St. Mary's College of
Meycauayan, formerly called Escuela Catolica de Meycauayan, was
founded in 1916. The school was managed by the Religious of the
Virgin Mary (RVM), the first Filipino Congregation founded in 1684
by a Filipina, MOTHER IGNACIA DEL ESPIRITU. It was a parochial
school offering the primary course with catechism as its core
subject.
During the Second World
War, classes were conducted until July 1944 and reopened in June
1945 with the Intermediate and First Year High School classes. The
succeeding levels were opened and gained government recognition each
year. March 1949 marked the graduation of the first ten (10) high
school students of the then St. Mary's
Academy.
A month after, afire
razed the school building into ashes. Classes were held in private
homes while a two-storey building was being. This was finished in
1954.Eleven years after, the kindergarten course was
recognized.
As the school population
increased, the need for physical expansion arose thus, a new site
was acquired in Saluysoy, Meycauayan where a six-room building was
constructed and came into use in 1966. A four-storey building was
erected in 1968 and an extension of four rooms was made
1978.
One of the most
significant improvements of St. Mary's Academy was the completion of
a concrete four-storey building in October 1981,marking the complete
transfer of the whole school from kindergarten to high school to the
new site. Aside from the classrooms, the new building included the
administrative office, guidance center, science and reading
laboratories, library, medical and dental clinic, audio-visual and
conference rooms.
A seven-room
kindergarten building was erected at the back of the administration
building. The construction was finished in October 1984.
In response to the felt
needs of the service community, the school opened her doors to the
students in the tertiary level in 1986.The course offered were
bachelor of Elementary Education (BEED), with specialization in
Pre-School Education, English, Filipino, Mathematics, Social Studies
and Science and Health; Bachelor of Secondary Education (BSEED) with
major in English, Filipino, Mathematics and General Science;
Bachelor of Science in Commerce (BSC) major in Accounting,
Management, Marketing, and Computer Science.
The yearly increase in
enrolment in the three levels needed more classrooms. Thus new
four-storey building was constructed with 26 classrooms including
the college library, faculty rooms, home economics room and offices
for the guidance and subject area coordinators.
On January 22,1989, a
multi-purpose hall was blessed. This provides adequate space for
school programs/activities, P.E. classes and other community
functions.
School Year 1995-1996
saw new improvements to the existing facilities, specifically in the
computerization venture. SMCM is presently equipped with
air-conditioned audio-visual room, chapel and a centralized library
system with modern computer facilities provided with multi-media and
Internet access for global information. On June 1996, the
Information Technology building was blessed. This serves as the
Computer Laboratory for the high school and college students. To
maximize the computer resources, the I-Tech program has opened its
doors to clientele from the bigger community by offering short-term
modular courses.
A new canteen was
likewise provided to improve the food services of the school. It
serves lunch to students and personnel.
From a primary school,
St. Mary's College of Meycauayan has risen to what it is now.
Committed to her mission of forming the total person who actively
witnesses Christ in the community through integral Christian
Education, the SMCM academic community strives to pursue greater
effectivity and responsibility in building a community of
responsible Christians where peace, love, joy and justice reigns.