Xavier School Explained

Xavier School
Native Name:光启学校
Country:Philippines
Former Names:Kuang Chi School
Type:Private, college preparatory school
Motto:la|Luceat Lux
English: Let your light shine!
Religious Affiliation:Roman Catholic (Jesuits)
President:Fr. Joseph Haw, SJ
Chairman:Johnip Cua
Grades:K to 12
Enrollment:4000+
Campus:Urban
Colors:Blue and gold
Athletics:Thirty teams in twelve sports
Mascot:Hoofy the Golden Stallion
Nickname:Golden Stallions
Newspaper:Stallion (High School), Hoofprint (Grade School)
Free Label:Alma Mater Song
Free:"Luceat Lux"
Free Label2:CEEB Code
Free 2:705640
Website:
(Nuvali campus)

Xavier School (; also referred to by its acronym XS) is a private, Catholic, college preparatory school run by the Philippine Province of the Society of Jesus. Its main campus is at 64 Xavier Street, Greenhills, San Juan, Metro Manila, Philippines. It has a southern satellite campus along West Conservation Avenue in Nuvali, Canlubang, Calamba, Laguna mainly aimed to serve financially challenged students. It is a K-12 school with a curriculum that includes a mandatory Chinese language program. It also offers an optional International Baccalaureate program in grades 11 and 12 to interested students.[3]

A Catholic institution with an English curriculum and Chinese studies, Xavier School continues educating Chinese-Filipinos as part of its original mission to evangelize them and promote their integration into Philippine society. Through its Grant-in-Aid program, the school also offers financially challenged but otherwise qualified students an opportunity of attaining a Xavier education. Unlike other Chinese schools in the Philippines, Xavier School was founded as an all-boys institution. Its San Juan campus continues to admit only male students. Its newer Nuvali campus is coeducational.

History

Many Jesuit missionaries who were expelled from China in 1949 found a new home and mission in the overseas Chinese communities in the Philippines. To facilitate their evangelization of the Chinese communities, the Jesuits decided to set up schools. One of those schools was in downtown Manila. Begging for donations by going door-to-door in Chinatown, Fr. Jean Desautels, S.J., a French-Canadian Jesuit who was part of the China mission, received financial aid from Basilio King and Ambrose Chiu, two Chinese-Filipino businessmen who wanted to help set up a Jesuit school for the Chinese.

After soliciting the fund sufficient to buy a piece of land for the school campus, the Jesuits proceeded to negotiate with land owners in downtown Manila. At 3:30 pm on December 15, 1955, Fr. Desautels closed a deal and purchased a land, an hour and a half before the 5:00 pm deadline set by its seller. The group of Jesuits led by the late Frs. Jean Desautels, Louis Papilla, and Cornelius Pineau went on to found a School and named it Kuang Chi School after Paul Hsü Kuangchi, a 16th-century Chinese nobleman and Minister of Rites during the Ming Dynasty who converted to Christianity and supported its spread in China.[4] On June 6, 1956, in a converted warehouse in Echague, Manila, the school opened its doors to its initial batch of students – 170 children of Chinese immigrants in the Philippines. The school was renamed later on as Xavier School after St. Francis Xavier, co-founder of the Society of Jesus and one of the first leaders of Jesuit missions in China

The school celebrated its Golden Jubilee in 2006. Hoofy, the school's mascot, was in attendance during the celebration. In 2023, Fr. Joseph Haw, SJ was elected president of the school and in the following year, assumed the position of school president after the end of the term of Fr. Aristotle Dy, SJ.

School of Excellence

Being a Jesuit school helped establish the school's reputation. In 1960, Xavier School transferred to a 7-hectare property in Greenhills, San Juan, then only an area of rice fields and grasslands. Within a decade, the outlying areas became home to many Xavier families. The campus is a complex of 12 buildings housing over 4,000 students from nursery to high school.

It is one of the few basic education institutions in the Philippines to receive a 7-year accreditation, the longest possible period,[5] and one of only three institutions, along with De La Salle University and Ateneo de Manila University, to receive the Level III accreditation[6] for both the grade school and high school by the Philippine Accrediting Association of Schools, Colleges, and Universities. In January 2010, Xavier School was granted International Baccalaureate (IB) World School status.[7]

Admissions

Admission to Xavier School is extremely competitive. Generally, students enter Xavier as kindergarten students. "Boys" may also try to be part of the student population as high school freshmen (Grade 9), by taking the Xavier High School Entrance Examination. Transfer students are occasionally accepted but the requirements are incredibly high.[8]

Athletics

Xavier School fields over thirty teams in twelve sports including basketball, football, badminton, volleyball, swimming, among others.[9]

Mascot

In 1973, the school put forward a contest to create a mascot. From several nominations from various students, the Stallion was chosen to represent the students that the school bred. Years later, the official caricature of the school Mascot, Hoofy, was created in the school year 2002 to 2003. It was designed by David Gonzales of the class of 2005.[10] A life-size model of Hoofy goes around campus, is available for performance at special events.

Awards

Incidents

Sometime past noon on November 12, 2014, a Grade 11 student from Xavier High School was seen sitting on the ledge on the fifth floor of the school building. The school authorities immediately called the San Juan City Rescue Team, the Philippine National Police (PNP), and the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) for help. After about an hour of speaking to the authorities, the boy agreed to get back inside the building.[14] Based on the police investigation, the boy wanted to jump off the building due to family problems.[15] The incident was recorded by ANC as authorities are seen attempting to convince the boy to not jump. The video and the news article published by ANC news has since been since deleted as of December 20, 2021. Many speculate this to be forced censorship by Xavier School authorities to protect the reputation and name of the school.[16]

Just after the Grade School closing ceremony on March 20, 2024, a fire broke out in the main campus building. No injuries were reported and the fire was out within an hour. A Facebook post by the school stated that the cause of the fire was yet to be determined, and as of May 2024, the cause of the fire has not yet been disclosed.[17]

Notable Alumni

Further reading

See also

Notes and References

  1. http://www.philippinebasketball.ph/mmtlba.php MMTLBA
  2. https://jbecph.wordpress.com/ JBEC
  3. Web site: 2021-01-07 . Xavier School Celebrates 10 Years as an International Baccalaureate World School - . 2022-08-07 . en-US.
  4. Web site: Martin Gomez . Mena, S.J. Santos. "December 15, 1955". Luceat Lux: The Story of XavierSchool. 2005 . Xavier School . October 17, 2011 . dead . https://archive.today/20120719150534/http://web.xs.edu.ph/xs50/luceatlux/dec15.php . July 19, 2012 . mdy-all .
  5. http://www.paascu.org.ph/DepEd_Order_32_s_2006.pdf PAASCU website
  6. Web site: TOWARDS 21st-CENTURY LEARNING AND CHARACTER FORMATION . Xavier School » TOWARDS 21st-CENTURY LEARNING AND CHARACTER FORMATION . Xavier School . October 17, 2011 . https://web.archive.org/web/20111103044515/http://w3.xs.edu.ph/?p=7766 . November 3, 2011 . dead . mdy-all .
  7. Web site: Xavier School . Xavier School: Now An Authorized IB World School . Xavier School . October 17, 2011 . https://web.archive.org/web/20111103044447/http://w3.xs.edu.ph/?p=7389 . November 3, 2011 . dead . mdy-all .
  8. "Acceptance rates for Kindergarten, Freshmen and Transfer Students." Testing and Research Center, Xavier School, 2005
  9. Web site: Olivares . Rick . Xavier School sports book launched . 2022-08-07 . Philstar.com.
  10. Gomez, Peter Martin. "Xavier School Institutional Identity Book", 2005.
  11. Web site: Dancing nerds – Inquirer.net, Philippine News for Filipinos . Opinion.inquirer.net . October 17, 2011 .
  12. Web site: Martin Gomez . Xavier School – Xaverians Bag Awards Left and Right . Xavier School . October 17, 2011 . dead . https://archive.today/20120718060708/http://web.xs.edu.ph/issues0607/2006%20-%20December%207/Highlights/XAVIERSCHOOL-XaveriansBagAwardsLeftandRight.php . July 18, 2012 . mdy-all .
  13. Web site: Sy . Steven . Xavier School students bag double awards from Int'l Technology Innovation Tilt . Inquirer Lifestyle . 12 June 2017.
  14. Web site: Coconuts Manila . November 13, 2014 . Xavier School student threatens to jump off building . Coconuts Manila.
  15. Web site: mmalabanan . 2014-11-16 . Xavier Student Threatens To Jump Off School Building . 2024-10-17 . DailyPedia . en-US.
  16. Web site: The Elicit - Article 1 . 2024-10-17 . sites.google.com . en-US.
  17. Web site: Sarao . Zacarian . 2024-03-20 . Fire breaks out at Xavier School in San Juan city . 2024-05-07 . INQUIRER.net . en.
  18. Web site: 2018-11-23 . Meet the Exemplary Alumni of Xavier School - . 2024-10-17 . en-US.
  19. Web site: Professor Larry Que elected to the National Academy of Sciences Department of Chemistry College of Science and Engineering . 2024-10-17 . cse.umn.edu . en.
  20. Web site: Amb. Francis Chua is first recipient of PCCI's highest award . 2024-10-03 . Manila Bulletin . en.
  21. Web site: 2024-05-06 . Francis Chua leads opening of UDM's Technology Wing . 2024-10-03 . bilyonaryo.com . en-US.
  22. Web site: 2024-06-07 . Board of Directors - Bank of Commerce . 2024-10-03 . www.bankcom.com.ph . en-US.
  23. Web site: Sy Foundation supports Xavier School Nuvali . 2024-10-20 . Philstar.com.
  24. Web site: 2013-04-24 . SM Prime's Hans Sy speaks about disaster risk reduction at UN forum PreventionWeb . 2024-10-03 . www.preventionweb.net . en.
  25. Web site: 2024-08-16 . Xavier School, Inc. Welcomes Fr. Joseph Haw, SJ as 7th President - . 2024-10-17 . en-US.
  26. Web site: 2024-10-17 . PressReader.
  27. Web site: 2019-07-30 . The Itchyworms go Mandarin with reimagined version of 'Ayokong Tumanda' – listen . 2024-10-20 . The Itchyworms go Mandarin with reimagined version of 'Ayokong Tumanda' – listen Bandwagon Music media championing and spotlighting music in Asia. . en.

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