Philippine fourth-grader Ella Araza sits on a tiny plastic box in mid-morning trying to finish her schoolwork before the temperature rises to make life in her one-room Manila slum home even more miserable. The government shut down more than 47,000 public schools nationwide from Monday, days after the Manila temperature soared to a record high. More than 7,000 of them were still closed Thursday as the heat persisted. IMAGES AND SOUNDBITES