SSC President's Orientation 2012
By: Arianne Joy G. Costumbrado,
Planning and Development Office Technical Staff
Posted: Monday, July 23, 2012

As a tradition here in SSC, School President, Sr. Mary Thomas Prado, OSB, announced the adoption of a new school theme for School Years 2012-2016. In the previous years (SY 2009-2011), the school theme was “Leaders in the Service of Christ, Country and Creation”. The Benedictine Value in focus was “Service”. For SYs 2012-2016 the school theme is: “Christ-centered leaders: Renewing our culture, Revitalizing our community, Restoring the integrity of Mother Earth with joy and hope”. The Benedictine values in focus for SY 2012-2013 are “Community” and “Hospitality”. As part of her orientation, Sr. Mary Thomas showed videos to explain the values in focus.

Community
On “community”, the video showed a little girl narrating on what Community values are.  The video showed various community activities throughout the world, such as “Bayanihan” from the Philippines and barn raising in the USA. The remarkable and quotable lines from the video are “Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly”; “the whole planet is interconnected, from every small town, to every big city, over mountains, across oceans, every corner of the globe are tied together in the inescapable garment of destiny, and we are all just part of a continuous thread”. Sr. Mary Thomas also explained the meaning of community based on the Rules of St. Benedict as follows:

• Community is a continuation of the life of the early Church (RB 33 and 53); it is the sharing and fellowship of Christians (Koinonia)


• Community is a “School of the Lord’s Service” (RB Prol) where we learn to serve God and one another


• Community is also called the “house of God” (domus Dei) – a place where it is “easy to be good” because people treat each other with sensitivity and decency (RB 31:19)


• The community is composed of the strong and the weak; of members different in age, backgrounds, temperaments and dispositions.


• The virtues needed to live in community are PATIENCE (“They should each support with the greatest patience one another’s weaknesses of body and behavior” RB 72) and REVERENCE (…”anticipate one another in showing honor” RB 72).

Hospitality
On the Benedictine value of “hospitality”, Sr. Mary Thomas explained that St. Benedict’s primary teaching is “Let anyone who comes be received as Christ.”

Hospitality is the love that extends itself to strangers (in contrast to the love for parents, children, and friends) and the movement of hospitality is towards strangers, who through our love and concern, can become our friends. Nurturing a hospitable heart also means openness to new ideas, to changes, to new experiences.

Year-end Report
As part of her orientation, Sr. Mary Thomas also presented the President’s Year- end report for SY 2011-2012 to all the School’s stakeholders: administrators, students, faculty, staff and parents. The report included the 10 directions of SSC and the management directions set by the President. Sr. Vida Mones, OSB and Prof. Virginia Fornias, discussed their reports on the salary increase and enrollment, respectively.

Sr. Mary Thomas Prado, OSB delivered her orientation on the following dates:

Unit/ Office	Date	Time	Venue
College - Year 1	Thursday, June 07, 2012	8:00 A.M.	Kuniberta Hall
High School- Year IV	Wednesday, June 13, 2012	8:15 A.M.	Kuniberta Hall
High School- Grade 7	Thursday, June 14, 2012	8:15 A.M.	Kuniberta Hall
High School- Yrs. II & III	Friday, June 15, 2012	8:15 A.M.	Kuniberta Hall
Grade School- Grades 4,5,6	Monday, June 18, 2012	8:15 A.M.	Kuniberta Hall
Grade School- Grades 2&3	Tuesday, June 19, 2012	8:15 A.M.	Kuniberta Hall
Night Secondary School	Tuesday, June 19, 2012	5:00 P.M.	Barrion Hall
Grade School- Grade 1	Wednesday, June 20, 2012	8:15 A.M.	Ehrentrudis Hall
College- Years Ii & III	Thursday, June 21, 2012	8:00A.M.	Kuniberta Hall
College- Years IV & V	Friday, June 22, 2012	8:15 A.M.	Ehrentrudis Hall
High School- HSPA	Saturday, June 23, 2012	8:15 A.M.	Kuniberta Hall
GS and HS Faculty	Friday, June 22, 2012	3:00 P.M.	Pres. Function Hall A
College Faculty	Monday, June 25, 2012	1:30 P.M.	Pres. Function Hall A
OP/PS/GSP	Saturday, June 23, 2012	10:00 A.M.	Ehrentrudis Hall

 

Additional orientation sessions will also be conducted for the Grade School and College Parents' Association and the security guards.

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