Mabuhay, PP Kids!

One of our students with Ambassador Cuisia at the 2012 Dr. Jose Rizal Youth Awards ceremony

When current and former Paaralang Pinoy students earn accolades, we also bask in their glory and celebrate with them.  We may have little to do with their accomplishments but we do believe that there's something in their Pinoy heritage and our PP classes that contributed to the successful Fil-Am kids that they become.

Happily, their parents share these moments with us.  Congratulations and Mabuhay!

Workshops with PP: Mamasko Tayo!

Paaralang Pinoy is not only planning to teach your kids to make parol from scratch.  This year, we also have a Panunuluyan Workshop where they will get to play pretend and at the same time, learn of a particular Filipino Christmas tradition.

PP kids acing out a Panunuluyan

Join Paaralang Pinoy on the following days and introduce your kids to Christmas with a Filipino flavor. Both workshops will be held at Our Lady of Good Counsel, 8601 Wolftrap Rd., Vienna, VA.

Sunday, November 24
Parol-Making Workshop
2:00-4:00 p.m.
De Sales Hall, OLGC

Bring your own stickers and embellishments, and make your own unique parol (star lantern). Learn to sing Jingle Bells in Tagalog and listen to traditional Filipino Christmas carols as you make your parol.

Sunday, December 15
Panunuluyan Workshop
3:30-5:00 p.m.
St. Joseph Center, OLGC

Learn about Panunuluyan, a reenactment of the nativity story often held on Christmas eve during the Advent Novena of Masses or Simbang Gabi.  There will be a We may also have the opportunity to watch members of the Filipino Ministry rehearse for a Panunuluyan that will be part of a Simbang Gabi at OLGC on December 21, 2013 at 7:00 p.m. This event will begin with the Panunuluyan before the Mass and end with a salu-salo (reception) at De Sales Hall after Mass.

ETA: The rehearsal for the Panunuluyan is scheduled on another day.

We are Seeing Stars!

Start off your Advent Season with a handmade parol!  Paaralang Pinoy, together with Our Lady of Good Counsel Catholic Church (OLGC) and the Catholic Diocese of Arlington's Office of Multicultural Ministries is hosting a Parol-Making Workshop. 

Sunday, November 24, 2013 

De Sales Hall of OLGC 

8601 Wolftrap Rd. Vienna, VA 

2:00 to 4:00 p.m.

Your first parol kit will cost $15; additional kits will cost $12 each.  We will teach the children how to put together their parol; they may bring their own stickers and other embellishments to create a parol that's uniquely theirs.  In between pasting and cutting, we will listen to Filipino Christmas carols and even teach them how to sing "Jingle Bells" in Tagalog.

Reserve your kit now and mail your checks payable to--

Filipino Ministry of NoVA

1106 Desale St. SW

Vienna VA 22180

Feast Day Feasting

San Lorenzo Ruiz statue at this year's Mass on his feast day.

Our Fil-Am students learn about Pinoy heroes and famous persons in one of our cultural lessons, one that is different every year that we teach it.  Thanks to the Internet, we are able to show them these Pinoy performers, athletes, and other accomplished personalities in action.

The Paaralang Pinoy table at San Lorenzo Ruiz's feast day reception after the Mass.

The Philippines' two canonized saints are part of that roster.  But celebrating their feast days make the lesson richer and fuller, what with the Mass, salu-salo, and showcase of talents that accompany such celebrations.  We are always happy to display our picture books, sungka boards, and sipa at these events and have more Fil-Am kids interested in their parents' culture.

A New Home for PP

Here is the news that we've all been waiting for: Paaralang Pinoy has found a new home at Our Lady of Good Counsel Catholic Church located in Vienna, VA.  We will be meeting in the Red Room at their St. Joseph Center. 

As in previous years, classes and workshops will be generally two-hour long on Sundays, following the Fairfax County Public School calendar.  We will post our new schedule as it becomes available.  

In the meantime, we continue to invite parents and grandparents, aunts and uncles to share their talents as teachers, helpers, dance instructors or gitarista  with our Filipino-American children.  If you are interested and would like to find out more, please contact us at paaralang.pinoy at yahoo dot com.

Paaralang Pinoy’s Sapatos (Shoes) Project

A Report from Teacher Valerie Malabonga

Teacher Valerie Malabonga with the Magdalena House of Friendship girls wearing their new shoes
(Photo by Noeh Vios, CCT staff)

During school year 2011-2012, students and teachers of Paaralang Pinoy of Northern Virginia partnered with a Christian, nonprofit organization, Mission East Asian National Support (MEANS USA), on a service project providing shoes to poor children. MEANS matched Paaralang Pinoy’s contribution, so a total of $520 was raised towards the purchase of shoes for the beneficiaries in three sites of the Center for Community Transformation (CCT). 

CCT is a Christian organization with the mission of “changing lives, strengthening families, empowering communities, and transforming the nation.” The three sites were Malungon, in Sarangani province, Mindanao; Kaibigan center (a halfway house for the homeless) Pasay, Metro Manila; and the Magdalena House of Friendship, Laguna, where homeless children and teens are housed and educated while their parents are still obtaining housing.


On October 20, 2012, I had the privilege of visiting the Magdalena House of Friendship to distribute the plastic shoes. The CCT staff determined that “crocs”-like plastic shoes are better suited to the stony terrain around Magdalena House of Friendship than ordinary slippers, so they bought plastic shoes for the children.


I was accompanied by Cristina Gellor and Noeh Vios, then Manila-based staff of the Visions of Hope (VOH) Foundation, CCT. VOH administers all the CCT schools. When we arrived at the site, we were greeted by a drum and bugle band composed of the teens living in Magdalena; and the children gave me a special ribbon they had made. When we reached one of the dorms, the younger children presented a program of songs and Bible verses they had memorized. The CCT staff and I distributed 52 pairs of shoes to the children and a few Tagalog or bilingual books from Paaralang Pinoy teachers. Most of the children showed their respect by taking my hand to ask for a blessing (i.e., the Filipino gesture of mano po).  Each child also wrote a personal thank you note to Paaralang Pinoy and MEANS.


After the program, I observed that some of the children were wearing their new shoes proudly while the others were still wearing their old shoes or slippers while clutching the new ones still in the plastic bags.  Teacher Ester Baes-Mendoza explained that the shoes are so precious to the kids that ayaw nilang maluma kaagad (they do not want them to be worn out quickly).


The staff gave me a tour of the site and I witnessed how loving and dedicated the house parents, teachers and pastor were toward the children.  The children also ate a nutritious lunch and had adequate sleeping and recreational arrangements. I also saw the parents of one of the teens enjoying their visit with their daughter. CCT is definitely deserving of the support from Paaralang Pinoy and MEANS.


It was such a blessing for me to meet and greet the children. Because the children seem very happy, it is hard for me to imagine that just a few months or a few years ago, kids like Patrick Leano were living on the streets of Manila.  I hope someday you may meet these precious children too.

Pinoy Dancing

What could be more fun than playing and learning at the same time?  At Paaralang Pinoy, we teach the students our folk dances in Workshops held three times a year.  These Workshops provide the students hands-on Pinoy experience, from learning dance steps, experimenting recipes, and creating crafts.

Our teacher-volunteers come from all over the Northern Virginia area, some of whom lead their own cultural groups.  Teacher Ena and Teacher Ninna, parishioners of Our Lady of Good Counsel led the students in the Carinosa dance.

The students learned a number of dances in the five years of Paaralang Pinoy's existence, including the Pandanggo sa Ilaw (seen above), the Itik-Itik, the Tinikling, and the Bulaklakan.