Admin, lay mid-managers attend 2014 CEAP National Convention

The SPCB delegates to the 2014 CEAP National Convention held in SMX Convention Center in Lanang, Davao City take time out to witness the awarding ceremonies of the Many Faces of the Teacher, A Tribute to the Teacher. The delegation included Mr. Joselito B. Hernandez, Miss Imelda Baltazar, Miss Divina Marita Mercado, Mr. Ernesto U. Guillermo, Jr., Mrs. Eufemia Dionson, Sr. Maria Remedios R. Cayetano, SPC, Sr. Ma. Gemma Moralita, SPC, and Sr. Maria Lauren Risma, SPC (not in the picture).

 Three Sister administrators and six lay middle managers were among the over 3,200 delegates who attended the 2014 CEAP National Convention held in SMX Convention Center, Lanang, Davao City on September 24-26, 2014.

Sr. Maria Remedios R. Cayetano, SPC, the Directress-HS Principal led the entire delegation of St. Paul College of Bocaue with Sr. Maria Lauren Risma, SPC - the Finance Officer, Sr. Ma. Gemma Moralita, SPC – Christian Formation Head, Mr. Ernesto U. Guillermo, Jr. – HS Academic Chair, Mr. Joselito B. Hernandez – HS Clubs and Organizations Chair, Mrs. Eufemia A. Dionson – Student Welfare Committee Chair, Miss Imelda Baltazar – GS Academic Chair, Miss Divina Marita Mercado – GS Homeroom Chair, and Mrs. Maria Azcela Zosima R. Cabo – GS English Subject Team Leader.

Together with the SPCB delegation was Sr. Rosalina Herrera, SPC, the Program Director of St. Paul University-Quezon City Bocaue Campus.

The confab was a gathering of educators from all the member schools of the Catholic Educational Association of the Philippines (CEAP) all over the country. It was its 73^rd national convention and had the theme Set Forth in Faith: Defining the Transformative Role of Catholic Education in a Changing World.

The convention paid attention to two major issues in the light of the transformative roles of catholic institutions – the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro, and Issues on the Environment.

Still in its birthing stage towards becoming a more defined and cohesive region of autonomy with the hope of solving the peace problems in Mindanao, Prof. Miriam Coronel-Ferrer, the Chair of the Government of the Philippines Panel on Peace Negotiations with MILF presented the status of the Bangsamoro Issue and the Pursuit of Genuine Peace in Mindanao.

She noted that so far, the Aquino administration made major breakthroughs in peace negotiations with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) which led to the formation of the Bangsamoro, referring to the natives of Mindanao, the Sulu peninsula, including Palawan.

The primer on the Bangsamoro describes the Bangsamoro as “Those who at the time of conquest and colonization were considered natives or original inhabitants of Mindanao and the Sulu archipelago and its adjacent islands including Palawan, and their descendants whether mixed or of full native blood shall have the right to identify themselves as Bangsamoro by ascription or self-ascription.”

Ferrer bared that the CAB will eventually lead to the replacement of the Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) and will give way to the formation of Bangsamoro whose geographical territory includes those of the ARMM and other contiguous places in Mindanao, and further defined through a plebiscite should the Bangsamoro Basic Law be passed by Congress.

Meanwhile, Dr. Gemma Teresa T. Narisma, Associate Director for Research of the Manila Observatory presented the issues besetting the environment, particularly the perceived climatic changes brought about by global warming.

Armed with several slides showing statistical data on carbon dioxide emissions juxtaposed with alarmingly increasing atmospheric temperatures, Narisma noted that the biggest rising of global temperature happened in the last two decades. Studies tend to show that there is a correlation of the carbon dioxide emissions into the atmosphere with the alarming global warming, she said.

She presented several statistical data on tropical cyclones which had entered the Philippine Area of Responsibility in the recent decades and noted that storms had become stronger and deadlier.

Narisma also flashed to the confab delegates some possible scenarios which may take place along the coastal lines of the Philippines once the rise of global temperatures continue. Some coastal areas will be eventually submerged, she warned.

Concurrent sessions were held on those two major issues, including sessions on recent trends, issues and concerns affecting private education.

On the Bangsamoro issues, the sessions held were Historical Antecedents of the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro, The Bangsamoro Basic Law and the Constitution, and Inter-religious and Interfaith Dialogue.

Sessions on the environment included Environmental Spirituality and Climate Change: The Role of Spiritual Formation in Rebuilding the Human Community as a New Creation, The Price of a Mountain: Economy-Environment Tradeoff, and Poverty and the Environment.

Sessions on the trends and issues affecting private education were Updates on K to 12, Developing the Revised General Education Curriculum, and Legal Updates.

There was also a report on the National Filipino Catholic Youth Survey, which presented how the youth view the Catholic faith and other issues concerning them.

Most Rev. Socrates B. Villegas, D.D., President of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines presided over the Opening Eucharistic Celebration.

Br. Narciso ‘Jun’ S. Erguiza, FSC, CEAP President set the tones and directions of the convention in his Welcome and Opening Remarks.

The President of Miriam College, Dr. Rosario O. Lapus, presented the MC experience on how a Catholic school could actualize transformative education through the different innovative programs that the school may adopt and diligently, religiously, and consistently following them up with the students.

The CEAP also conferred a posthumous Pro Deo et Patria Award to the Archbishop Emeritus of Caceres, Most Rev. Leonardo Z. Legazpi, D.D. in recognition of his contribution to the advancement of Catholic catechesis in the Philippines.

Meanwhile, the entire delegation of SPCB took the opportunity to attend the awarding ceremonies of the five teacher awardees of the Many Faces of the Teacher by the Bato Balani Foundation and Diwa Learning Systems, Inc. on September 27 at the same venue after the CEAP Convention.

The five awardees were extraordinary teachers from the public schools, mostly teachers of the Alternative Learning System. The awardees were Genevieve G. Kulong, dubbed as Innovation Crusader, of Zamboanga City High School who harnessed the power of ICT for education not only in her school but also with other schools; Jinglebert P. Collado, known as the Limitless Lecturer, an ALS teacher from Davao del Norte, who regularly travels several hours walking and crossing 21 rivers to reach his indigenous students in Aninipot Elementary School; Lou Sabrina S. Ongkiko, dubbed the Spirited Enabler, a young science teacher from Culiat Elementary School in Quezon City, who chose to teach in a public school despite being lured to other schools being a graduate of the Ateneo de Manila University and with post graduate studies in Melbourne, Australia and Singapore; Darwin T. Tadifa, baptized the Creative Leader, of Tubungan Central Elementary School in Iloilo, also an ALS teacher who organized innovative projects such as Project BULAK (Buhay Unahin sa Literasiya para sa Ating Kinabukasan), Project LUNOK (Literasiya Unahin Natin at Obligahin para sa ating Kinabukasan), Project BAUL (Bumasa Ating Ugaliin Lagi), and Project DARWIN (Developing Attitudes, Responsibilities, Working habits and Initiative among Neophytes); and Elsie C. Padernal, dubbed the Cultural Curator, of Malag-it Primary School in Iloilo, who herself is a member of the Panay Bukidnon Indigenous People and devoted studying and teaching their culture even before the K to 12 program was implemented.

The SPCB delegates also had the opportunity to listen to Dr. Sascha Heckmann, Principal of the Shanghai American School in Indianapolis and a member of the ASCD, Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, when he talked about Authentic Assessment during the thanksgiving dinner hosted by Rex Book Store Inc. at the Philippine Women’s College of Davao City, September 26.