Garden of Grace: Batch 2009

Tuesday, March 31, 2009

Batch 2009

Today we attended the graduation commencement exercises at Mountain Province General Comprehensive High School. Lorna, a friend from the YWAM Student Sponsorship Ministry, had asked us to come. We were glad to be able to share in this event for her and other friends with whom we have spent time at church and in our home.

It was a long ceremony, about 4 hours. But it had some interesting elements that I have not seen before. As the students filed into the outdoor auditorium, they walked with a parent or grandparent to the seating area.

Lorna and her father walk to in the procession to the seating area.

Prior to the diplomas, numerous awards were presented to various students for athletic, academic, artistic, and community achievements. As each award was called out, students were escorted to the stage by a family member. The school faculty member would present the award to the family member who would, in turn, present it to the student. I found this a meaningful way to identify the contributions of family members to the success of their children. I was especially touched when the students were accompanied by a lolo or lola (grandfather or grandmother). (Some of the lolos even wore the traditional g-string of the Igorot tradition.)

Instead of caps and gowns, the ladies wore white blouses with the traditional woven tapis. Lisa and Alexie enjoyed looking at the various hairstyles the girls wore. The young men wore black pants and white shirts. Some of them wore western style shirts, others a Barong Tagalog. (This is the formal shirt worn by men in the Philippines.)