Br. Dennis Magbanua, DLSZ President, convened all Lasallian partners to the First Town Hall Assembly last September 26 at the SPL Theater.
The President expounded on the idea of assembling the DLSZ “town” referring to a highly urbanized school that is generally bigger in terms of population than other basic education schools in the country although smaller than a university. He compared DLSZ (with a population of almost 5,000) to small towns of Itbayat, Batanes with 3,069 people and Sabtang, Samar with 1,456 people, where as a community, people constantly communicate to keep abreast of the town’s goings-on.
Through the context of a prayer, the President invited everyone to see their role in the bigger picture where “by virtue of their mission, the Brothers establish schools and cooperate in creating educational communities inspired by the vision of St. John Baptist de La Salle. The educational policies of Lasallian institutions are centered on the young, adapted to the times in which they live, and designed to prepare them to take their place in society.” (Article 13, Rule of the Brothers of the Christian Schools)
With this month’s assembly theme of Leading Innovation in Education, the President cited St. La Salle as a revolutionary educator in the 17th century, where only Christian Brothers were teachers. Eventually in the 20th century, lay members were invited to share in the mission of sharing the gospel and cater to the growing student population. True to our founder’s ideals, DLSZ is leading innovation practices in the educational landscape in the Philippines through its strategic plans anchored on the Lasallian Guiding Principles.
The President explained that by the end of 2015, Strategic GOAL 1 is to intensify commitment to the pursuit of excellence and holistic formation of students, faculty, and staff through Achievement in Academics, Arts and Sports, Values and Leadership Formation and (Use of) Technology.
These include transitioning to K-12, intensifying the PEARL program, strengthening Faculty Development Programs, specifically Mentoring Program for Graduate School students. Moreover, the GOLD program initiated by the President last year is making huge waves through its expansion to the South Schools’ Consortium.  He also announced that the Lasallian Partners’ Interest Clubs will be launched on September 28. Some exciting activities that partners can join are Zumba, Wushu, Photography, Frisbee, among others. The President further shared that the Job Evaluation Program, Faculty Ranking and Performance Incentive Guidelines are among those that are work-in-progress. Meanwhile, the President announced that the school is gearing up for the next PAASCU Visit as well as the Lasallian CARES accreditation.
“One mark of an innovator is when other institutions come to us for benchmarking,” the President said. Recent school visitors cited were from La Salle College Hong Kong, La Salle Malvern, Australia, Colegio de San Agustin, Makati and Miriam College.
Meanwhile, DLSZ has been invited to join the Guam Cultural Festival on October 2-7. This is the first time that DLSZ’s Music Elite Group will be performing overseas.
In terms of upgrading facilities, soon there will be the installation of an artificial turf on the DLSZ-Globe Football Field and the air-conditioning of the Sports Pavilion.
As a challenge, the President posed the question “How does one become a leader in innovation?” He identified three things. First, is to be highly adaptable. This means for people not to panic and not to be intimidated with things happening around them. He encouraged everyone to find a way around the problem instead. Second is to be bold and courageous. He emphasized not to fear the challenges that lie ahead because innovation is uncertain by nature. Third is to communicate well to inspire and motivate others.
The President mentioned that he will send an email blast to all Lasallian partners and gladly solicit feedback.
Some milestones cited were the 25th Jubilee Anniversary of Brother Lazaro as well as Certification Licensure Passers include Mark Anthony “Choy” Bercando – Board Exam for Registered Guidance Counselor, Ms. Armenia “Amy” Montano – Certified Assessment Psychologist Specialist given by the Psychological Association of the Philippines, Architect Jay Peter Nicolas – Auto CAD Encoder – Board Exam for Professional Architecture.
Births include baby Jhiro Leandro born June 1 to parents Jay-R and Jev Biterbo; baby Rapunzel born June 6 to parents Rey and Riza Aguilar; baby Deanne Lexie born June 20 to parents Casey and Gienah Zotomayor; baby Emmanuel Xavier born June 30 to parents Michael and Vangie Obispo; baby Althea Felize born Aug 3 to parents Albert and Ruth Pagilagan; and baby Isabel born Sept. 24 to parents Ivan and Tessa Sandoval.
To end, Brother Dennis played a video that set the tone for Lasallian Partners to actively create the future for DLSZ students. For next month, topics will cover Strategic Goals 2 and 3 as well as update on the President’s Departmental visit schedule.