HELLO AND GOODBYE
MARIA TERESA C. SANTIAGO
When deciding into something that would really make you feel poignant the first time, It is not that easy.
I started my first public teaching at Sagrada Familia Elementary School on August 22, 2011. It was not easy at first. I entered the school premise with a blast. Upon seeing the entire setting of my classroom where there was nothing but a faded blackboard, rocking chairs, walls with stains and a flooded floor, I had this thought of having drastic adjustment, an immediate action I had welcomed with positivity. With that, the fear of not having the capacity to work things through, I was able to champion the challenges laid upon me back then. The struggles did not last.
Indeed, the ingenuity of being a MAYAP A LEADER works! I was coached and mentored to be one by SFES principals ( Rowena T. Quiambao, Elmer L. Meneses, Donata M. Manansala, Milanie Y. Muniz, Marian M. Bautista) who manifested the true vows of their leadership in me by creating a happy school where productivity is to be felt once you set your foot unto the threshold of SFES. Through the schemes of these leaders, with the support of the kindhearted stakeholders and the whole community, the school has turned into a haven of productive learning where brighter future for its learners magnifies day by day. The love and support these people labored in me for seven years is moving.
It has been my school and my home for almost seven years. A home where I felt some sort of disappointments, pains, struggles and pressures. But these experiences, I should say, made me a stronger and a more dedicated teacher and a person. A home where I felt happiness, contentment, and more courage to dream bigger, for my learners’shape depend on how I shape myself. It is also the home where I found genuine people, people whom I shared tears and laughter and more importantly, they engraved and armed me with so much learning experiences. And these experiences helped me, how to be, who I am now.
And seven years later, I decided to seek for a transfer. It was a very excruciating decision. I even thought of it a million times. I thought I can’t - I can’t leave my home. I can’t leave my classroom. I can’t leave my pupils. I can’t leave my tasks. I can’t leave my co workers. I can’t leave my friends.
But, God helped me realized, that it’s high time for me to serve my own Barangay. I have served Sagrada Familia wholeheartedly. I have given my best to help SFESians. Now, I could speak out loud that my MISSION in SFES is ACCOMPLISHED! I now move forward to a challenge awaiting for my entrance. Lead me LORD.
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The author is Teacher III at Bebe Anac Elementary School