New Lifers Celebrate Filipino Language and Culture with Buwan ng Wika

In observance of Buwan ng Wika, MGC New Life Christian Academy celebrated the depth and diversity of the Filipino language and culture last August 29 to September 7 through costumes, stories, games, food, interpretive speeches, dances, and songs. 

To kick off the celebration, teachers and students from the Early Years and Primary departments paraded in their traditional Filipino attire on the first day of the celebrations. Other departments were also encouraged to wear traditional Filipino attire to school on different days of the week to make the celebrations more festive and meaningful. 

Early Years and Primary Years students delved deeper into Filipino traditions and language by engaging in various storytelling sessions, playing Pinoy games, eating local dishes, even joining workshops on baybayin and making polvoron.

The Upper Primary department also celebrated the talent and creativity of our students with a Display of Talent, which featured a variety of performances such as singing, declamation, dancing, and various musical performances, all to expose the upper primary students to Filipino culture. 

“Naging maganda ang kaganapan ng Buwan ng Wika dahil mas nakilala ng mga mag-aaral ang Kulturang Pilipino,”  said Mr. Renante Cochangco, Filipino Subject Leader of the Primary Years Department.

Meanwhile, Junior High School students unleashed their competitive spirit as they engaged in Filipino-themed contests all throughout the week.

The Junior High School A students took part in a "Sabayang Pagbigkas" competition on August 29, where each class reinterpreted a speech with self-made choreography. After the fierce competition, Nazareth D and Berea B emerged as the victors, with Nazareth A and Berea D as the runners-up in their respective batches.

Although events for Junior High School B students were moved to the following week due to class suspensions, the final week of the Buwan ng Wika event was still jam-packed with activities that occupied both the minds and bodies of the students.

Each class got their groove on, showcasing thrilling performances during the "Indak" interpretative dance competition on September 5. The Damascus classes all did their best interpretation of Julie Anne San Jose’s “Pagbangon” while Patmos students showed off their terpsichorean skills to Yeng Constantino and Rivermaya’s “Liwanag sa Dilim.”  After some intense dancing, Damascus C and Patmos A ended up on top, with Damascus A and Patmos B both settling for second place. 

The event closed two days later with the "Haplos ng Himig" singing contest. A teacher and a student representative from each class sang their hearts out to different socially relevant contemporary Filipino songs.  

Patmos A’s Ms. Lucille Cui and Jazelle Lim took the Patmos crown with their electrifying rendition of “Kapangyarihan” by Ben&Ben. Meanwhile, Damascus D’s Mr. Matthew Espaldon and Sofie Santiago wowed the audience and judges with their rendition of SB19’s “Mapa” to emerge victorious in Grade 9. 

The runners-up for Patmos and Damascus were Patmos B’s Mr. Jan Cedrick Lambatin and Shey Lu with their version of "Susi" by Ben&Ben, and Mr. Matthew Ferreras and Ashby Aw of Damascus B for their emotional performance of "Hanggang Wala nang Bukas" by Ebe Dancel, respectively. 

Mrs. Marife Posada, the Junior High School Filipino Subject Leader and overall in charge of the program, affirmed the importance of the Filipino language and culture. “Walang wikang nakahihigit sa isa at wala ring maituturing na inperyor na wika.  Bawat lengguwahe ay magkakapantay at may taglay na likas na kagandahan.  Ang ating Diyos na maalam sa lahat ang nagtakda ng wikang gagamitin ng isang bansa sa komunikasyon.  Patas ang ating Panginoon, wala sa anumang Kanyang nilikha ang mauuna at wala ring mapag-iiwanan,” she said.