The Training-Workshop on the Augustinian Education Framework officially began on July 16, 2025, at the Crown Regency Hotel and Suites in Cebu City and concludes on July 19, 2025.
Spearheaded by the Provincial Commission on Educational Apostolate, the Training-Workshop gathered friars and lay representatives from the six educational institutions of the Province.
Present for the entire Workshop are representatives from the University of San Agustin, Iloilo; Colegio San Agustin-Biñan; Colegio San Agustin-Bacolod; Colegio San Agustin-Mati; San Jose Catholic School; and Colegio del Santo Niño de Cebu. The event aims “to define the formation standards and articulate the educational outcomes of our Augustinian schools.”
Each day will commence with a Eucharistic celebration. On the first day, the chairperson of the Provincial Commission on Educational Apostolate, Rev. Fr. Dante O. Juloc, OSA, presided over the Holy Mass.
After the Mass, the opening ceremonies began. Fr. Juloc welcomed the participants and explained the rationale behind the Training-Workshop. Fr. Antonio Nombrefia, OSA, Secretary of the Provincial Commission, acknowledged the delegates, while Dr. Mardy Verano, the facilitator for the entire workshop, outlined the mechanics and guidelines.
Rev. Fr. Czar Emmanuel Alvarez, OSA, shared his expertise on the life and works of St. Augustine and elaborated on the Augustinian Philosophy of Education to the delegates. The first day concluded with a workshop focused on the Augustinian Educational Philosophy.
On the second day of the Training-Workshop a collaborative presentation and feedback on the outputs of the first day, facilitated by Dr. Mardy Verano, and Fr. Czar Emmanuel Alvarez, OSA. After a short health break, Fr. Andrew Batayola, OSA, took the lead for the rest of the day’s sessions.
Fr. Batayola’s first session focused on “Veritas,” exploring truth in the context of intellectual pursuit, ethical discernment, and service. In the afternoon, He tackled “Unitas,” aiming to strengthen unity among educational stakeholders through collaboration, mutual respect, and shared values. The last session highlighted “Caritas” as an Augustinian core value, emphasizing the centrality of love in education and how it can be nurtured within and beyond the school community. The sessions concluded with a time for reflective practice on all three Augustinian core values.
Furthermore, the third day started with a Holy Mass where Fr. Andrew Batayola, OSA explored in his homily the concept of hunger, linking it to various aspects of human desire and the Augustinian core values. He urged all participants to continuously “go hungry” for the Word of God, stressing its transformative potential for all communities, particularly educational ones.
Following the Eucharistic celebration, the Workshop on the Augustinian Core Values, with participants identifying sub-values anchored on Caritas, Veritas, and Unitas for integration into the curriculum and institutional practices of Augustinian schools, continues. Meanwhile, in the afternoon session, participants presented their outputs for feedback and engaged in a thorough review and refinement of their proposals to ensure alignment with the Augustinian Educational Framework and readiness for implementation in their respective institutions.
Lastly, the last day of the Workshop focused on group collaboration to refine the documents using consolidated inputs. In the plenary session, they presented and further polished the outputs through collective critique, aiming for consistency across all Augustinian institutions.
The workshop concluded with the approval of the final drafts and the awarding of certificates to participants and to Dr. Verano in recognition of her facilitation.
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