The Opening Block is the first phase of Term 1 under the three-term school calendar of DepEd Order No. 009, s. 2026. It lasts four to five class days in the order’s general model, and in School Year (SY) 2026-2027 it ran four: Monday, June 8, to Thursday, June 11, 2026, before the Instructional Block opened on June 15. DO 009 dedicates it to beginning-of-school-year (BOSY) activities: orientation of learners and parents, the BOSY assessments, the first mandatory health assessments and screening, and the data a new school year needs, such as language mapping and school forms (para. 12). Terms 2 and 3 have no Opening Block.
Four days cannot hold all of that, and the order does not ask them to. The health assessment that starts in the block ran until July 3, 2026, and the testing window for the Comprehensive Rapid Literacy Assessment (CRLA), the Philippine Informal Reading Inventory (Phil-IRI) and the Rapid Mathematics Assessment (RMA) until July 10 (Annex B). Other issuances hang their own start-of-year duties on the block: the parents’ orientation on the Learning and Service Continuity Plan (LSCP) “shall be conducted during the Opening Block” under DepEd Order No. 014, s. 2026 (para. 39), and the school health memorandum for SY 2026-2027, issued in September, lists the four health tasks of the block and who does them. DepEd’s Learning Systems Strand also published four guides with sample activities, one for each key stage, and a checklist for school heads.
The blocks of every term are explained in the three-term calendar guide. The first weeks of Term 1 carry more start-of-year duties than any other stretch of the year: what must happen, what may happen, what waits, and how a school head plans it. The work touches several strands of the Philippine Professional Standards for School Heads (PPSSH): program implementation (1.5), learning assessment (3.5), the learning environment (3.6), and communication with parents (5.4).
Key findings
- The Opening Block belongs to Term 1 only and ran four class days in SY 2026-2027, June 8 to 11, 2026. The general model allows four to five days; Terms 2 and 3 open directly with an Instructional Block (DO 009, s. 2026, paras. 8.d, 8.e and 11; Figure 2; Annex B).
- DO 009 dedicates the block to four things: orientation of learners and parents, BOSY assessments, initial mandatory health assessments and learner screening, and the collection and submission of required data. Health assessments and screening may run past the block (para. 12).
- The beginning-of-year reading and mathematics tests are set by the ARAL rules, not the grading order. Schools give the CRLA in Grades 1 to 3, the Phil-IRI in Grades 4 to 10 and the RMA in Grades 1 to 10 “during the first two (2) weeks up to one (1) month” of the school year (DepEd Order No. 018, s. 2025, items 35, 36 and 47). Numerical grades come only from written works, performance tasks and examinations, and formative results “shall not be used for grade computation” (DepEd Order No. 015, s. 2026, paras. 15 and 19).
- Several orientations have a fixed time. The parents’ orientation on the LSCP is held during the Opening Block (DO 014, s. 2026, para. 39); information on the school health services is given “during the Learners’ and Parents’ Orientation” (DepEd Memorandum No. 059, s. 2026, item 3.b.i); the anti-bullying policy is discussed “during the opening of the school year at the parents’ and learners’ orientation” (revised IRR of Republic Act No. 10627, the Anti-Bullying Act of 2013, Sec. 7); and award criteria reach learners and parents “during the opening period or not later than the end of Term 1” (DO 015, s. 2026, Annex H).
- The health work of the block is four tasks, finished by July 3, 2026: information on the services, parents’ consent, the baseline nutritional assessment, and the master list. The health assessment and the baseline need no consent; deworming, supplementation and immunization do. Health personnel’s assessments and commodity-based services may start from July 13, and mental health screening from August 10 in qualified schools (DM 059, s. 2026, item 3; Encl. No. 1).
- DepEd’s day-by-day activities are suggestions. DO 009 offers its Annex A tables as “a list of suggested activities”, and the four guides from DepEd’s Learning Systems Strand are support materials. Their activities follow the Intentions, Learning Experience, Assessing Learning and Ways Forward form of DepEd Order No. 016, s. 2026 and put its Learning Design Principles into practice (para. 7; Table 1).
- In senior high school, career guidance runs through the year, “Particularly for incoming Grade 11 and enrolled SSHS learners who may need additional support in finalizing their Elective choices” (DepEd Order No. 017, s. 2026, para. 27.b). Track shifting is allowed only in Grade 12, with the school head’s approval (para. 26.c).
What the Opening Block is and how long it lasts
DO 009 defines the Opening Block as “the initial phase of Term 1, covering beginning-of-school-year (BOSY) activities, including assessments, health checks, and orientation programs for learners and parents” (para. 8.d). A term is “composed of an Opening Block (applicable only to Term 1), Instructional Block, and End-of-Term Block” (para. 8.e). The order’s term structure gives the Opening Block four to five days, against 61 to 62 days for each Instructional Block and 8 to 10 days for each End-of-Term Block (Figure 2).
In SY 2026-2027 the block ran four class days, Monday, June 8, to Thursday, June 11, 2026. Friday, June 12 was Independence Day, a regular holiday, and the Instructional Block began on Monday, June 15 (Annex B). The four days are class days: they count among Term 1’s 69 class days and the year’s 201 (Annex B summary table). The Annex B entry for June 8 to 11 reads: Opening Block and start of Term 1; start of the mandatory learners’ health assessment, the learners’ and parents’ orientation, and other activities; start of the testing window for BOSY assessments; and gathering and submission of data for the new school year, such as the class program and school forms.
Annex A of DO 009 states the purpose. Schools “shall implement developmentally appropriate activities during the Opening Block to support a smooth and effective transition into formal instruction in Term 1. These activities shall establish learner readiness, generate baseline data, and introduce foundational routines, expectations, and competencies necessary for successful engagement in the Instructional Block.” The block should also “strengthen classroom organization, orient learners to school protocols and culture, and provide teachers with critical information to inform instructional planning and support.”
Who it covers. DO 009 binds all public elementary and secondary schools and community learning centers (para. 5); private schools may adopt it (para. 6). Alternative Learning System (ALS) intervention classes open on the same day as formal schools, with pacing guided by each learner’s Individual Learning Agreement and pre-assessments, and follow the three-term calendar “where applicable” (para. 36).
Later school years. DO 009’s dates cover SY 2026-2027 only. Before each school year, DepEd issues a memorandum with the schedule of each term and of school activities (para. 7), so the Opening Block for SY 2027-2028 will be dated there.
The first five weeks of Term 1, SY 2026-2027
Several things that start in the Opening Block finish weeks later. The dates below come from DO 009’s calendar and the issuances that set each activity.
| Date (2026) | What happens | Source |
|---|---|---|
| June 1 to 5 | Brigada Eskwela and enrollment | DO 009, Annex B |
| June 8 to 11 | Opening Block; learners’ and parents’ orientation; health assessment, BOSY testing window and data gathering begin | DO 009, Annex B |
| First week of classes | LIS encoding of enrollment data begins; the annual report on bullying cases goes to the Schools Division Office (SDO) | DepEd Order No. 017, s. 2025, Sec. IX.A.b; DepEd Order No. 006, s. 2026, Sec. VII.A.2(d) |
| First two weeks of classes | Collaborative expertise sessions on BOSY results; the Language Identification Tool in Kindergarten to Grade 3 classes that need it | DO 018, s. 2025, item 48; DepEd Order No. 035, s. 2025, para. 20 |
| June 15 | Instructional Block begins | DO 009, Annex B |
| June 22 to 26 | Philippine Early Childhood Development (Phil ECD) Checklist, Kindergarten | DO 009, Annex B |
| July 3 | Initial mandatory health assessment ends | DO 009, Annex B; DM 059, s. 2026, item 3.b |
| July 6 | First teacher-made summative test of Term 1 | DO 009, Annex B |
| By July 8 | PTA general assembly and elections, within 30 calendar days from the first day of classes | DepEd Order No. 013, s. 2022, Secs. 10.4.1 and 10.4.2 |
| By July 8 | ARAL readiness audit (BOSY), within one month from the start of classes | DepEd Memorandum No. 056, s. 2025, Encl., item 11 |
| July 10 | BOSY testing window for the CRLA, RMA and Phil-IRI closes | DO 009, Annex B |
| July 13 onward | Health personnel’s assessments and commodity-based services (deworming, supplementation, immunization) may start | DM 059, s. 2026, items 3.c and 3.d |
| July 13 to 17 | Multi-Factored Assessment Tool (MFAT), Grade 1 | DO 009, Annex B |
| July 28 | Second summative test; the last day to enroll late under the second-test rule (the 80% rule runs a little longer) | DO 009, para. 34; Annex B |
| August 10 | Universal mental health and psychosocial screening may start in qualified schools | DM 059, s. 2026, item 3.c |
The two “By July 8” dates are counted from June 8: 30 calendar days for the PTA, and one month for the audit.
The first summative test fell on the 16th day of the Instructional Block. DO 015 times it “around the 16th instructional day” and has it cover “the first fifteen (15) instructional days of the term” (para. 26). Counting from June 15, July 6 is exactly the 16th class day, so the Opening Block’s four days were not among the days the test covered. DO 015 does not say how the Opening Block is counted; the SY 2026-2027 dates line up with counting from the first day of the Instructional Block.
Do Terms 2 and 3 have an Opening Block?
No. DO 009 gives the Opening Block to Term 1 only (paras. 8.e and 11). Term 2 opened on September 16, 2026 and Term 3 opens on January 4, 2027, each with its Instructional Block on the first day (Annex B). The order handles the restart differently: each term ends with a learners’ wellness break that supports “renewed engagement in the succeeding term” (para. 23), with guided asynchronous activities on what learners did in the term.
A few duties do come back at the start of each later term:
- The LSCP is updated every term (DO 014, s. 2026, para. 25).
- The health master list is updated by the end of each term, with deadlines of December 18, 2026 and April 5, 2027 (DM 059, s. 2026, item 14 and Table 1).
- Assessments resume early in the term. The middle-of-school-year (MOSY) window ran from September 21 to October 23, 2026, and the end-of-school-year (EOSY) window runs from February 1 to March 12, 2027 (DO 009, Annex B).
- ARAL-Mathematics starts in Term 2. Schools roll it out from Term 2 or once they are ready (DepEd Memorandum No. 060, s. 2026, item 2).
- Deworming and iron and folic acid supplementation have a second round in January (DM 059, s. 2026, Encl. No. 1, Part B, item 4).
- Senior high school academic electives change by term. An academic elective runs 80 or 160 hours in one term, while Grade 11 Tech-Pro electives run the whole year (DO 017, s. 2026, Table 3), so new academic elective classes begin in Terms 2 and 3.
No issuance sets an opening phase for Terms 2 and 3. A teacher may still open a new elective, or the first week of a term, with a short orientation inside regular lessons. The Key Stage 1 guide suggests revisiting Opening Block outputs “midway through or at the end of the term”, and the Key Stage 3 letters are opened at the end of the term or the year.
What DO 009 requires in the Opening Block, and what waits
Paragraph 12 is the rule:
The Opening Block at the start of Term 1 shall be dedicated to beginning-of-school-year (BOSY) activities. These include orientation sessions for learners and parents, administration of BOSY assessments, conduct of initial mandatory health assessments and learner screening, and the collection and submission of required data (e.g., language mapping, school forms). Health assessments and screening may extend beyond the Opening Block in consideration of resources that are only available outside the school.
Each of the four parts has its own governing issuance:
| What DO 009 requires (para. 12) | What it means in practice | Governing issuance | Runs until (SY 2026-2027) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Orientation sessions for learners and parents | School routines and protocols, the LSCP, school health services and consent, the anti-bullying policy, grading and award criteria | DO 009, Annex A; DO 014, s. 2026, para. 39; DM 059, s. 2026; revised IRR of RA 10627, Sec. 7; DO 015, s. 2026, Annex H | Parents’ LSCP orientation in the block; award criteria by the end of Term 1 |
| Administration of BOSY assessments | CRLA (Grades 1 to 3), Phil-IRI (Grades 4 to 10), RMA (Grades 1 to 10) | DO 018, s. 2025, items 35, 36 and 47; DO 009, Annex B | July 10 |
| Initial mandatory health assessments and learner screening | Information on the services, parents’ consent, baseline nutritional assessment, master list | DM 059, s. 2026, item 3.b and Encl. No. 1 | July 3 |
| Collection and submission of required data | Language mapping in Kindergarten to Grade 3, enrollment data in the Learner Information System (LIS), class programs and school forms | DO 035, s. 2025; DO 017, s. 2025, Sec. IX.A.b; DO 009, Annex B | First two weeks for language mapping |
Lessons in the Opening Block
The Opening Block is not a block without teaching. DO 009’s own sample lists include “Mini-Lessons”, “Guided Practice Activities” and “Introduction to Structured Learning” for Key Stage 1, and “Learning Area Orientation by Learning Area Teachers” and “Presentation of Lesson Outline for the Year” for Key Stages 2 to 4 (Annex A, Tables 1 and 2). The block prepares learners for formal instruction; the Instructional Block is where the term’s competencies are taught and tested.
What waits for other blocks
DO 009 and the issuances under it place these activities elsewhere:
| Activity | Where it goes | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Contests, eliminations and other Central Office-initiated activities | End-of-Term Block | DO 009, para. 18 |
| School-based co-curricular activities and rehearsals | After class hours in the Instructional Block, or in the End-of-Term Block | DO 009, Annex A |
| Legislated celebrations (in June, for example, National Dengue Awareness Month) | Integrated into lessons, “strictly within the classroom” | DO 009, para. 20.i; Annex D |
| INSET for teachers | End-of-Term Block, 16 hours per term | DO 009, para. 21; Annex A |
| Health personnel’s head-to-toe and oral health assessments | From July 13, 2026, in the Instructional and End-of-Term Blocks | DM 059, s. 2026, item 3.c |
| Deworming, supplementation, immunization | From July 13, 2026 | DM 059, s. 2026, item 3.d |
| Universal mental health and psychosocial screening | August 10 to December 14, 2026, in qualified schools | DM 059, s. 2026, item 3.c |
| ARAL sessions | After classes in the Instructional Block, once learners are identified and grouped; also in End-of-Term Blocks | DO 009, paras. 13 and 33; Joint Memorandum on Implementation Support Arrangements for the ARAL Program for SY 2026-2027, August 28, 2026, items 1 and 2 |
| Summative tests | Instructional Block; first test July 6, 2026 | DO 009, para. 27; Annex B |
Two of these allow exceptions. Schools with their own health staff or capable local partners “are not precluded” from starting the health assessments in the Opening Block (DM 059, Encl. No. 1, note 2), and teachers trained in vision screening may screen during the Opening Block (Encl. No. 1, Part C, item 6).
What the school does before and around the block
Brigada Eskwela ran from June 1 to 5, 2026 under DepEd Memorandum No. 027, s. 2026, and the Brigada Eskwela guide covers it. DepEd Memorandum No. 035, s. 2026 describes the Opening Block as including “learner readiness checks, school organization, campus preparation, and transition activities necessary prior to the commencement of uninterrupted classroom instruction during the Instructional Block” (para. 2). It allowed beneficiaries of the Department of Labor and Employment’s TUPAD program to be deployed to identified schools, with priority possible for mega, extremely large and very large schools and for schools in underserved, geographically isolated or disaster-affected areas (para. 7), during Brigada Eskwela and the Opening Block’s preparatory activities, for no more than ten days unless the implementing agencies authorize more (para. 13). They may do only non-instructional, non-hazardous and non-technical work such as cleaning, hauling furniture and repainting (para. 14), and they report to the school head, who keeps their attendance and accomplishment records (para. 16). School heads take no part in selecting the beneficiaries (para. 12).
Beginning-of-year assessments: which ones, and under which issuance
What DO 015 says, and what it does not
DO 015, s. 2026, the grading order, does not prescribe a beginning-of-year diagnostic test. Its rules shape how BOSY results are used:
- Assessment starts before instruction. “Teachers shall integrate assessment before, during, and after instruction” (para. 14).
- Formative results are not grades. “Formative assessment shall be used to monitor learning progress but shall not be used for grade computation” (para. 15). Numerical grades (Grades 2 to 12 in SY 2026-2027) come only from written works, performance tasks and examinations (para. 19; Table 12).
- Diagnostic checkpoints are low stakes. A checkpoint assessment is “A non-high-stakes diagnostic assessment administered at key stage transition points to determine learners’ readiness and inform instructional support; it is not used as a basis for promotion decisions” (para. 7.c). A Grade 3 checkpoint “may be administered” to identify learners who need support (para. 66).
- For Key Stage 1, the BOSY tools are evidence. In the descriptive grading cycle, “Early intervention checkpoints can also be analyzed, such as the Comprehensive Rapid Literacy Assessment (CRLA), Rapid Mathematics Assessment (RMA), First Summative Test (ST1), etc.” (Annex C, item 3.a).
- Remediation starts early. “Remedial interventions shall begin as early as Week 5 following the first ST”, through classroom interventions, ARAL or other school strategies (para. 68). Counting the Instructional Block’s weeks from June 15, Week 5 began on July 13, 2026.
The guide to DO 015, s. 2026 covers its weights and transmutation.
The tests the ARAL rules prescribe
The BOSY reading and mathematics tests come from DO 018, s. 2025, the ARAL implementing guidelines. The program “shall begin by identifying learners” in three ways: tagging in the LIS learners returning from a furlough, giving “CRLA/Phil-IRI for Reading, RMA for Mathematics, and/or other assessment tools … at the start of the school year”, and using teachers’ classroom assessments to find learners failing tests (item 35).
| Tool | Grades | Duration of administration | Profiles below the minimum proficiency level (DO 018, item 39) | Rules |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Comprehensive Rapid Literacy Assessment (CRLA) | 1 to 3 | 8 to 15 minutes | Emerging, Developing, Transitioning | DO 018, s. 2025; DepEd Memorandum No. 064, s. 2025, Encl. 2 |
| Philippine Informal Reading Inventory (Phil-IRI) | 4 to 10 | 10 to 15 minutes | Frustration, Instructional | DepEd Order No. 14, s. 2018; DM 064, s. 2025, Encl. 3 |
| Rapid Mathematics Assessment (RMA) | 1 to 10 | 10 to 15 minutes (Grades 1 to 3); 30 minutes (Grades 4 to 10) | Not Proficient, Low Proficient, Nearly Proficient | DO 018, s. 2025; DM 060, s. 2026, Encl. 1 |
Sources: DO 018, s. 2025, items 36 and 39 and Table 1; DM 064, s. 2025, Encl. 1, item 12.
For ARAL-Mathematics, DM 060, s. 2026 enrolls learners rated Not Proficient or Low Proficient on the RMA: they “shall participate” in the program (Encl. 1, item 7).
When. “Schools shall conduct BOSY assessments during the first two (2) weeks up to one (1) month at the beginning of the school year” (DO 018, item 47). DO 009 set the SY 2026-2027 window from June 8 to July 10, 2026 (Annex B). The Opening Block is where testing starts, not where it must end: four days are too few to test a whole school, and the window lets the work run into the first weeks of the Instructional Block.
Science. A Rapid Science Assessment for Grades 3 to 10 is to come in a separate issuance (DO 018, item 37). As of November 14, 2026, none has been issued.
Other start-of-year tools. Kindergarten learners take the Phil ECD Checklist from June 22 to 26 under DepEd Order No. 47, s. 2016, and Grade 1 learners the MFAT from July 13 to 17 under DepEd Order No. 29, s. 2018 (DO 009, Annex B). In Kindergarten to Grade 3, language mapping under DO 035, s. 2025 had its first cycle in SY 2026-2027 (para. 2): where fewer than 70% of the learners in a grade level share a dominant language, teachers give the Language Identification Tool “within the first two weeks of classes” (paras. 19 and 20). The guide to RA 12027 and the language of instruction explains the four language scenarios.
How the results feed ARAL and teaching
- Teachers discuss the results in the first two weeks. Schools discuss results and interventions in collaborative expertise sessions “within the first two (2) weeks of the school year and at least once a week thereafter”, or in the monthly learning action cell sessions (DO 018, item 48).
- Learners are grouped for ARAL. For SY 2026-2027, “Schools may utilize available assessment information prescribed under DepEd Order No. 018, s. 2025 in identifying learners who may benefit from ARAL interventions and in organizing appropriate learner groups”, under the Data Privacy Act (Joint Memorandum of August 28, 2026, item 3). Schools that finished their preparations could start ARAL-Reading, and ARAL-Mathematics rolls out from Term 2 (item 2).
- ARAL learners get priority health screening. Learners in ARAL who have not been screened come next in line for vision and hearing screening after Kindergarten and Grades 1 and 4, followed by learners with signs of reading difficulty (DM 059, s. 2026, Encl. No. 1, Part B, item 3.a.v).
- Learners who need more are referred. Learners in Grades 2 to 10 who fail assessments and show developmental delays or signs of learning difficulty “shall be referred to the multidisciplinary team of the Inclusive Learning Resource Centers (ILRCs) or to other professionals for further assessment” (DO 018, item 46).
- Teachers adjust pacing. The budget of work gives recommended weeks, not fixed days, and “Teachers are afforded flexibility to manage instructional pacing in accordance with learners’ needs and contextual realities” (DO 009, para. 25). DepEd’s checklist for school heads lists “Guide teachers in interpreting results” and “Require teachers to adjust lesson pacing based on results” among Opening Block tasks.
- The school audits its readiness. The ARAL School Readiness and Responsiveness Audit for the start of the year is held “within one month from the official start of classes” (DM 056, s. 2025, Encl., item 11).
The ARAL Program guide covers tutors, session rules and funds, and How to Read a School’s CRLA Results Fairly explains what a school’s CRLA profile can and cannot show.
A worked example. A Grade 5 adviser with 40 learners gives the Phil-IRI Group Screening Test in English on June 10, during the Opening Block. Fourteen learners score 0 to 7, the band that goes to an individual reading assessment with a passage three levels below grade level; nine score 8 to 13 and take a passage two levels below; seventeen score 14 or higher and stay in regular class with accommodations (DM 064, s. 2025, Encl. 3, item 9.1 and Figure 2). The 23 individual assessments take about two more weeks, well inside the July 10 window. In the collaborative expertise sessions that follow, the reading teacher and the adviser sort out which learners read two or more grade levels below their grade and go to ARAL-Reading Basic (Encl. 3, item 9.2), and the adviser plans the term’s reading lessons with the class profile in view.
Health and well-being in the first weeks
The health tasks of the Opening Block
DO 009 puts “initial mandatory health assessments and learner screening” in the block and lets them run past it (para. 12). DM 059, s. 2026, dated September 26, 2026, set the details for SY 2026-2027 only, months after the block itself. It describes the year’s Initial Mandatory Health Assessment, which “commenced during the dedicated time under the Opening Block (June 8-11, 2026) and continued until July 3, 2026”, as four activities (item 3.b):
| Activity | What it is | Who does it | How it fits the schedule |
|---|---|---|---|
| Information on the services | Explaining the year’s health services, including which are mandatory and which need consent | Whoever runs the orientation, such as school counseling personnel, or advisers when it is done by class | During the learners’ and parents’ orientation; may continue all year |
| Parents’ consent | The omnibus consent form for services that need consent | Advisers distribute and collect the forms and encode the answers in the master list | Handed out and collected at the parents’ orientation, or sent home with learners |
| Baseline nutritional assessment | Height and weight of Kindergarten to Grade 6 learners, which decides who joins the School-Based Feeding Program | Advisers, with health and other designated personnel | Dedicated time in the Opening Block; or breaks, Homeroom Guidance or MAPEH time |
| Master list | The list of all learners qualified for the school health services | Advisers prepare one per class; non-teaching personnel the school head designates consolidate them | An ancillary task; submitted once to the SDO before its scheduled assessments |
Source: DM 059, s. 2026, item 3.b; Encl. No. 1, Parts A and B, item 2.
DM 059 also narrows what Annex B of DO 009 meant. The “Start” and “End of Mandatory Health Assessment” in Annex B “shall specifically refer only to these listed activities”; every other health assessment and service continues through the year (Encl. No. 1, note 1).
Consent. The health assessment and the baseline nutritional assessment “are considered essential services mandatory for all learners and shall not require consent”, and basic mental health and psychosocial support based on screening results is given without prior consent (Encl. No. 1, Part B, item 2.b.i). “Consent shall likewise be required for all commodity-based services, including but not limited to deworming, supplementation, immunization, and fluoride varnish application”, and for treatments and referrals that follow an assessment (item 2.b.ii). Because no consent is needed for the health assessment, “all learners shall be included in the Master List” for it (item 2.d.ii).
The master list. Schools submit their master lists to the SDO once, “before the SDO-scheduled commencement” of the assessments and commodity-based services, and update them at the end of each term (Encl. No. 1, Part B, item 2.d.iii). Teachers enter only what they know directly: learner information, consent answers, nutritional findings from School Form 8, and screening or services they took part in (item 14.c).
What teachers may be asked to do. DM 059 limits teachers’ part in health services to ten tasks, in line with DepEd Order No. 005, s. 2024 on teachers’ workload (item 6; Encl. No. 1, Part C). Five of them fall in the first weeks: informing learners and parents at the orientations, taking the baseline heights and weights “during the Opening Block or Homeroom Guidance”, vision screening if trained, securing parents’ consent, and preparing the class master list. Teachers’ “primary role” is to build information on the services into their lessons (item 6). Learners who miss class work because of a health service get catch-up activities where needed (item 5).
After the block: assessments, commodities and screening
From July 13, 2026, health personnel from the SDO, the local government or partners schedule head-to-toe and oral health assessments from the master lists, pulling learners out of class individually, in pairs or in small groups when the visit falls in class time (DM 059, item 3.c; Encl. No. 1, Part B, item 3). Vision screening is mandatory for every Kindergarten learner; Grades 1 and 4, then ARAL learners not yet screened and learners showing reading difficulty, come next (Part B, item 3.a.v). Deworming, and weekly iron and folic acid supplementation for female Grade 7 to 12 learners, start in July and repeat in January; measles-rubella and tetanus-diphtheria vaccines go to Grades 1 and 7, and the HPV vaccine to female Grade 4 learners (Part B, item 4). None of these services is held during wellness breaks, except an urgent intervention after an assessment (items 3.c and 3.d).
DO 009 asks schools to schedule health services, the feeding program and mental health services “preferably outside class hours” when they fall in the Instructional Block (para. 14). DM 059 lists the ways: Homeroom Guidance time, distribution through advisers, or pulling learners out in small groups (item 4).
Mental health and psychosocial support
The Opening Block’s well-being work is light and daily, not clinical. DO 009 suggests a “Socio-Emotional Check” on day 3 for Key Stage 1 and a “Socio-emotional Learning and Well-being Check” on day 1 for Key Stages 2 to 4 (Annex A, Tables 1 and 2), and each key-stage guide has a check-in activity, described below.
Formal screening waits. DM 059 recommends universal mental health and psychosocial screening from August 10, 2026, “to allow sufficient time for acquaintance-building with learners”, until December 14, 2026, to leave time for referral and intervention (item 3.c). Only schools that meet two conditions screen: personnel trained to give the screening and to assess or refer, and “a functional referral network for psychosocial concerns” with an updated directory of local clinics, hospitals, social welfare offices and other providers (item 3.c.i and ii). The tools are the Children and Adolescents Risk Screener for Kindergarten to Grade 12 and the Rapid HEEADSSS questionnaire for Grades 4 to 12, given during Homeroom Guidance (Encl. No. 1, Part B, item 3.c). What learners disclose during health services “shall not, in themselves, constitute grounds for the imposition of penalties pursuant to DO 006, s. 2026” (item 9).
Every school, especially one without a clinic or Care Center, must have referral mechanisms and protocols for health concerns beyond its capacity (item 3.e). A school that cannot screen this year is encouraged to use the year to qualify (Encl. No. 1, Part B, item 3.c.iii). RA 12080, Bullying and School Mental Health covers the Care Centers and counselor positions under the Basic Education Mental Health and Well-Being Promotion Act.
School-based feeding
The Opening Block’s baseline nutritional assessment decides who joins the School-Based Feeding Program in Grades 2 to 6; every incoming Kindergarten and Grade 1 learner is covered under the universal feeding directive for FY 2026 (DepEd Order No. 013, s. 2026, Sec. V.A.1; DM 059, Encl. No. 1, Part B, item 2.c). SY 2026-2027 plans for 200 feeding days (DO 013, Sec. V.B). DO 013 leaves each year’s implementation timeline to yearly program parameters (Sec. V.A.3), so feeding does not have to start in the Opening Block; the school-based feeding guide covers how divisions scheduled it in 2026.
Orienting learners and parents
DO 009 suggests an “Orientation for Parents” on day 4 for every key stage (Annex A, Tables 1 and 2), which fell on June 11 in SY 2026-2027. Several issuances say what that orientation, and the learners’ own, must cover.
What each issuance requires to be covered
| Topic | Audience | What the issuance says | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Learning and Service Continuity Plan | Parents and guardians | “This orientation shall be conducted during the Opening Block”, with emphasis on “the modalities and materials used during emergencies at each level of the framework” | DO 014, s. 2026, para. 39 |
| The LSCP | All personnel, learners and parents | Schools ensure all of them “are informed of the LSCP” | DO 014, s. 2026, para. 27 |
| School health services and consent | Learners and parents | Information on the services is “done during the Learners’ and Parents’ Orientation”; consent forms are distributed and collected | DM 059, s. 2026, item 3.b.i and ii |
| The school’s anti-bullying policy | Parents and learners | “discussed during the opening of the school year at the parents’ and learners’ orientation” | Revised IRR of RA 10627, Sec. 7, disseminated by DepEd Memorandum No. 090, s. 2025 |
| The rule on phones and other devices during instruction | Learners and parents | “Inform the learners and parents, guardians of this Order at the beginning of every school year through orientation, advisories, and conferences” | DO 006, s. 2026, Annex G |
| Award criteria and timelines | Learners, parents and other stakeholders | Communicated “during the opening period or not later than the end of Term 1”, with the parents’ acknowledgment | DO 015, s. 2026, Annex H, Table 3 |
| Assessment and grading | Learners, parents, teachers, community | The school, through the school head, conducts orientations | DO 015, s. 2026, Sec. X.D(c) |
| Language mapping (Kindergarten to Grade 3) | Parents and guardians | Teachers orient parents on its purpose and how the choice of language affects learning | DO 035, s. 2025, Sec. VIII.1.a |
| PhilHealth registration | Parents | Promotion may be part of the parents’ orientation | DM 059, s. 2026, Encl. No. 1, Part A |
Two more start-of-year items involve parents. The PTA general assembly and the election of PTA officers must be held “within thirty (30) calendar days from the first day of classes” (DO 013, s. 2022, Secs. 10.4.1 and 10.4.2), which in SY 2026-2027 meant by July 8. And when DepEd’s Learner Handbook is issued, it is distributed “during enrollment, orientation, or other appropriate times” (DO 006, s. 2026, Sec. VI.1). Orientation for the parents of learners chosen for ARAL comes later, once learners are identified: DM 064 requires one before ARAL-Reading starts, with its documentation sent to the SDO (Encl. 1, items 30 and 32), and the joint memorandum of August 28, 2026 says schools “may conduct” such orientations for SY 2026-2027 (item 8).
The LSCP orientation
DO 014 defines the LSCP as “A documented action plan created by each school to prepare and operationalize learning during and after emergencies”, “developed annually before the opening block and updated every term” (para. 6.g). The plan carries the school’s emergency call tree (para. 33) and the learning experiences chosen for each continuity level, Hayo, Hinay, Hinga and Hinto, based on the capability mapping done at early registration (paras. 28 and 29). Schools may hand out emergency learning kits “at the beginning of the school year or at designated periods throughout the school year” (para. 30). The parents’ orientation therefore has concrete content: what each level means for their child, which modality and materials the school will use at each, how the call tree will reach them, and what the family kits ask of them. Learning Continuity in Emergencies: DO 014, s. 2026 covers the levels and the plan in full.
Classroom routines and child protection
For learners, the orientation is mostly classroom work. DO 009 lists “Orientation on Classroom Routines”, “Establishment of Classroom Rules” and “Orientation on Classroom Responsibilities” for Key Stage 1, and a “General Assembly (i.e., Anti-bullying Campaign, etc.)” for Key Stages 2 to 4 (Annex A, Tables 1 and 2). Two child protection duties also fall in the first week. The school head ensures the contact details of the Learner Formation Officer and the Child Protection Committee are “prominently displayed within each classroom” (DO 006, s. 2026, Annex D, Sec. 23(d)), and the school sends the SDO “within the first week of each school year, an annual report on bullying cases” (Sec. VII.A.2(d)). The child protection and anti-bullying guide lists the rest.
A parents’ orientation agenda
No issuance prescribes an agenda. The order below covers every item the issuances above require, in about 90 minutes, by class or by grade level:
- Welcome and the school’s calendar for the year: terms, report card dates, wellness breaks.
- School routines and expectations; the device rule; the anti-bullying policy and how to report a concern.
- The LSCP: the four continuity levels, the materials and modalities for each, the call tree, and the family kits.
- School health services: which are mandatory and which need consent; collection of the consent forms; PhilHealth registration.
- Assessment and grading: the BOSY tests and what they are for, the grading changes under DO 015, and the award criteria, with a slip for parents to acknowledge.
- For Kindergarten to Grade 3 parents, language mapping and the class’s language of instruction.
- Questions, and the schedule of the PTA general assembly.
DepEd’s suggested Opening Block activities for each key stage
Status of the materials
DO 009 itself offers activities only as suggestions: Annex A calls them a “list of suggested activities” in tables titled “Sample List of Activities”. The four guides to the Opening Block, one for each key stage, are part of the Learning Systems Strand’s orientation materials on the learning systems reforms for SY 2026-2027; DepEd’s site describes them as sample sessions “written using the ILAW template”. They are support materials, not issuances, and no order requires a school to use their activities.
Annex A, day by day
| Day | Key Stage 1 (Kindergarten to Grade 3) | Key Stages 2 to 4 (Grades 4 to 12) |
|---|---|---|
| Every day | Opening routine; reflection and closing | Opening routine; reflection and closing |
| 1 | Getting-to-know-you activities; orientation on classroom routines; learning engagement activities | Homeroom Guidance or values formation session; socio-emotional learning and well-being check |
| 2 | Getting-to-know-you activities; BOSY assessments; establishment of classroom rules; guided practice | Learning area orientation by learning area teachers; announcements and updates |
| 3 | BOSY assessments; socio-emotional check; reinforcement of classroom routines | BOSY assessments; general assembly, such as an anti-bullying campaign |
| 4 | Getting-to-know-you activities; mandatory health assessments; introduction to structured learning; orientation on classroom responsibilities; orientation for parents | BOSY assessments; goal-setting activity; orientation for parents |
| 5 | Review and reinforcement of routines; mini-lessons; goal-setting activity; community building | BOSY assessments; presentation of the lesson outline for the year; portfolio building; community building |
Source: DO 009, s. 2026, Annex A, Tables 1 and 2, redrawn.
The tables run five days; SY 2026-2027 had four. DO 009 does not say what to drop. A school can fold day 5 into the first days of the Instructional Block, since the lesson outline, mini-lessons and goal setting belong naturally to the first lessons, while keeping the parents’ orientation on day 4.
Key Stage 1: warm, simple and safe
The Key Stage 1 guide opens: “For young learners, the opening block should feel warm, simple, and safe.” It names five focus areas: getting-to-know-you activities, classroom promises and rules, a feelings check-in, “My Learning Goals”, and “What We Know and Wonder” to draw out prior knowledge. Its three sample activities:
| Activity | Intention | How it runs | Ways forward |
|---|---|---|---|
| My Learning Hand | Learners introduce themselves and share what matters to them | Each learner traces a hand on paper and writes or draws, one per finger: their name, a favorite food, a favorite game, something they are good at, and something they would like to learn. They decorate it, share with a partner or small group, and the teacher leads a short talk on what classmates share and what makes each one different | Display the hands; revisit them midway through or at the end of the term with “What has changed?” and “How have we grown?” |
| Our Classroom Tree | Co-create class rules | The teacher asks, “What helps everyone learn and feel safe in our classroom?”, groups the answers into three to five class promises, and each learner writes or draws one promise on a paper leaf for a tree on Manila paper | Use the tree as the class norms and add leaves or branches during the term |
| Feelings Weather Report | Learners name and express emotions | Learners pick a weather symbol (sunny, cloudy, rainy, stormy) that matches how they feel, by answering, pointing, lining up or a hand signal; volunteers explain; the teacher acknowledges feelings and gives support | Make it a regular check-in; vary it with colors or a “temperature check” |
The guide’s assessment notes are light: check work for completeness, ask learners what they learned about classmates, and keep the check-in safe by “minimizing side comments and thoughtfully inviting quieter learners to share when they are ready”. In a multigrade Grade 1 and 2 class, the Learning Hand can serve both grades at once, with Grade 1 learners drawing and Grade 2 learners writing.
Key Stage 2: a more active role
“Key Stage 2 learners are ready to take a more active role in shaping the classroom environment.” The guide’s focus areas are building connections, co-creating classroom norms, check-in and reflection, goal setting, and KWL and prior-knowledge activities.
| Activity | Intention | How it runs | Ways forward |
|---|---|---|---|
| KWL (Know, Want to Know, Learned) Carousel | Activate prior knowledge and curiosity at the start of the year | The teacher posts KWL sheets with the term’s upcoming topics around the room; groups rotate from sheet to sheet every three minutes, writing what they know and want to know; the class reviews the answers and picks key questions to investigate, as an introduction to the subject | Return to the charts when each topic comes up in the term |
| Common Ground Challenge | Discover similarities and build connections | Groups of four or five find five things all members have in common and share them; the class reflects on how it feels to find similarities and differences. A variation pairs learners for two minutes at a time | Use what learners share to bring their interests into lessons |
A subject teacher can take the carousel’s sheets straight from the Term 1 topics in the budget of work, so the charts become the map of the term.
Key Stage 3: trust, identity and voice
“For junior high school learners, the opening block is a chance to build trust, identity, and voice.” The focus areas are identity and community building, shared expectations, well-being and emotional check-ins, personal and academic goals, and prior knowledge and inquiry.
| Activity | Intention | How it runs | Ways forward |
|---|---|---|---|
| Letter to My Future Self | Set meaningful academic and personal goals | Learners write a letter to be opened at the end of the term or the school year, with goals, hopes and commitments. Sentence starters help: “I’m proud of you for…”, “By now, you probably have…”, and “Nung simula nung taon, pinlano mo to…” The letters are sealed and kept; audio or digital letters work too | Make sure every learner writes one, for a reflection at the end of the term or year |
| Identity Maps | Reflect on who they are and what shapes them | Learners map their interests, strengths, values and communities in any form (a literal map, a mind map, a diagram), guided by questions such as “How do I see myself?” and “What makes me different?”; they share in pairs or small groups, then the class reflects on its diversity and what it shares | Refer back to it to reinforce the value of diverse and shared identities |
The letter is not graded: “No grammar correction is needed, as this activity is intended for reflection.” Teachers check instead whether learners need more support with writing, such as sentence starters.
Key Stage 4: purpose and future direction
“For senior high school learners, the opening block should connect learning with purpose and future direction.” The focus areas are identity and aspirations, team agreements and professional norms, reflection and well-being check-ins, goal setting and future planning, and the relevance of what learners study.
| Activity | Intention | How it runs | Ways forward |
|---|---|---|---|
| Class Charter | Shared expectations for collaboration | Groups of four or five brainstorm with two prompts, “Ganito tayo” (behaviors we want to see) and “Wag ganun” (behaviors to avoid); each group shares its one or two most important norms; the class clusters them and refines them into shared agreements | Volunteers make the final class norms poster |
| Head-Heart-Hands Check-In | Holistic reflection on readiness to learn | Learners answer in writing: “Head: What am I thinking about?”, “Heart: How am I feeling?”, “Hands: What action am I ready to take?”, then share in pairs and with the class; digital tools may collect answers anonymously | Reuse the prompts as periodic check-ins during the term |
How the activities connect to the Learning Design Principles
Every activity in the guides is written in the four parts of DO 016’s ILAW framework, Intentions, Learning Experience, Assessing Learning and Ways Forward (para. 7; the guides head the third part “Assessment”), so each already has the elements that make a lesson plan sufficient under DO 016 (para. 11). DO 016 also names eight Learning Design Principles and says teachers are “encouraged to intentionally apply them over time” (paras. 17 and 18; Table 1); DO 014 repeats them (Annex B). The guides do not label their activities with the principles; the match below follows from each activity’s intention and steps.
| Principle (DO 016, Table 1) | What it asks | Where the Opening Block practices it |
|---|---|---|
| Clear Goals and Teaching | Precise learning goals, key ideas made explicit | Learning area orientations and the lesson outline for the year (Annex A); the topics posted in the KWL Carousel |
| Scaffolding | Guidance, then gradual release | Guided practice and mini-lessons (Annex A); sentence starters for the Letter to My Future Self |
| Checks for Understanding | Low-stakes, timely checks that inform teaching | Feelings Weather Report and Head-Heart-Hands as daily check-ins, matching the prompt in DO 016’s lesson planning guide (Annex B) to “check the state of the learners’ well-being, understanding, and mastery over the lesson”; BOSY results used for grouping and pacing |
| Active Retrieval and Spacing | Revisiting prior competencies | KWL Carousel and “What We Know and Wonder”; KWL charts revisited during the term |
| Self-awareness and Metacognition | Goal setting, monitoring, reflection | Goal-setting activities (Annex A); “something I would like to learn” on the Learning Hand; the Letter to My Future Self; portfolio building |
| Social Learning | Structured discussion and collaboration, belonging | Common Ground Challenge; Class Charter; Our Classroom Tree; pair and group sharing in every guide |
| Values and Purpose Integration | Learning tied to values, community and identity | Identity Maps; Our Classroom Tree’s promises; the Key Stage 4 guide’s link to future work and study |
| Inclusion | Multiple ways to take part and show learning | Write or draw (Key Stage 1); point, hand signals or digital polls for the check-in; any form for the Identity Map |
The same link runs into supervision. DO 016 asks instructional leaders who review lessons to look at the “Intentional application of Learning Design Principles as well as integration of classroom routines, culture, and expectations, throughout the lesson” (para. 32.b), and the routines that lessons rely on are the ones set in the Opening Block. DO 016 also says that “not all principles are expected to be evident in every lesson” (para. 18), and that holds for an Opening Block activity too.
Under DO 015, none of these activities is graded: they gather formative evidence (para. 15). The guides assess participation, completion and respectful behavior.
The teacher’s own preparation
DepEd’s orientation worksheet for teachers, “Starting Strong”, asks each teacher to finish the sentence “From the very beginning of the school year, I want my learners to feel/think…” and then plan five things: co-creating classroom norms, introducing routines, building trust in the first weeks, the key messages for the parents’ orientation, and which learning continuity resources their learners can reach. Its teachers’ checklist adds gathering CRLA and RMA results, tagging learners who may need Flexible Learning Program support, recording each learner’s access to devices and connectivity, and updating the LSCP before the Opening Block. These are DepEd’s suggestions; the duties behind them are in the issuances cited above, and the Flexible Learning Program guide covers that program.
How senior high school uses the Opening Block
In SY 2026-2027, every public school runs Grade 11 under the Strengthened Senior High School (SSHS) curriculum, while Grade 12 stays on the 2016 curriculum except in the pilot schools (DO 017, s. 2026, para. 19 and Table 4). Annex A of DO 009 groups senior high school with Key Stages 2 and 3, so Grade 11 and 12 classes can follow the same suggested list: homeroom guidance, learning area orientations, BOSY activities, goal setting and the lesson outline for the year. The BOSY reading and mathematics tests stop at Grade 10 (DO 018, s. 2025, Table 1). DepEd gave Grade 11 learners a separate senior high school literacy and numeracy assessment in the fourth quarter of SY 2025-2026 (DepEd Memorandum No. 016, s. 2026, item 3); DO 009’s calendar sets none for the start of SY 2026-2027.
Career guidance and electives. DO 017 makes career guidance a year-long duty of the school head:
The school heads shall ensure the continuous provision of career guidance services for learners throughout the academic year. Particularly for incoming Grade 11 and enrolled SSHS learners who may need additional support in finalizing their Elective choices or considering adjustments based on their learning experiences, schools are encouraged to utilize various tools and strategies … (para. 27.b)
The tools it names are National Career Assessment Examination (NCAE) results or other career assessment tools, interest inventories and aptitude tests, career clinics and parent-teacher conferences on career pathways, the Landas Toolkit, and information on the school’s SSHS offerings. The program “is not intended to prescribe or impose any specific career path. The learner’s informed choice shall be respected and prioritized” (para. 27.b). The Landas Toolkit is a career guidance kit for Grades 9 to 12 built on five futures-thinking skills, used in Homeroom Guidance, counseling sessions and peer activities (Memorandum DM-OULS-2026-006, January 5, 2026, items 2 and 7.2). The Key Stage 4 guide’s focus on “Goal-Setting and Future Planning” fits the same purpose, and DepEd’s checklist for school heads lists “Orient learners on tracks and electives” among Opening Block tasks.
What can and cannot change in the first weeks.
| Situation | Rule | Source |
|---|---|---|
| A Grade 11 learner wants electives from the other track | The cross-track option lets Academic Track learners take one Tech-Pro elective and Tech-Pro learners four academic electives in Grade 12, subject to school capacity | DO 017, s. 2026, para. 12 |
| A learner wants to change track | “Track shifting shall be permitted in Grade 12”, with the school head’s approval and documentation in the LIS; moving to Tech-Pro needs at least one Tech-Pro elective and its work immersion | DO 017, s. 2026, para. 26.c |
| A transferee or Balik-Aral learner arrives from the 2016 curriculum | The enrollment committee evaluates the SF 9 and subject equivalency “in the enrollment period”, and the school head approves the individualized program of study | DO 017, s. 2026, Annex F |
| A school plans which electives to offer | Offerings are “informed by consolidated learner profiles, including interests, aptitudes, and career inclinations”, school resources and SDO consultations | DO 017, s. 2026, para. 27.a |
Because an academic elective runs within one term, a learner who finds in the first weeks that an elective does not suit them is better served by guidance toward the next term’s choices than by a change in mid-term; DO 017 sets no rule for dropping an elective within a term. In the Grade 12 pilot schools, work immersion for the Academic Track comes only in the third term (DepEd Memorandum No. 036, s. 2026, item 16). Career Guidance in DepEd covers the guidance program and the NCAE, and the SSHS electives list gives every elective by cluster.
What this means for school heads
The school head plans the Opening Block weeks ahead, protects it from activities that belong elsewhere, and uses what it produces for the rest of the year.
Before the first day
- Update the LSCP before the block (DO 014, s. 2026, para. 6.g), with its call tree and the learning experiences for each level, so the parents’ orientation has something concrete to present.
- Finish class programs and teacher assignments. Name the advisers, the teachers who give the CRLA, Phil-IRI and RMA in each grade, the non-teaching staff member who will consolidate the health master lists (DM 059, s. 2026, Encl. No. 1, Part B, item 2.d.i), and who runs the parents’ and learners’ orientations. Keep teachers’ health tasks to the ten DM 059 allows. The teacher loading toolkit shows how the block counts in teachers’ loads.
- Prepare the materials: omnibus consent forms, master list templates, height and weight tools, the BOSY test materials, the anti-bullying policy, the award criteria and rubrics approved through the Awards Committee (DO 015, s. 2026, Annex H), and the LFO and CPC contact cards for every classroom.
- Plan the four days with teachers, using Annex A as a menu. Put the parents’ orientation on a day when most parents can come, and spread the BOSY tests across the window rather than squeezing them into the block.
- Schedule the first two weeks’ collaborative expertise sessions on BOSY results (DO 018, s. 2025, item 48).
What to keep out, and what to keep in
DepEd’s worksheet for school heads gives a quick reference for placing activities, redrawn here:
| Activity | Best block | Rule of thumb |
|---|---|---|
| Teaching and mastery | Instructional Block | Classroom instruction and ARAL remediation only |
| Clubs and practice | Instructional and End-of-Term Blocks | After class if during the Instructional Block |
| Co-curricular and extra-curricular competitions | End-of-Term Block | Protects class days |
| INSET and training | End-of-Term Block | Two days, 16 hours per term |
| Parent-teacher conferences | End-of-Term Block | Day 6, report card distribution |
| Wellness breaks | End-of-Term Block | Days 7 to 10 for learners, days 9 and 10 for teachers |
| Holidays and celebrations | Instructional Block | Integrated into lessons; classes continue |
| Remediation (ARAL) | Instructional and End-of-Term Blocks | After class in the Instructional Block; dedicated time in the End-of-Term Block |
Source: DepEd orientation worksheets for school heads on the learning systems reform policies, SY 2026-2027, redrawn. The worksheet sums up the Opening Block as “4 days: Orientation, BOSY assessments, screenings.”
DepEd’s three-term checklist for school heads lists these items for the Opening Block:
| Area | Checklist items |
|---|---|
| Start of classes | Confirm that class schedules are followed and teacher assignments implemented; resolve issues on rooms, materials and class lists |
| Protect instructional time | Stop insertion of activities during class hours; monitor daily class implementation |
| Support lesson planning | Check the lesson plan format; conduct classroom walkthroughs within the first two weeks; give immediate feedback; start LAC sessions on lesson planning |
| Diagnostic assessment | Ensure teachers give the beginning-of-year assessments; collect results across subjects; guide teachers in interpreting them; have teachers adjust lesson pacing |
| Assessment practice | Check formative assessment in lessons; monitor the number and schedule of assessments; ensure grading follows the updated guidelines |
| Learners | Consolidate learner data; identify learners needing support; start remediation; activate the Flexible Learning Program for identified learners; conduct the baseline nutritional assessment and the master listing for school health services |
| Disruptions | Remind teachers of the continuity levels; confirm alternative learning materials; orient learners on procedures during disruptions |
| Senior high school | Monitor SHS classes; orient learners on tracks and electives |
| Stakeholders | Inform parents of routines and expectations; conduct the learners’ and parents’ orientation on school health services, including parents’ consent; share updates on the calendar and grading |
Source: DepEd 3-Term Calendar Checklist for School Heads, Opening Block section, redrawn.
The checklist is DepEd’s support material, not an order, and in one place it asks for more than the order does. It tells school heads to “Instruct teachers to use only the official template” and to check that teachers use “the official lesson plan format”. DO 016 says its lesson planning guide “shall not be interpreted as a required national template”, and a lesson plan is sufficient “when the learning intentions, learning experience, assessment approach, and ways forward are evident and aligned” (para. 11). Where the two differ, the order governs: check for the four ILAW elements, not a format. The DO 016 guide explains the school head’s role in lesson planning.
Late enrollees and transferees
Learners keep arriving after the Opening Block. DO 017, s. 2025 let a school accept a late enrollee who could meet 80% of the school days “and the quarterly requirement”, and let the school head accept others at their discretion with catch-up activities (Sec. VI.D). DO 009 amended those provisions (item 5). Now late enrollees “shall be admitted provided that they meet the eighty percent (80%) of the prescribed number of class days, or enroll not later than the conduct of the second summative test in Term 1” (para. 34), which in SY 2026-2027 fell on July 28. Learners transferring during the year are admitted “subject to the submission and transfer of official academic records including BOSY assessment results” (para. 35). A transferee who lacks the requirements is “considered temporarily enrolled” while the schools move the records (DO 017, s. 2025, Sec. IX.A.b).
A learner who enrolls after the class has been tested, or after the July 10 window closes, has no BOSY result, and no issuance says whether or when to test them. DO 018 identifies ARAL learners through assessments “at the start of the school year” (item 35.2), and DO 009 has transferees bring their BOSY results with them (para. 35), so results are meant to follow every learner. The safer course is to give a late enrollee the same tool on arrival, place them, and add them to the class’s health master list. The enrollment policy guide covers documents, temporary enrollment and learners with disabilities, who have no enrollment deadline.
Records to keep
- The Opening Block schedule and attendance at the learners’ and parents’ orientations, with the parents’ acknowledgment of the award criteria (DO 015, Annex H).
- Collected consent forms and the consolidated health master list, with the date it went to the SDO (DM 059, Encl. No. 1, Part B, item 2).
- BOSY results per class, the ARAL groupings, and the notes of the first collaborative expertise sessions (DO 018, items 47 and 48).
- The updated LSCP and the record of the parents’ LSCP orientation (DO 014, paras. 25 and 39).
- The annual bullying report sent to the SDO in the first week (DO 006, Sec. VII.A.2(d)).
- For Kindergarten to Grade 3, the class language profiles endorsed to the SDO (DO 035, para. 21).
The PPSSH strands at work
Running the Opening Block as a set of programs with a purpose is program implementation, strand 1.5 in Domain 1, Leading Strategically. Assigning advisers, testers and a master-list consolidator is management of staff, strand 2.4 in Domain 2, Managing School Operations and Resources. Using BOSY results for ARAL and pacing is learning assessment, strand 3.5, and the health, consent and routine work is the learning environment, strand 3.6, both in Domain 3, Focusing on Teaching and Learning. The parents’ orientation is communication, strand 5.4 in Domain 5, Building Connections. A school head new to the post will find the Opening Block inside the larger plan of A New School Head’s First 90 Days.
How the NASH may test this
The items below are original practice items, scored 3 (Relational), 2 (Multistructural), 1 (Unistructural) or 0 (Prestructural). An option that breaks a rule scores 0.
Question 1
Indicator 3.6.2, Learning environment. Career Stage 2, Situational, Moderate.
You are the school head of a public elementary school in an upland barangay. On the last day of the Opening Block, advisers are measuring learners’ heights and weights and collecting the health consent forms from the parents’ orientation. A Grade 2 adviser reports that one parent marked “no” for deworming and the other services listed on the form, and plans to leave the child off the class health master list. The division’s health personnel will schedule all services from the master lists. What is the most appropriate action?
- A. Have the adviser include the child in the scheduled deworming with the class, since the national program covers all learners and the school is expected to carry out the activity.
- B. Have the adviser hold the child’s measurement and master list entry until the parent attends a follow-up meeting on health services, so that consent is settled before anything is done.
- C. Have the adviser measure the child and keep the child on the master list, record deworming and the other consent-based services as declined, and keep informing the parent about them.
- D. Have the adviser measure the child, record deworming and the other consent-based services as declined, and leave the child off the master list until the parent gives consent.
Answer and explanation: Question 1
Best answer: C. Points: A = 0, B = 1, C = 3, D = 2.
- A (0 points, Prestructural). It gives a commodity-based service the parent refused. DM 059, s. 2026 requires consent for deworming and every other commodity-based service, so treating the child anyway breaks the consent rule, however widely the program is meant to reach.
- B (1 point, Unistructural). It keeps the parent informed, which the memorandum encourages, but it treats the measurement and the listing as if they needed consent, and so delays the child’s health assessment and a possible place in the feeding program.
- C (3 points, Relational). It separates what needs consent from what does not. The baseline nutritional assessment and the health assessment are mandatory for all learners and need no consent, so the child is measured and listed; the refused services are recorded as declined; and information on the services may continue all year.
- D (2 points, Multistructural). It measures the child and records the refusal correctly, but it drops the child from the master list, which the division uses to schedule the head-to-toe, vision and oral health assessments every learner is to receive.
Why. This aligns with Career Stage 2 expectations because the school head must manage a healthy learning environment by applying the health service rules to a real case. DM 059, s. 2026 makes the health assessment and the baseline nutritional assessment “essential services mandatory for all learners” that “shall not require consent”, requires consent for deworming and other commodity-based services, and states that “all learners shall be included in the Master List” for the assessment (Encl. No. 1, Part B, items 2.b and 2.d). The 2-point option respects the refusal but misses that the master list covers the mandatory assessments too.
Indicator 3.6.2: Manage a learner-friendly, inclusive and healthy learning environment.
Sources: DepEd Memorandum No. 059, s. 2026, items 3.b and 7, and Encl. No. 1, Part B, items 2.a to 2.d; DepEd Order No. 009, s. 2026, para. 12 and Annex A, Table 1.
Question 2
Indicator 3.5.1, Learning assessment. Career Stage 1, Conceptual, Moderate.
In the first weeks of Term 1, Grade 4 to 10 learners take the Philippine Informal Reading Inventory and the Rapid Mathematics Assessment. Which statement best explains how a school should use the results of these beginning-of-year assessments?
- A. To report each grade level’s reading and mathematics profile to the division office, since the division needs school data to support the ARAL programs of its schools.
- B. To guide teachers’ planning and the school’s interventions, such as ARAL groups, since the results show each learner’s starting point in reading and mathematics.
- C. To count as part of each learner’s Term 1 grade, since the results show how much of the term’s competencies the learner already knows before lessons begin.
- D. To list the learners below the minimum proficiency level for ARAL tutoring groups, since the program requires the school to identify these learners at the start of the year.
Answer and explanation: Question 2
Best answer: B. Points: A = 1, B = 3, C = 0, D = 2.
- A (1 point, Unistructural). Schools do submit learner assessment data to the division, but reporting is one use of the results and leaves out what the school itself does with them for its learners.
- B (3 points, Relational). It joins both uses the issuances give the results: informing teachers’ instructional planning for every learner, and identifying and grouping the learners who need interventions such as ARAL.
- C (0 points, Prestructural). It treats a diagnostic result as a grade. DO 015, s. 2026 builds grades only from written works, performance tasks and examinations, and bars formative assessment from grade computation.
- D (2 points, Multistructural). It names the ARAL use correctly, but it treats the results as a list to comply with and misses their use in planning lessons for the whole class.
Why. This aligns with Career Stage 1 expectations because an aspiring school head must understand how assessment results are used, consistent with curriculum requirements. DO 018, s. 2025 uses beginning-of-year assessments to identify learners below the minimum proficiency level for ARAL (items 35 and 39) and has schools discuss “assessment results and appropriate interventions” in the first two weeks (item 48); DO 009, s. 2026 says the Opening Block should “generate baseline data” and “provide teachers with critical information to inform instructional planning and support” (Annex A). The 2-point option stops at the ARAL list.
Indicator 3.5.1: Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of learning assessment tools, strategies and utilization of results consistent with curriculum requirements.
Sources: DepEd Order No. 018, s. 2025, items 35, 39, 47 and 48; DepEd Order No. 009, s. 2026, Annex A; DepEd Order No. 015, s. 2026, paras. 15 and 19; DepEd Memorandum No. 060, s. 2026, Encl. No. 1 (roles of schools).
Nothing in this guide reproduces or predicts examination content.
Frequently asked questions
How long is the Opening Block in DepEd’s three-term calendar?
Four to five class days in DO 009’s general model, at the start of Term 1 only (DO 009, s. 2026, Figure 2; para. 8.e). In SY 2026-2027 it ran four class days, June 8 to 11, 2026, and the Instructional Block began on June 15 (Annex B). The dates for later school years come in the memorandum DepEd issues before each year (para. 7).
Are there regular classes during the Opening Block?
The block is for orientation, BOSY assessments, health checks and data, but it is not empty of teaching: DO 009’s sample lists include mini-lessons, guided practice, learning area orientations and the lesson outline for the year (Annex A, Tables 1 and 2). The term’s competencies are taught and tested in the Instructional Block; in SY 2026-2027 the first summative test fell on July 6, the 16th day of that block (Annex B; DO 015, s. 2026, para. 26).
Is there an Opening Block in Term 2 and Term 3?
No. DO 009 gives the Opening Block to Term 1 only; Terms 2 and 3 begin directly with their Instructional Blocks, on September 16, 2026 and January 4, 2027 (paras. 8.e and 11; Annex B). The learners’ wellness break at the end of each term serves the restart instead (para. 23).
Do parents have to sign a consent form for the school health assessment?
No for the assessment, yes for commodities. The health assessment and the baseline height and weight measurement are mandatory for all learners and need no consent; deworming, supplementation, immunization, fluoride varnish, and treatments or referrals after an assessment need the parent’s consent (DM 059, s. 2026, Encl. No. 1, Part B, item 2.b). Advisers distribute and collect the forms, usually at the parents’ orientation.
When does the school orient parents on the Learning and Service Continuity Plan?
During the Opening Block. DO 014, s. 2026 says the orientation of parents and guardians on the LSCP “shall be conducted during the Opening Block”, with emphasis on the modalities and materials for each continuity level, and follow-up activities may run through the year (para. 39).
Sources
Laws
- Republic Act No. 10627, Anti-Bullying Act of 2013, September 12, 2013, and its revised Implementing Rules and Regulations (disseminated by DM 090, s. 2025): Sec. 7.
DepEd orders
- DepEd Order No. 009, s. 2026, Guidelines on the Implementation of the Three-Term School Calendar in Basic Education, April 16, 2026: items 4 and 5; Encl., paras. 5 to 8, 11 to 14, 18, 20, 21, 23, 25, 27, 33 to 36; Figure 2; Annex A (Opening Block, Tables 1 and 2; Instructional Block); Annexes B and D.
- DepEd Order No. 014, s. 2026, Guidelines on Learning Continuity in Emergencies, June 4, 2026: paras. 6.g, 6.h, 25, 27 to 30, 33, 39; Annex B.
- DepEd Order No. 015, s. 2026, Revised Guidelines on Classroom Assessment, Grading System, and Awards and Recognition for the K to 12 Basic Education Program, June 4, 2026: paras. 7.c, 14, 15, 19, 26, 66, 68; Table 12; Sec. X.D; Annex C, item 3.a; Annex H, Table 3.
- DepEd Order No. 016, s. 2026, Guidelines on Lesson Planning and Learning Design, June 4, 2026: paras. 7, 11, 17 to 19, 32.b; Table 1; Annex B.
- DepEd Order No. 017, s. 2026, Strengthened Senior High School Curriculum, June 4, 2026: paras. 12, 19, 26.c, 27.a, 27.b; Tables 3 and 4; Annex F.
- DepEd Order No. 013, s. 2026, Institutional Guidelines on the Implementation of the School-Based Feeding Program, June 4, 2026: Secs. V.A and V.B.
- DepEd Order No. 006, s. 2026, Guidelines on Ensuring a Safe and Motivating Learning Environment, March 24, 2026: Secs. VI.1 and VII.A.2(d); Annex D, Sec. 23(d); Annex G.
- DepEd Order No. 018, s. 2025, Implementing Guidelines of the Academic Recovery and Accessible Learning Program, June 13, 2025: items 35 to 37, 39, 46 to 48; Table 1.
- DepEd Order No. 017, s. 2025, Revised Basic Education Enrollment Policy, June 13, 2025: Secs. VI.D and IX.A.b.
- DepEd Order No. 035, s. 2025, Guidelines on the Language Mapping Process for Key Stage 1, October 31, 2025: paras. 2, 19 to 21; Sec. VIII.1.a.
- DepEd Order No. 013, s. 2022, Omnibus Guidelines on the Regulation of Operations of Parent-Teacher Associations, March 18, 2022: Secs. 10.4.1 and 10.4.2.
- DepEd Order No. 005, s. 2024, Rationalization of Teachers’ Workload in Public Schools and Payment of Teaching Overload, April 29, 2024, as cited in DM 059, s. 2026.
- DepEd Order No. 29, s. 2018, Policy on the Implementation of Multi-Factored Assessment Tool, July 10, 2018.
- DepEd Order No. 14, s. 2018, Policy Guidelines on the Administration of the Revised Philippine Informal Reading Inventory, March 28, 2018.
- DepEd Order No. 47, s. 2016, Omnibus Policy on Kindergarten Education, June 28, 2016.
DepEd memoranda
- DepEd Memorandum No. 059, s. 2026, Guidelines on the Delivery of School Health Services for School Year 2026-2027, September 26, 2026: items 3 to 6, 9, 14 and Table 1; Encl. No. 1, Parts A, B and C.
- DepEd Memorandum No. 060, s. 2026, Guidelines on the Implementation of the Academic Recovery and Accessible Learning Program in Mathematics, September 28, 2026: item 2; Encl. 1, items 5 to 7 and the table of roles.
- DepEd Memorandum No. 036, s. 2026, Pilot Implementation of the Strengthened Senior High School Curriculum for Grade 12 in School Year 2026-2027, May 28, 2026: item 16.
- DepEd Memorandum No. 035, s. 2026, Coordination and Deployment of TUPAD Beneficiaries During Brigada Eskwela 2026, May 28, 2026: paras. 2, 7, 12 to 14, 16.
- DepEd Memorandum No. 016, s. 2026, Administration of the Senior High School Literacy and Numeracy Assessments for Grade 11 Learners in School Year 2025-2026, March 4, 2026: item 3.
- DepEd Memorandum No. 027, s. 2026, 2026 Brigada Eskwela Implementing Guidelines, May 5, 2026: item 1.
- DepEd Memorandum No. 090, s. 2025, Dissemination of the Revised Implementing Rules and Regulations of Republic Act No. 10627, October 9, 2025: Revised IRR, Sec. 7.
- DepEd Memorandum No. 064, s. 2025, Implementing Guidelines for the Academic Recovery and Accessible Learning Program in Reading for Key Stages 1 to 3, August 1, 2025: Encl. 1, items 9, 12, 30 to 32; Encl. 3, items 9.1 and 9.2 and Figure 2.
- DepEd Memorandum No. 056, s. 2025, Supplemental Guidelines on the Implementation of the ARAL School Readiness and Responsiveness Audit, July 18, 2025: Encl., item 11.
- Joint Memorandum, Office of the Secretary and Office of the Undersecretary for Learning Systems, Implementation Support Arrangements for the Academic Recovery and Accessible Learning Program for School Year 2026-2027, August 28, 2026: items 1 to 3 and 8.
- Memorandum DM-OULS-2026-006, Office of the Undersecretary for Learning Systems, Guidelines on the Production and Use of Landas Toolkit for Public Strengthened Senior High School (SSHS) Pilot Schools During SY 2025-2026, January 5, 2026: items 2 and 7.
DepEd orientation materials for SY 2026-2027 (Learning Systems Strand)
- Guide to Opening Block, Key Stages 1, 2, 3 and 4.
- 3-Term Calendar Checklist for School Heads (Opening Block section).
- Learning Systems Reform Policies: Orientation for School Heads, worksheets (“Scheduling the Calendar”).
- Learning Systems Reform Policies: Orientation for Teachers, worksheets and handouts (“Teachers’ Checklist”, “Starting Strong”, “Learning Design Principles”).
Learning Systems reforms, SY 2026-2027
- DepEd Learning Systems Reforms: SY 2026-2027 Guide
- DepEd Three-Term School Calendar 2026-2027: DO 009 Guide
- DepEd Opening Block: The First Weeks of Term 1 (this post)
- From Curriculum to Lesson: Unpacking and Budget of Work
- DepEd ILAW Lesson Plan, DO 016, s. 2026: School Head’s Role
- ILAW Lesson Plan: How to Write One, With Samples
- DepEd Pedagogy Cards: 50 Teaching Strategies by Key Stage
- DepEd Grading System, DO 015, s. 2026: School Head’s Role
- DepEd E-Class Record and SF9 for SY 2026-2027
- DepEd Learning Continuity in Emergencies: DO 014, s. 2026
- DepEd Flexible Learning Program (FLP) Explained
- MATATAG Curriculum and Strengthened SHS in SY 2026-2027
- Strengthened SHS Electives: Full List by Cluster
- Work Immersion Guidelines 2026: DepEd Order No. 023, s. 2026
Written by Mark Anthony Llego for NASH Reviewer. Sources: DepEd Orders No. 009, 006, 013, 014, 015, 016 and 017, s. 2026, No. 017, 018 and 035, s. 2025, and No. 013, s. 2022; DepEd Memoranda No. 016, 027, 035, 036, 059 and 060, s. 2026, and No. 056, 064 and 090, s. 2025; DepEd’s SY 2026-2027 orientation materials on the Opening Block.