitiesWeek
Bantay PusoWeek
LeprosyPreventionWeek
PNOY1B TreesProject(Saturday)
March Commemorationof the BirthAnniversaryof PacianoRizal (March9)
National AchievementTest(Grades6and 10)
Language AssessmentforPrimaryGrades(Grade 3)
Women'sMonth
Fire PreventionMonth
Global Peace Festival
CareerGuidance Week
Girl ChildWeek
Maundy Thursday
Good Friday
GraduationCeremonies
PNOY1B TreesProject(Saturday)
April Commemorationof the BirthAnniversaryof Francisco"Balagtas"Baltazar(April 2)
National DisabilityWeek
National Children'sBookWeek
National Festivalof Talents
National SchoolsPressConference

13. Month Activity
Commemorationof the Araw ngKagitinganandPhilippineVeteransWeek(April5-11)
Start of SummerClasses
May PalarongPambansa
Labor Day (RegularHoliday)
End of SummerClasses
Final Examinations(SummerClasses)
National FlagDayCelebration(May28)
DepEd School Calendar for
School Year (SY) 2015-2016
The School Calendar for School Year (SY) 2015-2016 shows the
school events and activities for the said SY. The core events and
activities for this SY, which represent the actual teaching-learning
days, shall be strictly observed in all schools.
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