NPS to open 75th Foundation Anniversary

‘We call on all our alumni of Naga Parochial School and their families and friends to join us in the opening celebration of our 75th Foundation Anniversary,’ said Fr. Dario I. Echipare, the present school director of NPS. Fr. Echipare added, that despite the on-going health crises brought by the pandemic, the celebration would push through with strict implementation of health protocols given by health and public authorities.

Come July 30, 2021 at 8 o’clock in the morning, the Archbishop of Caceres, Most Rev. Rolando J. Tria Tirona, OCD, DD, and the chairman of the school’s board of the trustees will lead the Eucharistic celebration at the Metropolitan Cathedral of Naga, which will be followed with a motorcade and the opening of the NPS special exhibit which will be graced by NPS Alumni Batch 83, former school director, and now the Bishop of Diocese of Daet, Most Rev. Rex Andrew C. Alarcon, DD. The event’s highlight will be the launching of the call to support the scholarship funds of Naga Parochial School via the special commemorative marker and footprints of the Naga Parochial School Alumni.

Founded in July 1947 by then Caceres Archbishop Pedro P. Santos, DD, the Naga Parochial School is the first elementary parochial school in the country accredited by the Philippine Accrediting Association of Schools, Colleges, and Universities (PAASCU) in 1983. With remarkable cleric administrators in the person of Msgr. Porfirio R. Ramin (1947-1950), Msgr. Nicanor C. Belleza, (1950-1983), Msgr. Jaime M. San Andres (1983-2007) and Bishop Rex Andrew C. Alarcon, (2007-2019), Fr. Dario I. Ichipare (2019- present), working closely together with outstanding teachers and staff, which have become legendary figures themselves, the Naga Parochial School has created its own stories that have defined the historical life of Naga City and the Bikol region as a whole.

Among its notable alumni include doctors, lawyers, military officers, public officials, teachers, artists, cultural workers, which include actor Jaime Fabregas, Inquirer columnist Conrado de Quiros, Bikol writers Tito Genova Valiente and Fr. Wilmer Tria, Justice Francis Garchitorena, former Senator and Secretary of Education, Raul Roco, former Naga City Mayor and Secretary of the Interior and Local Government, Jesse M. Robredo, and several religious men and women including bishops and church dignitaries like Archbishop Adolfo Tito C. Yllana, DD, the newly appointed papal nuncio in Israel, Most Rev. Gilbert Garcera, DD, Archbishop of Lipa, Most Rev. Jose Rojas, DD, Bishop of Libmanan, Most Rev. Jose Alan V. Dialogo, Bishop of Sorsogon, and Most Rev. Rex Andrew C. Alarcon, Bishop of Daet.

In 2012, with the newly constructed buildings and state-of the-art educational facilities, the Naga Parochial School has opened its doors to female students in the grade school department and a co-ed junior high school successfully adapting into the demands of the K-12 Educational Reform programs and embracing the pedagogical norms of the new millennium. The school has also successfully transitioned to digital learning since the beginning of the pandemic and despite the many difficulties the school is optimistic that it will carry on its mission in bringing a high quality Catholic education for Naga and the Bikol region.

Fr. Echipare has noted that with the theme, Nurture, Preserve and Share which stands for the school’s acronym, the priest-director is confident that the Naga Parochial School will continue to serve its mission to let the children come to the school and by way of NPS, they will experience the love of Jesus Christ, the Good Shepherd and the Great Teacher to all.

Logo of the 75th Foundation Anniversary of Naga Parochial School

By Juan Carlos R. Madrid (GS 2015/JHS 2019) and John Paul M. Aven (GS 2016/JHS 2020)

Brief Descriptions

JESUS CHRIST

• The image of Jesus Christ represents his eternal call to let all children come to his nurturing, preserving and caring love (cf. Mk 10:14); a call that the Naga Parochial School has heeded and responded to over the past seventy-five years. The Pastoral Staff that Jesus bears is a reminder of the School’s mission and vision of leading its students to salvation through promoting their total and harmonious development. On the other hand, the outstretched arm of Christ is a symbol of the school’s openness to embrace all students, regardless of age, gender, economic profile, or ability.

QUILL PEN

• The quill pen symbolizes St. John the Evangelist, Patron of the Naga Parochial School and of the Metropolitan Cathedral-Parish. Known as the “beloved disciple,” he too nurtures, preserves and cares for the students and teachers who are entrusted to his patronage. The pen is also a reminder of the holistic formation that students receive in the School; as it symbolizes not only the students’ pursuit of knowledge and understanding, but also the Gospel Values they must imbibe in their day-to-day lives.

NAGA METROPOLITAN CATHEDRAL

• The dome of the Naga Metropolitan Cathedral is a reminder of the School’s nature and roots as a “Parochial” School. It is emblematic of the humble beginning of the School, since its early classes and graduations were first conducted in the Cathedral Church and Convent. As one of the first four Cathedrals in the entire country, it is also a symbol of our five-hundred-year-old faith – a blessing that must be nurtured, preserved and shared for generations to come, especially in each student of the Naga Parochial School.

STUDENTS

• The students represent the object of the School’s motto, mission and vision, and anniversary theme. From the moment they enter as little children until their graduation, the School ensures that they are led to the nurturing, preserving and caring love of Christ. The male student also represents the School’s fruitful past and future, as it has now produced over seventy clergymen who continue to sow seeds in the vineyard of the Lord. On the other hand, the female student is prominently featured as a symbol of progress and change, with the School adapting to meet the demands of the present times.