Senior high school students from STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) came together and demonstrated the true meaning of Christmas by holding the “Adopt a Kuya/Ate Program” last December 15, 2022 at Monarchs Park. They distributed Noche Buena baskets to maintenance personnel to show how much they are valued.

“That was unexpected because we never thought that we would receive a gift from them,” Kuya Raymon Gallano said in Tagalog in an interview. “It was their Christmas party, not ours. We were just there to help them clean out their room, and we did not expect that they would give us a gift. We also thought that they would give gifts only to maintenance personnel on their floor. Turns out we were also included in the program that was why I was shocked.”

On the students’ part, Nathan Dichupa of Gr. 11-Competence said, “Gift giving for the ates and kuyas last Christmas was a fulfilling experience. After two years of not being able to do so due to safety protocols, it was great to finally give gifts again. It’s great that we had this program as we involved most of the students and made Christmas more special for non-teaching employees. It made me realize that the school Christmas party was also a day to share our blessings with the people who work so hard to make the school a better place.”