NY Paaralan sa Konsulado’s 19th year of sharing Filipino heritage with the young

AFTA Teachers with the group 1 students get ready for the day’s lesson. CONTRIBUTED

NEW YORK — “Paaralan sa Konsulado” (PSK) kicked off its 19^th year of teaching young Filipino Americans all about the Philippines.

The Philippine Consulate General in New York in cooperation with the Association of Filipino-American Teachers in America (AFTA) the PSK began classes at the Philippine Center-New York on June 24.

As a flagship program of the Consulate General, the PSK aims to keep young overseas Filipinos connected to their Philippine heritage.

For nearly two decades the PSK has been offering introductory courses on Philippine history, geography, culture, performing arts, language, games, civics, basic social graces, and other informative sessions for young Filipinos and Filipino-Americans ages 6-16 years old.

For five Saturdays every summer, volunteer teachers from the AFTA along with special resource persons such as Filipino scholars, artists and chefs conduct sessions for the next generation of Filipinos and Fil-Ams on Philippine heritage.

Teacher Ramil Buenaventura teaching Philippine geography to PSK participants. CONTRIBUTED

  The PSK ends with a culminating program participated in by all the program enrollees.

The AFTA Team is led by its current President Roxanne Cajigas, Ph.D. This year the PSK will include a bi-lingual story-telling session conducted by Consul General Theresa Dizon-de Vega.

Many previous PSK graduates have gone on to be active members of the Fil-Am Community in the U.S. Northeast.