St. Joseph School - Pandacan

St. Joseph's School - Pandacan, Manila (SJS) is a private parochial school operated by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Manila. It is located in the district of Pandacan in the City of Manila, Philippines, established by His Eminence Rufino Cardinal Santos, D.D. in 1955 to provide a school that would enable the children of Pandacan and its neighboring towns an opportunity to receive good Roman Catholic oriented education.

History of St. Joseph's School

Facade of St. Joseph's SchoolH.E. Rufino Cardinal Santos. D.D. and with the help of the Sisters of the Immaculate Heart of Mary (ICM) who were also planning to build a school in Pandacan collaborated together and with the help of Msgr. Guillermo Mendoza, Parish Priest of the Sto. Niño Parish, St. Joseph's School's very first building for an elementary school was built at the adjacent vacant lot ot the church.

Sister Marie Alice Dieltiens, ICM who served as the school's first principal saw the rapid growth in population of the school. In 1959, a new high school building was built and the new high school department at that time, accepted only female students.

From 1955, St. Joseph's School's enrollment grew and some classes were being held at make shift classrooms in the Parish building office. With the help of the parents, the school obtained a loan to build a new building, an annex to the high school building which was blessed and opened on November 28, 1971 by H.E. Rufino Cardinal Santos, D.D. with Bishop Bienvenido Lopez and Msgr. Victor Serrano, Parish Priest of Sto. Niño Parish.

The ICM Sisters managed the school until 1993, when the Sisters felt at that time a chamge in their charism and mission and instead directed its mission towards deploying their sisters abroad. The ICM Sisters informed His Emminence Jaime Cardinal Sin, D.D., Manila's Archbishop, of their intentions to give up administering St. Joseph's School and turned over its management directly to the Parish Priest of Sto. Niño Parish.

New facilities improvement were introduced in the school to help elevate the conditions and teaching facilities of the school.

By school year 1994, the Sisters of the Missionary Apostles of Christ (MACE) were invited to help in administering the finance aspects of the school as well handling areas of religious education. In the same year, enrollment for male students in the high school department was finally opened.

In the year 2002, the Parish Priest of Sto. Niño gave up the Directorship of the school and concentrated on parish work instead. The Archbishop of Manila, Jaime Cardinal L. Sin, D.D. appointed Rev. Fr. Nolan G. Que, Ph.D. to the post of School Director. Long time St. Joseph teacher Ms. Emolyn G. Guamil was appointed Assistant Director while Mrs. Elizabeth D. Mendoza is the Institutional Principal since School Year 2004-2005.

In school year 2005-2006, the school opened its multi-purpose gymnasium at what used to be the elementary school chapel. The new gym serves as the main facilities for various physical education related programs of the school.

The school will also officially change its official uniform colors from the standard navy blue skirt and ties for the girls to a dark red plad skirt and tie in SY 2007-2008.

In school year 2005, Fr. Que was given the task to supervise other schools nearby including Paco Catholic School, St. Peter the Apostle School, Ermita Catholic School, Pius the X School and Malate Catholic School.

Educational Philosophy
Saint Joseph's School believes in the potential of every student to become a useful member of the Church and the society by providing him/her with opportunities to be evangelized and be an evangelizer. The school recognizes the individual differences of its students. Through the guidance of the school administration and teacers, SJS students are formed to value the importance of work in every activity and program the school offers as it prepares them to become good Christian citizens.

Vision Statement
St. Joseph's School, a member of the Manila Archdiocesan and Parochial Schools Association (MAPSA), is a a partner of the parish community of Sto. Niño in the evangelization and education of its members. It envisions itself as an instrument for the holistic formation of individuals through the delivery of quality basic education to the youth who will be servant-leaders of Church and Nation.

Mission Statement
Inspired by the love of the Sto. Niño for children, and guided by the virtues of Mary and Joseph, we, the members of the academic community of St. Joseph's School, commit to:

to Live by the core values espoused by the institution;
To be Just
To be Obedient
To render humble Service
To be Enthusiastic with everything
To be Pious
and Honest at all times.

Core Values
The school community promotes and lives by with the following values:

As individuals, to be disciplined, punctual, simple, obedient, honest, sincere, industrious, and diligent
As persons of authority of the institution (admin faculty and staff), to observe respect, fairness ani to show patience, tolerance and understands dealing with students; and to be animators of love and concern;
As students, to show respect for authority, to cleanliness and order, and to aim for excellence;
As members of the community, to be committed t service; to be loyal to the institution; to be s dealing with one another; and to live as true di the Church and servant-leaders of the Nation — Thus creating a community that truly serves God and Country.