Philippine School Doha

Posted on Sunday the 02nd of September 2012

In celebrationof the 45th founding anniversary of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations which was held last August 8, PSD takes great pride in welcoming the ambassadors of the member states in the organization. With our 114th year of deliverance, this confirms how much Philippines had heightened its consular affiliation with the other nations; just like what the theme for the ASEAN's 45th Foundation Anniversary says, "One Community, One Destiny".

The attendees were Brunei Charge d'affaires, H.E. Haji Nordin Bin Haji Ahmad; Indonesian Ambassador, H.E. DeddySaifulHadi; Malaysian Ambassador, H.E. Ahmad JazriMohdJohar; Philippine Ambassador, H.E. Crescente R. Relacion; Sinaporean Ambassador, H.E. Syed Noureddin; Thai Minister Councilor, H.E. SomwangKhruasawan; and Vietnamese ambassador Le Hong Phan.

The Diplomats and their respective envoys were ushered by the Citizen Advancement Training (CAT) officers and PSD Qatar Scouts to the gym for a brief program prepared by the PSD performing arts. The program was taken care of by the Student Activity and Research Center (SARC) under Dr. Lorina Villanueva who tapped PSD's student leaders such as the Supreme Student Government (SSG), LINK journalists, Citizenship Advancement Training (CAT) officers and other selected students across all levels.

It was formally started with the singing ofthe official hymn of the ASEAN, "The ASEAN Way"which was sung with passion by the crowd headed by the PSD Chorale.In the succeeding speech given by Philippine Ambassador to Qatar H.E. Crescente R. Relacion, he reiterated the theme for this year's celebration which was, "One Community, One Destiny". He supported his decision of choosing PSD as the host of the event in Qatar with his vision of upholding the socio-cultural feature of the school in relation to the mission of the ASEAN.

Afterwards the audience was treated to a cinematic video presentation of Mr. Don John Vallesteros regarding the antiquity, vision and mission, and function of the ASEAN.A medley of songs and cultural dances followed right after the video presentation. The Primary Glee Club attracted the praise and delight of the audience with their performance of "Yesterday's Dream". The PSD dance troupe never failed to amaze the crowd with their renditions of the different cultural dances of every nation in the ASEAN, such as ZapinBahagia for Malaysia, Lotus Dance for Vietnam, AlunanZapinMeriah for Singapore, Ta Likipas for Thailand, Jaipong for Indonesia, Tarian Alai Aysik for Brunei, and Singkil for the Philippines.

Awarding for the different competitions, held at different venues, soon came after. Medals and souvenirs were handed out to the winners in the fields of badminton, table tennis, bowling, poster making, and essay writing.

In behalf of PSD, the school principal, Dr. Alexander S. Acosta extended the school's gratitude towards the ambassador for participating in the said celebration.Dr. Acosta believed that it was a wholesome and meaningful experience for the school because it further exposed PSDians to the different values, cultures and customs of the neighboring countries in Asia. He flagged the event with words such as unity, peace, and prosperity to everyone.(By: David Pascua)