Wednesday, Oct. 5, 2016
As a response to the influx of senior high school students choosing to study at USJ-R, the university will be constructing a senior high school (SHS) building to address the growing demand for classrooms.
USJ-R religious administrators headed by University President Rev. Fr. Cristopher Maspara, OAR led the blessing, ceremonial groundbreaking and laying of time capsule at the Basak Campus earlier today.
“Today’s groundbreaking is an expression of optimism, hope for the future and a celebration of another accomplishment,” said Fr. Maspara. “This ceremony also symbolizes the institution’s growth and commitment to provide quality education and holistic formation to our students.”
The six-story SHS building will rise on an area of 1,700 square meters, said Campus Planning head Engr. Neil Rom. It is located in between the Our Lady of Consolation building and St. Ezekiel Moreno building or what used to be the old canteen area in Basak Campus.
Also present during the ceremony were the lay administrators, faculty members and representatives of Vios Architects and EGI Construction, the building designer and contractor respectively.
Engr. Rom said the building is expected to be completed in nine months, or in time for the opening of classes in June 2017.
It would have a canteen at the ground floor, library and offices at the second floor, laboratories at the third floor and classrooms from the fourth to the sixth floors.
Each floor, from the fourth to the sixth, would have ten classrooms, bringing the total number of classrooms in the building to 30. Its roof deck would be reserved for gymnastics and physical education.
The construction of the building is in anticipation of the rising number of senior high school enrollees at USJ-R, said the SHS principal Mrs. Nila Garcia.
She said that as of the moment, Grade 11 students occupy classrooms in Basak and main campus on Magallanes St, but that they really needed their own building.
She said USJ-R admitted over 900 grade 11 students this year who are spread over 14 sections taking up Accountancy, Business and Management (ABM); Humanities and Social Sciences (HUMSS); Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM); and Technical-Vocational-Livelihood (TVL) tracks.
She said with the anticipated doubling of senior high school population, the logical step is to construct their own building.
Fr. Maspara thanked the Provincialate of the Order of the Augustinian Recollect (OAR) and the members of the Board of Trustees of the University for giving their approval to the project.
“With your support, we are fired up to carry out the mission of this institution in the spirit of true Recollect service,” he said.
Text by Ioannes P. Arong; photos by IPA and Yoland Yap
“This ceremony also symbolizes the institution’s growth and commitment to provide quality education and holistic formation to our students,” Fr. Maspara said.
