HISTORY


The turn of the century from 1896 to 1906 was a dark decade in the history of the Church in the Philippines. The shift from Spanish sovereignty to the American regime brought about changes in the political, socio-cultural and religious orders.  The Filipino people were faced with stark realities: Aglipayanism, Protestantism and Freemasonry took an upper hand in the religion of the people. With the Philippine Act of 1902, on the basis of “separation between church and state,” no religion would be taught in school.  Most of the Spanish friars returned to their motherland, leaving the Filipinos with just a few priests to shepherd them.


The Church hierarchy saw the need for the presence of men and women religious who could nourish the faith of the people.  The need for Catholic schools was deeply felt.


In 1906, the Missionary Benedictine Sisters of Tutzing, Germany, under the leadership of Mother Birgitta Korff, OSB, responded to the plea for help signaled by the Papal Legate in the Philippines, Dom Ambrosius Aguis, OSB. Five sisters were appointed for the mission of bringing God’s word to the Philippines.


Founded in 1885, the Missionary Benedictine sisters, who live according to the Rule of St. Benedict, live a monastic life of ora et labora, balancing community praying of the divine office and a life of service where they are needed. 


With the spirit of faith and a burning zeal for missionary service, M. Ferdinanda Hoelzer as Sister Prioress, Sister Petronilla Keller, Crescentia Veser, Winfrieda Mueller and Alexia Ruedenauer, a novice, embraced their God-given mission.  On the feast of the Assumption of Our Lady, August 15, 1906, they boarded the German S.S. Gneisenau in Genoa for their voyage.  They docked at Hong Kong and transferred to the Chinese ship S.S. Tean, which brought them to their destination.  They arrived in the Philippines on the 14th of September, feast of the Exaltation of the Cross.


It is significant to note that the history of the Missionary Benedictine Sisters in the Philippines began with the Victory of the Cross.


On Moriones Street 

The Sisters’ first residence was in Moriones Street, Tondo, a very poor section in the city that was the stronghold of Aglipayanism. Sister Caridad Barrion writes in her book, The Missionary Benedictine Sisters in the Philippines, “Could it be that one of the big factors in assigning the Sisters there was their expressed desire to work among the poor, among the thousands of children who grew up without any instruction?” 


Classes begin 

On December 3, 1906, the school opened for the first three grades. The first Holy Mass was celebrated by the Apostolic Delegate. The first enrollment was eight children (two boys and six girls) from well - to - do families and 50 boys and girls in the “Free School” in a windowless wagon - shed. 


New Site: San Marcelino Street 

The increasing number of students necessitated a larger place. The Most Rev. Jeremias Harty, then Archbishop of Manila, offered the Sisters a lot on San Marcelino Street. Thus, on the eve of Christmas in 1907, the Sisters moved from Moriones Street to their new home on San Marcelino Street.

Government recognition was soon granted to the new school which carried the official title: ST. SCHOLASTICA’ S COLLEGE. The Sisters became committed to the educational apostolate, “the instruction and education of young girls taking into account the changed situation in the Philippines.” 


Sister Willibalda Schrader, OSB and Sister Baptista Battig, OSB: Blazing New Trails

St. Scholastica’s first officially designated Directress, Sister Willibalda Schrader, OSB, guided St. Scholastica’s College for the next 30 years. Together with her co-workers, they set high scholastic standards that gave the new school a reputation of excellence. In 1907, Sister Baptista Battig, OSB, brought fame to St. Scholastica’s College when she opened the Conservatory of Music. A pupil of the great musician, Ludwig Deppe, in Berlin, Sister Baptista was a concertist prior to her entrance in the convent. It can be said with pride that Sister Baptista pioneered formal music education in the Philippines. Year after year, St. Scholastica’s College was blessed with increasing enrollment . In 1913, Archbishop Harty offered an even bigger church lot in Singalong for the school. Construction of the new building started at the beginning of 1914. 


To Pennsylvania Avenue 

At early dawn on the Day before Christmas, long before daylight, the Sisters, together with some student boarders, moved to a new address: 1532 Pennsylvania Avenue. Governor Francis Burton Harrison, who was at the solemn inauguration of the new site, expressed his wish that the Scholasticans “could work for the glory of God and the good of the Filipino people.” 


Foreseeing the need for advanced education for women, the Sisters obtained government permission to operate an institution for higher learning and, in 1923, graduated their first college students. 


In subsequent years, course offerings increased and the physical plant expanded. When the Board of Educational Survey confirmed the report of the Educational Survey Commission of 1925, it named St. Scholastica’s College as one of two schools representative of those maintaining “the highest standards with reference to physical plant, equipment, teaching personnel, and methods of instruction ”. 


The Culture of Benedictine Education at St. Scholastica’s College 

In her aforementioned book, Sr. Caridad Barrion, OSB, describes the education given at St. Scholastica’s College as an integral formation for the “total person.” The Sisters drew up a philosophy of education that combined academic excellence with the religious - socio - pastoral and civic formation that would prepare the Scholasticans to be contributive members of the Church and of society.

The Benedictine culture of Ora et Labora was fostered. The students learned to pray before and after every class period and every activity. First Fridays of the month were spent in chain adoration before the Blessed Sacrament during which t he students made an Act of Consecration to the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus. Equally important was the emphasis on the apostolic activities of the students: giving catechetical instruction in public schools, visiting the children in orphanages and in Welfar eville, and offering prayers and voluntary acts of sacrifice for the Propagation of the Faith. Membership in the Sodality and Student Catholic Action nurtured in the students a love for Mary and a commitment to working for God and for country. 


World War II: The Ravages of War 

At the outbreak of World War II, during the Japanese Occupation, St. Scholastica’s College was sealed as “property of the Japanese Imperial Forces.” Parts of the school were converted into a hospital. Sisters opened the school gates to welcome people who sought refuge in the concrete buildings of the school. Thus, St. Scholastica’s became the sanctuary for people suffering from the terrors of war. On the fateful day of February 13, 1945, an incendiary bomb set St. Cecilia’s Cons ervatory of Music on fire. Soon, the other buildings were also razed to the ground and, St. Scholastica’s buildings were all gone. By God’s grace, however, all the Sisters in the campus were spared. 


Reconstruction and Renewal

The Sisters who lived amidst the ruins of St. Scholastica’s had visions of buildings rising from the debris and thus prayed for further fulfillment of their missionary vocation. Reconstruction soon started under the leadership of Mother Amadea Bessler, OSB. Along with the rebuilding of the physical plant, Mother Amadea called for renewal in the monastic life of the Sisters. 


St. Scholastica’s College re-opened its doors in the second half of 1947. Undaunted by the crippling effects of war, the Sisters pursued the goals of St. Scholastica’s College with greater vigor: the education of finished women of character. The Sisters firmed up their efforts to prepare women for the rebuilding of the home towards a post - war spiritual reconstruction of the Philippines. It took more than nine years to rebuild St. Scholastica's College.


St. Scholastica’s College once again focused on academic excellence through discipline, precision and hard  work while maintaining A LIFE of ORA ET LABORA, SEEKING THE GLORY OF GOD AND SERVICE TO HIS  PEOPLE. Recognizing the quality education at St. Scholastica’s College, the Philippine Accrediting Association of  Schools, Colleges and Universities (PAASCU) accredited the College in 1957. St. Scholastica’s College became a  charter member of the said association. The High School and Grade School Units were subsequently accredited in  1965 and 1973, respectively. 


Education for Justice

In 1975, the Benedictine Sisters in the Philippines, under the leadership of Mother Irene Dabalus, OSB, then  Prioress, made a declaration of their commitment to social justice. Mother Irene drew up a well-defined statement on  the components of A SOCIALLY ORIENTED SCHOOL. St. Scholastica’s College mapped out a program of  implementation of the new thrust. The school adopted the theme EDUCATION FOR JUSTICE. This led to a re-examination of the existing curricula, course offerings, methodology, and co-curricular program of activities. 


A Legacy of Academic Excellence 

The core of Benedictine Education remains rooted in the tradition of academic excellence as a social  responsibility. 


Today, St. Scholastica’s College is accredited in all its basic education units and college programs in Arts  and Sciences, Education, Business and Accountancy. The HRM program is currently preparing for their formal  survey next year. 


Graduates in degree programs requiring licenses have established a good track record in board  examinations. Such is SSC’s record. In fact, in the school year 2000-2001, St. Scholastica’s College was granted full  autonomy by CHED (Commission on Higher Education), earning the distinction of being one of only 30 institutions of  higher education across the country recognized for the quality of its programs. 


St. Scholastica’s School of Music has expanded its repertoire of offerings from piano and voice to winds and  strings, and has given life to PREDIS -- the Philippines Research for Developing Instrumental Soloists. Through  PREDIS scholarships, the musical talents of many young girls and boys -- some of them from disadvantaged  backgrounds have been discovered at a very early age and given the opportunity to be developed. 


On June 4, 2013, the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) conferred the Center of Excellence status  on St. Scholastica’s College School of Music.


Masters Degrees are now offered in the following areas: 


Cognate Programs are offered in: 


As part of its Extension Program, the College conducts classes for two graduate degrees for Saint Paul’s  Business School of Tacloban: Master of Science in Accountancy and Master of Business in Business Management  and is open to other extension programs in other Higher Education Institutions. 


The College has also pioneered in various innovative degree and non-degree programs in Business, in  Hospitality Management and in Technology. In SY 2004-2005, it set up the Institute of Hotel, Leisure and Restaurant  Management (I-HOTELEIRES). 


The School serves as a lead institution in such CHED Zonal Research Projects as:  


The School has achieved greater utilization of technology not only in the teaching-learning process but also in its  administrative processes. It has developed an in-house Integrated School Information System (ISIS) that supports  and facilitates academic and administrative decision-making. 


SSC Senior High School: A Leadership Academy 

SSC has always been known for its taglines that “there is a leader in every Scholastican” with its  promotion of distinct alumnae becoming “The Country’s Firsts”. Thus, in SY 2011-2012, this inspired the  vision of then SSC President, Sr. Mary Thomas Prado, OSB, on putting up a Leadership Academy as the  distinctive program for the Senior High School where it continues to form young women leaders. 


With  VPAA Prof. Virginia Fornias commissioned to conceptualize this “Leadership Academy,” a careful study  and survey of the school’s resources, student profiles and career interests, vis-à-vis the school’s Mission,  Vision and Objectives, was conferred and consolidated with the High School and College administrators  before it was submitted for proposal to the Department of Education. Simultaneous with the series of  articulations, curriculum alignment, track designing by the College administrators and K to 12 transition  plans was the crafting of the Mission-Vision and Objectives of the Leadership Academy, designing of the  Leadership Program, following the Social Change Model of Leadership Development, commissioned to the  High School unit. A letter of intent to establish a Leadership Academy as SSC’s Senior High School was  submitted to the Department of Education on October 5, 2012. With constant and series of consultations  with the Department of Education, establishing the Leadership Academy as SSC’s Senior High School  received favorable response from the Department. The hope then of realizing the vision of a Leadership  Academy for SSC started to unfold.  


While the Leadership Curriculum was being completed, the Step-Up/ Bridging Program that served  as part of the Transition Plan for Basic Education was approved by the Department of Education on  October 30, 2013 and was implemented in SY 2014-2015 in elementary and high school. Moreover,  benchmarking was done with Wake Young Women’s Leadership Academy (WYWLA) in North Carolina, USA, and in Portsmouth Abbey School in Rhode Island, USA. The high school guidance counselors were  then tasked to design a High School Career Development Program to help students in choosing their  tracks.
 

With the approval of the Board of Trustees that SSC’s Senior High School will be packaged as a  Leadership Academy on August 8, 2013, the Senior High School Leadership Academy was finding its mark  in SSC. As one of the early implementers of Senior High School in the country, application was completed  and submitted in August 2014 and permit to offer various tracks were received in January and March, 2015.  It was also in SY 2013-2014 that the establishment of a Leadership Center was conceived in collaboration  with President and CEO of Hyundai Asia Resources, Inc. and President of HARI Foundation Incorporated,  Ms. Maria Fe Perez-Agudo, an alumna, in support of the Leadership Program of the Academy. On May 19,  2014, the SSC Leadership Academy was officially launched. Dr. Rebecca Cacho was then appointed SHS  Principal by the second semester of SY 2014-2015.  


The school has received government permits to offer the following tracks and strands:


In June 2015, SSC officially offered the Leadership Academy to its pilot batch of 111 students, with 65  of its students coming from the HS Step-Up Program, later on having its first batch of graduates in March 2017. 


SSC was also granted permit to offer HUMSS strand under the Academic Track effective SY 2017- 2018. 


In SY 2018-2019 the Senior High School (SHS) is combined with the Junior High School (JHS) into one  unit. Thus, the school has one high school program that offers grades 7 to 12. 


Centennial celebration of SSC and Priory 

On September 14, 2005, the Missionary Benedictine Sisters in the Philippines formally launched the  CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION of St. Scholastica’s Priory and St. Scholastica’s College, Manila. The twin celebration of  the priory and the school carried the umbrella theme “A Century of Missionary Benedictine Presence in the Philippines”  under which was subsumed SSC’s sub-theme “Celebrating Scholastican Education” on December 3, 2005 when it  turned 99 years old. On December 3, 2006, SSC turned 100 years old and on December 8, 2006, the sixteen-month long celebration came to a close. 


The twin celebration brought to mind the wonderful deeds of GOD in the 100 years of Missionary  Benedictine Presence in the Philippines and in the history of St. Scholastica’s College, Manila. It also  reminded us that the first Five German Benedictine Sisters landed on Philippine shores on September 14, 1906, Feast of the  EXALTATION OF THE CROSS.


School Themes

1950 - 1976 Sense of Commitment

1976 - 1977 Community Building

1977 - 1978 Social Awareness

1978 - 1979 Socially-Oriented School

1979 - 1980 Social Involvement

1980 - 1985 Education for Justice

1986 - 1987 The Self-Awareness of the Filipino Woman

1987 - 1988 Women and Environment: One Bread, One Body, One People; Shelter for the Homeless

1989 - 1990 Justice, Peace and Integrity of Creation

1990 - 1991 Peace and Sovereignty

1991 - 1992 Solidarity and Ecumenism

1993 - 1995 Towards an Evangelized and Evangelizing Community: Academic Excellence as Social  Responsibility

1995 - 1996 Benedictine Values for Evangelization: Academic Excellence as Social Responsibility

1996 - 1997 Benedictine Values for Evangelization: Focus on Community Building

1997 - 1998 Community Building Jubilee 2000: One in Christ Jesus

1998 - 1999 Community Building Jubilee 2000: Empowered by the Holy Spirit

1999 - 2000 Co-Creators with God the Father

2000 - 2001 Celebrating the Jubilee as a Benedictine Community (Issue Focus: Land, Modern Slavery and Debt)

2001 - 2002 Building a Transforming Community of Peace (Issue Focus: A Just Peace)

2002 - 2003 Transforming Communities of Peace: Peace-building Relationships in the Family and  School

2003 - 2004 Transforming Communities of Peace: Seek Peace, Pursue Peace

2004 - 2005 Revitalizing the School Community for Effective Witness to Christ

2005 - 2006 100 Years of Scholastican Education: Academic Excellence as Our Benedictine Service to  the Community

2006 - 2007 100 Years of Scholastican Education: Academic Excellence as Our Benedictine Service to  the Community

2007 - 2009 Go, SSC! Go… Serve Others (Save the Earth, Seek Peace and Pursue It)

2009 - 2012 Leaders in the Service of Christ, Country and Creation

2012 - 2015 Christ-centered Leaders: Renewing our Culture, Revitalizing our Community, Restoring the Integrity of Mother Earth with Joy and Hope

2015 - 2016  Benedictine Stewardship: An Expression of Faith, Hope and Love Scholasticans’ Response to the Year of the Poor & Jubilee Year of Mercy

2016 - 2017 Benedictine Stewardship: We Care (An Expression of Faith, Hope and Love Scholasticans’ Response to the Year of the Poor & Jubilee Year of Mercy

2017 - 2018 Building Community in Christ, with Creation and for Our Country

2018 - 2021 Called by Christ to Witness, to Serve and to Share

2021 - 2024 Benedictine Education: In the Spirit of Communion, Participation and Mission 

2024 - 2025 Rekindle the Gift of Benedictine Education (Focus: Stability, Hospitality and Community)