By Arabella Balderama

The Ignatian Spirituality and Ateneo Culture (ISAC) sessions for the school year 2023-2024 commenced from August 3 until August 4, introducing junior transferees to the core values that an Atenean must embody.

This two-day program served as a jumpstart for incoming grade 11 students who did not come from the Ateneo Junior High School.

Day one primarily revolved around the discussion of Atenean principles that would highlight a student’s formation throughout the year.

Mr. Noel P. Miranda, the Ateneo Senior High School (ASHS) principal, delivered his opening speech, officially marking the beginning of the event.

“Language is very powerful … Language is a way of bridging people … Language is a power to bring hope and express our dreams and aspirations … Hopefully, in the next two days of ISAC sessions, you can learn the language of the Ateneo Senior High School,” Mr. Miranda said.

Brother Bien Cruz from the Society of Jesus then led a talk about the life of St. Ignatius de Loyola, which gave way to an explanation of the following directives:

• Being persons for and with others
• Finding God in all things
• Magis
• Cura Personalis

A question and answer portion commenced afterward, resulting in a fruitful exchange between Brother Bien and the students.

All strands then proceeded to their respective breakout venues to watch a film about St. Ignatius de Loyola and open small group sharings about their key takeaways.

Meanwhile, the second day centered on the 5Cs, namely: compassion, commitment, Christ-centeredness, competence, and conscience. 

Some teachers from the faculty volunteered to facilitate talks and group activities per strand which allowed the transferees to better understand the 5Cs. 

Ms. Meng de Guia and Mr. Mark Batas aided the Accountancy and Business Management (ABM) Strand, while Mr. Gabby Malilim and Ms. Ivana Sanje assisted the General Academic (GA) Strand. 

Moreover, Ms. Sansan Borja and Mr. Romeo Nungay enlightened the students from the Humanities and Social Sciences Strand (HumSS), whereas Mr. Jon Bilog and Ms. Yuri Hojo facilitated in the Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Strand.

Student speakers per strand also led talks to share about their experiences in the ASHS, especially on living out the 5Cs and adjusting to a new environment.

Angeley Nicolas and Annika Yorobe from ABM, Nathalie Kate Tible and Sachi Ingles from GA, John Benedict Maxino and Meg Espiritu from HumSS, as well as Ika Baquir and Aaron Cartagena from STEM were the representatives that gave helpful tips to the junior transferees.

The two-day ISAC was then concluded with a recollection and a eucharistic celebration wherein some juniors participated as readers.

“I am looking forward so much to the school year, especially because today parang naging [isa siyang] teaser for what the school year could be. I think it will be really [really] enjoyable, especially after how today went,” a junior from HumSS stated when asked about how they feel after attending the ISAC sessions.