Seven Pillars Catholic School

ally conceived as the Seven Pillars Theatre Arts Workshop in 2001 paved the way for the emergence of the Seven Pillars Catholic School. She was then an advertising executive of a leading television station’s outdoor company, but a strong flair for artistry found a greater calling that she could not really ignore anymore as she parlayed a lifelong pastime into a full-time art fare. As gifted as she was in voice and dance as well as having the ear for music and the love of producing and directing shows and theatre plays, she has transformed them all into a full-blown display of a dream come true. All the more remarkable was the entrepreneurial spirit she embodied courtesy of her mother, Elena Esguerra De Los Santos. With her closely-knit family as the inspiration, she left her promising advertising career and put forth a theatre workshop that caused immediate connection with its initial participants as she channeled theatre on communication, socialization and confidence building. It was a sensation too hard to put down. The children who took her summer workshops became instant achievers in their respective schools. They were so successful that their parents encouraged Teacher Cindy to put up a preschool that teaches and trains preschoolers the art of self-expression, self-confidence and academic foundation via theatre. And so, Seven Pillars was born. Teacher Cindy’s husband, Atty. Joseph Mabilog, and long time close friends, Mr. Leonides and Evelyn Cuizon, saw and recognized the potential of the theatrical instruction method that together with Teacher Cindy, they formally established the Seven Pillars Educational System, Inc. Always mindful of the proper values and correct means of doing things, Teacher Cindy rented two rooms at the CJRS building at Laguna Bel-Air 2, where they had an initial enrollment of 10 students. The LBA community positively received Seven Pillars such that the partners after a year at the CJRS bought a parcel of land at LBA 2 and put up a one-storey structure that eventually, because of increased enrollment, became a two-storey building. The Seven Pillars, being the name of the school, stands for seven virtues, which are: spirituality, trustworthiness, responsibility, humility, caring, respect, and good citizenship. The school is also based on a solid Catholic foundation. It remains strongly rooted in and is reputed for its theatrical method of instruction. The theatrical method became Teacher Cindy’s subject matter when she took up her masteral studies at St. Scholastica’s College, Manila. Using the school as basis for her masteral thesis, Teacher Cindy was awarded, “Best Thesis of the Year”. Her thesis was entitled “Evaluation of Seven Pillars’ Theatrical Instructional Approaches”. Because of her outstanding work, upon her graduation on March 2010, she was awarded the St. Scholastica Gold Medal for academic excellence, with Magna Cum Laude-High Distinction. Seven Pillars is now known as the Seven Pillars Catholic School. Its enrollment has grown to more than 300 students. It now has three levels: the preschool levels, nursery to kinder 2, elementary levels from Grades 1 to 6, and the high school levels from 1st -4th year. The school now has a second building, it houses the intermediate (Grades 5-6) and the high school levels. It intends to continue providing world standard education through its theatrical instructional method. Seven Pillars also continues to serve its community through its Seven Pillars Choir, the mentoring and support that it gives to the LBA Parish Youth Ministry (PYM), the Seven Pillars catechism, and the Seven Pillars civic group that includes its SCO (Student Council Officers) and PA (Parents’ Association Officers). Seven Pillars instills social responsibility to its students by taking part in community activities. In SY 2009-2010, The Seven Pillars’ teachers, parents, and staff went to Malacañang to help pack relief goods. It braved the flood waters and personally distributed relief goods to the Ondoy flood victims at the seldom reached far-flung Barangay Caingin in Sta.Rosa. Seven Pillars has observed and kept its theatrical foundation through the staging of seven consecutive live and dance musical plays in partnership with De La Salle-Canlubang and St. Scholastica’s College-Westgrove. The latest of the musical plays was “Moses, First Exodus” at St. Scholastica-Westgrove, with 100 students as power house cast. As Seven Pillars continues to grow and expand, the school never ceases to provide quality education armed with strong value formation. With this, Seven Pillars continues building the hearts, minds, confidence, and social awareness of its students. They will surely grow up to have a strong faith in God, have a deep love for their country, and become strong and conscientious leaders of the future.