The Beacon Academy is a private international

college-preparatory school A college-preparatory school (usually shortened to preparatory school or prep school) is a type of secondary school. The term refers to public, private independent or parochial schools primarily designed to prepare students for higher education ...

Biñan Biñan (), officially the City of Biñan ( fil, Lungsod ng Biñan), is a 1st class Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, component city in the Provinces of the Philippines, province of Laguna (province), Laguna, Philippines. According ...

Laguna Laguna (Italian and Spanish for lagoon) may refer to: People * Abe Laguna (born 1992), American DJ known as Ookay * Andrés Laguna (1499–1559), Spanish physician, pharmacologist, and botanist * Ana Laguna (born 1955), Spanish-Swedish ballet d ...

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

that offers the

International Baccalaureate The International Baccalaureate (IB), formerly known as the International Baccalaureate Organization (IBO), is a nonprofit foundation headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, and founded in 1968. It offers four educational programmes: the IB Dip ...

(IB) program. It is a

sister school A sister school is usually a pair of schools, usually single-sex school, one with female students and the other with male students. This relationship is seen to benefit both schools. For instance, when Harvard University was a male-only school, Rad ...

of the Beacon School in

Taguig Taguig (), officially the City of Taguig ( fil, Lungsod ng Taguig), is a 1st class highly urbanized city in Metro Manila, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 886,722 people. Located in the northwestern shores of ...

Metro Manila Metropolitan Manila (often shortened as Metro Manila; fil, Kalakhang Maynila), officially the National Capital Region (NCR; fil, link=no, Pambansang Punong Rehiyon), is the capital region, seat of government and one of three List of metrop ...

. The Beacon Academy brands itself as "an international school rooted in

Filipino culture The culture of the Philippines is characterized by cultural diversity. Although the Ethnic groups in the Philippines, multiple ethnic groups of the Philippine archipelago have only recently established a shared Filipinos, Filipino Filipino natio ...

and

ethos Ethos ( or ) is a Greek word meaning "character" that is used to describe the guiding beliefs or ideals that characterize a community, nation, or ideology; and the balance between caution, and passion. The Greeks also used this word to refer to ...

History

The Beacon Academy was founded in 2009 by architect Leandro Locsin Jr., son of the late National Artist of the Philippines for Architecture

Leandro Locsin Leandro V. Locsin (August 15, 1928 – November 15, 1994) was a Filipino architect, artist, and interior designer known for his use of concrete, floating volume and simplistic design in his various projects. An avid collector, he was fond of mo ...

, and his wife Mailin Paterno-Locsin. The school was established to serve as the high school extension of its sister school, the Beacon School, located along Chino Roces Avenue in

. According to Locsin Jr., the Beacon Academy aimed to continue the Beacon School's success of providing an internationally-recognized curriculum that would provide Filipino parents an option for their children to maximize their potential as national and global citizens. Locsin added that its establishment was also a response to the rise of international schools in the country aiming to do the same. The school's campus opened in August 2010. Education Secretary Armin Luistro and Biñan Mayor Marlyn Alonte-Naguiat were among the guests of honor during the school's opening rites. Locsin Jr. currently serves as the Beacon Academy's board chairman. The Beacon Academy was accredited by the IB on April 20, 2011.

Campus

The campus of the Beacon Academy measures , located approximately south of

. Heavily surrounded by greenery, it is situated on land donated by the Locsin family, the same land where the De La Salle University – Laguna Campus is situated on. It is also near the Ayala Westgrove Heights subdivision in Silang, Cavite, Laguna Technopark, and the Nuvali mixed-use residential development in

Santa Rosa Santa Rosa is the Italian, Portuguese and Spanish name for Saint Rose. Santa Rosa may also refer to: Places Argentina *Santa Rosa, Mendoza, a city * Santa Rosa, Tinogasta, Catamarca * Santa Rosa, Valle Viejo, Catamarca *Santa Rosa, La Pampa * Sa ...

and Calamba,

. The Beacon Academy has two two-storey buildings; the main building containing 11 state-of-the-art classrooms, including four laboratories, and the secondary building containing seven classrooms, including a music room and a

visual arts The visual arts are art forms such as painting, drawing, printmaking, sculpture, ceramics, photography, video, filmmaking, design, crafts and architecture. Many artistic disciplines such as performing arts, conceptual art, and textile arts al ...

studio, as well as an auditorium and a gallery. The Beacon Academy's facilities also include an eight-lane

Olympic-size swimming pool An Olympic-size swimming pool conforms to regulated dimensions that are large enough for international competition. This type of swimming pool is used in the Olympic Games, where the race course is in length, typically referred to as "long cour ...

, a basketball court, a football pitch, a fitness room, and a climbing wall.

Faculty and students

Branding itself as a "Filipino international school", the Beacon Academy community consists of mostly Filipinos. The school accepts foreign-based students and faculty, regardless of ethnic or religious background. An average class size is between 12 to 15 but not more than 20, as the school emphasizes its desire to cater more effectively to its students in an environment of

personalized learning Personalized learning, individualized instruction, personal learning environment and direct instruction all refer to efforts to tailor education to meet the different needs of students. Overview The use of the term "personalized learning" dates ba ...

. Its faculty are

secondary school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' secondary education, lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) ...

teachers who have prior experience teaching in other secondary schools in the Philippines or abroad, some of whom also have experience teaching in colleges or universities. Its teachers regularly undergo extensive training programs to enhance their capabilities in effectively delivering the IB program to students.

Educational curriculum

The Beacon Academy specializes in the application of the Harkness method of teaching and learning in its curriculum. Most of the school's classrooms contain an oval-discussion table or a similar setup where students sit facing each other. The Beacon Academy's curriculum utilizes discussion-based learning as a form of independent study in order to foster

critical thinking Critical thinking is the analysis of available facts, evidence, observations, and arguments to form a judgement. The subject is complex; several different definitions exist, which generally include the rational, skeptical, and unbiased analysis ...

and collaborative skills amongst its students. Leandro Locsin Jr., the school's co-founder, was an alumnus of the

Phillips Exeter Academy (not for oneself) la, Finis Origine Pendet (The End Depends Upon the Beginning) gr, Χάριτι Θεοῦ (By the Grace of God) , location = 20 Main Street , city = Exeter, New Hampshire , zipcode ...

Exeter, New Hampshire Exeter is a town in Rockingham County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 16,049 at the 2020 census, up from 14,306 at the 2010 census. Exeter was the county seat until 1997, when county offices were moved to neighboring Brentwood. ...

, where the method was developed. The Beacon Academy describes its curriculum as an "extensive" curriculum designed to effectively help its students enter the colleges and universities of their choice, either local or international, that is ideally the "best fit" for them. The curriculum of the Beacon Academy follows the framework of the IB. Its partnership with the Beacon School is the only educational institution in the Philippines accredited by the IB to offer their three main educational programs (

IB Primary Years Programme The International Baccalaureate Primary Years Programme (PYP) is an educational programme managed by the International Baccalaureate (IB) for students in grades Kindergarten to Fifth grade. While the programme prepares students for the IB Middle Y ...

IB Middle Years Programme The International Baccalaureate Middle Years Programme (MYP) is an educational programme for students between the ages of 11 to 16 around the world as part of the International Baccalaureate (IB) continuum. Middle Year Programme is intended to pr ...

, and IB Diploma Programme). The Beacon School offers the IB Primary Years Programme and the first three years of the IB Middle Years Programme (MYP), while the Beacon Academy offers the last two years of MYP and the IB Diploma Programme (DP). The Beacon School–Beacon Academy partnership is also the only educational institution in the country to offer the IB MYP. The Beacon Academy, however, only offers the following subjects in IB DP (listed per IB DP subject groups): * Group 1:

English language and literature English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national id ...

English literature English literature is literature written in the English language from United Kingdom, its crown dependencies, the Republic of Ireland, the United States, and the countries of the former British Empire. ''The Encyclopaedia Britannica'' defines E ...

Filipino literature Philippine literature is literature associated with the Philippines from prehistory, through its colonial legacies, and on to the present. Pre-Hispanic Philippine literature was actually epics passed on from generation to generation, o ...

Japanese literature Japanese literature throughout most of its history has been influenced by cultural contact with neighboring Asian literatures, most notably China and its literature. Early texts were often written in pure Classical Chinese or , a Chinese-Japanes ...

Group 2 The term Group 2 may refer to: * Alkaline earth metal, a chemical element classification * Astronaut Group 2, also known as The New Nine, the second group of astronauts selected by NASA in 1962 * Group 2 (racing), an FIA classification for cars in a ...

Chinese Chinese can refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation ** List of ethnic groups in China, people of va ...

, Spanish, Spanish ''ab initio'' * Group 3:

anthropology Anthropology is the scientific study of humanity, concerned with human behavior, human biology, cultures, societies, and linguistics, in both the present and past, including past human species. Social anthropology studies patterns of behavi ...

business management Business administration, also known as business management, is the administration of a commercial enterprise. It includes all aspects of overseeing and supervising the business operations of an organization. From the point of view of management ...

economics Economics () is the social science that studies the Production (economics), production, distribution (economics), distribution, and Consumption (economics), consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and intera ...

psychology Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Psychology includes the study of conscious and unconscious phenomena, including feelings and thoughts. It is an academic discipline of immense scope, crossing the boundaries betwe ...

* Group 4:

biology Biology is the scientific study of life. It is a natural science with a broad scope but has several unifying themes that tie it together as a single, coherent field. For instance, all organisms are made up of cells that process hereditary i ...

chemistry Chemistry is the science, scientific study of the properties and behavior of matter. It is a natural science that covers the Chemical element, elements that make up matter to the chemical compound, compounds made of atoms, molecules and ions ...

, environmental systems and societies,

physics Physics is the natural science that studies matter, its fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge which r ...

* Group 5: mathematical studies,

mathematics Mathematics is an area of knowledge that includes the topics of numbers, formulas and related structures, shapes and the spaces in which they are contained, and quantities and their changes. These topics are represented in modern mathematics ...

* Group 6:

Extracurricular activities

A member of the League of Southern Manila Schools and the Manila International Schools Athletic Association, the Beacon Academy has varsity teams in

badminton Badminton is a racquet sport played using racquets to hit a shuttlecock across a net. Although it may be played with larger teams, the most common forms of the game are "singles" (with one player per side) and "doubles" (with two players pe ...

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

chess Chess is a board game for two players, called White and Black, each controlling an army of chess pieces in their color, with the objective to checkmate the opponent's king. It is sometimes called international chess or Western chess to disti ...

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

, swimming, and

volleyball Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Summ ...

that compete locally and regionally. The school also participates in local and regional Model United Nations conferences and actively competes in the

World Scholar's Cup The World's Scholar Cup (abbreviated WSC) is an international team academic program with more than 15,000 students participating from over 65 countries every year. The program was founded by DemiDec, in particular by Daniel Berdichevsky, in 2006 ...

internationally. ''The Griffin Post'' is the official student publication of the Beacon Academy. As of April 2019, the Performing Arts Club was established, featuring two original student-led plays. The first of which, ''Disaster on Big Bertha'' was released on May 30, 2019 while a direct sequel named ''The Sophomore Slump'' was released on December 12, 2019.

References

External links

The Beacon Academy

The Beacon Academy – International Baccalaureate
{{DEFAULTSORT:Beacon Academy, The 2009 establishments in the Philippines Educational institutions established in 2009 International Baccalaureate schools in the Philippines Non-profit organizations based in the Philippines Schools in Biñan