Red Ribbon – one of the leading bakeshop chains in the Philippines – together with Apl.De.Ap Foundation (ADAF) recently turned over a two-storey classroom building to Talon-Talon Elementary School in Zamboanga City to help bring the youth back to schools.
The ADAF is a non-government organization founded by Allan Pineda (aka Apl.De.Ap) of the Grammy Award-winning group Black Eyed Peas. Pineda attended the turnover ceremony along with a few representatives from Red Ribbon and Habitat for Humanity.
A total of 14 classrooms were built inside the school’s premises; these classrooms are to be occupied by new elementary school pupils on top of its existing 64 students.
The first seven new classrooms are set for the use of SPED Gifted and Talented classes starting from kindergarten to grade six, with one advisory class per grade level. Twenty eight students that need SPED are expected to occupy each of these classrooms.
The eighth classroom will be used by the 41 students who fall under its SPED Non-Graded category, seated as one class and under the responsibility of three SPED teachers. The remaining six classrooms are intended for the use of third graders, each accommodating 53 students.
According to Zinnia Rivera, general manager of Red Ribbon, it was timely for Talon-Talon Elementary School to receive these new classrooms since the number of its students spiked from 6,169 in SY 2014-2015 to 6,412 this SY.