Growing With Ambasing Elementary School
The school is considered a playground
for children. It is a place where they meet new friends and learn new fun
things. They are unaware that the school is a laboratory working to mold their
minds in preparation for their futuristic role of managing the country.
Ambasing Elementary School, which is three minutes away
from our house in Sagada, is my home school. I attended this school for nine
years. It is where I learned all the basics, from alphabets to counting to
politicking.
Daycare Pre-School:
Ambasing Daycare Center
At
age three, I was already in pre-school. My teacher was Mrs. Rosaria Pang-et.
Now, Teacher Rosaria is a retired community janitress. She has been awarded as an
excellent worker by the national government. She is a neighbor of my
grandmother Dolores and is more popularly known in Sagada as “Baket Lupitan”. Moreover,
she taught me how to sing “Fly Fly Fly the Butterfly”.
Kindergarten 1: Ambasing
Elementary School
I was a repeater in Kinder. I was always absent in class
due to health reasons. Mrs. Susan Likigan was my teacher in Kinder. I attended
both the morning and afternoon sessions. In our place, there is only one level
Kindergarten. I was one of the unruly children inside the classroom. I loved
going outside the classroom in the middle of a coloring session. Breaking rules
that time was cool. Now, the world is a bit different.
Elementary: Ambasing
Elementary School
At six, I was in the first grade. I repeated in the first
grade (God, again). It was the decision of my mother. Of course, I passed all my
subjects (with all grades that are range from 75 to 80). I was a top absentee
of the class. I often skipped my classes for medical check-ups and hospitalization.
Here is a list of my teachers in Elementary.
Grade 1: Mrs. Patricia Piluden. She was my mom’s Grade 1
teacher also in the same school. She was a strict teacher who trained me how to write and read.
Grade 2: Mrs. Monica Andawi. She was a typical grandmother
who loves all her pupils, misbehaving or not. She never whipped anyone of us.
Grade 3: Mrs. Carmen Soliba. She asked us to copy the whole History book while she stayed at the back of the class drinking coffee and eating bread at 2 in the afternoon. Need I say more?
Grade 4: Mrs. Rose Baaten, Mrs. Ofelia Guintodan, Mrs. Virginia Guitelen. Mrs.
Baaten (my mother's teacher in Grade 4 also in the same school) was an excellent teacher who can teach any subject. On the other hand, Mrs.
Guintodan was a sophisticated teacher who uses the meter stick to punish her misbehaving students. Mrs. Guitelen looked like an exam paper, who gives us seat works everyday of our Grade 4 life.
Grade 5: Mrs. Luisa Kilakil and Mr. Alfredo Soliba. Mrs
Kilakil is more remembered of her lectures on giving blessings as a way of
Christian life. Mr. Soliba, my favorite Math teacher, made me realize that learning
is also fun. Mr. Soliba cannot miss a day without telling us stories of his childhood.
Grade 6: Mrs. Leticia Domanog and Mr. Arthur Bosaing. Mrs.
Domanog gave me and my cousin free banana cue one fiesta (sorry, I cannot bad
mouth to the max). The ever handsome Mr. Bosaing proved me that male teachers are still and will always be the best
Math teachers in the world.
