Every month is busy in it’s own way, and February has seen a lot of progress behind the scenes in what we need to run effectively.

The biggest news is that the Fairplay School is now officially recognised by the Department of Education. The Fairplay School is registered as an Alternative Learning Center, meaning out of school children can study with us in a more flexible way and join the exams for an Elementary or High School diploma when they’re ready. It means that the kids have a formal track in their learning with us and can go as far as they want with us, and switch to the public school system if they choose to later on. Most importantly it means we can focus on the emotional, social, and physical health of our students for as long as necessary, de-prioritising immediate academic gains as we know in the long-run the kids will catch up if their self-esteem, confidence, and emotional intelligence is built up first.

We also set down the measurements we will track with each of our full-time kids. More will be said at a future time on this, in how we measure these and why. In the meantime you can check out the latest video on the School here to see more: www.youtube.com/watch?v=mY0OzcdcteI

Sports Center

In February we also put a lot of effort into preparing the Coaching Sessions and laying the foundation for Season 2 of the Metro Manila Futsal League. Last year we founded the League with Dream Big Pilipinas and Gawad Kalinga. Heading into Season 2 we will have U12, U14, and U16 divisions. For Payatas FC it means that our older kids will be coaching younger teams in the league and developing as coaches with the players.

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Other good news includes two of our girls were part of the U15 Women’s Tryouts. One of our players, Althea, has been selected as part of the initial training pool for the U15 Girls National Team. Althea has developed immensely and holds her own against University players having played as part of the team who finished 3rd out of 16 teams in the 3v3 Pinay in Action Cup and in a friendly game against the University of the Philippines Women’s Varsity Team.

Her older sister, Regine, was part of the U14 and U16 National Youth Teams in the last two years. Althea now joins the training sessions in Manila twice per week before the first selection of the 30 players to join the training camp. Althea will be featured in the Faces of Payatas in a week’s time, so look out for that with more of an update!

Social Enterprise

In social enterprise, the Fairplay Café continues to grow with possibilities. The Fairplay Café had three major events this month, with catering for a Guest’s Birthday Celebration, sales at the RIFA Cup at the British School of Manila, and also at Manila Transitio in Intramuros.

The Fairplay Café is now ready to cater to offices and events throughout Metro Manila. So if you’re interested in hiring the Fairplay Café for healthier and more affordable food for your event, sporting clinic, and office then let us know!

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