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Catholic School Week commences
CNMI Gov. Ralph DLG Torres signed his third Catholic School Week proclamation on Monday at the Mount Carmel School.
The first time Torres signed the proclamation was in 2015, when he was still lieutenant governor, followed in 2016 when he was the acting governor. On Monday, he signed it as the governor.
CSW is an annual celebration nationwide of Catholic education.
MCS president Galvin Deleon Guerrero said that Catholic schools are one of the first forms of education in the country, dating back to the 17th century.
“The tradition of public education is important. On Saipan, the Mercedarian nuns offered the first public classes,” he said.
Deleon Guerrero believes Catholic schools on Saipan have contributed to the community by educating former governors and business executives.
“We believe that Catholic education really contributed to the leadership of the community. MCS AlumKnights include leaders in business, government, and the community. We’ve had governors and business executives that are AlumKnights,” he said.
Mount Carmel refers to its alumna as AlumKnights.
“Here in our community, Washington Delegate Gregorio Kilili Sablan (Ind-MP) is an AlumKnight, so we like to think that [MCS] contributed to the leadership of the island,” he added.
CSW is a weeklong celebration across the nation in which every day of the week is devoted to a unique aspect pertaining to Catholic education.
On Saipan, the very first Catholic education establishment was the Our Lady of Mercy Kindergarten back in 1951 and is now known as Sister Remedios Early Childhood Development Center, while MCS was the second, opening in 1952.
Three schools are participating in this year’s weeklong celebration: MCS, Sister Remedios Early Childhood Development Center, and Rota’s Eskuelan San Francisco de Borja.
