“The older you get, the more important it is to know people you knew when. Amy Poehler
My primary & secondary school alma mater, St. Mary’s Academy (SMA) of Bacolor, Pampanga was formerly known as Bacolor Catholic School. Founded in 1919 by the late Msgr. Pedro P. Santos, it was the first among three Benedictine schools in the province since 1922.
It was in 1991 that Mt. Pinatubo’s eruption devastated SMA. Despite this, the school still tried to operate & moved to nearby Cabalantian, one of the two (2) barrios initially spared by the volcanic eruption and its subsequent lahar flows. Unfortunately, on October 1, 1991, Cabalantian was also completely buried by the biggest lahar flow. Along with it were the last vestiges of SMA.
In May 6, 1992, the Benedictine sisters, school administrators for 70 years, turned over the responsibility of school to the Pampanga Archdiocese. In 1996, though, our school proudly produced so many outstanding & distinguished alumni, St. Mary’s Academy of Bacolor finally closed down permanently, leaving thousands of alumni school orphans, with the fond memories to cherish, Marians as we are called, still remained steadfast & hopeful.
In 2019, we celebrated our 100th year founding anniversary. This was a long awaited Grand Alumni Homecoming. It was the biggest event ever, as thousands of Marians returned to our former school, sans the buildings & the lush campus that we grew seeing. Marians were just too happy to again see friends, the Benedictine nuns, our dear teachers and classmates/batchmates.
As if it was those happy moments were a prelude to something more sinister, sadly, a few months later, the pandemic struck. For us Marians, it was back to the scary & uncertain times.
In 2023, upon emerging from the Covid 19 pandemic, call it plain curiosity &/or genuine concern for each other, many Marians messaged each other… “How are our fellow Marians? Did everybody make it through those very tough times? Or How is post pandemic life?”
Wanting to know the answers & celebrate our new lease of life, for us Marians the second catastrophe that we endured & survived, somebody broached the idea of staging another SMA Grand Reunion, post pandemic.
This was a hard sell though. The challenges were numerous. From gathering information where the surviving Marians, to selecting the right venue, creating an engaging program, managing diverse expectations, securing sufficient funds and of course, how to rekindle our Marian bond that has somehow waned & been set aside due to change in post pandemic priorities & circumstances beyond our control.
Armed with only fierce determination & noble intent, we decided to do it anyway. With careful planning, guidance from past organizers & honest feedback fellow Marians plus the constant advise from our teachers, we the core organizing committee became more determined than ever.
With the dedicated & hardworking organizing committee core group plus batch representatives, the 2025 SMA Alumni Homecoming was set. We knew though, that it will take more than “Ora et Labora” (Work & Pray), to pull this through. This time it will be “Durius laboras, ora durisime” (Work harder, pray hardest). True enough, we did just that.
To start off, what theme that would capture the attention & hearts of Marians netwide & worldwide.
There was no other person to tap but US based Edmar Cruz of Batch 83/87. Choosing from an array of excellent choices he gave, the group selected “Pamanuli, Pamanyuli”.
It was an appropriate choice because we wanted this reunion of Marians to not only serve as a celebration of the past but also as a platform for fostering future connections & collaborations, leading to the rebirth of our affinity to our beloved school, St Mary’s Academy.
Easier said than done. Organizing a grand alumni homecoming is no small feat specially after emerging from a devastating pandemic. The first few months were challenging partly due to the lukewarm reception to the idea of a grand reunion because understandably, almost everybody, were still reeling from the challenges of the pandemic. Realistically, aside from those that did not survive, those who made it may have, sadly lost loved ones, affected their jobs, been displaced or had to contend with numerous unfavorable circumstances.
Undeterred, to drum up interest & hype, the Core Group, decided that there will be quarterly activities dubbed “Marians In Action”. It was meant to be a series of community engagement activities that would be done in our hometown of Bacolor leading up to Grand Reunion. We had to remind people again that there are Marians still eager to go back to their roots.
We also tapped the valuable help & support of Batch representatives & their leaders the utilized fully social media, to spread the word & generate interest and
Parallel to this, the core group also drew up a series of activities to drum up support. We started visiting key SMA alumni, conferred with past organizers and other stakeholders by informing them of our plans seeking their comments & suggestions.
We also guested in the Nanu Pa Ta! a top rated CLTV Program, to discuss publicly our grand reunion plans for the first time.
We then had the Tree Planting August 4, 2024 at the SMA grounds. Eeerie as it may seem, we felt quite nostalgic planted seedlings with the help of the Bacolor Environmental Management Department (BEMD), led by it’s Chief & fellow Marian Rio Villafania. We planted were 24 Fire Trees seedlings, to symbolize the class batches that still have surviving members and the fire in our hearts to unify the alumni.
To add to the allure of the planned Grand Alumni Homecoming, late October, in between my business trip to the US, I made it a point visit some US based classmates & schoolmates to talk the upcoming Grand Alumni Homecoming & the things that will happen.
November 10, 2024 Medical Mission at the Bacolor Multi Purpose Gym 200 seniors & sickly with the help of the Bacolor Heath Unit led by Dra Hernandez & volunteer fellow Marian Dra Liza Ocampo-Salamat. Sponsors were URC San Fernando Plant (c/o Sharie Abrogena of SMA Class 78/82), Assorted Maintenance Medicines donated by Botica Blanca (c/o Klea Edquiban Class 80/84), assorted medicines from Lyrie Ann Soto of Class 77/81, assorted maintenance medicines from the generous yet ever un assuming Mymy Mercado of Class 82/86 and assorted snacks & food from Lot De Leon, Michelle Zalamea & Donna Jayne Jimenez.
November 30, 2024 a Marian Feeding program at Tinajero, Bacolor, Pampanga organized by Batch 77/81 stalwarts Deng Ronquillo Salgado & Racquel Malgapu Singian was also attended by fellow Marians from other batches & members of the organizing committee. With the help of the Tinajero barangay leaders, Marians served “Chicken aroz caldo with bread” and then distributed rubber sandals/slippers to children present. It was such an impactful & successful event that it has been talked about with much appreciation by the community.
Our guesting January 25, 2025 at RW Teleradio show Talakayan Ngayon finally pushed through. Our initial guesting schedule on September was cancelled due to the floodings brought about by the torrential rains. During the show, a gave a preview of what is in store in the upcoming SMA Grand Alumni Homecoming. We again called on fellow Marians from here & abroad to be part of “Pamanuli….Pamanyuli” which literally means to go home to celebrate & reminisce then reconnect & plant the seeds of bigger things ahead.
In between these activities, there were generous Marians who hosted the organizing committee’s one of many meetings, discussions & planning. Meeting sponsors Jojo Pineda, Canlas Family, Ms Crystal Peters, Ms Gigi Resus Miranda, Lorenza’s Restaurant in the city of San Fernando, Pampanga branch, Jeckens Restaurant, 1576 Gallery in Bacolor, and all other meetings that took place. Of course our adhoc headquarters was the beautiful home of Jojo Pineda at Beverly’s Place. Not to be discounted were the late night zoom meetings or lately, messenger chats. Needless to say, the support of the dedicated batch leaders & representatives, teachers, generous Marians and prominent Bacolorenos & Pampangans, who have in one way or the other, supported us the the Organizing Committee Core group all throughout this very difficult yet, so fulfilling journey.
Aside from the usual excitement & nostalgia of seeing old friends, classmate/batchmates & other Marians, exciting raffle prizes, fun games & good food that await the alumni attending, the organizing committee has injected new highlights.
First, with the desire to highlight & celebrate the achievements of fellow Marians, the Awards & Recognition Sub Committee, will be awarding Outstanding Marians in their respective fields of endeavors, who undoubtedly have been good representation of our beloved alma mater & exemplifying Benedictine values. Any alumni with the exception of active Core Committee Organizers, who graduated either elementary or high school or both, after being nominated in writing by either classmates/batchmates or peers, together with a required write up, the committee deliberates to compare all submitted nominations and choose who deserves be recognized as one of the Outstanding Marian Awardees.
For the first time too, we will be awarding two other important awards, the “Model Marian Family Award” & “Distinguished Alumnus Award”. With the hope that these will be sustained by the next organizers, our congratulations to the winners.
Second, knowing that we can no longer rebuild our school, it is our belief that we can still build another symbol of our Marian & Benedictine bond. This is why the 2025 organizing committee conceptualized & propose to undertake an ambitious long term project, the “SMA Gazebo”.
This project hopes to rekindle everybody’s fond childhood memories when the old gazebo was still there. It was there where friends met, classmates practiced songs & group dance, girls ate their favorite snacks & boys played games. The Gazebo was a symbol of our happy childhood at St. Mary’s Academy in general.
The proposed SMA Gazebo was designed by famed Chicago based Marian Design Architect Jay Ambrocio Miranda of Batch 1976 & 80.
Right after the February 1, the 2025 organizing committee will work on securing the approval of the National Historical Institute (NHI) & the Archdiocese of San Fernando. Additionally, whatever excess funds that we may have, after proper accounting of funds & liquidation of expenses, will serve as the seed money to jumpstart start this project.
With the SMA alumni’s support, in time for the next Grand Reunion in 2030, we hope to be able to turn over the SMA Gazebo to the San Guillermo parish as a symbol of our love for our alma mater St. Mary’s Academy of Bacolor. It also serves as a symbol of our undying love for our alma mater & dedication to our Benedictine values not to mention but also as a shelter for fellow Marians, that will make our visit even more special & comfortable whenever they visit the San Guillermo Church or our school grounds.
Lastly, we also determined build & develop an SMA Alumni database. The goal is to keep each & every Marian connected and updated about each other, no matter from which generation or batch, from what part of the world we may have moved or whatever endeavors we are engaged in, because as “Pamanuli…Pamanyuli” conveys to all of us, we believe that even though Mt. Pinatubo eruption may have displaced us and the lahar may have buried our school, our Benedictine values should endure & our Marian kinship must keep us the more connected.
As the Chairman of the Core Group Organizing Committee, am indeed blessed to have worked with such dedicated Marians. I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude & appreciation of the effort, determination, hardwork & all the legwork: Mr Jojo Pineda, Ms Ria Cruz, Mr. Jess Evaristo, Ms Sharie Abrogena, Ms Michelle Zalamea, Ms Donna Jayne Buena, Ms Deng Salgado, Ms Raquel Singian, Ms Lyrie Ann Patawaran, Ms Mymy Gonzales, Ms Lot De Leon, Ms Marites Singian & Ate Lucy Mendoza plus the different committees manned by batch representatives.
See you all on February, 1, 2025, Mass is at the San Guillermo Parish Church in Bacolor at 8:30 am with a motorcade right after going to the venue which is at the Laus Events Center at the Olongapo-Gapan road in the City of San Fernando, Pampanga.
GOOD MORNING HARDWORKING PEOPLE!
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