Sinulog Festival is the grandest festival in Cebu City, Philippines. Almost all municipalities celebrate their Sinulog Festivals.
Just recently, I wrote about Sinulog sa Ilihan which is the Sinulog Festival we celebrated in Ilihan, near my hometown in Caduawan, Tabogon, Cebu. I was also able to join the Sinulog Festival In Cebu City. This time, I will take you through my experience here in Tuburan National High School - Tuburan, Cebu, Philippines which we have our own celebration of SINULOG SA TNHS.
SINULOG SA TNHS was started by a holy mass at 1:00 in the afternoon in our campus chapel.
In front of our school chapel, you will see the carriage with a Sto.Niño on it. And on the table are the other Sto.Niño replicas that the teachers and the learners brought.
During Sinulog masses, it has been a tradition to bring our individual Sto. Niños if we have, for the parish priest will bless those.
My favorite part during a Sinulog Mass is when we sing the song Batobalani Sa Gugma where we raise our right hands and wave it altogether. As a Sto Niño devotee, it is one thing I look forward to always.
Alongside are the athletes from Tuburan National High School who will be competing for the Provincial Meet 2025. The athletes and their equipment and sporting instruments will be blessed by the parish priest.
This is a good gesture knowing that our athletes are not just physically prepared, but also their our emotionally and spiritually prepared as well, which is very important.
During the homily of the parish priest, he highlighted how good a young child Sto.Niño was. He wanted to tell the learners to be like Him. He also reminded the parents and teachers around to as much as possible practice gentle parenting since during these days, suicide cases are really increasing.
As a parent, I agree to that. I myself is a product of disciplinarian parents and it has no good. It is traumatic by nature and it limits your full potential. Therefore, as a parent, I see to myself to put myself on my child’s shoes. Just as a teacher, I treat my learners as my own, so I love them whole heartedly and I only want what is best for them. The mass was such an eye opener and a good way to begin our celebration.
The parish priest really hit the right audience since the ones who attended the mass were the learners, the young ones, the people who needs constant care and guidance.
When the mass ended, the program proper started. Each grade level have their dance performances. From Grades 7 to Grade12, we all have our prepared Sinulog dances. Each year level also have their own festival queens.
My Class Advisory - My Grade 12 Unity
Some chosen learners from my class advisory joined the Sinulog Dance Contest and here they are. We took photos before they head into the quadrangle for their dance.
Moments like these feels really nostalgic for me. It was not that long ago when I was these learners. During my high school years, I was once like them. I am also a fan of joining dance contests like this one. But now, I am no longer the dancer, rather, I am the teacher facilitating and taking care of them. How time flies so fast indeed.
As a teacher, I really appreciate learners who exert time and effort to join such activities, given the timeless practices they have to make and the intense heat of the sun they have to bear during their performance.
TRIBU DOSE DANCERS AND FESTIVAL QUEEN
We are named ”Tribu Dose” or Tribe Twelve since we are from the Senior High School Grade 12 Department. Tribu Dose is a combination of all the grade 12 sections.
Each tribe has group of dancers and they all have their own festival queens. From grade7 to grade12, there are a lot of festival queens but here are some.
SINULOG SA TUBURAN NATIONAL HIGH SCHOOL FESTIVAL QUEENS
Look at these gorgeous learners in their Festival Queen costumes looking so dashing and charming with their make ups on. These are just some of the many festival queens Tuburan National High School has.
After I took photos of my class advisory and them with our festival queen, I walked around and saw my learners from Grade 7 Lirio. We also took some photos together.
Fun fact, my DEPED ITEM is for Senior High School, but since they lacked teachers in Junior High School, they gave me this section to handle, my grade7 Lirio. Another fun fact, I am a Bachelor of Secondary Education MAJOR IN ENGLISH graduate but I teach Science subject on this section. Challenging, right?
I used to complain about it way back then, but I remembered, I prayed for this. That is why before, I always pray to God. “Lord…please prepare me for what I am praying for.” and indeed, little by little, I learned to love the subject as much as love these learners whom I now treat as my second children.
They may be so noisy and playful which is expected since they are still young, but one thing I love most about these learners is that they are respectful and they are very sweet. They are the section who surprised me last Teacher’s Day. These children will always hold a special place in my heart.
These were snippets during their dance presentation. It was so against the light and the photos are not in good quality since it was so hot during the time they performed. Overall, they did a good job and I could not be prouder. I appreciate their enthusiasm in joining the dance contest.
We then shared some food with my co-teachers here in Tuburan National High School. Our school is massive and we have a big population and we only get to socialize and interact with colleagues during programs and occasions like these. It was so much fun having some chitchat with my co-teachers.
Pit Senyor TNHS! Ciao!♡
