Christmas Vibes of CTE Graduate Studies Students

"One of the most glorious messes in the world is the mess created in the living room on
Christmas Day. Don't clean it up too quickly." – Andy Rooney
Christmas time is the time for giving and sharing but it’s all about fun. The
melodious and nostalgic Christmas instrumental tune of Christmas songs reminds us
about how beautiful and colourful season this is.
Last December 21, 2019, we celebrated Christmas party at UA canteen. The
program was facilitated by the Ph.D. students (Doctor of Philosophy).
The party was started by sharing of foods. After eating, the program was
officially open and followed by the opening message of Dr. Jeslyn O. Alentajan the Vice
President for Academic Affairs, followed by the message given by the Dean College of
Teacher Education (CTE) Dr. Runato A. Basañes.
Christmas is time to be merry and everybody are excited to witness the
performance of each group as they show their talents to everyone and the judges for
the contest are Dr. Runato A. Basañes, Dr. Grace Pastolero and Assistant Professor III,
ISAT-U Miag-ao Campus, Prof. May Sansait .
The first contest category is Daigon which means a song narrating Christmas
stories like The Adoration of the Christ Child by the Three Kings, and sung by many
from house to house during the Christmas season. The group of the PhD students and
the English group will clash to be announce as winner. The PhD students performed
well and they are very prepared since they had their props, as well as the English
group, they do the Daigon in their own unique way and they modernized the song.

The next contest category is the vocal solo. The three contestants sung the
different songs for Christmas. Ms. Matet Recabo Mataquel sung the song by Mariah
Carey “Oh Holy Night” wholeheartedly and also representing the English Group. For the
PhD array, he sang the song “Sana Ngayong Pasko” by Ariel Rivera sincerely. The last
performer is representing the Filipino group, he melts our hearts by singing “Ikaw ang
Sagot” by Tom Rodriquez. Each contestant make us feel the essence of Christmas and
the birth of our saviour Jesus Christ.
 The most awaited part of the activity is the Zumba dance contest. To be
energized, the English group have the guts to perform first and the Ph.D. group
followed.
After the contest, the guest speaker arrived at the venue to deliver his message
to us as Graduate Studies students, Fr. Jomar Valdevieso, Parish Priest of San
Remigio, Antique. Fr. Jomar delivered his message effectively and made us realized
that Christmas is all about hope. And he left us with a quote “A heart that beats never
forgets”

As the result of winners for the different category, the slayer for Daigon
competition is the group of Ph.D. students, followed by the English group. For the vocal
solo, 3rd place coming from Ph.D. group, 2nd place goes to the Filipino group, and of
course, the champion, the English group presented by Ms. Matet Recabo Mataquel.
Last but not the least, the zumba competition and the English dancers dominated the
stage and announced as the winner over the Ph.D. group. This is a friendly game,
everyone did a good job and everyone gave their best shots just to make our Christmas
party happy and meaningful.
Christmas is about sharing from our hearts of what we have – with those who
have less in life. The real and deeper meaning of Christmas is not found under the
Christmas tree but it is all about sharing of hope, peace, joy, and love to all. The
program was ended with a message delivered by the Associate Dean, CTE Graduate
Studies, Dr. Ninfa Coronado.