MATER CARMELI SCHOOL, DINGLE

HISTORY OF MATER CARMELI SCHOOL, DINGLE

Mater Carmeli School of Dingle, Inc. is the former Dingle Academy founded by the late Rev. Fr. Jose Dacudao in June 1951. His aim was to give the youth of Dingle a solid basic Catholic Christian Education, which they need to pursue of their success in life here, and in the next life to come. To carry this out, religion was included as one of the required subjects in the secondary curriculum. On December 16, 1955, the name of the school was changed to Dingle Holy Child Academy in honor of the Child Jesus to whom the founder entrusted its protection and guidance. Due to existence of three (3) high schools in town, there was a stiff competition as to which one would get more students every year. Dingle Holy Child Academy suffered a crisis in enrolment. Fearing closure of his most cherished treasure, Fr. Dacudao decided to donate the school and everything that belonged to it to the Congregation of the Carmelite Missionaries who, he believed, could fulfill and perpetuate his aim. Thus, in May 1958, a Deed of Donation was signed by the donor and the donees represented by Sr. Presentation San Martin, Vicar General of the Congregation. In the opening of the school year 1958-1959, the Carmelite Missionaries took over the ownership and administration of the Dingle Holy Child Academy. The enrolment during this year was only 153 students in the fourth year levels with yearly tuition of forty (40) pesos only.

The first group of Sisters assigned to Dingle was composed of the following: Sr. Teresa Vals, CM, Spanish sister who were appointed as community Superior and Directress of the school; Sr. Teresa Gomez, CM as Principal; Sr. Imelda Iquina, CM; Sr. Veronica Artates, CM; Sr. Patricia Martinez, CM and Sr. Mary Bernard Jimenez, CM. The first lay teachers were: Mr. Constancio Daquita, Miss Nonita Muyco, and Miss Celsa Portal. Mrs. Natividad Denoman offered her house to the sisters for their residence util they were able to construct the first Sisters’ convent in Dingle. In the beginning, the school suffered so much. Textbooks and other facilities were inadequate. The bamboo school building was dilapidated beyond repair. Despite these conditions the Sisters continued their mission with steadfast trust in Divine Providence. Enrolment increased every year. In April 1963, a new school building was constructed. The school year 1963-1964 marked a milestone in the history of the school because of the unexpected increase in enrolment and of the approval of its change of name to Mater Carmeli High School on May 25, 1963. On July 16, 1983, Mater Carmeli High School celebrated its Silver Jubilee to commemorate the 25th year of the school under the administration of the Carmelite Missionaries. As a loving gratitude of the alumni to their Alma Mater, they constructed an outdoor stage as donation.

The visit of Sr. Francisca Longas, CM, Superior General, in September 1983, brought another improvement to the school. Financial aid was received for the construction of Science Laboratory Building, which was completed in August 1984. In response to the demand for the quality education with the thrust of the Department of Education, Culture and Sports (DECS) on Mathematics, Science and Technology, the school opened a Computer Laboratory and a more improved Science Laboratory in School year 1995-1996. The catchments areas also widened from thirty-three (33) barangays of the town to the neighboring towns of Anilao and San Enrique. In December 2005 during the 19th Provincial Chapter of the Carmelite Missionaries, a proposal to open a Preschool Department after two years was discussed and later approved. It was necessary to change the name of the school to accommodate the additional department. Thus, with the opening of the Preschool Department in 2007, and with the approval of the Congregation, the Department of Education and the Securities and Exchange Commission, the name of the school was changed to Mater Carmeli School.

Another milestone in the history of mater Carmeli School unfolds with the opening of the Elementary Department in the S.Y. 2009-2010. The dream to have a complete basic education came true in S.Y. 2014-2015 with its 27 graduates in grade six. As mandated by Republic Act 10533, the Enhanced Basic Education Act of 2013 that instituted the curricular reforms in the Philippine education system, Mater Carmeli School-Dingle offered in 2017-2018 the Senior High School Program. To accommodate the first batch of Senior High School students, a new building was built. The SHS program offered General Academic (GA), Humanities and Social Sciences (HUMMS), and Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) strands. With qualified faculty and upgraded facilities, MCS-Dingle kept up with the demands of the new curriculum geared toward producing graduates trained in 21st century skills and imbued with the unique values and qualities derived from their Palautian-Carmelian education to make them life-long learners ready to face the challenges of the new technology-driven century.

In June 2018, Mater Carmeli School celebrated its Golden Jubilee thanking the Chief Shepherd for the sixty (60) years of dedicated service of the Carmelite Missionaries to the Dingleanons, hence, to the Church, whom our Blessed Founder, Blessed Francisco Palau, OCD lived and died for.