After years of dialogues and dreams, Montessori De Sagrada Familia, Inc., long regarded as a hub for creativity and innovation, has formally signed a partnership to bring robotics into its classrooms.
The Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) was sealed on August 11 at the Pre-Elementary Board Room in a gathering led by MDSF’s vice principals, ICT supervisors, and Director for Academic and Student Affairs Ma. Cristina Silamor, along with Piesco Innovatech Corporation’s Technical Support Manager Mark Mengorio.
Consequently, Piesco, which currently manages robotics programs for La Salle Main and La Salle Araneta, will now extend its expertise to Sagradan learners.
According to Grade School ICT Supervisor Adona Verdillo, the robotics program is designed to stay true to the school’s mission of producing innovative learners by fostering creative thinking among grade school students.
“A robotics program teaches how to make machines that can sense, think, and act to perform useful tasks,” Verdillo said.
She explained that the initiative began after school leaders visited campuses with existing robotics programs, which prompted her to study block coding for a year before introducing it to upper-grade school learners.
Through this collaboration, students will gradually be equipped with robotics kits designed to explore the hows and whats of machines through customized and hands-on modules.
Verdillo recalled that at first, some parents thought their children were only playing, while students themselves admitted coding was difficult until they got the hang of it.
Now in its third year, she added, learners recognize that robotics powers automation and makes daily life easier through machines built to solve tasks.
“The robotics program can help Sagradan learners see technology not as something intimidating or purely for entertainment, but as a tool they can shape, manipulate, and use to make life better for themselves and for others,” Verdillo said.
Furthermore, the partnership will include the use of 3D printers to deliberately craft robot prototypes and transform classroom concepts into a moving, tangible form.
In addition, MDSF is preparing to dedicate entire Fridays to ICT, thereby creating room for learners to more deeply engage in building, coding, and experimenting with technology.
Ultimately, school leaders view the initiative as a decisive step toward preparing students for robotics contests while at the same time fulfilling the school’s vision of being a hub for creativity and innovation.