Now accepting Applications for Admission for SY 2025-2026 (Kinder to Grade 9)
“Celebrating festivals can bring us consciously to what we all experience instinctively in our daily lives,
the changing cycles of the seasons and of life itself.
Through various festivals and rituals we acknowledge and celebrate
our connection to and our responsibility toward each other and the world.”
-excerpted from Festivals by Marilyn Pelrme.
Throughout the world, in all civilizations, festivals play an essential role in keeping time and bringing a sense of rhythm and anticipation which is important in growing up. These celebrations reflect nature’s rhythms, important transitions and significant moments in the life of the culture. We celebrate these to sustain and renew ourselves.
The whole school community is invited to join the festivals as they are wonderful opportunities to bring the school together and feel the warmth of the community, to share in the joy of watching the children’s presentations and gain perspective about their growth.
The Bayanihan spirit is fundamental to the Filipino culture wherein challenges are faced as a community and overcome through working together. In anticipation of another school year of collaboration and growth, the school community comes together to prepare the physical aspect of the school after the long summer vacation. It is an opportunity for families to also reconnect and celebrate each other.
On the first day of school, all students and teachers come together to welcome the first graders to school and celebrate with them a milestone in their lives. Each first grader is called and given a flower which represents what the first grader will one day become, and it serves as a promise of the growth and development that the student will experience in the coming years.
Traditionally, fiestas are yearly celebrations to give homage to a town’s local patron saint. These are marked by community gatherings where the members partake in a day of music, activities, and food brought in by different families. In its own way, Pistang Pilipino is a fiesta that celebrates the beauty of Filipino culture and diversity through a school gathering showcasing traditional Filipino games, food, dance, and music.
Michaelmas
Balay Sofia Day
Martinmas
As days grow shorter and nights colder, we turn inwards to gather strength to face the growing darkness. The image of Michael taming a dragon represents our need for strength and courage against our lower, animal impulses at this time of year. In the Celtic tradition, Michael represents the hero fighting against evil and the powers of darkness, and represents courage.
Balay Sofia Day (September)
An annual celebration of Balay Sofia’s birthday in gratitude for our past, our roots, and to bring to awareness who we are, what we value, and where we are going.
Martinmas (November)
Martinmas is celebrated every November through a Lantern Walk (or other symbolic means) to celebrate the inner light and kindness of humankind. During this celebration, St. Martin is remembered as a symbol of empathy and the beauty of sharing.
Halloween
Advent
Christmas
Halloween has its origin in the Celtic festival of Samhain. It was believed that the spirits of the dead and other supernatural creatures (fairies, witches and goblins) spirited about on that night. This is also a time to honor and revere one's ancestors. For this festival, the school opens its doors to all children and parents of the larger community to participate through a fundraising Halloween Fair. Children and adults alike come in homemade, non-commercial costumes (gory ones not allowed please), and participate in storytelling, games, pumpkin carving, decorations, and homemade treats.
Advent is the period including the four Sundays preceding Christmas wherein sudents participate in a solemn Spiral of Light. A spiral is created from flowers, pine needles and other items from nature and at the center is a candle. Each child walks to the center of the Spiral, lights his or her candle, then places it on the returning path to symbolize finding the light from within and sharing it with the world outside.
Christmas (December)
Before the children go on holiday break, the school community gathers to celebrate abundance in everyone's lives, give thanks for the year that has passed, and for the light that each community member has shared with each other.
