Divine Word Academy of Dagupan
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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| Motto | Love, Wisdom and Courage |
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| Established | 1957 |
| Type | Private, Catholic Secondary |
| Director | Fr. Ambrose L. Ponce, SVD |
| Location | Dagupan City, Pangasinan, Philippines |
| Hymn | DWAD Hymn |
| Colors | green and white |
| Nickname | DWAD |
| Website | http://dwad.dagupan.com |
The Divine Word Academy of Dagupan or DWAD is a Catholic, private, secondary school run by the Society of the Divine Word or SVD in Dagupan City, Pangasinan,Philippines. It is one of the few schools which offer a complete and well-balanced education in Chinese culture in addition to the regular curricula required by Department of Education Culture and Sports and by the Private Schools in unique combination with ideals of Catholic education.
The Academy is under the direction of the Divine Word Missionaries and is primarily established for the benefit of the Catholics of Chinese decent, residing in Dagupan City and in the various towns and places all over the country. However, the school equally welcomes all children regardless of race, color and religious creed.
[edit] History
Bishop Therode Schu, SVD, expelled from China by the communist because he preached the Word, found himself in the Philippines in 1953. Still driven by a special dedication to serve the Chinese, his vision was to keep the Word alive by establishing a parish and a school to take care of the apostolic needs of the Chinese. Eduardo Kang Tan, Sr., a prominent Chinese in Dagupan convinced Bishop Schu to establish the parish and school in Dagupan City. In 1955, the Parish of Saint Therese was officially established with Father Joseph Kwo as the first Parish Priest. At the same time, plans for the school were made with the assistance of concerned citizens led by Eduardo Kang Tan, Sr.
In 1957, the school formally opened its doors to students from kindergarten to first year high school. It was then known as St. Therese Chinese Academy with 130 enrollees and 8 teachers. The first director was Fr. Richard Hartwich, SVD. The other administrative officials were: Fr. Peter Joseph Kwo – school treasurer, Fr. Matthias Ning – school disciplinarian. In 1958, Fr. Aloysius Yang, SVD became the acting School Director but was replaced after a while by Fr. Hubert Lohrbach, SVD. In 1960, the Society of the Divine Word (SVD) formally took over the ownership and administration of the school. Henceforth, the school was known as the Divine Word Academy of Dagupan (DWAD). In 1961, Fr. Henry Schmitz, SVD became the School Director, a position he was to hold for 15 years. The year also saw the High School Department holding its first Commencement exercise with 8 graduates.
In 1976, Fr. Matthias Ning, SVD became the School Director, a position he held for 11 years. In 1988, Fr. Jess P. del Rosario, SVD was at the helm as the Director of the school. In 1995, Fr. Ambrose L. Ponce, SVD became the Campus Minster, and then in 1996, he became the School Director up to the present.
