Notre Dame Academy of San Fernando, Cebu Inc.

   Notre Dame Academy of San Fernando, Cebu, Inc. is the only private sectarian school in San Fernando. My Alma Matter. The History of this school was written in every student’s handbook. It was written there after the war in 1945 because all the colleges in Cebu City were destroyed, coupled with the lack of transportation facilities, Fr. Diosdado Camomot, the Parish Priest of San Fernando, established a local school, initially called the Colegio de San Carlos Branch. The school catered to the educational needs of the students from the town, Carcar, Naga, and other neighboring towns.

    The following year, the school's name was changed to Notre Dame College until the College Department was phased out in 1952. The High school department continued up to the present carrying the new name of Notre Dame Academy.

  Fr. Camomot was succeeded by Fr. Juan Boltron, then by Fr. Jose Motus, and then by Fr. Jorge Kintanar.

   The last parish priest Director of Notre Dame Academy was Fr. Constantino Batoctoy. He was responsible for the construction of the present high school building, with the support of the late Julio Cardinal Rosales, one of the proprietors of the school.

    In the school year 1969-1970, Cardinal Julio Rosales installed Sr.Lilia Hilarion, an ICM nun, as the first director of Notre Dame Academy.

   The following year, the Oblates of Notre Dame took over the management of the school as requested by Cardinal Rosales who personally went to Cotabato to get the OND sisters for his schools in the archdiocese.

   From then on, several OND sisters had been designated as directress of the school. The first OND directress of the school was S. Salvacion Pagsuguiron, OND.

   The OND school is one of the ministries embarked upon by the Oblates of Notre Dame to share Christ’s Mission of evangelization.

It is called to be:

A COMMUNITY OF FAITH- committed to the person of Jesus Christ, the model teacher.

A COMMUNITY OF FIENDS- bound together in the friendship of Jesus Christ, committed to the formation of the total man.

A COMMUNITY OF DISCIPLES- committed to the radical following of Christ the Poor.

A MARY-LIKE COMMUNITY- gifted with Notre Dame as its Mother, Model, and inspiration.

    Notre Dame Academy has an old building where the Admin section, Library, Clinic, and Faculty can be found. Of course, if there’s an old there should be new. The new building was built last 2008-2009. It cost millions. Speech Lab, Computer Lab, Science Lab, H.E section, and classrooms could be found in the new building.  Student services include religious Services, a Library, a Clinic, a Canteen, a Laboratory, and a Chapel.

    And for the school activities, there is a wide variety of co-curricular activities provided for the students. These activities aim to promote and develop the cultural, social, and spiritual consciousness of the students, so that they may become productive, responsive, and creative members of the school, family, and society.

    I’d experience a lot of things here which involved the academic and extra-curricular activities. I attended the MTGP training in MHCS, Vocation Jamboree, Recollection, Retreat, and OND youth encounter in Abuyog, Leyte. Notre Dame Academy gave me wondrous experiences and molded me into a better Christian.