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The Glory that Was Bagumbayan, the Grandeur
that Is Pacol: By Honesto Bermudo III All roads led to Barangay Pacol, Naga City for Ateneo de Naga High School’s historic Opening of Classes last Monday, June 23, 2003! In fulfillment of what barely two years ago was just a dream, AdNU’s High School stood proud and tall on this day in its new sprawling ten - hectare campus fronting the Metro Naga Sports Complex, seven kilometers away from the Bagumbayan main campus. Eagerly, it welcomed its 1,535 students who this year opted to be part of this major move. It was a day of many firsts! Ateneo de Naga High School was opening classes in Pacol for the first time! One hundred eighty five girls joined a previously exclusive male population for the first time! And enrollment was the highest it had ever been in its 63-years of existence!
Private vehicles and public utility jeepneys bearing blue Ateneo flaglets trooped to Pacol in time for the 8:30 a.m. Schola Brevis. The first jeepney that left the Plaza Quezon terminal at 6 a.m. had thirteen students and three teachers on board. Ten minutes later, it arrived at the gate of the new campus. For the first time in the 63-year history of the Ateneo de Naga High School, 185 girls donning white blouses with embroidered sleeves and checkered skirts joined the boys in the first Eucharistic Celebration held at the Covered Courts in their new home in Pacol. This time the girls were not visitors but officially enrolled high school students of AdNU’s High School. During the Holy Mass officiated by University President Fr. Joel E. Tabora, S.J., the girls were loudly applauded when Fr. Tabora requested them to stand up to be recognized. Right after the mass, the introduction of school administrators, department chairs, faculty and staff immediately followed. In his Welcome Address, Mr. Gregorio Re Abonal, HS Principal, exhorted the high school community to take good care of God’s gift to them, namely, the High School Complex. He also expressed gratitude to the University President and the Board of Trustees for making Pacol Campus a reality. Acknowledged as well were the engineers and hundreds of workers who built the buildings across many days and nights without ceasing just so that classes could commence as scheduled. The rest of the day was spent for the Main Building tour and homeroom sessions where guidelines for “The First Days in Pacol” were discussed. During the scheduled vacant periods of the students, the Covered Courts area was transformed into an instant picnic place as over a hundred parents, who had accompanied their sons and daughters on the occasion of this historic event, shared meals together. A total of 1,535 students have enrolled this school year, the highest thus far in the history of Ateneo de Naga High School. This figure is 166, or 12% higher, than that of last school year’s 1,369. The second highest was in school year 1993 – 1994 when Ateneo de Naga High School had 1,467 students. Of the 1,535 students, 494 are Freshmen, 415, Sophomores, 296, Juniors and 328, Seniors. Of the 494 Freshmen, 151 or 30% are girls while of the 415 Sophomores, 34 girls account for .08 % of the total number.
Welcoming the students at the main campus is a nine – foot statue of St. Ignatius of Loyola. Next to it is the soon to be finished St. Francis Xavier Chapel whose stained glass altar with cascading waters on both sides is a sight to behold. In contrast to the “classic inspired” Four Pillars of the Main Building in Bagumbayan campus, the ones in Pacol campus are much taller and rectangular in shape, resembling computer micro chips. Standing next to the main building is the Multi – Purpose Covered Courts with a seating capacity of 2,500. It also houses the two cafeterias. The top floor of the yet unnamed main building provides the students a spectacular view of Mount Isarog National Park in the east and the historic Mt. Tancong Vaca in the west. Among the features of the rectangular shaped four – storey building are 54 classrooms, 8 science and computer laboratories, 2 reading laboratories, 2 audio – visual rooms, 1 seminar hall and a spacious library with OPAC (On – line Public Access Catalogue) system. The Bagumbayan campus may have been the bastion of boys of yesteryears but the Pacol campus is now home of the young men and women of the future. In Bagumbayan, the high school spent 63 glorious years. In Pacol, it begins a new chapter amid much grandeur and the promise of more glory to come. For up high in Pacol, the space is boundless and the opportunities, countless. To say that “the sky is the limit” is an understatement! Indeed, Ateneo de Naga High School is aiming high this year. From glory to God’s greater glory, it shall go!
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© 2003 Philippine Jesuit Foundation |
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