By Ry Dolor

By Alexia Bangayan and Noriko Yamamoto

On Tuesday, January 27, the Ateneo Senior High School (ASHS) continued its “Gonzavaganza: Gonzaga Week 2026” celebration with a series of class bonding activities and interstrand games.

The day began with a mass celebrating the Feast of St. Aloysius Gonzaga, followed by the opening program.

During the program, a “Guess the Song” game was held, featuring tracks that were popular in 2016 — the same year the ASHS was established.

Moreover, stickers were hidden under five students’ chairs, and those who found them received prizes from the Office of Campus Ministry (OCM).

Additionally, students with the same name as St. Aloysius Gonzaga, including Luis or Luigi, were also given prizes by the OCM.

Afterwards, students took part in their respective class potluck events, “Salu-saloysius,” where students were asked to bring Filipino food to share within their sections.

Gonzaga Games

The student body was divided by section into four groups — A, B, C, and D — each with its own schedule for the games.

One of the featured games was the Lava Game, held on the third-floor Formation and Learning Center (FLC), wherein 15 players from each section had to race across two courts by stepping on only two mattresses without touching the floor.

The Squid Game-inspired game “Red Light, Green Light,” was also conducted, with one group composed of four sections competing, and each section was represented by five students.

During the game, participants moved together when the music played or when the game master called Green Light, and any detected movement sent the entire section back to the starting line.

Another highlight was the game “Grab the Gonzaga Strap,” wherein the last player in line wore a strap around their waist that opponents attempted to seize.

Lastly, the Water Fest was conducted at the Red Brick Road, with each section assigned to one station — including ‘‘Pass the Water,’’ ‘‘Balancing the Bucket,’’ and a water-gun dodgeball game.

However, due to unforeseen downpour, students were only able to play “Pass the Water” among the three stations.

“Having this entire day allocated for fun games and activities gives us an opportunity to have a break from academic stress and also time to bond with our class,” Natania Dubongco of 11-Grande said.

Marchelene Gaza, also from 11-Grande, shared that the event “fostered camaraderie among classmates and strengthened their sense of unity.”

“I would also like to share that it also offers a space where students are free to build stronger bonds with each other through friendly competition,” Alberta Donato, from the same class, added.

With outdoor games cancelled for a period of time due to the rain, Aren Cainglet of 11-Grande stated, “Despite all the logistical changes and issues, I can still say that I very much enjoyed all the activities — most especially the Water Fest because it was very memorable.”

He further explained that all the class bonding activities made the whole event an even more enjoyable experience, even as someone who only participated in one game.

Regular academic classes will continue from Wednesday, January 28 to Thursday, January 29; ASHS Fair, “Siklo,” will be held on Friday, January 30, and Saturday, January 31.