Priest and lay administrators of SSC-R Manila took time out to meet for the needed Annual Institutional Planning last January 29-30, 2009 at the 8 Waves Waterpark & Hotel in San Rafael, Bulacan.
The Philippine Accrediting Association of Schools, Colleges and Universities (PASSCU) has granted San Sebastian College-Recoletos Manila the Level III status last November 28, 2008. The College of Arts and Sciences and Business Administration were granted re-accreditation for a period of five years while the College of Hotel and Restaurant Management/Tourism was granted initial accreditation for a period of three years. Meanwhile, the Computer Science/Information Technology Programs are allowed to apply for a formal survey one year after receipt of a required report. Rev. Fr. Dionisio C. Cachero, OAR (president) expressed his grateful appreciation to the whole Sebastinian community for the full support and cooperation. He urged everyone to continue aiming for greater excellence as the school intends to pursue for a university status.
Some 50 secondary schools in Manila and nearby areas were invited to join the CHEERING COMPETITION and HIP-HOP DANCE CONTEST slated on January 24 – 10 am at the Quadrangle of SSC-R Manila. Expected to bring in crowd and the loudest cheers during the culminating part of the weeklong 62nd Foundation Celebration are students and participants from the following schools which were given invitation to join the said contests:
1. La Consolacion High School, Caloocan City
2. Espiritu Santo Parochial School, Tayuman, Sta. Cruz, Manila
3. St. Mary’s Academy, Sta. Ana, Manila
4. Paco Catholic School, Paco, Manila
5. St. Anthony School, Sta. Ana, Manila
6. Nazarene School, Quiapo, Manila
7. Malate Catholic School, Malate, Manila
8. Holy Child Catholic School, Tondo, Manila
9. Philippine Cultural High School, Tondo, Manila
10. Our Lady of the Sacred Heart, Galas, QC
The traditional institutional Christmas Party held last December 27, 2008 brought everyone the spirit of winning. Celebrating the theme “Paskong Panalo Bawat Sebastino”, the occasion truly situated everyone in an atmosphere of fun, excitement, and entertainment plus gifts for everybody.
The affair started with a community mass with all the priests administrators. Rendering the homily, Fr. Cachero mentioned that although the season is inviting for a joyful celebration, it is not the funfare that makes Christmas significant but more so because Jesus Christ became man to save mankind from the bondage of sin. He stressed that Christmas is the time for God’s love, time for healing, time to bring Jesus into our hearts, needs, and in our working environment. This will strengthen our harmony and will allow us work better to attain our vision, mission and objectives.
Spicing up the program were dance numbers from the security and janitors, grade school, lay administrators, NTP and CIHM. Song numbers were provided by CABACS (caroling with a dance number), Graduate Studies and Law, CAS (with impersonation), High School (rap number), and the religious administrators. The usual most awaited part went to the IREP which did a “satire” entertainment skit, all for the fun of it.
Iclive “IC” Atilano and Rachel Dimaandal mastered the emceeing with very entertaining with effective hosting chemistry.
Major raffle winners were Crispo Gacita (1st prize-wooden cabinet), Marilyn Estrada (2nd prize-washing machine), Nanette Ramos (3rd prize-stand fan), and Rhonel Nicolas (4th prize-bag of grocery items). Other winners were Casimiro Carait, Joy Christine Manong, Jacqueline Lucero, Regino Nacional, Marivin Tuazon, Carmelo Galan, Erlinda Barroga, Owen Buladaco, Mark Lee Dela Torre,, Luisito Empleo, Charlene Santos, Mary Jane Bautista, Relly Magcanam, Dernando Viado, Rodein Milan, Conceso Calicdan, Jr., Ma. Luisa de Vera, Lpablo Castante, Dindo Aseron, Mario Guevarra, Fe Bedia, Ana Lourdes Aseron, Imelda Arcilla, Joselito Cndo, Ramon Montierro, Rachel Dimaandal, Roger Gorayebe, Anita Servando, Eduardo Noda Jr., Jaivie del Socorro, Mar Fortuno, Gambie Adaro, Jacob Opiana, Charlene Bacud, Lolita de Guzman, Josefina Dincong, Imee Monte, Nestor Torrefranca, Redento Rufon, Elena Tating.
Friday night brought an unfamiliar crowd-drawing set-up in front of the renown Basilica of San Sebastian when GMA 7’s SURVIVOR FINALE held a live feed coverage to dramatize support for its management student and survivor finalist JUAN CARLO “JC” TIUSECO.
Scoring 5 against Rob Sy’s 2, winning came in handy while the crowd roared loudly with San Sebastian being mentioned several times equally sharing that “winning moment” on national television.
In accordance with the 74th National Book Week celebration, the Library department held a 3-day Book Week Exhibit entitled "READiscover : R-ead, E-xplore, A-cquire and D-iscover Towards the Sebastinians' Pursuit of Knowledge and Cultural Awareness Today" last November 24-26, 2008 at the High School Arcade. It was participated by different invited book companies and publishers: National Bookstore, WS Pacific. Books for Less, Lampara, Richness Marketing, Goodwill Bookstore, C & E Publishing Co., and Adarna House Publishing Co.
The Library Department conducted a seminar/ workshop entitled “ EFFECTIVE LIBRARY/ IMC SERVICE” intended for all the Library/ IMC Student Assistants. The activity is part of the Library Departments’ celebration of the National Book Week with a theme: “READiscover : R-ead, E-xplore, A-cquire and D-iscover Towards the Sebastinians’ Pursuit of Knowledge and Cultural Awareness Today”. To further reached out to the student assistants’ who have been serving an important role in the IMC/ Library, an activity that aim to strengthen student assistants’ library knowledge and enable them to be more effective and equipped in serving library clients was held last November 22, 2008 at the High School Library from 8:00 am- 12:00 nn.
The College of Accountancy, Business Administration and Computer Studies honored during its “Gabi ng Parangal” held at the college library last November 21, 2008 the following business graduates representing four different service areas:
Accountancy
REYNALDO D. GAMBOA (Batch 1962)
LEONARDO J. MATIGNAS (Batch 1982)
Business and Industry
CESAR “Cez” VELARDE (Batch 1971)
REYNALDO JESUS B. PASCO (Batch 1972)
FRANCIS J. KONG (Batch 1978)
Computer Science
CARLO V. PONDOC (Batch 1993)
ANTHONY KIRBY D. GARCIA (Batch 1998)
Public/Government Service
VICENTE SUAZO (Batch 1967)
HON. ALDRIN SAN PEDRO (Batch 1996)
The program served as the fitting occasion to celebrate the college’s 55 years of existence with the theme “High Five at 55”. Honorees were cited due to their excellence in their field of expertise and the earnest efforts of carrying the Augustinian ideals of “Caritas et Scientia” and the Sebastinian values of community life, marian devotion, moral integrity and passion for excellence.
Honoring the distinguished alumni with plaques of recognition were Rev. Fr. Dionisio C. Cachero, OAR, Rev. Fr. Jorge D. Peligro, OAR and Dean Lolita A. De Guzman.
Last September 30 to October 4, the CIHM (College of International Hospitality Management) celebrated its 2nd CIHM Week 2008 with the theme: “Moving ahead towards the global challenges of the Hospitality Industry.” One of the highlights of the said activity was the “on the spot Contests.” These contests was participated by HRM students, showing their culinary skills and talent. And second, the most exciting activity this year was the “Search for Mr. and Ms. CIHM 2008” held at the College Auditorium.
In time with the celebration of the feast of St. Augustine, the San Sebastian College Alumni Association, Inc., (SSCAAI) held a night of recognition dubbed as “GABI NG PAGKILALA” last August 28, 2008 at the Sampaguita Hall of the Manila Hotel.
Well established, dedicated and popular Sebastinians were merited with awards being “Ulirang Guro”, “Huwarang Sebastino” and “Hall of Famers”. Awards came in the following categories with honorees:
Except for two courses in the College of Arts and Sciences, SSC-R marks an uptrend in freshmen enrollment this school year 2008-2009.
Registering the most number of enrollees, CIHM yielded a total of 521 students which is almost 5% higher than last year’s total of 497. Tourism rose to 30% increase from last year’s 86 while HRM is 1 enrollee better than last year’s figure of 411.
CABACS got 265 enrollees compared to last year’s 216, also marking a 30% increase. Percentage increase in CABACS courses are as follows: Computer Science (47%), Business Management (40%), Legal Management (38%), Marketing (.5%), and Financial Management (13.5%)
Meanwhile, CAS suffered a setback with Mass Communication and Political Science, both losing 2 enrollees to match last year’s figure of 34 and 19 respectively. However, Psychology inched up with 43 enrollees, which is 72% (the highest percentage increase) higher than last year’s figure of 25.
This school year recorded 878 total number of freshmen, which is 11% more than last year’s 792 figure. (Data source: EDP)
Second year Tourism students Aga-Dennis Arias and Angeline Padrinao, bagged the Bronze Medal (Third Place) during the TourisMania 2008 Poster and Slogan Making Contest besting other 10 schools.
The contest was one of the highlights of the 3rd Annual Tourism Student Congress held at Olongapo Convention Center last August 29-30, 2008. Displaying the theme “Global Trends and Challenges”, the convention was graced by speakers coming from the different sectors of Tourism industry. Among them were Hon. Mark T. Lapid, General Manager of Philippine Tourism Authority, Mr. Avelino Zapanta, CEO of Southeast Airlines, and Hon. James “Bong” Gordon, Mayor of Olongapo City.
Participants included students representing 11 schools nationwide. Other competitions held in the said convention were Tour Guiding, Cultural Presentation, and Quiz Bee.
SSC-R students were assisted by Ms. Cristina Caluza (adviser), Ms. Joy Era (faculty), and Ms Mary Grace Ac-Ac (area chair, Tourism)
Setting the groundwork for PAASCU visit for reaccreditation on March 2 and 3, 2009, the High School Department has been busy doing the necessary paperworks and other preparations since the start of the school year. To secure the best results, the following committees with assigned teachers and staff were formed:
The intensification of the admission program has been given emphasis by the Student Development and Placement Center during the previous years. One of the objectives of the program is to strengthen the recruitment services of the school through the different strategies used to ensure better results.
For us to recognize the best approach in our school campaign, the SDPC is regularly conducting a survey to incoming students. The said survey will aid us to identify the strong points and limitations of strategies used by the school in marketing.
There are six questions consist in the survey questionnaire: a) Sources of Information about SSC- R; b) Reasons for Choosing SSC- R; c) if they took entrance exam only in SSC-R; d) if SSC-R their first or second choice; e)Other Preferred Schools for Entrance Examination; f) and the Impression about San Sebastian College.
The said survey was administered to all incoming students of school year 2008 – 2009. These are the students who passed the admission examination and about to undergo the initial step in the enrollment procedure which is an interview with the college counselors. Follow- up interview was conducted by the counselors to get more substantial information from the respondents.
Based on records drawn from college freshmen profile, SDPC revealed the following top feeder schools for college this School Year 2008-2009:
1. San Sebastian College-Recoletos Manila High School
2. Sacred Heart Academy of Novaliches, Quezon City
3. Espiritu Santo Parochial School, Sta. Cruz, Manila
La Consolacion College (High School), Caloocan City
4. Aquinas School of San Juan, Metro Manila
Colegio de Sta. Monica de Angat, Pampanga
La Immaculada Concepcion, Pasig City
5. Pasig Catholic College, Pasig City
SSC-R Manila still leads the feeders consistently bringing the most number of students (55). Second on the list was Sacred Heart Academy of Novaliches, Quezon City with 15. Third spot marking 12 students was shared by Espiritu Santo Parochial School and La Consolacion College of Caloocan City. The fourth slot (with 10 students) was a three-way position for Aquinas School of San Juan, Metro Manila, Colegio de St. Monica de Angat, Pampanga and La Immaculada Concepcion of Pasig City. Pasig Catholic College has also consistently been in the top five slot got the least position in the top five bringing in 9 students this school year.
Reaping medals and trophies from different sports fields, Sebastinians proudly showed athletic supremacy during the 2007-2008 NCAA Season as they garnered the following recognitions:
Mapua takes the lead in bringing the NCAA Opening this year as host school. Bannering the theme “To the Fore at 84 – Building Bridges to the Future Through Sports” eight schools are again up for grabs and have been more determined ever especially in the area of basketball, being the loudest and the most cheered competition.
Season 83 of the National Collegiate Athletic Association saw the San Beda Red Lions, backstopped by Nigerian behemoth Sam Ekwe, dominating the tournament.
But as far as the individual efforts are concerned, no player could match the superb all around effort of Mapua’s King Cardinal Kelvin Dela Peña.
Dela Peña was named the Most Valuable Player of the 83rd NCAA season after he amassed 51.4 players. All-around Value (PAV) to become the first Cardinal to snare the highest individual plum since Reuben Dela Rosa 13 years ago.
The 6’1” guard, whose father Ricardo is a former pro, averaged 15.7 points, 8.6 rebounds, 5.6 assists, 3.4 steals and a shot block a game to power the Cardinals to the Final Four although they lost to highly-touted Red Lions there.
Dela Peña also holds the distinction of being the only player who posted a rare triple double performance after he churned out 23 points, 14 boards and 10 assists in an 85-75 victory over Perpetual Help Altas in the elimination round.
Forty-six barristers attended the NLP seminar: “Psychological Preparation for the Bar Exams” and this year’s theme is “Bringing out the Best within to Success” last July 25, 2008 at the Bar Review Center. The barristers who attended came from the different law schools such as San Sebastian College-Recoletos, UNO-Recoletos, Manuel L. Quezon University, Araullo University, University of Pangasinan, Jose Rizal University, Polytechnic University, Far Eastern University, University of Mindanao, Mindanao State University, Dr. V. Orestes Romualdez Educ. Foundation, St. Mary’s University and Philippine Law School. It was the sixth year that this seminar-workhop had been sponsored by the Law Guidance Office and the fourth year that it was opened to all barristers of the Recoletos Law Center.
The College of Law Guidance Office sponsored an Orientation Program for the new law students last July 2, 2008 at the Bar Review Center and this year’s theme was entitled “ In One Sebastinian Spirit for the Pursuit of Academic Excellence”.
There were a total of 64 students who attended on the said program. The invited speakers consisted from the religious administrators and personnel from the different student services who rendered their time and efforts in welcoming and inspiring the students in considering the institution to be a part of their vision to be lawyers of tomorrow.
