Siena College of Taytay (Taytay)

 pre-school, elementary school, high school, college of further education / higher education, Roman Catholic school, private school

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School ID: 403139
Website: www.sct.edu.ph/

This introduction was taken from the article, "Siena College of Taytay: 50 Years in the Service of Truth" (www.eskwelahan.net/news/?p=1207)

Humble beginnings
In 1957, the Congregation of the Dominican Sisters of St. Catherine of Siena, headed by Mo. Natividad Pilapil, O.P., responded to the invitation of the Archbishop of Manila, the late Rufino Cardinal Santos to establish a Catholic School that would help the church in its mission of evangelization. Hence, St. Catherine’s Academy, now Siena College Taytay, was founded. The school’s first main building, named after St. Lorenzo Ruiz, was built beside the St. John the Baptist Parish Church in Taytay, Rizal.
Through the collaboration of Mo. Ma. Stella Salao, O.P., the Superior of the Dominican Sisters’ Community in Taytay, and Fr. Pedro Hilario, the Parish Priest of St. John the Baptist Church, Taytay, Rizal, St. Catherine’s Academy was opened with M. Stella as its first principal and directress. About 183 first year and second year students were enrolled in its first year of operation. After a year, it started accepting third year and fourth year levels as well as grade school pupils. In March 1960, the first Commencement Exercises were held for fifty (50) graduates.
The Growth
St. Catherine’s Academy grew with time. In 1965, its Kindergarten, Elementary and Secondary Levels were fully established and accredited by the Department of Education and Culture.
The succeeding decades saw the unprecedented growth and development of the institution. Several expansions, in the form of buildings, programs and services, have been made. Enrollment numbers increased annually in both grade school and high school department and with this, a corresponding increase in school personnel.
On December 7, 1980, with the inauguration and blessing of a four-storey building, the St. Dominic Building, on a 1.5 hectare site along E. Rodriguez Avenue, the central administration offices and the junior and senior levels were relocated to the new site.
The Birth of the College Department
In response to the growing needs of the communities in the province of Rizal, the College Department was opened in 1982. The courses offered were the four - year Bachelor degrees in Business Administration, Computer Education, Secretarial Administration, as well as certificates in Clerical, Junior Secretarial, two – year Basic Programming course and short term courses. Along with this development was the construction of a two – storey building to house the seniors and the Sisters’ Convent. It was also during this transition that the name St. Catherine’s Academy was changed to Siena College of Taytay (SCT).
Present times
Nestled on a four-hectare lot, Siena College Taytay promises an educational offering that will produce graduates who are globally competitive, confident and compassionate. With its modern and updated equipment, facilities and buildings, the College is very much capable of assisting its students to gain knowledge and do on-the-job applications of whatever learning they have gathered.
The Basic Education Department, now on its Level Two PAASCU Accreditation, provides one of the best, if not the best, quality educational foundation in Rizal. With a population of about 3,000 pupils and students, the school aims to make these children be at their best as they enter the Tertiary Education, if not the Technical Field, at least. The school offers Special Programs such as advanced subjects in Mathematics like Statistics and Calculus, enhanced English Curriculum which includes Journalism and Research and enriched MAPEH/MAPE where pupils and students get to choose sports activities of their own liking instead of just having them attend a PE class which is not much of their interest. Remedial and review programs are also implemented to prepare students and pupils for diagnostics, NCAE and the like and even just to assist them cope with the next grading period.
Its Service Education Department endeavors to make tertiary education offering at par with competitive markets in Rizal. And next school year, its Bachelor of Science in Business Administration (BSBA) and Bachelor of Science in Hotel and Restaurant Management (BSHRM) courses will be under PAASCU preliminary survey to finally gain accreditation and formally allow the college to claim quality education offered in the College Department. With its newly – built St. Jacques Training Center, BSHRM students will surely experience learning from start to end. On the Job-Training here and abroad are also facilitated and the college has so far assisted some graduates to train in South Korea, Singapore and the United States.
With God’s grace and Divine Providence, Siena College Taytay will eventually achieve its goal to be an Educational Institution with a carrier flag as A Center of Excellence not only among schools and colleges in Rizal but also among O.P. Siena Schools all over the Philippines.
Other recent achievements of the college include the construction of St. Jacques International training for Hospitality, improvement of St. Martin Sports Complex for a bigger and better venue to facilitate PE classes, preliminary visit by the PAASCU for the BA and HRM last March 1 and 2, 2007. Twenty one selected students of HRM and BA were deployed to Singapore for OJT, while the Mother Francisca Outreach Center serves medically 30-35 sick people weekly aside from the Operation Gamutan being conducted twice a year. A continuous professional updating of faculty and non-teaching staff is encouraged to be more competent and qualified to serve the clientele and the Bicol tragedy provided an opportunity for the school to extend its Community Service Program with volunteer teachers, personnel, parents and students putting aside their Christmas vacation activities to be with less fortunate brothers and sisters. Also, the All Basic Education Department teachers have either completed or are in the process of completing their graduate studies. Teachers continue to improve their craft through seminars and workshops attended here and outside the school. The college also takes pride in 55 percent passing rate of Nursing Board takers, taking the lead among colleges in Rizal which offer Nursing courses. Also, the different subject areas have come out with their own workbooks or modules to be used in their teaching.