Xavier School
Xavier School (; also referred to by its acronym XS) is a private, Catholic, college preparatory school run by the Philippine Province of the Society of Jesus. Its main campus is located at 64 Xavier Street, Greenhills, San Juan, Metro Manila, Philippines. It has a satellite campus located in Diversity Ave. Nuvali, Canlubang, Calamba, Laguna. It is a K-12 school and its curriculum includes a mandatory Chinese language program. It also offers the IB Diploma Program in grades 11 and 12 to selected students. Xavier continues to educate Chinese Filipinos since part of its mission is evangelizing the local  Chinese and promoting their integration into Philippine society. Unlike other Chinese schools in the Philippines, Xavier was established as an all-boys school and its San Juan campus continuous to accept male students only. However its Nuvali campus is coeducational. Xavier School is a Catholic school with an English curriculum that integrated Chinese studies. Through its Grant-in-Aid program, the school offers financially challenged but otherwise qualified students the opportunity of a Xavier education. History. Many Jesuit missionaries who were expelled from China in 1949 found a new home and mission in the overseas Chinese communities in the Philippines . To facilitate their evangelization of the Chinese communities, the Jesuits decided to set up schools. One of those schools was in downtown Manila. Begging for donations by going door-to-door in Chinatown, Fr. Jean Desautels, S.J., a French-Canadian Jesuit who was part of the China mission, received financial aid from Basilio King and Ambrose Chiu, two Chinese-Filipino businessmen who wanted to help set up a Jesuit school for the Chinese. After soliciting the fund sufficient to buy a piece of land for the school campus, the Jesuits proceeded to negotiate with land owners in downtown Manila. At  3:30 pm on December 15, 1955, Fr. Desautels closed a deal and purchased a land, an hour and a half before the 5:00 pm deadline set by its seller. The group of Jesuits led by the late Frs. Jean Desautels, Louis Papilla, and Cornelius Pineau went on to found a School and named it Kuang Chi School after Paul Hsü Kuangchi, a 16th-century Chinese nobleman and Minister of Rites during the Ming Dynasty who converted to Christianity and supported its spread in China. In June 6, 1956, in a converted warehouse in Echague, Manila, the school opened its doors  to its initial batch of students – 170 children of Chinese immigrants in the Philippines. The school was renamed later on as Xavier School after St. Francis Xavier, co-founder of the Society of Jesus and one of the first leaders of Jesuit missions in China The school celebrated its Golden Jubilee in 2006. Former and current students include sons and grandsons of industrialists and politicians were in attendance during the celebration. Incidents. Sometime past noon on Wednesday, November 12, a Grade 11 student from Xavier High School was seen sitting on the ledge on the fifth floor of the school  building. The school authorities immediately called the San Juan City Rescue Team, the Philippine National Police (PNP), and the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) for help. After about an hour of speaking to the authorities, the boy agreed to get back inside the building. Based on the police investigation, the boy wanted to jump off the building due to family problems. The incident was recorded by ANC as authorities are seen attempting to convince the boy to not jump. The video and the news article published by ANC news has since been since deleted as of December 20, 2021. Many  speculate this to be forced censorship by Xavier School authorities to protect the reputation and name of the school. School of Excellence. Being a Jesuit school helped establish the school's reputation. In 1960, Xavier School transferred to a 7-hectare property in Greenhills, San Juan, then only an area of rice fields and grasslands. Within a decade, the outlying areas became home to many Xavier families. The campus is a complex of 12 buildings housing over 4,000 students from nursery to high school. It is one of the few basic education institutions in the Philippines to receive a 7 -year accreditation, the longest possible period, and one of only three institutions, along with De La Salle University and Ateneo de Manila University, to receive the Level III accreditation for both the grade school and high school by the Philippine Accrediting Association of Schools, Colleges, and Universities. In January 2010, Xavier School was granted International Baccalaureate (IB) World School status. In 2014, Fr. Aristotle Dy, SJ assumed the position of school president after the end of the term of pioneer Fr. Johnny Go, SJ. Admissions. Admission to Xavier School is very competitive. Generally, students enter Xavier as kindergarten students. Boys  may also try to be part of the student population as high school freshmen (Grade 9), by taking the Xavier High School Entrance Examination. Transfer students are also accepted but the requirements are high. Athletics. Xavier School fields over thirty teams in twelve sports. Mascot. The Mascot was created in the school year 2002 to 2003, Hoofy, the official caricature of the school mascot, was created. It was designed by David Gonzales of the class of 2005. A life-size model of Hoofy goes around campus and is available for performance at special events.