St. Mary's College, Quezon City
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| St Mary's College, Quezon City | |
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Initium Sapientiae Timor Domini
(The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom) |
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| Location | |
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| Quezon City, Philippines | |
| Information | |
| President | S. Ma. Anicia B. Co, RVM |
| Foundress | Mother Ignacia del Espiritu Santo |
| Type | Private, Catholic School |
| Campus | 37 Mo. Ignacia Avenue, Quezon City |
| Patron saint(s) | Blessed Virgin Mary |
| Color(s) | White and Blue |
| Established | 1725 |
| Homepage | http://www.smcqc.edu.ph |
St. Mary’s College, Quezon City (or simply St. Mary’s College, SMCQC, or affectionately, Meris) is a Catholic School administered by the Religious of the Virgin Mary, the first pontifically approved congregation for women in the Philippines. The congregation, originally known as the Beaterio de la Compañia De Jesus, was founded in 1684 by Mother Ignacia del Espiritu Santo, a Chinese-Filipino mestiza. It is an RVM educational institution of faith, excellence, and service. It is also the Generalate Luzon of all RVM schools in Luzon Region of the Philippines and considered to be the head of all educational institutions controlled by RVM.
SMCQC is one of the oldest, native institutions offering formal education for girls in the Philippines. Since 1684, the foundational community of Mother Ignacia lived in the Casa Madre, Intramuros. These Beatas de la Compania de Jesus, as they were popularly called, took steps in educating young girls. They opened a boarding school for girls which became known as the Colegio del Beaterio. This marked the first step towards formal education for the school. The Colegio del Beaterio was open to Yndias and Chinese mestizas as well as Creoles (Spanish mestizas) and pure Spanish girls.
The students are now called "Marians" and their greeting is "Praised be Jesus and Mary!"
[edit] History
The history of St. Mary's College, Quezon City may be traced back to the foundation years of the congregation which started one of the first exclusive schools for the girls in 1725. A landmark in Spanish Intramuros, it was known as the Colegio del Beaterio. The "beatas" taught not only catechism but also fancy needlework for this was their main source of support. After several years, they started to teach the Spanish language and the fundamentals of proper home management. The teaching of social graces followed. Among the popular subjects of the old Beaterio were fancy needle work and music.
The Institution became more formally organized through the years, in 1901; the Beaterio held its first general chapter and became a congregation. Eleven years after, in 1912 the school was formally incorporated and the elementary Course was recognized by the government. The high School was opened and duly given recognition shortly after. Domestic Science, now known as Home Economics, was formally offered making the college one of the first private schools to offer such course. The school received in 1935 the formal government recognition of Junior Normal College course. In 1939, the name Colegio del Beaterio was officially changed to St. Mary's College in honor of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Patroness of the Congregation. In the same year, the Bachelor of Science in Education was formally recognized by the government. Since then, other college courses began to be offered.
St. Mary's College was the first private school to open its doors just after the liberation of Manila in 1945 in answer to the needs of students who wanted to resume or finished their studies. Originally established for girls, St. Mary's College admitted boys in the Grade School after the war. Since the building in Intramuros has been reduced to ashes, its site was transferred to the Immaculate Conception Ladies Hall in España, just in front of the University of Santo Tomas. From 1946 to 1950, however, it was housed in a rented building at Aragon Street, Sampaloc. In April 1950 St. Mary's College made Quezon City its permanent site undaunted by the isolation of the place and the difficulty of transportation then.
College course offerings since 1950 included BSE, ETC, Secretarial, Associate in Arts, Bachelor of Music, Associate in Music, BSEED and other special courses. In 1976, the changing political, socioeconomic and cultural climate led the administrators to temporarily suspend the college. There was also a felt need to concentrate on basic education. In its desire to upgrade the equality of instruction, St. Mary's College embarked on a self-evaluation project which led to a formal application for accreditation through the Philippine Accrediting Association for Schools, Colleges and Universities (PAASCU). The High School department was accredited in 1975 and the Grade School department in 1978. Subsequently PAASCU visit confirmed the quality education offered by St. Mary's College. In 1997, St. Mary's College heeded the request of parents to admit boys to High School. With the continuing improvement in its instruction and services, The Board of Trustees thought it was time to resume the college. Preparati In 2007, four students graduated under the title of With Highest Honours. Mary Annjaenette Legaspi as the valedictorian, Louise Gabrielle Limpin the salutatorian, Luigi Montevirgen the First Honorable Mention, and Hazel Araceli Villafuerte the Second Honorable Mention. All of them graduated with the average of 95.0 and above and that was the first time in the school's history. All four of them were currently studying in Quezon City Science High School.
