Advisories & News
Press Release
Virtual School Visits Celebrating Filipino Heritage Month and Filipino Heritage Day at the Toronto Catholic District School Board-Run Schools
2021-06-22
PR-2021-26
17 June 2021, Toronto, Ontario – The Toronto Catholic District School Board’s Quincentennial Jubilee of Christianity in the Philippines (TCDSB-QJCP) team conducted two (2) more sessions of virtual school visits on 7 June 2021, one in the morning and one in the afternoon, to celebrate Filipino Heritage Month (FHM). Consul General Orontes V. Castro participated as one of the panelists in the online activities, which were similar to the virtual school visits organized in March 2021. The other panelists in attendance were Trustee Garry Tanuan, Filipino Heritage Council of Canada’s Chairman Mr. Tony San Juan, and QJCP member Ms. Suzy Llanera. TCDSB Community Relations Officer Ms. Jody Huang also attended the virtual visit.
During his greetings to the virtual audience, Consul General Castro thanked the TCDSB for partnering with the Philippine Consulate General’s Sentro Rizal Toronto’s Padayon Art Competition and for the students and parents who participated. He also recognized the invaluable support of the administrators, principals and personnel of the TCDSB-run schools by relentlessly promoting the art competition. He likewise explained the significance of the celebration of Filipino Heritage Month and how it recognizes the many contributions of the Filipino and Filipino Canadian Community to the Canadian society’s economy, diverse culture, and most especially to the health system during the COVID-19 pandemic. As a result, the annual celebration of June of FHM as become an inspiration to Filipinos and Filipino Canadians to strive more and to give back to the community.
The virtual school visits of the TCDSB-run schools were moderated by TCDSB Catholic Student Leadership Coordinator Mr. Michael Consul. The emcees were Misses Marianne Chua and Adeana Ching-a-Sue, both Grade 11 students at St. John Paul II Catholic Secondary School and currently doing coop placement in the Catholic Student Leadership Department of the TCDSB.
A Kahoot game was featured during the school visits and participated in by more than 100 students, vying for a prize sponsored by the QJCP team. The nine (9) questions in the game were based on the QJCP Virtual Commemoration video, which was shown during the sessions.
At the end of the virtual school visit sessions, the students were given an opportunity to ask the panelists questions, e.g. who their faith role models are and what they learned from them; their favorite Bible stories and why; their favorite Filipino dish; their advise to students on how to balance a life of faith given the influence social media has-what it says about one’s culture and faith. -END
