Assumption College San Lorenzo

Assumption College (AC, Assumption SanLo, Assumption Makati), formerly known as the Assumption Convent, is a private, Roman Catholic school exclusively for girls located in San Lorenzo Village, Makati City, Philippines established in 1958. Assumption San Lorenzo is the successor of the Assumption Convent along Herran Street, Ermita, Manila. It provides education from pre-school, elementary, secondary, tertiary, to graduate level. The alumnae and present students of this school include daughters and granddaughters of Presidents, industrialists, politicians, and prominent figures in Philippine society.^[1][2][3]

Assumption College is recognized by the Department of Education and the Commission on Higher Education and also a charter member of the Philippine Accrediting Association of Schools, Colleges and Universities. It has earned Level IV accreditation on all of its respective departments and schools.^[4] The school is a member of Strategic Educational Alliance of Southeast Asia.

History

Early history

Sister Marie Eugénie Milleret de Brou (later canonised as Saint Marie-Eugénie de Jésus; 1817–1898) established the Congregation of the Religious of the Assumption in Paris on 30 April 1839 as a means to make a Christian transformation of society through education.^[5] The order arrived in Spanish colonial Philippines in 1892, and at the request of Queen María Cristina, consort of King Alfonso XII of Spain, they established the Superior Normal School for Women Teachers in Intramuros in 1892 which pioneered women education in the Philippines. Among its first alumnae were Rosa Sevilla de Alvero, Foundress of the Instituto de Mujeres; Librada Avelino and Carmen de Luna, who founded Centro Escolar University. At the outbreak of the Philippine Revolution of 1896, the order ceased operation of the school and returned to Europe.^[6]

Herran-Dakota campus

At the request of Pope Pius X, a group of anglophone Assumption Sisters returned to Manila in 1904; the Philippine Islands were by then already under American control. With the group of Sisters were Mother Helen Margaret as Superior, and Mother Rosa María Pachoud, Mother Esperanza Maria A. CuUnjieng, Madame Angela Ansaldo, Sr. Lory Mapa, Sr. Luisa Locsin and Sr. Bianca Rosa Perez Rubio who subsequently spent most of her religious life in the Religious of the Assumption in Asia. Originally an elementary and secondary school, the College was added in 1940. Its successors are Assumption College San Lorenzo and Assumption Antipolo.

Formerly found in the genteel enclave of Ermita, the school very much resembled the renowned girls’ schools of France and the rest of Europe, becoming a favourite amongst Manila’s pre-War élite. It was considered a school for the alta de sociedad and there was no other value more emphasised than the French term noblesse oblige: “To whom much is given, much will be required.” The school was once at the corner of Calle Herran (now known as United Nation Avenue and Calle Dakota (now known as Pedro Gil and Adriatico, respectively), beside the old Padre Faura campus of the all-boys' Ateneo de Manila, where the brothers of Assumptionistas often studied. It was from this time when the so-called “Ateneo-Assumption” families sprung up, with entire clans exclusively attending either school. It offered subjects such as Spanish, French, Language and Reading in English, Arithmetic, and Religion, as well as Manners and Penmanship.^[7]

During the Second World War, the whole school and the rest of the city were destroyed by heavy aerial bombardment in the 1945 Liberation of Manila. As with many schools, Assumption College resumed classes in quonset huts and in a battered auditorium in the ruins of the Herran campus. Mother Superior Rosa María and Madame Esperanza Maria A. CuUnjieng brought the school back to its feet and relaunched it in 1947 when the Reconstruction began, reopening in 1948. The Herran campus officially closed its doors in 1973, and today Robinsons Place Manila currently stands where it stood with the Padre Faura campus of Ateneo also stood.^[8]

Architecture and culture

A vast and stately school with manicured gardens, the Assumption Convent had high-ceilinged and arcaded school buildings in the neo-Gothic style, with lush plants and numerous trees. Possessing a very French, feminine aura, the convent school sported arched windows and corridors, partly hidden floral medallions, (specifically the fleur-de-lys common to the other French girls' school, Saint Paul University Manila), and even a lagoon with boats.^[9]

The Herran Assumption also featured one of the best school chapels in Manila. Neo-Gothic in design, the chapel featured arched, stained-glass windows and a comparatively small Gothic main altar. Students of the Herran campus still observed older practises of the Catholic Church, with students made to genuflect upon entering any place where the Blessed Sacrament was kept. In those days, students also signed for fifteen-minute shifts for the adoration of the Blessed Sacrament; they were thusly excused from any class. In the afternoons, the students with lacy white mantillas on their heads, filled the chapel for common adoration, ending the day with singing the Tantum Ergo.^[10]

There were also the very distinct things done within the walls of the school that through the decades would have the virtual label of “Assumption”. There were the Assumption tarts (triangular tarts topped with guava jelly), and the Assumption siomai, beloved by students because of how it tasted like those made by Ma Mon Luk, a famous noodle shop. There was also Assumption cottage pie, ground meat topped with mashed potatoes served at the refectory. Students wore the distinct Assumption uniform of a tartan skirt (the fabric of which was first imported from France^[11]), sailor-collared shirts and a pin with a gold-coloured school seal. The lace-filled immaculately white uniforms called "gala dress" were reserved for more formal occasions such as Mass and Graduation Rites. Visiting guests had to contend themselves of speaking with the students in a parlour.^[12]

Girls played a ball game they called bataille and were taught to curtsey before nuns, specifically the Mother Superior whom they were taught to address as "Notre Mère” ("our mother").^[13] A lasting hallmark of an “Old Girl” is the school's conspicuous penmanship known as "Assumption Script". Letters are distinctly long with sharp elongated points, it is a precise cursive, with flourished majuscules and jagged tails. It was a source of pride, according to Gonzalez,^[14][15] and a way of immediately identifying an Herran Assumptionista.^[16]

Herran closure and San Lorenzo-Antipolo transfers

The school then expanded to its San Lorenzo, Makati campus, welcoming 180 students into its preparatory and elementary levels in June 1958. The following year, Assumption College San Lorenzo opened its doors to college-bound young women, and the College moved there in 1959.

After some time, the Herran campus was sold as the area was becoming a commercial and tourist centre not conducive to learning. In 1972-73, four San Lorenzo campus teachers were transferred to pave the way for merging elementary schools and secondary schools of Herran and San Lorenzo. In 1973-74, the Herran and San Lorenzo schools fused: the High School and the College were based in San Lorenzo while the Preschool and Grade School briefly occupied Herran, temporarily moving to San Lorenzo in June 1974.

The Grade School finally resettled in Assumption Antipolo along Sumulong Highway on 11 September 1974, with the Preschool staying in San Lorenzo. However, the distance between Antipolo and Manila became a problem, driving alumnae and parents petition the College to re-open the elementary level in San Lorenzo. Grade 1 was re-opened in 1981 and starting school year 1988-89, grade levels were added until the San Lorenzo Grade School's first batch of seventh Grade students graduated in March 1993.

Response to the Church

In line with the spirit of Vatican II, and in response to the call of the Church in the Second Plenary Council of the Philippines and the needs of the country, the Assumption in the Philippines has moved towards the rural areas and the underprivileged sector, without abandoning the education of the upper/middle classes.

Institution

Basic Education Division

• Pre-school
• Elementary (K to Grade 6)
• High School (Grade 7 to Grade 10)
  • The school is currently in transition to the new K-12 Program
  • The majority of graduates from the AC-HS move on to study college at De La Salle University, University of the Philippines, University of Santo Tomas, Ateneo de Manila University, and De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde.

College

• Bachelor of Arts in Psychology
• Bachelor of Science in Psychology
• Bachelor of Science in Elementary Education Major in Early Childhood Education
• Bachelor of Communication major in:
  • Media Production
  • Advertising
  • Performing Arts
• Bachelor of Science in Business Administration major in Corporate Business
• Bachelor of Science in Business Administration major in International Business
• Bachelor of Science in Entrepreneurship
• Bachelor of Science in Entrepreneurship Specialized in Tourism Management
• Bachelor of Science in Business Administration major in Marketing Management
• Bachelor of Science in Business Administration major in Human Resources Management

Academic linkages

The college is part of the Women's Consortium Colleges which includes Miriam College in Katipunan, St. Scholastica's College Manila in Malate, La Consolacion College Manila in Mendiola, St. Paul University Quezon City, and the College of the Holy Spirit Manila in Mendiola.

The Milleret School of Business and Management for Women (MSBMW)

The Milleret School of Business and Management for Women includes the following professors in its full-time faculty as of June 2011:

• Prof. Ricardo Cruz, Associate Dean
• Prof. Christine Stephanie Allenda, Chairperson - Entrepreneurship, Tourism, Marketing Management, Human Resource, International Business

Notable alumnae

• Corazón Aquino^[17] (1933-2009) - eleventh President of the Philippines (1986-1992), figurehead of the 1986 People Power Revolution. Studied for a year before enrolling at the affiliated Ravenhill Academy in the United States.^[18]
• Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo^[19] - fourteenth President of the Philippines (2001-2009), former Vice-President of the Philippines, Senator, Social Welfare Secretary, and Undersecretary for Trade
• Victoria Syquia Quirino, Victoria Quirino-Delgado^[20] - former first lady; her father's official hostess in Malacañang. She was a senior high- school student at Assumption Convent when she moved to the palace.
• Loren Legarda^[21]- Senator, former broadcast journalist and actress
• Grace Poe-Llamanzares^[22] - Senator, daughter of actors Fernando Poe, Jr. and Susan Roces; former Chairwoman of the Movie and Television Review and Classification Board
• Gina de Venecia^[23] - Congresswoman of the 4th district of Pangasinan; wife of former senator José de Venecia, Jr.
• Imee Marcos^[24] - Governor of Ilocos Norte; daughter of the tenth President of the Philippines Ferdinand Marcos and First Lady Imelda Marcos
• Teresa Aquino-Oreta^[25] - former senator; sister of assassinated opposition Senator Benigno Aquino, Jr. and sister-in-law of Corazon Aquino (see above)
• Jamby Madrigal^[26] - politician and former senator
• Isabel Preysler^[27] - Madrid-based socialite, formerly of Manila; first wife of Julio Iglesias and mother of singer Enrique Iglesias
• Celia Diaz-Laurel^[28] - thespian, painter, writer, poet
• Bambi Harper^[29] - cultural writer and socialite; former president of the Heritage Conservation Society of the Philippines; columnist for the Philippine Daily Inquirer
• Fides Cuyugan-Asensio^[30] - soprano; Professor Emeritus at the University of the Philippines Voice and Music Theater/Dance Department
• Boots Anson-Roa - award-winning actress, columnist, editor, and lecturer
• Paraluman (1923-2009) - a FAMAS-award winning Filipino actress
• Joey Albert - singer
• Marilou Díaz-Abaya (1955-2012)^[31] - award-winning director
• Toni Rose Gayda - television presenter and celebrity
• Vicki Belo - dermatologist and celebrity
• Leah Navarro - actress; singer
• Dawn Zulueta - actress
• Mickey Ferriols - actress
• Maricel Laxa - actress
• Christine Bersola-Babao - broadcast journalist, actress, radio-television personality
• Gang Badoy^[32] - founder of RockEd Philippines, radio and television host, feature writer, TOWNS (The Outstanding Women in the Nation’s Service) and TOYM (Ten Outstanding Young Men) awardee
• Andrea Pasion-Flores^[33] - Philippine contemporary writer in English, former Executive Director of the National Book Development Board, lawyer
• Celine Lopez - celebrity; editor of Y-Style
• Esperenza Maria A. CuUnjieng - socialite-nun; assumption convent school administrator, philanthropist
• Teresita T. Sy-Coson - businesswoman; president and Chairwoman of Shoemart, Inc., and Supervalue, Inc.
• Marixi Rufino Prieto - Chief Executive Officer, Philippine Daily Inquirer
• Alexandra Prieto-Romualdez - former president and CEO of the Philippine Daily Inquirer.
• Tessa Prieto-Valdes - fashion designer, socialite, philanthropist, and columnist for the Philippine Daily Inquirer
• Wynn Wynn Ong - jewellery designer, co-founder and former chairman of Hands On Manila Foundation
• Isabelle Daza - celebrity; daughter of Miss Universe 1969 Gloria Díaz
• Georgina Wilson - model; celebrity
• Pauline Prieto - model
• Patricia Prieto - fashion blogger; celebrity
• Margarita Araneta-Fores - restaurateur; owner/founder of Cibo Inc.
• Divine Lee - heiress; celebrity
• Cecile Zamora-Van Straten - blogger
• Vicky Morales - television newscaster
• Vern Enciso - fashion blogger
• Cherie Mercado - TV5 broadcast journalist

References