June 2012 - May 2013
FEATURE
The CRUISER
17
Valedictory Address To our beloved and very energetic OIC-School President, Dr. Corisa Kaimo Bautista-Benitez, to our Vice President for Academic Affairs, Dr. Bernadette P. Ensomo, Mrs. Basilisa B. Ortega, our Chairperson in Academic Review Committee, to our SEC Training Officer Mrs. Joewaren R. Sulima, our beloved SEC Montessori Department Head, Mrs. Evelyn S. Cortes, very dedicated and talented SEC Montessori Teachers and Staff, my fellow Graduates, Parents, Grandparents, Relatives, Friends and Visitors, a pleasant good afternoon to all of us! “Discover and believe in yourself” as the Graduation 2013 theme of SEC Montessori says. Graduation is one of the memorable and most treasured ceremonies that a regular and an educated human being can attend and proudly participate into. But as of this moment, our usage of the word “graduation” is considered as a misnomer or incorrect or unsuitable usage of that particular word, simply because, under the new program being implemented by the Department of Education or DepEd, which is the K+12 program, our basic education including secondary level, are now being extended for another years, therefore, we should not consider ourselves as graduating pupils right now, for we have still grade seven (7) to be complied with. In other words, the K+12 program has extended the number of years of our long and arduous road to success. But anyway, whatever is the right word to be used right now, it is but a fact that we have now come to the point where we could say simple or even extravagant words of thanks, not only to our first and second parents here in Earth, but also, to our loving Father, who is in Heaven above. I could not reach this point of this remarkable event without the greatest help of my parents and grandparents. Life is not complete without problems. Frederick Douglass once said, “There is no progress, when there is no struggle.” Following with some simple or complex health setbacks in my scholastic life, I did not lose hope. I could still perfectly recall the time, when I was still in my Kindergarten 2 or Preparatory stage of my formal education here in SEC Montessori, when I suddenly suffered a serious lung disease. I was confined in Surigao Medical Center for a week. I was diagnosed then of having an EMPHYEMA BACTERIA PNEUMONIA. Consequently, I was sent to Cebu City, for the second medical opinion. And sad to say, I was operated twice in my lungs there. I was confined in Chong Hua Hospital, Cebu City, for three (3) weeks to recuperate. Our hospital bill was so huge. But then, that incident did not hinder my dream in finishing my ambition in life. First and foremost, I am most respectfully and humbly thanking You our dear Lord God, for giving me the strength and the second life to continue my academic endeavor. Thank you very much for giving me the gift of wisdom to be the first honors of our class. Thank you so much, Lord! In like manner, I am very much thankful to my parents who took care of me, especially when I was sick. Thank you Mom for providing me my financial needs in our school, for tutoring me dearly even after your long day’s work, and especially for providing me my daily needs. Thank you Dad for treating me as your “first barkada” and for often times telling me some words of wisdom in preparation to face the future challenges and obstacles in life; for transporting me to school to and fro, and also for telling me small but very useful, equally important and practical advices in life, that will greatly help me shape and mold to become a good citizen and a potential leader for tomorrow. Thank you also to my grandparents, relatives, and friends for still believing in me. It is true that in every “HONOR” that we graduates received is their “HONORS”, too. Our success is also their success. To our mentors, thank you for perfectly molding and giving light to a better future for us graduates. Thank you for opening our hearts and minds to new things and discover what exactly life is all about. Thank you also for being fair and just towards us — your pupils. Teacher Liezl Cudillo, thank you so much, Teacher, for being my first mentor here at SEC Montessori. I really salute you, Teacher, and I love you! To the parents, thank you so much for sacrificing your time, money, and effort just to comply religiously your basic educational obligation with your children. Thank you also for providing us materials for our projects and other school activities. In behalf of the SEC Montessorians, thank you so much our dear parents! To the school administrators and staff, thank you for providing us and taking good care of the state-of-the-art and modern facilities and technologies for the benefit of our comfortable learning environment To my fellow graduates, thank you for sharing your learning experiences and still believing and putting your trust and confidence to me. Classmates, I know most of you have seen the movie entitled 3 Idiots. There is a certain quote that Dr. Viru Sahastrabuddhe or “Prof. Virus” as he was fondly called by his students, that catches my attention, when he spoke these words to his graduating engineering college students before undertaking their job interviews. He said “Put the pedal to the metal, step on the gas, go out and then make history!” These simple words that have been uttered by Dr. “Virus” are also vital to our upcoming high school life. We should make history that destiny has provided to us. We should keep on discovering our respective and personal talents. And we should likewise remember that education is a continuing process. That is why, we should keep on learning until the end of our lives, for knowledge is really and truly POWER! You know my fellow graduates, the key to success to every endeavor in our respective lives is hard work, perseverance and determination. We should exert and utilize religiously all our efforts in order to commit our dreams—and that is hard work. Then, persevere in committing that dream. And lastly, be determined enough in attaining your goal to success. Thank you so much, but please, remember, this is not our final goodbye! Once again, good afternoon to all of us.
Cee Gee Doltz O. Bacud Class Valedictorian