Grade School Search: San Benildo Rizal

Here’s the long overdue post about admission requirements and our feedback on College of San Benildo Rizal.  Both our kids took their exams for Kinder and for Grade 1 last December.  Results were given the first week of January.  We were merely given a slip that informed us that they passed the exams and were given instructions regarding reservation fees and admission procedures.  I was hoping we could be given quantified test results so I’d know how my kids really fared in the exams.  Nonetheless, we are seriously considering enrolling our kids in this school next school year.

Quick Facts about San Benildo Rizal

  • Established as San Benildo Integrated School (SBIS) in 1996, the school tapped the Lasallian Schools Supervision Office(LASSO) to supervise the planning and construction of SBIS.
  • A campus for Grade School was constructed along Marcos Highway in Cainta, Rizal.  The doors were opened for admission in June 1997.
  • LASSO continued to supervise the administration of the school from its opening in 1997 to its eventual “graduation” from being a De La Salle Supervised School in 2009.
  • In 2001, a new campus housing the High School Department was opened along Sumulong Highway in Antipolo City.
  • In 2010, a college department was added to the SBIS Antipolo Campus.  They then changed their name from SBIS to the College of San Benildo – Rizal (CoSB-R). A college campus was eventually constructed and completed in January 2013.
  • The school upholds Benildean excellence and the Lasallian mission of Christian education
  • CoSB-R leads students to embody the following core values: Committed to lifelong learning, Competent, Confident, Compassionate, Christian.
BENILDEANS DO
ordinary things
EXTRAORDINARILY WELL

 

Admission Requirements

Children must be at least six years old by June to be qualified for admission to Grade 1.  They should also have no grade below 80% and a conduct grade of 85% or higher.  Qualified applicants can submit the following documents to the Records Office from Monday to Friday, 8AM to 3PM.

  • Clear Photocopy of NSO Birth Certificate
  • Clear Photocopy of Baptismal Certificate
  • Certified True Copy of latest report card (3 copies)
  • 2 x 2 colored picture (3 pcs)
  • Good Moral Character Certificate signed by the Principal
  • Recommendation from the Class Adviser & Guidance Counselor (use CoSB-R Form)
  • 1 long brown envelope
  • Testing Fee of P500

Our Feedback

The atmosphere inside the school is calm and relaxed.  The kids seemed well-behaved. We weren’t able to take a peek inside the classrooms but we did chance upon the kids’ recess break.  The kids, 3rd to 5th graders I think, were surprisingly well-behaved.  No one was running around nor would you hear any noisy banter.  There was chatting and playful banter but no one was rowdy.  There were also only about 3 – 4 sections having their recess so they must have varying schedules for break time.  That, or there was another canteen in the other building.

Another thing I noticed was that the students were dropped off directly in front of the gated entrance to the school corridor.   That’s one less thing to worry about if the kids take the school service.

While waiting for our kids, one of the parents told us that the school discourages the use of stroller bags.  Backpacks were recommended though there were ramps installed on the staircases for those who are using strollers.

Feedback from Online Forums

Scouring the net for information about CoSB-R, I read many positive feedback.  Among them were the advanced curriculum and effective teachers.  The school is also said to be an English zone which is very common in all schools nowadays.  One parent shared that teachers hand out notes to parents if their children are lagging in their studies.  They provide remedial (I’m not sure if that’s what they actually call them) classes after school to help children catch up with their lessons.  On the other hand, there are irate La Sallians who claim that CoSB-R misleads people into thinking that it is part of La Salle Schools.  Aside from this, there were no other negative feedback.

Tuition Fee

The current fees for this school year are P41,629.26 for Grade 1 and P28,669.02 for Kinder.  Monthly scheme for Grade 1 is P14,986.53 upon enrolment  and P3,093.79 monthly(total of P42,830.64). For Kinder, the monthly scheme is P 14,334.51 upon enrolment and P 1,640.50 monthly(total of P29,099.01). They also have semi-annual and quarterly payment schemes.

Update: (June 2016)

After two school years in this school, we have opted to homeschool our children starting this June.  Our first year was not perfect but it was fine enough for us to re-enroll.  However, we had some issues with teachers and a few students last year.  All issues were promptly addressed by the administration and those involved.  Nonetheless, we still decided to not enroll in San Benildo again and to instead take the leap to homeschooling.

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The Tottering Mama is not in anyway connected to the College of San Benildo Rizal.  All information in this post are from personal experience, brochures from the school, and online forums. For more information about the admissions, call their Grade School Department at 646-3395 or 681-1718.

Comments

  1. Hi, Olga!

    Thanks for this post!

    The husband and I are so clueless that we haven’t enrolled our incoming Grade 1 son ANYWHERE 🙁 We live near Masinag in Antipolo so we are considering San Beda Rizal, San Benildo Rizal, Magis Academy in Town & Country, and Ateneo. Just found out that Ateneo has closed admissions; do you have any info on testing dates in the other schools I mentioned? Would also love to know any feedback on them that you may have chanced upon.

    ^_^

    • Hi, Karen! We haven’t been able to visit Magis Academy in Town & Country. I checked online reviews/feedback on San Beda Rizal and read mostly positive ones. The location(it’s in Taytay) may be a factor though if you live near Masinag. Travel time (including hours spent in traffic) may not suit your child well. Perhaps you could try San Benildo or La Salle Antipolo instead. 🙂

  2. LOVE Compoc says

    Perfect, am looking for some reviews re schools near Roque Marikina. Thanks for this!