Siena College of Taytay


Siena College of Taytay, formerly St. Catherine Academy, is a kindergarten through post-secondary education institution located in Taytay, Rizal, Philippines. Founded in 1957 by the Dominican sisters, it is one of six Dominican educational institutions in the Philippines. Its sister schools are Siena College Quezon City, and Siena College San Jose del Monte, Bulacan. It also offers education for the Third Order of Saint Dominic, known as the ''Tertiaries'.'

History

In 1956, the late Cardinal Rufino Santos of the Archbishop of Manila invited the Dominican sisters to establish an academy for the education of local children. In 1957, Saint Catherine Academy opened during the tenure of the late Mother Natividad Pilapil O.P., the Superior General of the Congregation.
The college's facility was originally located in the Parish compound of St. John the Baptist in Taytay, Rizal. In 1965, the kindergarten, elementary and secondary education courses were fully established and recognized by the Philippine Department of Education, Culture and Sports.

Facilities

The college's campus in Taytay is now located at East Rodriguez Avenue, Siena Heights, Barangay San Isidro, Taytay, Rizal. The main and oldest, facility, the three-storey Saint Catherine Building located at the town proper adjacent to the Saint John the Baptist Parish church, was gutted by fire in 2002 and was not rebuilt. At the new location, a four-story building was constructed. This has a number of classrooms and a large Speech Laboratory in the newly added third floor. There are also houses for freshman high school students.
The Mother Natividad Pilapil O.P. building houses kindergarten 1 and 2, grade one pupils, and faculty rooms for their teachers. It is located through Gate 1 of the campus.
The Saint Dominic De Guzman Building, named for the founder of the Dominican order, houses the junior and senior high school students, computer rooms for college and high school students, and the Cyber program. It also houses the registrar's office, guidance office, testing center, high school library, GLL office, YLL office, and Instructional Media Center.
The Saint Thomas Aquinas Building contains instructional rooms for the senior high and college students, laboratories, and college library. It can be accessed through Gates 3 and 4. The building is named for the 13th-century philosopher.
The Our Lady of the Holy Rosary Building houses the publishing office, cafeteria, clinic and chapel.
The Saint Jacques Centre de Formatione - Hotelliere et Restaurateur houses the college's signature program in Hotel and Restaurant Management. It also houses senior high students in the TECH-VOC Strand, with specialization in cookery. Historically, the Parisian Dominican house was located in the parish of Saint Jacques.
The Mother Francisca Hall is an auditorium. The San Lorenzo Ruiz Hall is named for the Filipino martyred during persecution of Japanese Christians under the 17th-century Tokugawa Shogunate. The gymnasium offers student facilities, including the St. Catherine Covered Court, an Olympic sized pool, and the St. Martin Sports Complex.
The Saint Albertus Magnus building was scheduled to house college students in the 2018–2019 school year. The building is composed of 24 rooms on four floors.

Basic education programs

The modern Tertiary, or Third Order of Saint Dominic, as it exists in the 21st century, has two categories: regular, i.e. male or female Tertiaries who live in community and wear the habit; and secular Tertiaries, married or single, cleric or lay, who live their lives like others of their professions, but who privately practice the austerity of the order, wear some symbol of Dominican habit, and recite some of the liturgical offices.

Special awards

Given to graduating students