3rd Annual Flores de Mayo and Santacruzan in Northern VA

 

 

It's that season of the year--and in the Philippines, summer is heating up with regular highs in the 90s! Planning for the annual Flores de Mayo and Santacruzan in various towns, provinces, and communities have been going on, with the many images of the Blessed Virgin readied for the ride on the karosa.

Here in Northern Virginia, Arlington Diocese's Office of Multicultural Ministries and St. Bernadette's Amare Music Ministry are preparing for the third annual celebration of this beloved Maytime festivity.

One of Paaralang Pinoy's objectives is to serve as a source of opportunity for dialogue between parents and children as they learn more about the Philippines. Even though we have not been able to hold classes, this area abounds in Fil-Am events and festivals, where one can bring the entire family for a peek into the Filipino culture.

Join the community on May 17, 2025 at St. Bernadette Catholic Church for the Flores de Mayo and Santacruzan procession and Mass.  Email amaremusicministry.flores@gmail.com for more information, or fill out the form to sign up and participate as a sagala or konsorte or Ave Maria angel!

Sali na kayo!

 

Flores de Mayo and Santacruzan

 

Palarong Paaralang Pinoy

It's the last workshop for this school year's Paaralang Co-op, and we will be playing games!  Some of them will test your Pinoy vocabulary via Pictionary or Hangman, and some will test how limber you are, as you jump over hands in luksong-tinik, or transfer that rice-filled square in Chinese jackstones.

Join us this Sunday, March 15, 2:30 p.m. - 4:00 p.m. at the Brisson Room of St. Joseph's Center at Our Lady of Good Counsel Catholic Church in Vienna.

Sige, laro na tayo!

Paaralang Pinoy and the Co-op Model of Teaching

After only three workshops this school year, Paaralang Pinoy has discovered already some talented individuals who love sharing their Filipino heritage to our young people.  And together with these  Kuya, Até, or Tita, the kids have found their Fil-Am community in the midst of Northern Virginia.

Parents are always a part of this co-op model of teaching kids, and in Paaralang Pinoy, our parents  assist in the workshops.  We follow a curriculum that provides the framework for our lessons but the experiences and stories of our elders add depth to the conversations.  

Some have visited the Philippines recently, and are able to share their experiences. Some have visited the towns and provinces in our lessons, and add local color to our subjects.  And our second-generation parents who grew up away from their Filipino heritage learn alongside their children!

Occasionally, we find a Tita or Lola or Kuya who belong to the local Filipino community, and who love to share their time and talent with Paaralang Pinoy!  They are not related to anybody in the class but will join us on a Sunday afternoon to teach the Cariñosa dance or to sing Dungawin mo Hirang as an example of a kundiman!

You can also become a part of this community. We have two more workshops in the school year, and your support--maybe your singing voice or dancing feet, knowledge or fluency in a local language or dialect, vacation experience at one of our famous Philippine beaches, perhaps you have a bibingka and puto recipe--are welcome in Paaralang Pinoy!

Our children, when they grow up and look back, will remember your stories and your presence fondly and with deep appreciation.  In fact, they may even come back to share their teaching talents with the younger ones!

Kaya sige, sali na kayo!

A-Ba-Ka-Da!

One Sunday afternoon, Paaralang Co-op students can be heard uttering seemingly nonsense words but there was no cause for worry.  They were only helping their mouths form the short vowel sounds in the Filipino alphabet.  Before long, they can see a Filipino word and their mouths will know instinctively how to read and pronounce correctly!

Paaralang Co-op may not teach your children to speak fluently but they will learn much more than vocabulary to spice up their conversations with sige, salamat, or sa uulitin!  They will find other kids, who also feel comfortable eating with a spoon and fork, who love pastillas made from carabao's milk, and who will bring their elder's hand to forehead as a sign of respect.

At our first workshop this fall, we reviewed some basic words of introduction, familiarized ourselves with the map and flag of the Philippines, and listened to Ang Pagong at ang Matsing while munching on Skyflakes Condensada.

At our second workshop, we continued the lessons with a Tour of Luzon, a short history of the Philippine flag and its revolutionary beginnings, and of the Barong Tagalog, and finally learning about the manongs from California with a story about Lakas and the Manilatown Fish.

Join us next month for the last fall workshop, when we will take a Tour of Visayas, continue with the history of the Philippine flag during the American occupation and the Commonwealth Government, and see what the ladies wore during our years under Spain.

Sige, sali na kayo!

Sunday, November 17, 2019

2:30 - 4:00 p.m.

Brisson Room at St. Joseph's Center

Our Lady of Good Counsel

8601 Wolftrap Road

Vienna VA 22182

Save the Dates for Paaralang Co-op!

It's a Fiesta!

Paaralang Pinoy's Fiesta Workshop was as fun as we imagined it would be!  It felt like a typical day in May somewhere in the Philippines--hot and very humid.

But under the trees and shade of Shelter A in Nottoway Park, the families who joined us had a blast playing tumbang preso and agawan base; the prowess of the titas in sungka were challenged by the kids; and with a bit of Filipiniana music, the dance genes of Pinoys were in full display!

The parents were thrilled to see their children play the games of their youth.  The aunts and uncles, and a few Lola and Lolo were happy to share their kuwento.  This can only mean a fortuitous beginning for this next phase of Paaralang Pinoy: the PP co-op program where parents and teacher-volunteers work together to share their talents to these new generation of Fil-Am kids and their friends.

Sige, sali na kayo!