Through the years, the Philippines had made a name in the spirit of celebrating just about anything we have found to be interesting and worthy of our attention. There are certain seasons of the year that stand out, which we celebrate. Our alma mater, St. John’s Academy, holds its Loyalty Day celebration with the theme “Up-holding Academy Excellence.” The day starts with a Thanksgiving Mass at 7 a.m. The flag rites follows after an hour. Then the various organizations start opening the different booths.
At around 3 p.m., the dance festival is held featuring Una-una, Kaya-Kaya for Grades 3 and 4; Polkabal for Grades 5 and 6; Macarena for Preschool; Jazz Dance for Years 1 and 2, It’s a Beautiful Life for Grades 1 and 2; and Cha-cha for Years 3 and 4.
The administration, faculty and the students give their best to make the different activities a success. New friends are made and old friends reunited. Alumni return to their roots to reminisce on the days they had spent at St. John’s Academy. Guest of honor F. Sionil Jose delivers a graduation message praising the way St. John’s trained its students.
The United Nations Day is also observed by St. Johnites every Oct. 24 and to commemorate the historic day, the Student Council conducts a contest participated in by students from Grade 5 to Fourth Year high school.
Considered one of the top sports journalists today is Manolo Edilberto Jose (Chino Trinidad), a graduate of St. John’s, who writes articles about famous boxing matches and basketball games and interviews with famous sports personalities.
From St. John’s, we transfer to the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) which will mark its 47th anniversary next year. Among the highlights are the new arts festivals, collaborations in theater, dance and music, the launch of the major encyclopedia of Philippine Arts and a focus on arts programming for children, youth and families. Other major festivals include the Broadway production of Sister Act, the live Argentine Tango showcase called TangoBlitz and the Pasinaya Festival, considered the largest multi-arts festival in the country.
The visual arts scene at the CCP will feature the Transnational Narration; Paperworks, (a gathering of works by artists from the Philippines, Thailand, USA, Switzerland and Australia), the Antonio Austria Retrospective, the Danilo Dalena Retrospective Exhibit, and an exhibit of graphic design curated by graphic artist Lucille Tenazas titled CCP in Design.
For aspiring theater artists, a workshop on vocal production and interpretation of live stage will be conducted by New York-based Filipina Carmela Cinco.
The CCP collaborates with the Slims School of Fashion and Arts for an intensive workshop on theatrical costume design.
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