#FEATURE | 55 Years of Pisay
by Coleene Cortez, Monique Siapco, and Juan Malagar
Monday, September 5 was no ordinary day in Philippine Science High School — Main Campus (PSHS-MC). The day marked a significant milestone in the history of the school and its community. With over 1000 attendees, the Gymnasium was filled with students, teachers, and alumni who have gathered to celebrate the 55th anniversary of PSHS-MC.
Opening remarks were done by Ms. Ma. Veronica Torralba, the Curriculum and Instructional Division Chief. Campus Director Mr. Lawrence Madriaga introduced Dr. Cristina Cristobal, the speaker for this momentous occasion, who is a respected Pisay teacher and awardee of the 2019 Outstanding Filipinos Metrobank Foundation.
“When I came to Pisay, Pisay was just the Main Campus. It was really more simple because everything was here in the Main Campus, and of course even the students they were different from what we have today because they grew up in a more simple generation.”
Sir Angeles, a teacher in PSHS-MC for over 35 years.
For 24 years the PSHS system had only a single campus, until a new one was built in Davao City in 1988. Eventually, more regional campuses were built. To this day, Pisay now has 16 regional campuses.
One of these great changes involved the “growth of Pisay into a system of schools,” as Ma’am Virginia Andres would state it.
The implementation of K-12 also brought major changes to the curriculum of Pisay, with the addition of two more years because of the Specialization Years Program (SYP).
Despite these major changes, for the teachers and staff, there are things that will always remain the same.
“Pisay is still a dynamic community, I guess with the scientific training we have and the desire to improve ourselves, we seem to always want to try something new. Also, we are still a family. The relationship between the school, the alumni, the students, teachers, and the parents may be wrought with problems but in the end, we continue to help one another. The ties are strong, even compared to other schools and these ties have remained strong,” said Ma’am Andres.
When asked how Pisay has changed over his tenure, Sir Angeles replied, “Well I think the spirit is the same, I still find the students…they are still of the same quality, they are good and intelligent, they are quick to understand. Of course, even then there are some problems, but things can always be worked out.”
But as time passes by, Pisay continues to grow not only in number of campuses but also in terms of its values, what it aims to achieve, what it teaches, and what the students aim to be.
“It’s very promising, like if you see the students palang, you get motivated. Like their passion, and their talents, I’m not speaking of singing and dancing, but talents academically, and yung promise of what they will become in the future” says Ma’am Tina Aytin, a recently hired teacher, about the growth of Pisay in the coming years.
“So what we’d like you to learn is that…you can learn things on your own later and then of course you have to live with ‘Truth, Excellence, and Service (to others)’. I think those are the things that will remain and when we hear the alumni, they are doing well, they work for others, they excel, that’s very very consoling,” said Sir Angeles.
Sir Angeles, as well as other teachers in Pisay, believe that, in the coming years, Pisay will be able to grow more because of the talent and potential of its students and because of this, they believe that the students are the hope for the future.
It has been 55 years since Pisay was first established, and in that period of time, it has served as a place of learning and development for its students. It has been a place where they learn to live with “Truth, Excellence, and Service” so that one day, they will be able to serve the Filipino people and be the hope that this country has been yearning for.
“…dahil mas maraming campuses, mas maraming scholars, so mas may hope sa country.” — Ma’am Tina Aytin
