School of the Holy Spirit in QC (Ylang-Ylang) or Miriam College Grade School?

[binggay]

Hi Mommies,

I need feedback on the 2 mentioned schools. Incoming Grade 1 next schoolyear ang daughter ko, and I am eyeing these schools for her.

Prefer feedback on academics, facilities, over-all rating and feedback of the school.

Ang alam ko kasi, tuition-wise, Miriam is almost double the tuition ng SHS. Pero I want to hear feedback muna on SHS, kasi siyempre, willing na lang ako magtiis sa gastusin basta my daughter will get a good education.

Thanks in advance!

[marose17]

Hi binggay!  I am a graduate of Holy Spirit School (Ilang-Ilang) and School of the Holy Spirit (BF Homes, QC).  I went to HSS for grade school and SHS for high school.

I loved my grade school days in HSS Ilang-Ilang.  The nuns were  kind and the community was small.  Everyone knew each other.  Back then, there was no high school in the campus.

During my time, academics was given top priority of course and my batchmates and I turned out well.  Most of us are professionals - doctors, lawyers, architects, entrepreneurs even.  But there was also emphasis on values, holistic development (sports and art/cultural activities were held regularly) and Catholic traditions - we had Mass in school every First Friday and during special feast days.  I credit my daily habit of praying the rosary and going to Mass to the way the nuns brought us up.  And in addition, I have good penmanship daw - another Holy trademark.

I loved HSS because the academic work was tough but balanced.  I felt that I had time for play and reading, which I did not get to enjoy at SHS.  On the other hand, the academic load at SHS was very tough, ang daming homework daily!  But siguro kasi high school na kami kaya mas mabigat talaga ang work load.  And the SHS campus in BF Homes was bigger back then so mas may diversity ang student body.

Most of us from Holy went to good and reputable colleges and universities like UP, Ateneo, La Salle, UST, etc.

To be honest, during my time,  Maryknoll (as Miriam was known then) was more popular, especially with the boys from high schools like Ateneo and La Salle.  Iyan ang "issue" namin kasi medyo cloistered kami sa Holy.  Bihira lang kaming sumali sa inter-school activities, usually academic contests lang, never sports, cheerleading and the like.  I understand though from several classmates of mine who send their daughters to Holy now, nag-iba na and the school participates na daw.  This is a good development.

Bottom line, mataas ang standards sa Holy.  It is just not as popular as the other girls' schools like Miriam, Assumption and Poveda.  And looking at how I and my classmates turned out, we were trained well not just in academics but in life as well by the nuns and teachers.

[lilsaintsm0m]

  Iba talaga ang hssians

[binggay]

 Wow sis marose, thank you for the feedback. Mukhang maganda din nga sa Holy Spirit. I might have my daughter take exams to both schools and decide na lang pag malapit na.

Do you have a daughter? If you do, does she/will she attend HSS din?

[health.gal]

Hi sis binggay, I'm a graduate of HSS too, so I'd vote for this school 

Sis Marose17 - from what batch are you? I'm happy to meet a fellow HSSian who's also a GTalker 
Oh how I miss staying at the convent (and eating ginisang monggo) whenever my mom fetches me late, telling ghost stories with friends at the Grotto - then eventually transferring to the mushroom tables since they banned students to stay there.

Until now, I still pray the rosary everyday, and people also commend me for having a nice penmanship. 

*Truth in Love*

[marose17]

@binggay, I do not have a daughter.  Our house is actually very near Miriam na.  If I had a daughter, I will consider Holy Ilang-Ilang siguro though a bit far na sa house namin.  Masyadong malayo ang BF QC sa amin at out of the way talaga since my husband and I both work in Makati (kaya top choices ko siguro Poveda or Assumption kasi puwede namin idaan sa morning ang bata).  Between Holy and Miriam, Holy kasi tuition is not that steep and the academics naman are at par with Miriam.  Yun nga lang, Miriam has a nice, big, leafy campus.  Pero traffic in Katipunan is terrible, so factor-in mo ito sa decision mo.  Nakaka-stress talaga I tell you.  I live there and I have to endure it daily.

@health.gal, hay, I am so old na!  I graduated from HSS grade school in 1985, SHS high school in 1989. I remember the ghost stories!  Marami pa bang puno sa sa HSS? 

Oh and the penmanship, okay talaga ano?

Saka, medyo modest ang culture sa HSS.  Hindi uso ang pasikatan sa clothes and stuff, during my time at least.  The nuns and teachers always told us to be simple in our ways.  Was it the same during your time?

[health.gal]

^no, you're not old, you're just years wiser than me. i graduated there batch 1995.

during my time, yes, marami pang puno. actually, we even enjoyed picking up the santol that fell off the trees, were already overripe, and so sweet. until time came that we were reprimanded for doing that, and they started selling those santol at the canteen for a peso each. 

regarding modesty, yes, naabutan ko pa yung ganung culture. wala masyadong mayayabang. although there were some bullies who would cut your line just to buy chits ahead of you. haha 

[marose17]

^ Glad to know a fellow HSSian too.

I can still remember the lyrics and melody of the alma mater song.  And si Fr. Arnold Janssen (Blessed na ba siya? or Saint na?).

[health.gal]

^me too! And I can still remember our alma mater song. everyday mo ba naman kantahin for how many years. hehe.  Fr. Arnold Janssen - Blessed during my time, now Saint na (according to wikipedia) 

[lilsaintsm0m]

2000 batch here masarap ang mga santol sa school hahaha.

[marose17]

^  Sobrang polished pa rin ba ang floors, pews and tables sa convent?  As in polished to a mirror-like shine.  That's what I remember.  I loved going to the convent kahit medyo eerie ang feeling.

[health.gal]

^^masarap nga! hehe. ka-batch mo si patricia ann roque?

^way back 1995, yes, sobrang polished. And whenever my mom fetches me late, (di ba you have to stay at the convent because they won't allow you to stay alone with the guards), the sisters there would always feed me fried fish and ginisang monggo for dinner. 

[Maria]

Hi!  I'm also from Holy Spirit Ilang-ilang in Grade School, and went to SHS in BF QC for my high school (pls don't ask me though what batch).   

I become especially nostalgic when I remember my grade school because it was such a quaint old school with a convent at the back where I would go after classes in the morning.  At that time, I had a maternal grand aunt who was a nun of the S.Sp.S or the Servants of the Holy Spirit, the ones who run the school.  She stayed in the Poinsettia convent of the school.  I would regularly meet my "lola madre" in a gazebo on the way down to the convent, and she would teach me, my sisters and cousins (HSSians all) how to crochet and make doilies and headbands.  These were really special childhood memories, and HSS was such a great part of those memorable moments. 

Anyway, aside from the wonderful memories I had in this school I can also attest to the high academic standards that they had, at least at that time.  I'm particularly pleased with how they taught English.  I had such impeccable English teachers even in SHS.  Also, I noticed that, at that time, they put emphasis in penmanship writing and it really paid off.  I'm often praised for my handwriting.

Btw, I and a good number of my batchmates passed the UPCAT and went to UP Diliman eventually, for college. 

So there,  I hope I helped in giving you some feedback about my wonderful alma mater.  I know Miriam is also a great school so maybe you'll need to look at other considerations you have to help you in ur final decision. 

[marose17]

@Maria, did you have Ms. Castillo and Ms. Cruz as English teachers in high school?  They were great.  I also loved Ms. Palomera, my freshman high school teacher.  I remember that Holy was big on literature.  I read several Shakespeare plays, the Iliad, Beowulf and other classics back in high school.  Did you also do the diagramming of sentences?  The diagrams really helped in understanding grammar rules, right?

Oh, and the library at HSS, while small, had a good selection of books for young readers.  I got hooked on Nancy Drew, Dana Girls, Bobbsey Twins and Hardy Boys, among other books, because I borrowed books almost weekly sa library.  Ms. Bañez was the librarian.  May library time pa nga, if I am not mistaken.

I also went to UP Diliman for my undergrad and law degrees.

[pinkcoyote]

thanks marose for leading me to this thread.

We just live a block away from Ilang ilang street in new manila, i was eye-ing this school na even before, but due to few feedbacks at mukhang di nga popular, i crossed it out from my list (bigscool hunting for my 5yr old), then just last week, my father mentioned to me this school and told me to check it out kasi nga mukhang maganda daw. He went there with Fr. Mario Bije for deliverance (so mukha nga true ang mga ghost stories na sinasabi nyo hehe). And my father said maganda nga daw mga facilities. So im considering it again, and will visit one of these days.

[marose17]

^ Most of my teachers in HSS have retired or have transferred na.  But my favorite teacher, my Language and Spelling teacher and class adviser in grade 6, si Mrs. Lacorte, ay Facebook friend ko.

Consider mo din HSS.  If the facilities are well-maintained, okay na okay pa din.  Plus maganda ang location kasi nasa residential area at hindi along the main road.

[lilsaintsm0m]

@health.gal yup classmate ko siya:)

@marose the floors during my time were still polished nakakasilaw sa kintab. Naalala ko rin dahil ilang beses nako nagslip Ms. banez passed away na i can't remember if i was still there studying or hindi na.

Nakakapagtaka di pa pala ganun ka famous holy ang ganda ng turo nila doon. Ii i had a daughter dyan ko talaga siya ipapasok

[marose17]

^ So sorry to hear about Ms. Bañez.  Isa pa sa favorite teachers ko is Ms. Jacinto who used to give me notes sa assignments and test papers ko to improve my handwriting kaya nagpursigi talaga akong gandahan ang handwriting ko.

Underrated ang Holy, it seems.

[Guading12]

@Marose, Hi! We're from the same batch sa HSS... I'm Joy Buan... you remember me? We were classmates, if I'm not wrong.. either grade 5 (lily) or grade 6 (lotus)?.. our class adviser was Mrs Montealegre... last time I heard, she's still teaching there... Do you have contact with our fellow batchmates? I was hoping for a reunion last year, kasi naman, 25 yrs na tayong graduate from HSS... anyway, how are you?  Hope you and your family are doing well.. add mo ako sa fb.. 

[marose17]

^ Jocelyn?  How nice to hear from you here!

Yes, we have mini reunions.  Last January or February, sa house ng isang classmate natin.  Add me up on Facebook, will you?  I will send you a PM.

5-Lily ako, our class adviser was Ms.Hipol.