26 The Glow MARCH 1998 Class '98 History by sheryl overio, angelie soresca, jonah jane esmaya, and carl rupert muela "You learn that love isn't learning but lending support. You begin to accept your defeats with the grace of an adult and the grief of a child. You decided to build your roads today, for tomorrow's ground is too uncertain. You help someone plant a garden instead of waiting someone to bring you flowers. You learn that God has given you strength to endure and that you really have worth." After four long years of learning the difference between holding a hand and chaining a soul, we have acquired fond memories of our high school life, full of challenges and meaning. We enjoyed the wonderful times we spent together with our talented mentors in this prestigious institution. Before we say "Goodbye" to our dear Alma Mater, we would like to reminisce our experiences in our epic struggle to acquire quality secondary education in this institution so as to inspire students in the lower years to strive for academic excellence. First Year "He who fights and runs away may live to fight another day but he who is in the Battle slain will never live to fight." In June 1994, about 570 youthful, naive, fresh-looking students entered the portals of Cabatuan National Comprehensive High School, bubbling with enthusiasm to quench their thirst for knowledge. Though greenhorns, we strived and sacrificed to give honor to the green banner. We joined varied activities in and out of the campus. The first one was the election of the Student Government during which Niro Niniano, Sally Fe Galindo, and Maria Lulu Caspe were elected first year representatives. During the celebration of Nutrition Month, Julian Guardamano placed second in poster-slogan contest and third in pop singing contest. Then came the United Nations Week celebration. Our bulletin board was adjudged the best in the contest. Heide Flor Corral ranked third in the slogan contest. The annual Intramural Meet that year was opened by a parade and a field demonstration which was contested. Our group ranked third. As expected, we freshmen placed fourth in the overall standing of teams during the athletic competitions. However in the literary-musical contests, Zosimo Miravite Jr. bested other contestants in Filipino declamation. Sheryl Overio placed third in English declamation. The songbirds of our class, Fritz Llanora and Carl Rupert Muela, won first and second places, respectively, in vocal solo contest. Francis Gerlyn Tronco got the third place in extemporaneous speaking contest. Our bets in the Search for Mr. and Miss Intramurals '94 - Lester Calero - Francis Gerlyn Tronco and Zosimo Miravite Jr. - Angelic Soresca - did not win the title, however the tandem of Miravite and Soresca won the best in Interview award. During the FFP/FAHP Provincial Eliminations Carl Rupert Muela was a silver medalist inn-vocal solo contest. A quarter of our journey ended satisfactorily. However we were challenged to pursue our second year with greater devotion and determination to win greater honors. Second Year "Obstacles are sometimes disastrous but they pose critical challenges to the strong." The school year 1995-1996 brought us to the second step on the educational ladder. Our sophomore year gave us greater responsibilities and challenges. Despite all these, we faced the new struggle with indomitable courage and overwhelming enthusiasm that we will emerge successful in the second phase of our educational journey. , Our second year added feathers to our class' cap. After having acquired greater -knowledges and skills, we won honors in various contests of different levels. The talented Sheryl Overio represented our school in a training sponsored by the Philippine National Red Cross at Western Institute of Technology. During the election of the Student Government, Cherry Marie Rute made it to the "magic 15" of the senators of the highest student organization. Elected as second year representatives were Sally Fe Galindo, Maria Lulu Caspe, and Arniel Malaga. The entry of our class in the nutri­skit contest got the nod of the judges to clinch the gold medal during the observance of Nutrition Month. Rosario Paguntalan placed fourth in nutrition quiz contest. During the observance of Linggo Ng Wika, our class was adjudged the best attired and was second placer in "bahay kubo" contest. The multifaceted taleni, Francis Gerlyn Tronco, won the Mutya Ng Visayas award while Lex Montafiez the Lakan Ng Mindanao award dur?