Viva Seynor San Miguel!

LCHS celebrates teachers day
By Michael John Siangco (Batch '96)

September 28th marked the celebration of Confucius' Day.  As Confucius is perhaps the greatest philosopher of China, Chinese also referred to this day as Teacher's Day.  So even if it is the day before the City Fiesta, the school still held a half-day activity in honor of the 'actual manpower' of the school, the teachers.  This year's celebration was conceptualized by the assistant principal herself, Christine Veronica Uy.  There were presentations from selected pupils and students of different levels especially for the teachers.  There were also tribute offerings, testimonials from students and the on-the-spot dance presentation from the faculty.

Sharon Sy, new CPA

Sharon U. Sy (Batch 2000) passed the recent board examinations for Certified Public Accountant (CPA).  She is the daughter of Sy Beng Gui (Batch '57) and Gloria Uy-Sy, of SBG Mercantile, Iligan City.  Out of 5,222 who took the board exams, only 1,242 passed.  The new CPAs took their oath recently at the Philippine International Convention Center, Manila.

LCHS badminton club bags trophies
By Ronald Sy, LCHS-ABC President

The LCHS Alumni Badminton Club romped off with two trophies and three medals in the Iligan Badminton Challenge 2005 held last Sept. 17-18 at the Synergy Metro Sports Club Gym, Bacayo.

The LCHS-ABC team was composed of two groups: the alumni themselves and guests.  The guests were made up mostly of the wives and friends of alumni.  The winners were:  Class D -- Men's Double Champion: Charles Robin Sy & Jose R. Chu (Batch '82), in photo hereunder; 2nd Runner-up: Roger Yu (Batch '86) & Kevin So (Batch 2003); Women's Double Champion: Roselle Yañez & Loribel Pacaña (wife of Alexis Pacaña, '82); Mixed Double 1st Runner Up: Father Andy Tampus & Grace Espirtu. CLASS C -- 1st Runner-up, Women's Double: Emielyn Nagura & Kathleya Dy.

All members of the LCHS-ABC survived the elimination rounds and qualified to enter the semi-final Knock Out portion. But because some of the LCHS-ABC members were classified in the same bracket as their fellow members, they were pitted again each other.  In the end, some of our members were eliminated by our own players.

It was a most unforgettable tournament for all the players because of the volume of entries.  Added to that was the brownout on the final night of the tournament and the game was extended until 8 o'clock in the morning.  It was a 24 hours continuous playing.

New e-mail
Thu, 20 Oct 2005 00:50:53 EDT

To all our friends, fellow classmates & schoolmates, and Spectrum:  Our new e-mail address is: lcrito@aol.com. --Laureto & Elsie Lao, Stonehill Court, Riverside, CA., U.S.A., email: lcrito@aol.com

Congratulations to Sharon Uy Sy (Batch 2000), daughter of Sy Bing Gui, for passing the CPA board exam. --Luis Kho (Batch '56), Iligan, Philippines, email: luiskho@lycos.com
 
 

GAH-LLERY

IN THE LIMELIGHT.   The Phil. Society of Nephrology Inc. and the PSN Central & Eastern Visayas Chapter, in cooperation with the International Society of Nephrology, gathered at the Shangri-la's Mactan Island Resort, Lapulapu City, for a three-day mid-year convention last Oct. 2-4, 2005.  Very much in the limelight of this national gathering of kidney specialists is our very own fellow alumna, Dr. Vivina Chiu-Yrastorza (Batch '61).  She had her hands full during this big event, herself being the president of the host club, the Philippine Society of Nephrology Central & Eastern Visayas Chapter.

RESURRECTION PROJECT.  The Resurrection of the Lord Filipino Chinese Catholic Community will showcase the talents among its members in a special show entitled "Tsinoy Heritage: A Dance Drama" on Dec. 10, at 7:30 p.m., at the MSU-IIT gym.  The show is part of its fund-raising project for the construction of the ceiling of the Resurrection of the Lord church.

SPOTTED IN CEBU.   Spotted vacationing briefly in Cebu City last Oct. 9 was Victoria "Un-Ling" Go (Batch '64).  While in Cebu, she had a rare reunion with her LCHS barkadas, Victoria "Siok An" Kho (Batch '64) and Lydia Sy Chona (Batch '65).  She flew in from the U.S.A. a week earlier to attend a nephew's wedding in Cagayan de Oro.  The nephew is Charito "Un-Huy" Go's son who married the daughter of another alumna, Verna "Kuan-Kuan" Sy-Oh (Batch '62).  Victoria is a medical technologist based in California, U.S.A.  Before she moved to America, she had also spent several years working in Germany, Saudi Arabia and Taiwan.  The Go family used to live in a house near the LCHS campus on Roosevelt Ext. during their years in Iligan.
 

Michael John L. Siangco, Batch '96

During the LCHS teacher's day celebration, the members of the faculty were all given a survey questionnaire to ponder upon.  These are the questions with the selected answers:

1.  What do you really want to be in your lifetime?
 - To educate anybody who is eager to learn. (Mrs. Glenda Sy-Cabilan)
 - I want to be a blessing to my family and other people. (Mr. Pedro Gutierrez, Jr.)
 - I just want to be a person who is satisfied and happy with whatever I have.  It doesn't matter whatever I become ... what matters is how happy and satisfied I am. (Ms. Minnie Noreen Dy)
 - To be a good mother and a contributor for the good of humanity. (Mrs. Elvira Raganas)

2.  What is your philosophy in life?
 - If you play it safe, it means you don't want to grow anymore. (Mrs. Michelle Jeanne Caracut)
 - I am nothing without Christ.  Thus, I'm not perfect as others are not. (Mrs. Lulu Castardo)
 - Learn to love ... and all other good things will follow. (Ms. Jaycille Venturez)
 - Life is how/what you can make it.  I only have my life once, I have to make it worth remembering for my love ones. (Mrs. Mona Alivio)

3.  Why are you a teacher?
 - Because it's what I want since I was young; I really want to teach and be with the children.  Because I always feel young and happy being with them. Though there are times when we are confronted with children who are hard to deal with - hence, I still find teaching a pleasure. (Ms. Elizabeth David)
 - I like to share my knowledge, especially in Math, to the younger generation. (Ms. Sun Lay Dy)
 - Because I believe I have treasures in life that I learned and I need to share these to individuals who have exactly the same fate as I had when I was yet "relatively unlearned". (Mrs. Eliane Mana)
 - My being a teacher was never planned ... it was meant to be.  I even asked myself why but I can't find an answer except to be thankful that I am one. (Mrs. Lucille Bugo)

4.  What do you like most in your students?
 - Their 'ability' to make me angry because of their naughtiness but yet, at the end of it, it makes you smile and realize that they are just young people. One day, they will grow up and mature the way they ought to be.  Through helping them become better individuals, I am becoming a better person as well. (Ms. Maricris Tejada)
 - They have become my extended family. (Ms. Eva Khey)
 - As an elementary teacher, I love their innocence which brings laughter to the world.  It makes me attest that life is indeed beautiful. (Ms. Marchie Belacho)
 - I am pleased and delighted when they come to me.  There are times when they share their problems, expressed their feelings and sometimes talked about anything under the sun. (Mrs. Christine Lacastesantos)

5.  How do you envision them to be?
 - To be hardworking and critical thinkers who don't just accept what is being fed but also try to look for other sources to prove whether what had been taught is right or wrong. (Mr. Jude John Mana, Jr.)
 - To be able to read and know the Chinese characters.  (Mrs. Ida Te)
 - To see them successful in the future and see them become better individuals who love God above all. (Ms. Marilou Cartin)
 - One day, I could say, hey, that was once my student. (Ms. Tom Celiz)

6.  How do you define love?
 - A universal feeling that can both build and ruin a person. (Mr. Windel Villastique)
 - Love is the catalyst of everything.  With love, everything is fulfilled. (Mr. Gabbie Ares)
 - Love is an act of your will, a determination to do right by someone, a desire to treat that person as you would yourself. (Ms. Mary Jane Torayno)
 - It is something that you have to 'work' thoughout your lifetime. (Mrs. Annabelle Rapliza)

Henry L. Yu, M.D., Batch '69

1.   He knows such streets as Sabayle,Cabili, Washington, San Miguel, Roosevelt, Zamora, etc.
2.   He knows such places like Hinaplanon, Tominobo, Tibanga, Pala-o, Tipanoy, Tambacan, Kiwalan, Celdran Village, Rosario Heights, etc.
3.   He knows such stores as:  Hong Yao, Kian Chiong, Lian Hong, Keng Hong, Dy Cham, Lian Tay, King Sing, Kim San, Sen Chin Bee, Tay San, Tan Lam, Tam Wong, Hing Huat, Lim Chay, Lian Guan, Tin Lu Sing, Sen Tay Sing, Dy Yao, San Cha, Dy Suan Em, Sen King Bee, Sen Hua, Jam Chiong, Wan Seng, etc.
4.   He knows Lanao Milling, Lanao Arkay, Iligan Construction, Manila Bazar, Al Toro, Everlast, Miguel, Tropical, Good Morning, Asia, Casa Esperanza, Dina, Hamilton, Oro Bonito, Acme, Alaska, Capitol, Padilla, Roque, Heyrosa, Mansueto, Halili, Lard's, 7-Up, Neil's, etc.
5.   He knows St. Peter, St. Michael, Iligan Capitol College, etc.
6.   He knows the following restaurants and bakeries: Oriental, Canton, Liong's, Hong Kong, Nena's, Kapit Bahay, Elite, California, Victoria, Sampaguita, etc.
7.   He knows Lanao Mail, DXIC, DXRI, DXMI.
8.   He is familiar with such names as: Dy Un Suy, Ang Han Tiong, Ang Bon Chiong, Siao Bon Po, Chu Eng, Sy Chu An, Siao Ching Tin, Tan Eh Bon, Dy Tiao Lim, Sy Seng Chiok, Dy Chute, Lim Bia Wa, Co Chik Ham, etc.
9.    He knows Drs. Cuyugan, Deleste, Casino, Gaite, Batong, Uy, etc.
10.  He knows such neighboring places as Linamon, Suarez, Kolambugan, Kauswagan, Manticao, Lugait, Maputi, Baroy, etc.
11.  He knows where Doris Department Store, Pasing's Grocery, Crystal Educational Supply, Manila Grand Baratillo, First Insular Bank of Cebu (FIBC), etc. used to be located even with closed eyes.
12.  He knows King, Queen, Century, and Premier Theaters.
13.  The family names Badelles, Obach, Lluch, Padilla, Jariol, Varga, Celdran, Inocian, etc. ring a bell to him.
14.  He misses Elite Bakery's pan de coco, pande agua, pan de leche.
15.  He brings Cheding peanuts as pasalubong to friends and relatives.
16.  He is familiar with Kanaway, Saray, Timoga, Sta. Filomena, Maria Cristina, Tinago, etc.
17.  He feels happy and excited when he meets a fellow Iliganon in Cebu or Manila or anywhere else.

It has never been easy for me to fall asleep in strange environments. There's just something about the familiar comforts of home, which in my case is in Sydney, Australia, that puts mind and body at ease. So it was something of a surprise when, after a long eighteen years absence, I awoke fully refreshed from my first night in Iligan. I wondered whether this was due to exhaustion - it had been a relatively long and restless journey from a different hemisphere after all. Or was it because, as I later realized, I found myself sleeping in something quite familiar - my old bed, the one I last slept in when I was ten years old.

Among the many things that remained the same is the old family home in Midtown, the only changes asides from the new wallpapers was that it had shrunk alarmingly. The hallways which stretched forever and instilled me with fear during the night when I was a child now appeared proportional and tame. The specters that I imagined would chase me down the dim corridors after dark had retired a long time ago.

The City of Iligan has also become a smaller place from how I last remembered it. The vast distances between the old Chinese school or City Hall and home, which I thought traversable only by motor vehicles in my youth, is no more than a thirty minute walk today. The majority of facilities and places of business are within reasonable walking distance, assuming you carry an extra change of clothes to help prevent drowning in your own perspiration. Perhaps laundry bills are more expensive than gasoline, which explains why traffic is starting to resemble cholesterol on a tourist's arteries.

Traffic, in all its colorful and spontaneous forms, may have multiplied to the annoyance of some motorists. But it is probably a healthy indicator of the city's growth. More traffic, more people, equates to more economic activity. Some of these new consumers are eleven of my cousins whom I've never met before. Remembering all their names in such a short span of time was something of a trial but it should be easier next time around. I look forward to following their progress and fortunes in the years to come.

Incorporating new faces to memory is not easy at a time when childhood memories are constantly flooding back. After eighteen years, it was great to see the family again and I was finally able to convey my final thanks and farewell to my departed grandfather, a very kind and beloved man. Conversations with the family over the phone is a pale comparison to having it conducted in person. The extent of their hospitality, for someone unfamiliar to anything like it, was overwhelming and I could never thank them enough.

This spirit of generosity was not restricted to the family home however as it extends well into the general community. My father, Leonardo Tan, and I were invited to dine out night after night by his friends, and often out for lunch as well on the same day. The faces of my father's friends I have often seen as a boy. Their names, on the other hand, I probably never bothered to commit to memory as I was more interested in where the toys were kept all those years ago. This childhood ingratitude is one I am keen to rectify as I learn about the history of the city of my birth and the names and life stories of its prominent citizens. To those who showed my father and I such warm friendship and hospitality, my deepest and sincerest thanks.

One of the highlights to my return to Iligan was seeing my old friends and classmates again, people I haven't seen since Grade four in 1987.

Perhaps too many of them had left the city to seek their fortunes elsewhere, and I wish them all the best as it is never easy to leave the comforts of the life you know. But for those who could be contacted, we had an intimate and happy reunion at the Cafe Hermoso where we caught up with each other's progress, exchanged anecdotes and enjoyed a hearty meal. The most striking observation I can make about my former classmates is how little they seem to have changed over the last eighteen years. I may not have instantly remembered all their names, but their faces I readily recognized It was good to hear them doing well and I hope to see them again the next time I find myself in Iligan, hopefully in the not too distant future.

Although I am glad that the LCHS has found itself a new, and in many ways, better home, the demise of the old campus has left me feeling somewhat incomplete. It would have been nice to have re-acquainted myself with the place where I spent a good deal of my formative years, where I played with abandon and laughed so freely with not a care in the world. In many ways, the best aspect of my stay in Iligan was to have relived these childhood memories - free from the concerns of complex adult life and modern realities.

I wish I could name and thank each and every person who contributed to making our stay in Iligan a most enjoyable and memorable one but I fear that it would take up too much space in this newsletter. I have to say that I never ate nor sweated so much (perhaps the two are related?) than during my twelve days in the city where I was born. My one regret is that I spent too long a time away and not visited sooner. Maybe it's because I've always imagined the distances from Sydney to Iligan to require such an epic journey. As I have discovered with the old house and the city of Iligan itself, my perspective on size has changed as I have grown. Iligan, it turns out, is not that far away after all.

[Editor's Note:  Jeremy Tan is a member of Batch '93.  He lives in Sydney, Australia.  He is the son of Leonardo "Loloy" Tan (Batch '66).  Jeremy can be reached on his email: Jeremy.Tan@metcash.com]

JAN AVERY CHEN, Grade 3:   I am one of many whose parents are alumni in this school.  And just like tradition, I have been enrolled here to follow their footsteps.  In my young age and mind, you don't even think of choices.  You simply follow and trust their decision.

Do I regret this?  My answer is a big NO.  At my young state of mind, I simply trust their wisdom.  I believe that they only wish me the best that they can offer.  And I am also sure that they went through examining what this school continues to offer, good teachers who are well-rounded and whose hearts, just like my parents, are for our well-being and welfare.

May I thank you, dear teachers, for being my kind mentors since I was in kindergarten and until this time.  You have continued to help me understand my lessons and have been kind enough to show the right values for me to adopt.  I feel like I have been cared for just like home.  Where else can you see several teachers developing us into who we are now? Sometimes, it's hard for me to understand that their firmness was meant to make me strong, that their frankness was to let me accept what the truth is and that their uniqueness was necessary for me to respect each person.

Honestly, I'm glad that my parents meant well and have made the right decision.  Now, I'm comfortable here with my teachers surrounding me with their love and compassion.  Who could ask for more?

FIONA CONCHESSA CANON, Grade 6:   Since I stepped into this school last June as a transferee, there were a lot of apprehensions which I went through.  I was afraid that I might not able to gain friends fast enough to make me settle in a new school environment.  I was anxious to meet my teachers so I would know if they were approachable and kind.

It has been four months now and I am glad that those apprehensions were unfouded.  My classmates easily warmed up to me and I'm having a good time with them.  Best of all, my teachers are not just kind but like my second parents.  I am blessed that they take turns in helping me throguh with all the lessons from the different subjects in my grade level.

It has been such a wonderful experience for me to be accpeted so warmly in a new school without the usual agony that transferees normally are confronted with when they enroll in a new school.

I want to take this opportunity to let my teachers know how grateful I am to include me as an extended member of your school family.  I want you to know that I have found a new and great home here with loving hands guiding me all the way to complete my elementary course hopefully this school year.

Thank you, teachers, for welcoming me with open arms.  My new found happiness here would not have been made possible without your guidance and loving direction.  I'm sure I shall always treasure this in my heart.

TRISTAN ERVIN LIM, 4th Year:  I stand here before each one of you to let you know that I am a result of your kind-heartedness to nurture and to care for me until now.  You may not have noticed that I'm one of many whom you have lovingly taught with all concern and straight-forwardness.  Now I understand that at the beginning you may not have realized how delicate we were and unsure of trusting in you.  With many of us somehow similarly feeling that way, you must have almost lost faith in yourself in being able to reach out to us and guide us to the right direction.  You must have almost lost patience in seeing us through your lessons.

But a couple of years had passed by, I begin to see something different in you.  I, myself, see some profound changes in my own personality and character.  We both had evolved into bonded persons who seek each other's wisdom and responses.  And now I also begin to see the reality in your concerns and the reality of my limitations and clearly on my part with enough reasons to continue my dependence on you.

Sometimes I ponder what I would have become had you stopped your goals and commitment to make me into a learned person, had you been selfish and immature to abandon your duty and simply left me into the hands of equally-seeking teachers.  Perhaps, I would have been greatly discouraged so that schooling could have been an unforgiving place.

I am relieved that those were just fleeting moments.  The reality is that I am blessed to have you here with me in this wonderful school.  I certainly owe so much to each one of you.  I know that being grateful isn't enough to express the years of efforts and sacrifices which you had invested in me.

This is now my way of telling you, all teachers, how thankful I am that you have chosen teaching as your profession.  I want you to know that I am a product of your decision to become teachers.  Thank you from the bottom of my heart.

Igdono U. Caracho, Batch '66