Growing Up with the Iskolars Ng Bayan: UP High School Class of 2007 Batch History

~~The following post was written 7 years ago...~~

AND I COULD NOT BELIEVE I still haven’t got my hands on our hard-earned (yes, hard-earned) yearbook. Frustrations aside, I know SOMEDAY I’ll be able to smell the freshly printed pages of “our high school memorabilia”. Haha. Anyway, I was tasked to write the Batch History–along with my good friend Doanne–for our yearbook. So, here it is… for the sake of “throwback-ing”. (It’s technically Tuesday. I couldn’t call it #throwbackthursday. Lol lol lol.)

Oh how young we were…

BATCH HISTORY OF UP HIGH SCHOOL CLASS 2007

Over a thousand aspiring applicants tried their luck in the “most sought after” High School Admission Test of the “home of the Iskolars Ng Bayan”, the University of the Philippines High School in Cebu. But only seventy hopefuls were worthy to be called UPians. It was in the month of June in the year 2003 when we entered the gates of UP. Everyone was a sea of strangers… we didn’t know what to expect!

And so we were classified into two sections: Villamor and Bartlett. Certainly, Villamor and Bartlett were two different worlds. We hardly knew everyone in the batch. Most of us probably secluded ourselves with only those from our section. We lived our own lives. Good that we were headed right with dynamic class presidents. Bartlett was lead by the classy and cute Gabrielle Roxanne Cabunoc. Villamor had themselves their geeky but humble “Chairman”, by the name of Michael Angelo Joaquin. We were little angels; full of innocence and naivety. As newcomers, we followed every rule in the UP system including the passing of every circular that is circulated. It was a long year and we made it through.

The popularity of studio pictures back then.

Though we were neophytes, we never failed to please our teachers and schoolmates in every school activity. Since we were under the Science curriculum, everyone had huge expectations from us. The most challenging part of being a freshie at that time was the making of our Science Investigatory projects. Hopefully, we were able to showcase them with pride in the annual Science Fair and Science Congress. Thank goodness, we made it! Even though at first we were struggling with the introduction of tricky subjects like Elementary Math and Filipino I, we still managed to survive the first blow.

But not all had the opportunity to continue. Caryl Kit and John Saint didn’t make it with us.

Days went by so swiftly that we already became sophomores, and we were now facing another year full of surprises. The feeling was the same. We didn’t know what to expect.

Benton and Palma were now our new homes. Villamor and Bartlett mixed up so we came to know new people and new lives. This year was different. If Villamor and Bartlett were different worlds, Benton and Palma were of different galaxies. Palma was more of the luckier galaxy because they got to win almost every contest over Benton. They were the more serious type of people who were very determined and diligent. Palma was headed by small but terrible Michelle Gudito. Benton, on the other hand, was childish, stubborn and carefree. It was the wackiest section of that year. They were headed by pretty but tough Yolike Alverio. Though there was somehow a discreet rivalry between the two galaxies, each one of us got to familiarize each other’s faces and names–then formed lasting impressions. For the Bentonians, the Palmanians were domineering and aggressive. And for the Palmanians, the Bentonians were childish and careless!

Who could forget the separate yet creative compositions of the two sections in the Sci-Tech Jingle contest? How about the life of Francois dela Cua or popularly known as “Iska” presented through a “Sabayang Pagbigkas” in the Communications week? Remember the Chinese Culminating Activity in Soc-Sci II? And of course, don’t just overlook the Karaoke Activity in English II, drawing plates and gardening activities put forth by Mr. Nellas, the ever-taxing tessellations in Geometry, and the youthful and radiant glow of the Sophies despite of the rising tide of academic pressures. We, as a batch, were beginning to tighten the bond between ourselves, albeit the differences and conflicts.

And so another unfathomable year passed but there were still some who had to say goodbye. Bea had to pursue her dreams outside the country. Brent finished his journey with us but he continued his studies outside UP High.

Outfits inspired by OPM bands. Wahaha

Then another year of anxiety awaited us. We were becoming stunning ladies and enthralling gentlemen. Lo and behold the Banggiitang Juniors! We were back–and this time, we’re bigger and better. Benton and Palma evolved to Bocobo and Sison. We had to adjust again because we were mixed for the third time. This has been a tradition for us. Bocobo, headed by the vibrant and affable Bernalene Vidal, was of the quiet people while Sison, lead by the prim and proper Gayle Lorraine Tallo, owned a barn full of noisy animals. But we also developed better minds and became more mature people, so some of us were already into relationships.

But this didn’t stop us from being young at heart. We still played the Pantintero. We were the only batch who patronized this game. Our batch also reached the competitive mode of life. We won quiz bowls and other contests against every year level in school. We discovered more of our hidden abilities and we can now afford to showcase our talents and skills. We can do singing, dancing, performing arts, writing, drawing and even painting an old bodega in just half-a-day! And because of that, our Kwentuhan during the Communications week was splendid and victorious. We became more driven with competence when it comes to sports and performing arts.

Through hardships and victories, we got to know each other more and established new and stronger relationships with everyone. Our bond tightened even more. And it was pretty obvious since we celebrated our Christmas party as a batch! In the same year, we got to experience our first Junior and Senior Promenade. It was nerve-wracking because the pressure in preparing almost everything for the prom was on us. We were all together through our struggles–Trigonometry, Physics, Art Appreciation, and Research included.

And we safely sailed on… but left Robert. He couldn’t make it with us.

And the next thing we knew was that we were facing our final but best year. We don’t want to take it but it leaves us no choice. We have to grow and move on, though we knew some of our treasured friends didn’t make it.

Extra-Hot Seniors. Extra-Hot Pancit Canton from Molave.

Gonzalez (headed by the exuberant math-whiz Mary Grace Cabalida) and Tan (lead by the laconic and diligent Nathaniel Gopinathan) were not of different things or places anymore. We didn’t care that much about our sections. All we knew was that we’re all in this together, as a batch. We shared the same laughters and tears. We experienced the same tension with our research papers and Calculus pop quizzes. Most of all, we shared the same love.

Dapper dudes and stunning dudettes. :)

We had the best victory we always wanted when we won as the overall champion during our Intramurals. It was a very big accomplishment for us because we sweated our butts out there and we did our very best to enjoy everything this last year could offer us–the ABAKADA, our final Research Projects during the Sci-Tech Week, the Dramafest. Just like in our junior year, we celebrated Christmas Party as a batch. And thanks to the postponed ASEAN Summit, we got to enjoy our very first batch outing in Blue Reef.

Can you imagine how close we were as a batch? We established the Globe Unlimitxters Club just to keep in touch with almost everyone in the batch! And occasionally, we dropped by at Ayala Mall and Ayala Lagoon via Molave street in order for us to get to know each other well and to share our endless stories of fun, suffering, dreams, and secrets to each other. I guess our bond grew stronger and stronger… even in the last days of the school year.