Remembering 75 years of grace: ICA's platinum jubilee

The year was 1936, and a sense of change was in the air. The Philippine Independence Act had just been signed, and the country was entering a new stage in its history as a Commonwealth government. That same year, a group of nuns had moved into a small room atop a hardware store in Binondo—heralding the humble beginnings of a school that would find its culmination in the institution it is today.

This year, the Immaculate Conception Academy (ica) marks its 75th founding anniversary; celebrating 75 years of unwavering devotion and commitment to the cause of one Venerable Délia Tétreault, foundress of the Canadian Missionary Sisters of the Immaculate Conception (MIC), without whom ICA would not have been possible.

Seventy-five years is a long time. A lifetime, in fact. This milestone is given more bearing when we take into consideration the many hardships that the MIC had to undergo before ICA could become a reality—transferring from place to place about five times in less than a decade due to the outbreak of WWII; experiencing the horrors of imprisonment in Fort Santiago by the Japanese; dealing with rats, floods, and dilapidated classrooms in their effort to reinstate the school, all while living on the dark fringes of poverty.

To be sure, the structure that now stands in the heart of Greenhills wasn’t put up overnight (specifically, it was put up in 1960), and we have the sweat, blood, and tears of those indefatigable nuns to thank for it. Of course, the original nuns who pioneered the school are all gone now, but their spirit lives on in the current ICA administrators; specifically the powerhouse duo of Sr. Teresita Canivel, MIC and Sr. Dina Ang, MIC. Under their leadership, ICA has achieved Level 3 accreditation status from the Philippine Association of Accredited Schools, Colleges and Universities (PAASCU), testament to the high standards of instruction, estimable faculty and alumni, and visible research tradition of the school. Likewise, the structural innovations that ICA is presently enjoying—the Delia Tetreault Arts and Sports Center, Student Activity Center, and Learning Resource Center, to name a few—are also the fruits of these nuns’ efforts. I can’t even imagine going through high school without any of these facilities, much less envision how things used to be when the ICAns of old were bereft of an official sports center or respectable tambayan area.

Though the times, indeed, are a-changing, ICA’s development will always remain a work in progress. Thus, in line with the school’s 75 years of commitment to excellence, we have the theme of this year’s celebration — “Deepening the faith, empowering women, transforming lives.”

Open lab: Students experimenting with their teacher’s help

Personally, I could not agree more with the anniversary theme of choice. In terms of deepening the faith, ICA has always prided itself on being first and foremost a missionary school; one that unites faith with practice instead of simply preaching to the choir. Off the top of my head, I would list the various outreach programs (such as the medical missions), the ICA scholarship foundation, first Friday masses, class retreats, and Days with the Lord as a few of the more memorable and exemplary programs of the school. Meanwhile, when it comes to women empowerment, where else do we need to look? ICA is practically Amazonian in its breeding of cultured and refined women of faith and service; not to mention the premium it has placed on nurturing independence and a certain vitality of spirit—just look at how most ICA alumnae have turned out. Finally, on the matter of transforming lives, it all boils down to the education which the school seeks to impart: one that is transformative in itself, as well as wholistic (one might even say Aristotelian) in its approach.

What more can I say? While it definitely wasn’t always smooth sailing in its 75 years of existence, I believe ICA is better, and all the more formidable for it. And though I’ve yet to revisit the hallowed halls of my alma matter, life in the so-called “real world” has only reinforced in me the fact that I’m still an ICAn through and through, and immensely proud to be one at that.

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ICA will launch its year-long celebration on Feb. 4. His Eminence Gaudencio Cardinal Rosales, Archbishop of Manila will preside over the Eucharistic Celebration in the presence of the students, faculty members, ICA parents, alumnae, benefactors and friends. Liturgical songs will be rendered by a choir of ICA faculty and students accompanied by the Metro Manila Concert Orchestra—compliment of Mrs. Milagros How of Class ’71. After the mass will follow a short audio visual presentation of the early history of ICA—a gift of the ICA Parent Auxiliary headed by Mrs. Jacqueline Tiam-Lee. The ICA Alumnae Association, headed by Mrs. Billie Syling of Class ’77, on the other hand, will present to the Directress a copy of the coffee-table book “Cut Above,” which contains brief descriptions of the alumnae who have made a difference in the life of people in accordance with the vision and mission of school. The Cardinal will then proceed to bless the plaques of generous donors to the ICA Greenhills Scholarship Foundation, organized five years ago to give assistance to students in need of financial help. Lunch will conclude the morning’s program.

Go ICA: The Delia Tetrault Arts and Sports Center

Meanwhile, in the spirit of its platinum jubilee, the school administration is undertaking curriculum reforms under the direction of Dr. Queena Lee-Chua of Class ’83, while ICA’s Community Service and Development Projects will be given greater impetus this year. Furthermore, aside from the current community development activities such as giving scholarship grants to the public school students of Barangay Tuberias, San Juan, ICA has also undertaken contracts and commitments regarding environmental care through the tree-planting projects of the faculty and the high school students, in partnership with Haribon Foundation and the Environmental Studies Institute of Miriam College.

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And on that note, Happy 75 years, ICA!