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St. Scho ushers College Faculty Orientation for SY 2009-2010

By Prof. Mary Joy Rosales-Orante
Posted: Monday June 15, 2009 02:25 PM

First Day: June 4, 2009

One hundred seven (107) college faculty of SSC came on the first day of orientation for SY 2009-2010 last June 4, 2009 at Sr. Caridad Barrion Hall.  The school officials, administrators and personnel likewise arrived to be part of the opening of the new academic year. 

3 C's

Encouragements, challenges, learnings and reminders filled the June 4-5 orientation.  SSC President, Sr. M. Angelica Leviste, OSB shared the 3 C's representing the new school theme: Leaders in the Service of Christ, Country and Creation.  She encouraged everyone to emulate the servant leadership of Christ and stimulated the emotions through the videos shown about poverty (Chicken ala Carte), tourism, and global warming/climate change (Signos).  Both Sr. M. Angelica Leviste, OSB and Vice-President for Academic Affairs, Sr. Mary Thomas Prado, OSB acknowledged the new officers of the Institution and the College. 

Vice-President for Academic Affairs (VPAA) Report

Vice-President for Academic Affairs, Sr. Mary Thomas Prado, OSB commenced by commending all the faculty present for coming in spite of the bad weather and Influenza A (H1N1) scare.  She presented a comprehensive account of the accomplishments vis-a-vis the areas for improvement in the College.  She reported the updates on the Graduate School, Night Secondary School, successful activities of the College, hallmarks of excellence, recommendations and actions taken for previous school year to present, among others.  Her discussion on the directions for the College Unit for SY 2009-2010 was sidetracked by alarming news: decline in the enrollment at all levels due to financial crises and other factors,  which is translated to millions of losses for the school.  To remedy the problematic situation on finances, Sr. Mary Thomas articulated various contingency measures that will be implemented this school year.  She also appealed for financial prudence and cost-cutting measures at the College.  Amidst negative news, she enlightened the body with the Missionary Benedictine Sisters' Priory Chapter Mission Statement for 2009: New Beginnings highlighted by revisiting, reclaiming, revisioning, redirecting and reform.

Sr. M. Vida Mones, OSB reported the financial performance of the school for SY 2008-2009 and further encouraged the body with her good news on accounts receivables.

Engaged Citizenship Lecture

Another highlight on the 1^st day was the talk entitled, “Engaged Citizenship: Role of the Academe in Nation-Building” given by the outgoing Executive Director of Simbahang Lingkod ng Bayan, Bro. I.J. Chan Gonzaga.  He emphasized the importance of the two (2) major institutions in counter-attacking corruption: academe and church.  He posted the following important queries: (1) What kind of students are we producing?; and (2) How do we contribute to nation-building?  Bro. Gonzaga presented disturbing statistics and discussions on the issues concerning family, government, economy, education and youth.  He ended the talk with an inspiring video to inculcate hope in the midst of hopelessness. 

 Influenza A (H1N1) Advisory

To ensure safety and protection from the Influenza A (H1N1) virus, SSC Senior Medical Officer, Dr. Madeleine Buraga provided a health advisory and precautionary measures to prevent the spread.  All faculty members are instructed on the first day of classes to compel students to fill-out information sheets on whether they travel abroad recently and if they experience cough, colds and body malaise.  Sr. Mary Thomas assured everyone that SSC is prepared for any eventuality. 

Freshmen/women Orientation  

Atty. Prima Quinsayas, Officer-in-Charge of the Student Affairs Office, announced that the Freshmen Orientation was moved to June 15-17, 2009.

Presentations

The entire afternoon of June 4 was highlighted by various presentations: 1) Three (3) – year Faculty Development Program Overview by School of Arts and Sciences Dean Asuncion Azcuna; 2) Review of the Faculty Code of Ethics and Standard Procedures on Classroom Management by School of Accountancy Dean Ester Ledesma; 3) Guidance Center's Wellness Program by Ms. Corazon Huvalla; and 4) Library updates on EBSCO and iGroup HW Wislon Omnifile by their respective representatives introduced by Ms. Simeona Delfin of the SSC Library.  Dean Azcuna also guided through the faculty on the calendar of activities for SY 2009-2010. 

(L to R): Dean of Arts and Sciences, Prof. Ma. Asuncion Azcuna, Dean of Accountancy, Prof. Ester Ledesma, Guidance Director, Mrs. Corazon Huvalla, and College Library Head, Ms. Simeona Delfin

Second Day: June 5, 2009  

Announcements          

Assistant to the Dean of Student Affairs, Prof. Ellen Catherine Carbon

Sr. M. Angelica began the 2^nd day of orientation by distributing St. Benedictine medals.  Faculty members also received folders with pertinent information about the school.  Sr. Mary Thomas, on the other hand, cheered everyone with her good news about the enrollment update.  She also encouraged everyone to join SSC in participating in the Anti-Chacha rally on June 10.  She also announced the postponement of the educational trip to Hongkong this October 2009 for faculty due to financial constraint.  She mentioned that it will be pushed though next year. Ms. Ellen Carbon of SAO gave necessary correction regarding the re-orientation schedule of the 2^nd to 5^th year students to June 18 and 19, both half-day.  She also appealed to the faculty to assist SAO in monitoring and checking the IDs and proper uniforms of the students in their respective classes. 

Conference/Seminar Feedback

The 2^nd day of orientation featured the feedback on international conferences and seminars attended by faculty and administrators.   

Dean Azcuna echoed the conference she attended with Sr. Mary Thomas Prado sponsored by the Association of Asian Institute of Higher Learning in Sri Lanka.  She shared not only their unforgettable experiences in the trip but also the learnings gained.  She relayed that SSC was the only women's college among the male-dominated organizations that participated in the event.  Based from what they observed in the conference, SSC will give prominent exposition to the SSC coat of arms in all presentations, documents, etc.  Dean Azcuna  reported the importance of skills training, essential role of schools as source of knowledge, application of co-curricular transcripts in SSC for this school year, focus on liberal arts and its application to the practicality of work, network among universities, and maintaining gender-sensitivity stand of the school. 

Prof. Flordeliz Abanto of the Department of Mass Communication imparted the ASEAN Bishops Conference held in Thailand that aimed to encourage the integration of social communication in Catholic schools and universities.  SSC was among the 34 Catholic Universities and Colleges from 13 countries that participated in the conference entitled, “Social Communications in Catholic Universities: Facts, Experiences and Challenges.”  She showed panoramic photos of the beautiful places they visited in Thailand.  Prof. Abanto was honored to relay that SSC has been in-tuned with the goal of the conference.  She particularly mentioned their course in Mass Com, “Mass Media and Society,” which promotes the integration of ethics anchored in Christian values to social communication.  She even elaborated recommendations in her presentation.

Prof. Delia Sarmiento of the Department of Business and Information Management shared the learnings she gained from her “dream that came true” workshop that she attended last May 19-22, 2009 in Hongkong entitled, “Digital Humanities in Asia: Global Technologies and Local Knowledge.”  She was among the participants composed of Humanities faculty, librarians and IT staff from 20 universities and colleges.   The conference reiterated the use of technology in college.  The event led to the formation of a network as a digital way to the development of interdisciplinary and international collaboration. 

Dean Ester Ledesma was overjoyed in echoing the 4^th CIMA Regional Training Workshop that she attended last May 28-30, 2009 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.  She relayed the following: 1) Teaching strategies in SSC are at par with Southeast Asia; 2) SSC is a performing school in the field of Accountancy in the Philippines compared to the universities and colleges abroad; 3) Access to new instructional materials; 4) Fresh inputs for the Board of Accountancy; and 5) Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) between the Philippine group and CIMA.                     

Dr. Angelina Gutierrez of the Department of Theology participated in the American Educational Research 2009 Conference last April 13-17, 2009 in San Diego, California, USA.  This enriching opportunity led her to invite her colleagues to integrate justice and peace in various disciplines. 

Ms. Encarnita Deveraturda of the Physical Education Department echoed the SSC Pep Squad's participation in the Cheerleading Competition that was held in Japan.  She presented videos of the performances of SSC and UP.  She relayed that SSC was among the 27 teams that qualified in the final round.  This event taught our girls that cheerleading means supporting the Team Philippines (SSC and UP) and building friendship with other nations.     

Campus-Connect

The 2/span>^nd day of orientation also featured the briefing from Ms. Irene Acosta-Palilio of Globe Telecom for faster communication in SSC community through campus-connect.  Globe Telecom will provide free software to facilitate text broadcast to the entire SSC Community to disseminate official announcements, updates and other information.  Registration is free.

Photography Lecture

Another highlight on the 2nd day was an informative talk given by a renowned photographer.  Mr. Dik Trofeo, a film/video director/producer and the Master Photographer awarded by the Camera Club of the Philippines, gave a lecture on photography as a research tool.  He even displayed different kinds of camera and discussed their various uses.  He shared his wide experiences on the field here and abroad and tips on how to utilize the equipment for data gathering, etc.  Sr. Mary Thomas put smiles on the faces of the audience when she invited Mr. Trofeo in the SSC Photography Faculty Club that will be created in the future. 

The 2nd day of the orientation ended with the different Departmental meetings in the afternoon.

The June 4-5 orientation was hosted by Dr. Richard Pulmones and Ms. Ramona Balingos on the 1st day and Atty. Prima Quinsayas on the 2nd day.

“...Whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be a slave of all.  For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to  serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many.”
(Mark 10:43-45)