CaReS holds 1st Appreciation Day for formators

BAGUIO CITY—Seminarians of Casiciaco Recoletos Seminary (CaReS) paid tribute to their religious and lay formators last November 25, feast of St. Thomas of Villanova, patron of studies of the Augustinian Family. 

“The 1st Religious and Lay Formators’ Day is born out of our desire to appreciate the religious and lay formators who took the time and committed themselves to the academic formation of the seminarians,” said Fr. Anthony Irineo, OAR.

Fr. Irineo, Dean of Studies and Senior High School Principal, said an excursion for lay formators is held every other year for 3–5 days. However, not all of them could make it because of some professional and personal commitments so the appreciation day was held instead. 

The activity opened with a conference at 9:30 AM among the lay formators with Fr. Irineo, Dr. Marilyn Balmeo and Dr. Joselito Gutierrez that lasted for almost one-and-a-half hour. Topics included the CaReS mission–vision, objectives and core values. 

They also discussed the alignment framework in the contextualization of higher order thinking skills, and establishing inclusive values in the classroom.

After the academic conference, Fr. Irineo officiated the holy mass at the chapel at 11 AM, with the other religious formators as concelebrants.

During the lunch at the refectory, seminarians paid their tribute to their teachers with various performances and the giving of gifts and presents. This time, however, the formators did not remain spectators as both lay and religious mounted the stage for their performances which elicited wild reaction from the seminarians.

After lunch, the activities transferred to the seminary covered court for the Zumba, parlor games and awarding of door prizes.

“The life of a teacher is very taxing, crucial in its true sense of the word,” said Dr. Gutierrez. “The attitudes and the varied characteristics of our students really challenge us to learn how to adjust — plus their unique languages and cultures.”

The celebration was also held in connection to the 24th World Teachers’ Day declared by the United Nations. The theme for this year’s event was: “The right to education means the right to a qualified teacher who is inspired by God”.