June 29, 2013 marked the first Teach for the Philippines‘ Super Saturday! Super Saturday is an event designed to get all the Teach for the Philippines staff and Fellows together to catch up and share stories after one month of teaching in the public schools.

The day started with the Fellows breaking off into small groups under the supervision of their Leadership Development Officers for sessions on Self-contained Teaching Strategies, Classroom Management and Functional Literacy. These sessions also open the floor for sharing experiences and counsel among the Fellows and their LDOs.

Teach for the Philippines was also happy to welcome Wick Veloso, the CEO of HSBC who stopped by to share a little about leadership and how his personal life story led to that point in his career. By sharing stories of how he rose up the ranks in his banking and finance career despite uncertainty, risk and hesitation he boosted the morale of the cohort.

Our keynote speaker: HSBC CEO Jose “Wick” Veloso.

Wick Veloso shares: “To succeed, work hard. Persevere. Be passionate. Understand the meaning of how to make resources work for you. When faced with uncertainty, step away from the problem. Detach yourself and re-evaluate. ‘Yes, it’s hard but this is what will make me strong.’ Even when you feel lost, don’t infect your team with weakness,” — advice that works just as well in the classroom as it does in the boardroom.

The Teach for the Philippines Team with Mr. Jose “Wick” Veloso.

For the full album of photos from Super Saturday, click here.