Colegio San Agustin – Biñan (also referred to as CSA-Biñan), is a private,

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

coeducational basic and higher education institution run by the Augustinian Province of Santo Niño de Cebu, Philippines of the

Order of Saint Augustine The Order of Saint Augustine, ( la, Ordo Fratrum Sancti Augustini) abbreviated OSA, is a religious mendicant order of the Catholic Church. It was founded in 1244 by bringing together several eremitical groups in the Tuscany region who were fo ...

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 ...

. It was founded by the Augustinians 1985. Its primary and secondary education programs are accredited Level III by the

Philippine Accrediting Association of Schools, Colleges and Universities The Philippine Accrediting Association of Schools, Colleges and Universities (PAASCU) is a private, voluntary, non-profit and non-stock corporation which was registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission of the Philippines. It is a servic ...

(PAASCU).

History

Colegio San Agustin – Biñan began as a school for boys and girls attending

preschool A preschool, also known as nursery school, pre-primary school, or play school or creche, is an educational establishment or learning space offering early childhood education to children before they begin compulsory education at primary school ...

through

third grade Third grade (also called grade three, equivalent to Year 4 in England) is a year of primary education in many countries. It is the third school year of primary school. Students are usually 8–9 years old. Examples of the American syllabus *In ...

. Incorporated on November 16, 1984, it is located on a five-hectare site donated by a private land developer to the Augustinian Province of Sto. Niño de Cebu, Philippines. The first faculty and staff consisted of twenty lay personnel and three priest-administrators catering to the needs of 646 students. The founding administrators included Rev. Rodolfo P. Sicio, OSA as Rector and Principal, Rev. Alfredo Jubac, OSA as treasurer, and Rev. Marcelino Malana, OSA as a guidance counselor and sports coordinator. Miss Doris S. Calog serves as the school Registrar, Assistant Principal, and Academic Coordinator of all departments. One of the pioneer personnel still connected/works at present, she's Ms. Nelia O. Villodres of the Grade School Dept. ( former Preschool Teacher 1985) The Preschool Department was part of the Colegio San Agustin since it started the operation in June 1985. There were 290 pupils in its first year of operation. The department continued to expand its structure as more pupils were added each year. Improving the curriculum was done in response to the needs of the pupils. Total enrollment peaked at 790 in the academic year 1992–1993. Appropriate measures were introduced to effectively manage the growing pupils' populace and sustain the upgraded standard of instruction. Strict screening procedures were also implemented both for the admission of pupils and for the hiring of faculty.

Patron saint

The school is named in honor of St. Augustine of Hippo, a key figure in the

doctrinal Doctrine (from la, doctrina, meaning "teaching, instruction") is a codification of beliefs or a body of teachings or instructions, taught principles or positions, as the essence of teachings in a given branch of knowledge or in a belief system ...

development of

Western Christianity Western Christianity is one of two sub-divisions of Christianity ( Eastern Christianity being the other). Western Christianity is composed of the Latin Church and Western Protestantism, together with their offshoots such as the Old Catholic ...

and a "

Doctor of the Church Doctor of the Church (Latin: ''doctor'' "teacher"), also referred to as Doctor of the Universal Church (Latin: ''Doctor Ecclesiae Universalis''), is a title given by the Catholic Church to saints recognized as having made a significant contribu ...

" Two of his surviving works, namely, " The Confessions" (his

autobiography An autobiography, sometimes informally called an autobio, is a self-written account of one's own life. It is a form of biography. Definition The word "autobiography" was first used deprecatingly by William Taylor in 1797 in the English peri ...

) and "

The City of God ''On the City of God Against the Pagans'' ( la, De civitate Dei contra paganos), often called ''The City of God'', is a book of Christian philosophy written in Latin by Augustine of Hippo in the early 5th century AD. The book was in response ...

," are regarded as Western classics. Augustine is often considered to be one of the theological fountainheads of the

Reformation The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and in ...

because of his teaching on

salvation Salvation (from Latin: ''salvatio'', from ''salva'', 'safe, saved') is the state of being saved or protected from harm or a dire situation. In religion and theology, ''salvation'' generally refers to the deliverance of the soul from sin and its c ...

and

grace Grace may refer to: Places United States * Grace, Idaho, a city * Grace (CTA station), Chicago Transit Authority's Howard Line, Illinois * Little Goose Creek (Kentucky), location of Grace post office * Grace, Carroll County, Missouri, an uninco ...

Martin Luther Martin Luther (; ; 10 November 1483 – 18 February 1546) was a German priest, theologian, author, hymnwriter, and professor, and Order of Saint Augustine, Augustinian friar. He is the seminal figure of the Reformation, Protestant Refo ...

, perhaps the greatest figure of the Reformation, was himself an Augustinian friar. Other English speaking Augustinian Schools with the same patron include Colegio San Agustin-Makati, Colegio del Santo Niño (Cebu), Colegio San Agustin-Bacolod,

St. Augustine's College, Brookvale English: ''Truth conquers'' , religious_affiliation = Roman Catholic (Order of Saint Augustine) , patron = Augustine of Hippo , established = , founder = Fr.Thomas Alphonsus Hunt, , educational_aut ...

in Sydney, Australia,

St. Augustine College Preparatory School :''This article discusses the school in Richland, New Jersey. For other institution of the same name, see St. Augustine High School (disambiguation), St. Augustine's (disambiguation)'' St. Augustine Preparatory School

, Richland, New Jersey;

St. Augustine High School The name St. Augustine High School could refer to: In the United States: * St. Augustine Academy (Lakewood, Ohio) * St. Augustine High School (Laredo, Texas) * St. Augustine High School (New Orleans), Louisiana * St. Augustine High School (San Di ...

, San Diego, California; and

Austin Preparatory School Austin Preparatory School is a co-educational Catholic school located in Reading, Massachusetts. It is located in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston. It was founded by the Order of Saint Augustine in 1961. The institution is colloquially ...

in Reading, Massachusetts - all three in the United States; and St. Augustine College in Malta.

School seal

Symbols and meanings

* Golden Eagle – represents the lofty intellect of St. Augustine as a soaring eagle of Hippo, Africa. * Heart – symbolizes love and charity, the first rule of St. Augustine. *

Crosier A crosier or crozier (also known as a paterissa, pastoral staff, or bishop's staff) is a stylized staff that is a symbol of the governing office of a bishop or abbot and is carried by high-ranking prelates of Roman Catholic, Eastern Catholi ...

and

mitre The mitre (Commonwealth English) (; Greek: μίτρα, "headband" or "turban") or miter (American English; see spelling differences), is a type of headgear now known as the traditional, ceremonial headdress of bishops and certain abbots in ...

– represent the bishopric of St. Augustine. * Book – symbolizes the writings of St. Augustine and his intellectual depth as a writer, making him the greatest

. * ''Tolle Lege, Tolle Lege'' – (

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

, "Take up and read"), the words spoken by a voice heard by St. Augustine which led to his conversion to Catholicism in the year 386. * Colors – Red stands for courage, and gold for victory over evil. * ''Virtus et Scientia'' – (Latin, "Virtue and Science"), the traditional motto of the Augustinians, representing the two pillars of the Augustinian way of education.

Instructional programs

The instructional program in the Grade School (GS), Junior High School (JHS), and Senior High School (SHS) Department highlights the formation of mind and character of the students and has all been aligned to the School's Vision-Mission. The three departments follows the K to 1
Basic Education Curriculum (BEC)
effective academic year 2012–2013. This shall be implemented starting with the roll-out of Grades 1 and 7 in pursuance to Department of Education Order No. 31, series of 2012. The subjects and course programs of each grade level have been articulated in all departments to make certain that there is no overlapping in content areas and to monitor the continuity of learning.

Preschool Department (nursery, pre-kinder, kinder level)

Grade School Department (Grades 1 to 6)

The curricular offerings are modified with the Computer and Christian Living.

Junior High School Department (Grades 7 to 10)

The curriculum is modified with Christian Values Education, Statistics, Geometry Advanced Algebra with Trigonometry, Research, and Information and Communications Technology (ICT) subjects. Robotics is included in the curriculum wherein it enhances the ICT, Mathematics and Science subjects.

Senior High School (Grades 11 to 12)

Academic track

*Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) *Accountancy and Business Management (ABM) *Humanities and Social Sciences (HUMSS)

Tech-Voc-Liv track

*Information and Communications Technology (ICT) *Home Economics (HE)

Sports track

International Students Center

The increasing number of international students and their schedule of irregular enrolment prompted the former school president, Rev. Fr. Richard L. Pido, OSA to creare the International Students Office (ISO) which is now known as the International Students Center (ISC). The Bureau of Immigration granted its license last April 28, 2005 with License No. AFF-05-054. Its operation formally started last June 2008. The center caters students from different countries like Canada, China, Finland, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, Papua Guinea, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, United Kingdom, United States of America, and United Arab Emirates.

Program offerings

# Regular Class Program # Intervention Program # English Language Program # Special Communication Arts Program I, II, III # Special Filipino Language Program # Social Studies for the International Students # Sit-in Program for the International Students

College Department

The College Department opened in the Academic Year 1998-1999 and offered 12 courses in its initial year of operation, ten were baccalaureate programs and two were associate courses. However, in AY 2001–2002, the college streamlined and focused in offering six major courses. The first set that were granted government recognition by the

Commission on Higher Education (CHED) Higher Education Commission or Commission on Higher Education may refer to: Asia * Higher Education Commission (Pakistan) * Commission on Higher Education (Philippines) * Office of the Higher Education Commission North America * Higher Learning Co ...

on October 19, 2001, were Bachelor of Science in Foreign Service, Bachelor of Science in Computer Science, Bachelor of Science in Psychology, Bachelor of Science in Tourism, and Bachelor of Science in Hotel and Restaurant Management. On June 26, 2001, Bachelor of Arts in Communication was offered. Bachelor of Science in Information Technology and Bachelor of Science in Business Administration followed in the AY 2003–2004.

College course offerings

* Bachelor of Arts in Communication * Bachelor of Science in Business Administration ** Major in Marketing Management * Bachelor of Science in Computer Science * Bachelor of Science in Foreign Service * Bachelor of Science in Hotel and Restaurant Management * Bachelor of Science in Information Technology * Bachelor of Science in Psychology * Bachelor of Science in Tourism

Notable alumni

* Ken Chan *

Taki Saito is a Filipina actress and singer of Japanese-Brazilian descent and a member of J-pop girl group Faky. She was born in Japan and was raised in France and the Philippines. Career Saito was an intro-acting student at Star Magic Workshops before. ...

Angeli Gonzales Kaye Angeli H. Gonzales (born March 9, 1994) is a Filipino teen actress. She is known for her role as April Muñoz in ''Luv U''. Her co-starred, Miles Ocampo and Marco Gumabao. Personal life Gonzales is a Registered Medical Technologist. She ...

References

Gallery

Image:Front angular web.jpg, The school gymnasium Image:San-agustin-web2.jpg, St. Augustine's statue Image:San agustin garden.jpg, Statue of St. Augustine in the school garden Image:BUILDING 1.jpg, View of the school from the South Super Highway {{DEFAULTSORT:Colegio San Agustin - Binan Colegio San Agustin-Binan Schools in Biñan Educational institutions established in 1985 Catholic elementary schools in the Philippines 1985 establishments in the Philippines