Executive Council
A.Y. 2013-2014
Manne Andrew Lumba
President
Marianne Denise Chavez
Deputy
President/Membership
Committee Head
Amanda Gabriel Andres
Secretary
Aila Joy Royo
Treasurer/ Finance
Committee Head
Abbie Antaran
Auditor and Property
Custodian
Marion Michael Bacabac
Public Relations Officer
Maurene Bombay
Academic Committee Head
Josephine Marie Caca
Publications Committee
Head
Marianne Joy Reyes
Kimberly Clarisse Deri
General Welfare Committee
Heads
Prof. Arlene Llamado
Junior Adviser
Prof. Victor Ticzon
Senior Adviser
27 December 2013
DR. DIOSDADO M. SAN ANTONIO
OIC, Office of the Regional Director
Department of Education Region IV-CALABARZON
Gate 2, Karangalan Village, Cainta, Rizal
Dr. San Antonio:
PHILOBIOSCIENTIA- the UPLB Life Sciences Society is a duly recognized
academic organization at the Institute of Biological Sciences existing for 29
years. We shall be holding the 8th BIO BLAST 2014: A CALBARZON InterHigh School Essay Writing, Poster-Making, and Quiz Contest in accordance
to UNESCO’s International Year of Crystallography on February 8, 2014
(Saturday) at the IBS Main Lecture Hall, Institute of Biological Sciences,
UPLB and SEARCA (Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and
Research in Agriculture) premises. This contest aims to promote academic
excellence and to search for outstanding high school students in the field of
Biology from CALABARZON.
This event is in line with the organization’s commitment in collecting,
disseminating and updating basic knowledge in the field of Biology. Moreover,
this event will foster interaction among high school students from all over
Region IV-A.
In this regard, we would like to request your good office to endorse the said
event by sending regional and/or division memoranda to the schools involved.
Attached herewith are the contest mechanics and guidelines. Please feel free to
contact Maurene Bombay at 0917 486 5234 or email us at
philobioscientia2013@gmail.com.
We are hoping for your most favorable response. Thank you.
Respectfully yours,
Maurene Bombay
Academic Committee
Head and BIOBLAST
Activity Head
Manne Andrew Lumba
President
Recommending
Approval:
Prof. Victor Ticzon
Senior Adviser
BIOBLAST 2014:
CALABARZON INTER-HIGH SCHOOL ESSAY WRITING, POSTER-MAKING, AND
QUIZ CONTEST
I.
Qualification and Registration
A. The contest is open to all schools within CALABARZON (Cavite, Laguna, Batangas,
Rizal, and Quezon).
B. All participating students should be currently taking or have already taken Biology.
C. The BIO BLAST 2014 is composed of the following events and their corresponding
points in determining the over-all winners:
Essay Writing Contest
Poster Making Contest
Biology Quiz Contest
1st place
100
100
200
2nd place
70
70
125
3rd place
50
50
75
Participant
20
20
50
D. All participating schools are recommended to have representatives for all events.
E. A completely filled-up registration form together with a registration fee of two hundred
pesos (P200), quiz bowl; one hundred fifty pesos (P150), poster-making; and one
hundred fifty pesos (P150), essay writing must be submitted on the day of the quiz
contest within the registration period. If the school will participate to all the events, the
registration fee will only be four hundred pesos (P400).
F. The registration will be held on February 8, 2014 (Saturday) at the Wing C Lobby of the
Institute of Biological Sciences Building, UPLB from 7:30-8:30 AM.
G. All invited schools should contact Maurene Bombay (0917 486 5234 or
bioblast2014@gmail.com) until February 4, 2014 to make a confirmation of joining or
not joining the contest.
II. Contest Schedule
The contest proper will be held on February 8, 2014 (Saturday) 7:30AM –
4:00PM. The program schedule is as follows:
7:30-8:30AM – Registration
8:30-9:00AM – National Anthem
Invocation
Welcome/ Opening Remarks
Presentation of Participating Schools
9:00 – 11:30AM – Poster-making and Essay Writing
Presentation of Judges
Rules and Regulations
Contest Proper
11:30AM – 1:00PM – LUNCH BREAK
1:00PM – 3:30PM – Quiz Contest
3:30PM – 4:00PM – Awarding of Judges, Participating Schools and Winners
Closing Remarks
III. Mechanics
A. Poster-Making Contest
Each school is encouraged to have an individual representative for this event.
The poster is limited to the media paintings and drawings. Each school would be
provided with a ¼ illustration board as their canvas. Each participant is required to bring
his/her own drawing materials. Oil pastels, colored pencils, pencils, watercolor, inks and
markers are the only coloring materials allowed to be used. The theme for the contest will
be announced during the contest.
Each entry must be an original in concept, design, and execution and should not
violate any Philippine copyright laws. Entries will be judged by a panel of judges coming
from the faculty of the Institute of Biological Sciences and Department of Humanities in
UPLB.
The criteria for judging are:
Coherence of Message and Visuals
Originality
Creativity
40%
30%
30%
100%
B. Essay Writing Contest
Each school is encouraged to have an individual representative for this event.
The essay must be original, not previously published in print or online, handwritten and
shall be within 500 to 1,000 words in English. The theme for the contest will be
announced during the contest proper. Entries will be judged by a panel of judges coming
from the faculty of the Institute of Biological Sciences, Department of Humanities and
Department of Developmental Communications in UPLB.
The criteria for judging are:
Originality
Writing Style, composition and organization
Relevance
30%
35%
35%
100%
C. Biology Quiz Contest
Each participating school should have three (3) representatives for this event. The
contest shall cover all discussed topics in high school biology specifically on the
following topics: General Biology, Cell Biology, Genetics, Evolution, Systematics and
Taxonomy, Microbiology, Botany, Zoology and Ecology.
The quiz contest shall consist of three (3) rounds: easy, average and difficult.
There will be ten (10) questions each for the easy and average rounds. The top ten (10)
scoring schools after the average round shall qualify in the difficult round. There will be
fifteen (15) questions for the difficult round. All scores of the top ten qualifying schools
for the difficult round shall go back to zero at the start of the said round.
Questions will be read twice by the quizmaster and will be flashed on an LCD
projector. All answers shall be written on the official answer sheets provided to the
contestants, upon signal from the quizmaster. All teams shall be given ten (10) seconds to
answer each question right after the quizmaster’s signal. All answer sheets shall be
handed to their respective proctors at the end of the allotted 10-second answering time.
Late papers shall not be considered.
Scoring shall be based on the following point system:
Easy
Average
Correct Answer
2
3
Incorrect Answer
-1
-2
No Answer
0
-1
Difficult
5
-3
-2
The three top-scoring teams in the final phase shall be declared champion, first
(1st) runner-up and second (2nd) runner up.
Ties shall be resolved by a clincher round. Five (5) questions shall be asked. The
school garnering the most number of correct answers shall be declared the winner.
D. Over-all Rankings
The final rankings shall be determined based on the total points garnered by each
team that participated in the events. The three top-scoring schools shall be declared as the
BIOBLAST 2012 Over-all Champion, 1st runner-up and 2nd runner-up.
IV. Prizes
A. Poster-Making and Essay Writing Contest
All participating schools shall be given a certificate of participation. The
champion shall receive one thousand pesos (P1,000.00), a glass medal and a certificate.
The participants winning second place shall receive seven hundred fifty pesos (P750.00),
a glass medal and a certificate. The participants winning the third place shall receive five
hundred pesos (P500.00), a glass medal and a certificate.
B. Quiz Contest
All participating schools shall be given a certificate of participation. The 1 st
placers shall receive three thousand pesos (P3,000.00), glass medals, and certificates. The
team winning second place shall receive two thousand pesos (P2,000.00), glass medals
and certificates. The team winning the third place shall receive one thousand pesos
(P1,000.00), glass medals and certificates.
C. Over-all Winners
The over-all champion shall receive the BIOBLAST perpetual trophy while the
first runner-up and the second runner-up shall each receive a glass plaque.
V. Other Important Reminders:
1. Members of the participating schools are final and cannot be changed during the
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
contest proper.
The participating schools may send at most two (2) coaches/trainers.
The registration shall be closed at 8:30AM. Any participating schools without
justifiable reasons that will come beyond 8:30AM will not be entertained and
allowed to join the contest.
All participants are advised to wear their school uniforms at the day of the contest.
Any form of cheating in the contest shall be a ground for disqualification.
During the quiz contest, complaints or clarifications shall only be entertained after
the quizmaster has read the answer. The board of judges shall resolve all conflicts.
The decision of the board of judges is final.
Any addition to or revision of these rules shall be announced prior to the contest
proper.