News and Updates

FAAP grants LSGH High School Department a Level III Status

The High School Department has been granted level III Status by the Federation of Accrediting Agencies of the Philippines (FAAP) until 2011. This is the highest accreditation given to a school based on the following criteria:

• High standard of instruction
• Creditable performance of the teachers and promote effectiveness of teaching and learning
• High level of achievement and performance of students in academic and co-curricular activities
• Highly visible community extension program
• Strong faculty development tradition

The FAAP is a national, voluntary, non-profit and non-governmental agency. It was created in 1976 when, during an assembly of the Coordinating Council or Private Educational Associations (COCOPEA), a consensus was reached clamoring for a federation to survey private educational institutions in the country.

Lasallians visit fellow Lasallians in the City of the Merlion: Singapore

On October 27, 2008, nineteen LSGH students, accompanied by Ms. Tina Nolasco, Ms. Donna Ines and Mr. Raul Miguel, embarked on La Salle’s first exchange program with St. Joseph’s Institution, a Lasallian school based in the heart of Singapore. The group met up in the school lobby at six o’clock in the morning before leaving for the Centennial Airport early Monday morning.

Saint Joseph’s Institution, located at 38 Malcolm Road, is an exclusive high school for boys. And although La Salle Schools are generally Catholic, they do not require their students to be Catholic nor do they only hire Catholic educators and staff. SJI (as it is usually called) is open to people of all races, religions and backgrounds, a very inspiring monument to a country which recently experienced a great deal of racial discrimination and religious intolerance.

The nineteen Lasallians immersed themselves into the Singaporean Culture, both as tourists and as students. In the mornings, they attended class amongst the Sec 3 students, an equivalent of our Third Year High School students, and sat down with them as they took down notes, presented homeworks, participated in group discussions and so much more. Unfortunately, the Sec 1 and 2 students were already having their 2-month vacation and the Sec 4 students were taking their final exams. We then found out that their school year ends around this time and starts sometime in January.

In the afternoons however, the students were taken to places like Little India, Chinatown, Lian Shan Shuang Lin Temple and Hindu Temples in order to bask in the cultures which make up the Singaporean People. They also visited the Singapore Art Museum, The Science Center and of course, Sentosa, which for most, was the highlight of the entire trip. Even Ms. Donna, Ms. Tina and Mr. Miguel enjoyed riding the cable car and The Luge. And since Singapore is often referred to as the shopping center of Asia, our trip wouldn’t be complete without ample shopping time at the famous Orchard Road, a street lined with shopping malls and plazas of every size.

But what really completed the experience was the warmth and understanding which the students of both La Salle Green Hills and St. Joseph’s Institution fostered during their seven days together. It really was a holistic experience.