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 List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

coeducational basic and higher education institution run by the

Augustinian Province of Santo Niño de Cebu The Augustinian Province of Sto. Niño de Cebu, based in Cebu City, Philippines, is a geographical and administrative Ecclesiastical Province#Regular equivalent, subdivision of the religious Order of St. Augustine. The Province is actively involv ...

, Philippines of the

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

Biñan Biñan (), officially the City of Biñan (), is a component city in the province of Laguna, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 407,437, making it the third largest in population in the province of Laguna, after ...

, Laguna,

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

. 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 serv ...

(PAASCU).

History

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

preschool A preschool (sometimes spelled as pre school or pre-school), also known as nursery school, pre-primary school, play school, is an school, educational establishment or learning space offering early childhood education to children before they ...

through

third grade Third grade (also 3rd Grade or Grade 3) is the third year of formal or compulsory education. It is the third year of primary school. Children in third grade are usually 8–9 years old. Examples of the American syllabus In mathematics, student ...

. 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 Augustinian may refer to: *Augustinians, members of religious orders following the Rule of St Augustine *Augustinianism, the teachings of Augustine of Hippo and his intellectual heirs *Someone who follows Augustine of Hippo *Canons regular#Canons R ...

. 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 Augustine of Hippo ( , ; ; 13 November 354 – 28 August 430) was a theologian and philosopher of Berber origin and the bishop of Hippo Regius in Numidia, Roman North Africa. His writings deeply influenced the development of Western philosop ...

, a key figure in the

doctrinal Doctrine (from , 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. The etymolog ...

development of

Western Christianity Western Christianity is one of two subdivisions of Christianity (Eastern Christianity being the other). Western Christianity is composed of the Latin Church and Protestantism, Western Protestantism, together with their offshoots such as the O ...

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 contribut ...

" 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, providing a personal narrative that reflects on the author's experiences, memories, and insights. This genre allows individuals to share thei ...

) and "

The City of God ''On the City of God Against the Pagans'' (), 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. Augustine wrote the book to refute allegations that Christian ...

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

Reformation The Reformation, also known as the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation, was a time of major Theology, theological movement in Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the p ...

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 uni ...

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

, 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 Colegio San Agustin – Bacolod, also referred to by its acronym CSA-B, is a private, Catholic coeducational basic and higher education institution run by the Augustinian Province of Santo Niño de Cebu, Philippines of the Order of Saint Augus ...

, St. Augustine's College, Brookvale in Sydney, Australia,

St. Augustine College Preparatory School St. Augustine Preparatory SchoolSchool Profile
, St. Augustine Preparatory School. Accessed November 19, 2014. "S ...

, Richland, New Jersey; St. Augustine High School, San Diego, California; and

Austin Preparatory School Austin Preparatory School, known as Austin Prep, is a co-educational Catholic school for students in grades 6 to 12 located in Reading, Massachusetts within the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston. It was founded by the Order of Saint Augustin ...

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 crozier or crosier (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 Catho ...

and

mitre The mitre (Commonwealth English) or miter (American English; American and British English spelling differences#-re, -er, see spelling differences; both pronounced ; ) is a type of headgear now known as the traditional, ceremonial headdress of ...

– 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 languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

, "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. Yet for the seventh grade in A. Y. 2024-2025 they are implementing the new Matatag Curriculum which focuses on three major subjects: English, Math, and Science.

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) In-Commission or commissioning may refer to: Business and contracting * Commission (remuneration), a form of payment to an agent for services rendered ** Commission (art), the purchase or the creation of a piece of art most often on behalf of anot ...

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 *

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Nikki Valdez Ma. Alinica "Nikki" Valdez-Garcia (born January 25, 1979) is a Filipino people, Filipino actress and singer. Career In the Philippine music scene she was known for a ballad titled "Meron Ba?", composed for the soundtrack of ''G-Mik the Movie' ...

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