A Step Closer to their Dreams: 2nd Batch of Preschool Graduates for Mano Amiga Academy

Principal's Award for Excellence Recipient Nicole Cruz addresses her fellow graduates

Prep students giving their own rendition of Miley Cyrus' The Climb

Keith Adi shares his dream to be an astronaut or a race car driver someday

The Mano Amiga Action Team (L-R): Principal Revelyn Tria-Siasoyco, Specialist Teacher Malou Fernandez, Mano Amiga Academy inc Development Director Eleanor Pinugu, Prep Teacher Marie Roxas &Grade 1 teacher Justine Loteria

"This Graduation day is particularly meaningful for me," Mano Amiga Principal Revelyn Tria-Siasoyco shared in the Graduation ceremony's opening remarks. "If you remember, I was the first teacher who handled this class. It seems only like yesterday when these children were only in Nursery and would spend every morning crying loudly by the window, pleading with their Mothers to bring them home. To see them now, so well-behaved, happy with school, and ready to take on the challenges of being a first-grader, truly fills me and the rest of their teachers with a sense of accomplishment."

The stage was artfully decorated with the slogan, "Follow your Dreams," an apt title that captures the Mano Amiga Prep students' three-year journey in preschool and their parents' proud sentiments that their children have taken a step closer to their dreams. When the children first entered Mano Amiga, most of them did not know how to read or write and could barely speak in complete sentences. The developmental milestones they have achieved are apparent not just in their academic performance but in their social and cognitive skills as well.

Under the direction of Prep teacher Marie Roxas, the graduates performed a heartwarming rendition of Miley Cyrus' The Climb. Afterwards, each child announced what he would like to be when he grows up and offered a portrait he made of his future self to his parents.

Nicole Cruz, batch valedictorian and recipient of the Principal's Award for Excellence, gave a speech thanking the teachers for all their hard work. She encouraged her fellow graduates to make the most out of the opportunity that Mano Amiga has given them by always giving their best so that they could someday achieve the dream professions that they shared.

Students in Mano Amiga are provided with 14 years of education(preschool until high school). We look forward to the next 12 years when our second batch of Prep graduates finally finish high school, excited and well-prepared to pursue higher opportunities because of the quality formation they had received.

Congratulations to the Mano Amiga Academy 2010-2011 preschool graduates!

2010-2011 Awardees

Principal’s Award for Excellence: Nicole Cruz

Silver Medal Awardee: Arzel Sumalinog

Bronze Medal Awardee: Sheryl Gerarcas

Subject Awardees:

Best in English and Catholic Formation: Nicole Cruz

Best in Science and Friendship Award: Arzel Sumalinog

Best in Math and Leadership Award: Sheryl Gerarcas

Apostleship Award: Myles Gonzales

Athlete Award: Dave Jamir Pangilinan

Conduct Awardees: Daisy Anne Aton, Michaela Pagaran, and Erica Gerero