CyberFair Project ID: 5050

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International Schools CyberFair Project Narrative
Title: St. Michael the Archangel: the Patron Saint of Iliganons
Category: 8. Local Music and Art Forms
URL: http://www.freewebs.com/catuba
Bibliography: http://www.freewebs.com/catuba/bibliography.htm

School: Iligan City National High School
    Iligan City, Lanao del Norte, Philippines

4 students, ages 14-16 worked together to complete this CyberFair project on March 3, 2007. They have participated in CyberFair in the following year(s): 2006,2007

Classes and Teachers: Annallee Q. Aron

E-Mail contact:

Our School's Web Site: http://www.freewebs.com/iligancity_nationalhighschool

Project Overview

1. Description of Our Community

The project showcased, St. Michael (well known as Sr. San Miguel in locality) the patron saint of Iliganons, which is located at St. Michael’s Cathedral Church, Iligan City, Mindanao, Philippines in the caring hands of Iliganons.

St. Michael is an archangel, the patron of grocers, mariners, paratroopers, police, and sickness, is considered the protector of the Church from considerable forces from the underworld and one of the highest order of angels that is being created to serve God and His people. For the Catholic Iliganons, St. Michael is their patron saint because they believe that the miraculous image serves as the sole protector and savior of Iligan from invasion and calamities since in the olden times. St. Michael the Archangel defends the Iliganons in their day of battle; protects them against the deceit and wickedness of the devil.

The Iliganons annually celebrate Michael’s Day to commemorate the heroic feast of St. Michael the Archangel who is worshipped as both patron saint and folk hero of epic proportions. A popular legend tells of how his image on horseback has single-handedly turned away invaders during the Moro wars in Mindanao. On Michael’s Day people crowd the streets to watch the highlight of the celebration.

Iligan City is predominantly Christian (93.61%). Iliganons are a mixture of the Muslim and Cebuano population with a bit of Tagalog and some other cultural group minorities and immigrants from other places. Cebuano is the major dialect in the city (about 93%). But despite of cultural diversity, Iliganons continually celebrate the feast.

2. Summary of Our Project

Our web site features the great faith of Iliganons to St. Michael the archangel as their patron saint, how this faith united them as one and how he became a part of Iliganon’s culture.

This also reveals how St. Michael protected and saved Iliganons from disaster, calamities and danger. As well as how he became a bridge towards unity of Iliganons.

This is the first ever made documentary project about the patron saint, St. Michael. And at first, even we the researchers don’t have any idea about the origin and the real meaning of the feast of the patron and its history as the patron saint of Iliganons.

3. Our Computer and Internet Access

A. Percentage of students using the Internet at home:21-50%

B. Number of workstations with Internet access in the classroom:2-3

C. Connection speed used in the classroom:dedicated connection

D. Number of years our classroom has been connected to the Internet:1

E. Additional comments concerning your computer and/or Internet access (Optional):

Additional comments concerning your computer and/or internet access: Internet access started last June 2005 to provide students, teachers, and school personnel to engage in research, classroom use, online collaboration, digital portfolio and communication through entertainment and news update around the country and around the world.

4. Problems We Had To Overcome

Yes, there were problems we encountered in making this project. Since we are the first researchers who investigated about this topic, we find it very hard to find information and data in formulating this project. Aside from this, it is also hard for us to find and to budget our time to collect information from our sources. Since our schedule is always full and hectic, we find it hard to approach the people who can help us. By this problem, we have learned to interact and negotiate vigilantly in other people to get what we need from them. Another one is to carefully manage our time, to have patience, and most of all to practice unity to be able to complete this project.

5. Our Project Sound Bite

In our school, our classmates joined our Project Session, we were able to share information we have learned during the project making. Aside from this, they were able to share what they have been known about the origin and legend of St. Michael. Many have different stories which according to them came to their grandparents. We, the researchers also share to them what we have learned and discovered during our investigation. And in the people outside the campus, we were able to interview the devotees of the patron, that gives us more strength and determination to pursue our project because of their testimonies about how the patron saint touches their lives. Through this, we learned more and knew about things we were not yet fully familiarized and ever known. This project streghtens our faith and enable us to internalize the real meaning of the ceremony in honor to the Iliganon's Patron Saint.

6. How did your activities and research for this CyberFair Project support standards, required coursework and curriculum standards?

Our CyberFair project got us involved in all areas of our curriculum. It tied in well with the information about St. Michael and was the most interesting project we’ve ever worked on. Many of the student’s skills were improved such as; researching, creative writing and resourcefulness, critical thinking, questioning, summarizing, interacting and cooperative learning. The most important thing we learned through this project was how to create a website on internet and how to present information in a pleasing and interesting way so that people all over the world could learn about our patron saint as bridge towards unity. We are especially grateful to the people who helped us in gathering the information and pictures that we needed. For the pictures in our site, we learned how to interact and negotiate responsible people in authority, such as asking permission from Mr. Renato Pernia, one of the official photographers of Iligan City Tourism Office, he gave us the authority and protocol to use his pictures in our website. And to all the speakers and volunteers of St. Michael’s Cathedral who spent their time with us giving the enough and reliable information about our patron saint, St. Michael.

For the required coursework, as a student we are to develop our skills and knowledge in technology that would prepare us for the 21st century, for advance and high technology era, but despite of this technology advancement, there should be an intermingle of preservation of the moral ethics of the people in the community.

Preserving cultures and moral values is a part of education and curriculum of human kind that is significant to the future generation even though the oozing high technology is coming up.

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Project Elements

1) What information tools & technologies did you used to complete your CyberFair project?

To complete our Cyberfair Project, we used the following information tools and technologies:

o Telephone

o Newspaper

o Scanners

o Library

o Cell phone

o USB

o Cameras

o CD’s

o Computer system

o Internet explorer

o Microsoft Word

o Notepad

o Books (e.g. encyclopedia, dictionary, magazines)

o Oral interviews

o Church members

2) In what ways did you act as "ambassadors" and spokespersons for your CyberFair project both on-line and in person.

In doing this project we acted as ambassadors and spokespersons through talking and asking our sources about the information needed for the CyberFair project. We also asked the devotees of the said patron about its origin and legend and how their faith in the patron affected their lives. In the class, we informed many of our friends within their own and in neighboring schools about this project and the CyberFair competition and inform them about how essential it is for the young generation to know the real meaning of celebrating of the feast of the patron saint, because they will be the one to lead in the near future. A lot of other teachers and school administrators were also informed about the competition. With this project we prompted many school officials, co-leagues and Iliganons to reflect on the significance of the patron saints in the community, inspiring them to empower and unite despite of traditional and cultural differences.

3) What has been the impact of your project on your community?

The most significant aspect of this project is the joint venture between the researchers and the community, spreading unity towards Iliganons, not only today but as well as to the future generations.

Through St. Michael the Archangel, Iligan’s patron saint, Iliganons are being united by their strong faith and loyalty to their patron. We made this kind of webpage because we want to emphasize, not only the importance of having St. Michael as our patron, but also to inform everyone about the origin and how he became the patron saint of the city that mostly Iliganons still not familiar about and to encourage everyone to preserve and treasure our annual activities and celebration in honor of our patron saint and to realize the real meaning of celebrating his day. Most of all is to inspire them to have unity and help each other like the way St. Michael helps us.

In addition to academic skill the students gained many life-long personal skills, such as:

-We learned to interact with the Cathedral’s active participants

-We learned how to negotiate to the responsible people in the authority

- We learned how to make used of the resources in the community

-Work in cooperative groups of the Church of different ages and

- To have teamwork within our group.

-And most of all to open our minds about the true meaning of celebrating the feast of St. Michael and to be able to share his greatness in protecting the Iliganons from evil.

4) How did your project involve other members of your community as helpers and volunteers?

Advises of the different Church groups were very much precious and much needed in providing enough information and data to be able to construct this project. Luckily, by requesting help from the Cathedral’s participants and the involvement of Iligan City Tourism Office, we were able to get what we really wanted and badly needed.

Without their heartfelt gratitude, this project would not have been completed.

5) Discoveries, Lessons and Surprises (Optional)

The mainly noteworthy substantial innovation made as an outcome of this project was the fact that St. Michael as the patron saint of Iliganons promotes peace and unity to the community. Another surprise for us is the amazing origin of choosing the said saint as patron for the city.

The greatest lesson we have learned is about how essential the patron saint to the people of Iligan, how can he give inspirations to the Iliganons and assures them that everything will be alright.

The vital discovery we made was how enthusiastic people are to lend a hand with a project such as this. So many members of our community who were initially 'strangers' to us have given time and extra effort, shared information and helpful advice, and offered eager encouragement. We now feel we have more 'friends' and concern citizens in our community.

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