July 26 Update [Please double click to access and read]

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

MESSAGE TO SMS ALUMNI

On July 2, 2004 during the
Centennial Celebration of the St. Louis Exhibition
St. Louis, Missouri, U.S.A.
 by
 Rufino B. Bomasang
Chairman, St. Mary’s School of Sagada, Inc.

As those of you who are online will hopefully agree, I have tried my best to keep you all updated regularly on developments at SMS.  However, I understand that some alumni are not yet online and do not have up to date information.  I have therefore been looking forward to this opportunity to have fellowship with SMS alumni and friends on this centennial celebration of a very important event in American and Philippine history and to update you on what the St. Mary’s School of Sagada, Inc. (SMSSI) has so far accomplished.  As you are probably aware, the alumni association agreed to set up a corporation in order to enable SMS to continue operating after the diocese said it could no longer continue supporting the school starting 2005.  Unfortunately, before the corporation was organized, Manong Frank Longid, SMAA President, died in June 2003.  As we all know, Manong Frank had a tremendous passion for SMS and had worked very hard, even using his own personal resources, to keep SMS alive for at least the last ten years.

Subsequently, Mrs. Mel Longid and the alumni officers prevailed on me to help get the corporation registered and then to lead it.  I readily helped and got the corporation registered in September, 2003.  However, I had reservations about leading it after conducting my own due diligence on the actual situation of the school.  Among others, I found out that faculty morale was very low, discipline among teachers and students was very lax, enrollment was declining, quality books donated by Meros were hardly being used, and to top it all, SMS had the unenviable reputation of being a consistent tailender in academic competitions.  I therefore told the alumni that I was not interested in leading the corporation, if the intention was just to keep SMS alive.  I said that I would rather see the school closed than continue operating as a mediocre institution.  I did not have Manong Frank’s emotional attachment to SMS, which led him to say that closing SMS was never an option.

On the other hand, I recognized that whatever accomplishments I have had in life could be traced to the quality high school education I obtained at SMS.  I believe this is also true for most of us here.  I also told the alumni that SMS had great potential to become once again a leading institution in the Mt. Province and possibly in the entire Cordilleras but this entailed a lot of work.  Among others, it means a revamp of the faculty, a sustained campaign for financial support, specially from the alumni and friends, and ultimately an increase in tuition fees to lessen dependence on outside support. The proposed vision was to make SMS the school of choice for parents who want and are willing to pay for quality education.  I then said that if the various stakeholders of SMS, especially the alumni, the diocese, and key members of the Sagada community, agreed with this vision, then I would be willing to lead the corporation, inspite of my busy schedule running a major subsidiary of the Philippine National Oil Company.  During a membership meeting in Baguio and during the organizational meeting of the corporation held on November 2, 2003, the stakeholders enthusiastically agreed to support my proposed vision and the action plan to implement the vision. On this premise, I was elected Chairman of SMSSI.

Today, I am pleased to report the following accomplishments in our pursuit of making SMS the best high school in the Mt. Province by 2008 and the best in the Cordilleras by 2008, thus making it the school of choice:

1.  Established a formal sisterhood relationship with Brent International School Manila on January 9, 2004.  Among others, this will allow SMS to be a recipient of donated books, computers, and laboratory equipment.  This was followed by a visit of Brent directors to Sagada and the dispatch of a Brent librarian to guide the newly hired SMS librarian.  When we appealed for donations for urgent repair and renovation jobs, Mr. Dan Chalmers, the Brent Board Chairman, was the first to respond.  Furthermore, Ellen Gawigawen of St. Luke’s Hospital, told me that Mr. Robert Kuan had agreed to contribute to the improvement of SMS facilities, although we still need to work out the details.  Mr. Kuan was one of the Brent Board of Directors who visited Sagada and who has strongly pushed for the sisterhood relationship with SMS.

 2. Signed a memorandum of agreement with the diocese
     effectively transferring the management of the school to SMSSI,
     retirement by the diocese of all faculty members with tenure,
     and leasing land and buildings for the next twenty five years.

 3. Hired a professional librarian in March 2004, who has since then been working hard to catalogue all books and ensure that they are all properly arranged.  This was made possible by an earlier commitment from Ed Abeya and Nellie Abeya Pit-og to finance the salary of a librarian.

 4. Recruited 8 new faculty members from 160 applicants, replacing
    all the old teachers who were retired by the diocese, except
    two who reapplied and qualified.  The new faculty are all young,
    computer literate, and willing to learn and apply new teaching
    methods.

 5. Convinced Mr. Dennis Faustino, currently Assistant Principal of
     International School Manila, to become principal of SMS upon his
     retirement, starting school-year 2005-2006.  He brings with him
     his experience in a school of world class caliber and his contacts
     with potential major donors.  He is Tagalog and a Roman
     Catholic, but is a Sagadian by choice.  Dennis has lived in Sagada
     for the last 30 years and has generously supported all sorts of
     community projects (i.e. Sagada softball team, St. Theodore’s,
     St. James, St. Mary’s Parish, etc).  We also convinced Mr. John
     Guitilen, who did well during his short stint as principal of SMS
     before he entered politics, to act as Officer-in-Charge for school
     year 2004-2005.  Incidentally, Mr. Guitilen agreed only when he
     learned that most of the old teachers, whom he knew very well,
     had left.

 6.  Successfully arranged a 3-day workshop by teachers from SMS
      and nearby public and Episcopalian schools on teaching
      strategies, particularly on science education.  This was
      conducted by the world famous Dr. Josette Biyo and her team
      from Philippine Science High School, together with a youth
      camp for SMS students. Among others, the workshop
      demonstrated to the Sagada community the corporation’s new
      commitment to academic excellence in SMS.   Major companies
      in Manila as well as the Sagada municipal government willingly
      shouldered the cost of the Biyo workshop, including logistics of
      bringing the team from Iloilo to Manila and back.

7.  Finally, I am pleased to report that we have received a very enthusiastic and positive response from the SMS alumni (US and Philippines) to our appeal for financial support for the 1^st phase of a 3-year facilities improvement program prepared by Dennis Faustino and the SMS administration.  The 1^st phase includes urgent repair and renovations to make the classrooms more conducive to learning (better acoustics, warmer, better illumination, better tables, etc.), repair of girls’ toilet and construction of boys’ toilet, construction of water cistern to make running water available, and installation of security grills.  I am pleased to announce that we not only have enough pledges for the 1^st phase costing 640,000 pesos, but pledges  for the repair and renovation for part of the 2^nd phase scheduled next year costing 260,000 pesos.  These pledges, some of which have been actually received, although all the checks are still in the process of clearing, are summarized as follows:  toilets 130,000 (Dan Chalmers), two classrooms 130,000 (Killip Family), one classroom 65,000 (Class 62), one classroom 65,000 (Gulian Family), one classroom 65,000 (Bawaan Family), one classroom 65,000 (Gomowad Family), one classroom 65,000 (Bacdayan Family), one classroom 65,000 (Capuyan Family), water cistern 100,000 (SMAA MMLA Chapter), and security grills for all other rooms 150,000 (Dr. Alipit et al).  Work has started and the first room is scheduled for occupancy today.

Once again, I would like to thank all those who responded to our appeal and all the others who gave us words of encouragement.  Because of your moral, spiritual, and financial support, a new SMS is slowly but surely emerging.  I now have absolutely no doubt that our vision for SMS will be achieved even before 2008.  In fact, Dennis Faustino’s vision is bigger than mine.  He wants SMS to become an institution that is not only the best in the Cordilleras, but among the best in the Philippines before the end of his five-year contract with SMSSI.  That means before 2010.  He is currently preparing a 5-year strategic plan to be presented to the alumni during the centennial homecoming in December which I hope you will all attend.

Today, I am also pleased to inform you that the earlier misinformation and campaign among a disgruntled few against the corporation has fizzled out.  The parents have become very cooperative and returned their children to SMS, inspite of the increase in tuition fees.  One old teacher who used to be very critical of the corporation and who pulled her son out of SMS decided to return her son.  There is very good teamwork among the new teachers and their morale is high.   Discipline has been restored in the school with the teachers setting the example.  After one student was caught throwing stones into school and disciplined, vandalism has practically stopped.  In the last PTA meeting, parents expressed their satisfaction with what has happened so far and are all looking forward to a rejuvenated SMS.  Even after SMS has increased tuition fees, we have almost the same level of enrollees as last year.  We expected only 100 to 150, but over 170 enrolled.

Yes, things are looking up indeed for SMS, but a lot still needs to be done.  There are also a lot of opportunities for the rest of us to do our part in this worthwhile undertaking of making SMS the best once again.  You can contribute at least 24 dollars a year to help cover the projected deficit the next two years.  You can adapt a faculty for 200 dollars a month.  You can also finance part, or all, of the other proposed improvements for the succeeding years, which will be detailed in the December homecoming.  Finally, for those who made pledges, you can write your checks now.

Thank you and may God continue to bless you all.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -