1. A Breeze of Inspiration
To our honorees, our guests, fellow teachers a pleasantday.
Retirement is perhaps one dream of every employee that could
certainly turn to reality if good health and good luck smile from the
side lines. It strums ones excitements and titillatesthe imagination
because of the comforts it holdsfor those who are fortunate to
reach it and the promise it aims to fulfil as the right time comes.
When Ma’am Elena SorillaAquillocame to New Lucena National
High School in 2012, after a series of school headstook turns in
holdingthe reigns of the leadership of the school, most of us
thought, she will just be like most of them, here today but gone
tomorrow. As the ninth school head we have the chance to work
with, we thought, just like the rest, it was still the usual routines, the
usual assignments, the usual deadlines and the usual tasks we have
been doing year in and year out.
But when we first saw her bewitching smiles and confident strides,
and her carefree turns and courageous chin, we felt "change is
coming”. At first we did not entertain it though, feelings could be
misleading.
It was when she started to talk;when she started to walk around;
when she tried to immerse herself into the situationof the school,
when she begun to dig deep into the problemsof the school
community, that we realized she was in for a serious business. We
realized she was just like the rest, but unlike them she was poised to
2. make an extra step, she was willing to work an extra hour, she was
ready to share an extra effort and most of all in the midst of a
backbreakingwork, she can drop a contaminatingjoke, beam with
an extra smile, or make a careless laugh. Amid all of these, as she
blurted with ay lintiii…,right then and there, we knew, we can work
with the lady in any direction she wanted us to go.
Maam Aquillohad been with us for more or less seven years. It
may be short but she had succeeded in making every bit of it
admirablyproductive. She did not overhaulthe school culture but
she reinforced it with the principles of honest work, promptness,
team work and motherly leadership.
She does not go to the classroom to sit and observe the teacher, to
find out if there are ready lesson plans, class records and the like.
But she would alwaysemphasize that as a teacher one should
alwayslive by one’s mandate.Whether someone is checking or not,
you have to work on it honestly. She wanted the teachers to have
freedom and discharge their work with high sense of responsibility.
And, we believed,that worked well. Not long after, the school
produced a harvest of winners in academic and non – academic
contests, sports competitionsand we started to figure out in the
year end evaluationsof schools.
When it comes to doing assigned work, making reports, and
submission of needed data, Maam Aquilloredefined “on time”. To
her, submission that is “on time” is several days before the deadline.
She alwaysbelieved that there is beauty in doing the work early. We
also found out that it is very liberating.Many of us have embraced it
through the years.
3. In doing our tasks, Maam Aquillo assigned us into teams.
Through the years, it has been our practice, until we got used to
work with others and without our knowing we have had that team
spirit. Yes, we have our differences too, we fight over ideas, we flare
up in meeting but when it comes to work we know how to do our
share.
Maam Aquillo’smotherly leadershipchanged the school
landscape.She cared for the welfare of the school personnel with a
touch of concern. She recommended for promotions school
personnel who deserve to be promoted because they possess the
needed qualifications.She is tireless in encouraging teachers and
staff to enhance their educationalqualificationby going back to
school. When a teacher does something noteworthy, she is always
the first to praise it. But if one has done something wrong she would
not hesitate to tell the person frankly about it. Her naked frankness
sometimes could be bluntand could stand as deterrent for most of
us in jumping into the pit without thinking first aboutits
consequences.
Under Maam Aquillo’sstewardship of the school, the academic
achievement of learners steadily improved, senior high school was
realized, financialresources of the school was well – managed to
prioritize urgent concerns, and most all team spirit was fostered
among school personnel in working to put in place projects and
programs of the school. And above all, a smoothly working
relationshipwith the stakeholders has been well – established that
we find it easy to solve problems, work for projects, introduce new
programs and work for the welfare of the learners, because the
parents, the community, alumni and the LGU have been very
supportive.
4. With Maam Aquilloat the helm, New Lucena NationalHigh
School has redefined its place in the community of secondary
schools not only in the second district of Iloilobut in the whole
divisionas well. Since her appointmentas school head, we have
consistently been an outstanding school in the second district of
Iloiloand in the divisionlevel. Our learners have been representing
the divisionof Iloiloin the Regional and nationalcompetitionsin
Science, AP, ESP, Filipino,Journalism and the like. We have achieved
all of these because as the leader of the school Maam Aquillo,has
succeeded in imbibing among teachers and students that culture of
excellence. It is enough for her to that we do our work. She would
alwaysemphasize that in whatever we do, we should alwaysgive it a
touch of excellence.
With her retirement, the New Lucena NationalHigh School
community is rejoicing because she can now enjoy the pleasure
attached to the mantra of a retiree. We are happyfor her because
we believewith all the sacrifices she made as a school head, she
deserves to be free now from the burdens of dailyroutines after she
reached compulsory retirement age. Althoughwith her gone as our
mentor, she will leavinga very big void in our school community, not
anyone of us deserves to fill in, but her legacy of honest work,
promptness, team work, motherly leadershipand that touch of
excellence thing, will always be with us untilwe retire too. With
that, even in her absence, we can manage to go on. We can manage
to work. We can manage to inspire our learners. We can manage to
work with parents and other stakeholders. We can manage to make
the school stand as it has stood before because her legacy has made
us confident. It has made us strong. It has made us wise. After all,
maam Aquillois just a call or a text message away.
5. And so, as she enjoysthe new chapterof her life as a retiree,
we wish her good health,so that she can continueto go places
which is what she enjoys most. May she continue to be fun – loving
and kind so that she may continueto bring light and life to others.
May she continueto be humble and nice so that she could continue
to be a breeze of inspirationto those around her. Thank you maam
for sharing a lovely part of your life with us.
Happy retirement.
