1 Chapter I DESCRIPTION OF THE COOPERATING SCHOOL History of Solano High School The birth of Solano High School (SHS) has been proclaimed when Cong. Carlos M. Padilla got the bill approved creating SHS under Republic Act 7014. Pres. Corazon C. Aquino signed this bill into law on May 17, 1991 with the sponsorship of Sen. Edgardo Angara. Through a Sangguniang Resolution initiated by Hon. Epifanio LD. Galima, Jr. and by virtue of the constant representation of the municipality of Solano to the Honorable Congressman of Nueva Vizcaya, the opening of this institution has been declared. Twenty-one boys and girls comprised the first set of students that was in the year 1992 – 1993. Dr. Isaias Cortado, the then principal of Quezon National High School and Mrs. Thelma Paranis were the pioneer teachers. Behind them were Mr. Francisca P. Taccad, the then chief of the Secondary Education Division Superintendent and Hon. Herardo D. Dacayo, the then mayor of the town. From then, this school continued its operation in spite of several odds. The school grew tremendously in student population. From 21, it rose up to 413 in school year 1993 – 1994. In this school year, eight competent and committed mentors embraced graciously: Mrs. Consuelo P. Manlapig, designated OIC, in addition to her function as principal of Solano South Central School: Mr. Nicolas D. Afan III, PEHM; Mr. Rommel Pilaspilas, Filipino; Mrs Marilyn Castillo, Science; Mr. Abelardo Peralta, THE; Ms. Marissa Ariate, HE; Mrs. Flordeliza Gecobe, Mathematics; Ms. Thelma Paranis and Mrs. Letecia Encarnacion, English; and Mr. Ruben S. Pale, Araling Panlipunan. In the middle of September, Mr. Camilo Velasco joined the English and Values groups. Also in this school year, the faculty had felt the need of the teachers’ organization. Mrs. Leticia D. Encarnacion, being the eldest in the profession, was elected President of the Teaching Staff. This was now the beginning of the school representation 2 to the division and regional competitions. In any field of endeavor, Solano High School has never been behind. In the school year 1994 – 1995, SHS has again proven its worth as the only public high school in the heart of the town when it opened its gates for enrollment not only for first year and second year, but also for the third year students. The enrollment then rose to an enormous 791 students, an increase of 52%, hence, there is a need for more teachers. Much have been done to improve SHS, both academically and physically. The original eight teachers had been added thus, the teaching staff became 17 with the inclusion of: Ms. Amelia V. Ariola, THE; Mrs. Jacqueline A. Estimada, English; Ms. Josephine Pasamonte now Mrs. Josephine Gaspar, Chemistry; Mr. Zaldy F. Pascual, Filipino; Miss Mary Jane Taplan now Mrs. Jane Pilaspilas, Biology; Mr. Christopher Reyes, Chemistry; and on January 3, 1995, Mr. Samuel Dacumos took part of Ms. Marissa Ariate who finally decided to resign. Only eight teachers then had items but the Parent Teachers Association (PTA) headed by Mr. Rogelio Batarao Sr. rescued the five teachers and the remaining four teachers were subsidized by the municipal government through the able leadership of the then able mayor, Hon. Heraldo D. Dacayo. The municipality of Solano and PTA funded teachers’ honorarium which ranges only from ₱1,500.00 to ₱2,000.00/month. This had been a very meager amount but this did not do any rate affect their effectiveness in teaching. What was more important to them was to render services to the less privileged people – to the students of SHS. All the members of the teaching staff were all licensed to teach which is the first requisite for teachers to be employed in the public school and as required by the Civil Service law. The school then was very young, financially incapacitated with no non-teaching personnel but this did not upset anyone in the school. Instead, each one took turns in typing and filing the necessary papers, and in performing related works aside from being classroom teachers. The officers-in-charge did not find any difficulty soliciting voluntary support or assistance from her staff. These mentors continued to upgrade themselves by enrolling in the graduate studies and attending seminars relevant to their field of specializations. Several clubs had been formed. In the middle of March, the first Mr. and 3 Ms. Solano High School were crowned in the person of Mr. Fulgencio Beltran under the class of Mrs. Marilyn Castillo and Ms. Mildred Miran under the class of Mr. Ruben S. Pale, respectively. This year also marked the installation of two classrooms in a demountable building after levelling the vast swampy area of this school. As developments were happening from time to time, the Schools Division Superintendent Dr. Thelma Gonzaga thought of assigning a secondary oriented administrator, thus, Mrs. Marylinda C. Ramos was designated as the first secondary oriented officer-in-charge. Under her, the first school press conference had been conducted with Mrs. Leticia D. Encarnacion, the first adviser of the Chimes, the first school paper. After 3 months, Mrs. Rosita S. Sebastian the then equally supportive ES-I and in-charge of Secondary Education came wherein new things had been done in the way a secondary school should be. Mr. Amado Lopez had also been an instrument to this move. After the said agreement, Dr. Rosalinda Reguyal was designated as the principal of this institution form 1996 – 1998. There was a marked improvement during her time especially in physical facilities. New buildings were constructed, like the two-storey building. However, she left the school for promotion at NVGCHS, leaving Mrs. Leticia D. Encarnacion as the OIC for a year, which had also marked a tremendous increase in students and teachers’ population, thus a need to occupy the Solano West Elementary School. Mr. Amado Lopez also served as the OIC for two months who was rescued by an experienced principal in the person of Mr. Roger Bagalay. In this context, the school has struggled to develop academically oriented students who had brought fame and value to the Alma mater SHS. Many mentors were promoted from Teacher I to Teacher III and IV, Master Teacher I to Head Teacher III. Four Master Teachers were promoted to Head Teacher III who are now designated as heads of their own department. Almost all the physical facilities are now completed, enrollment hiked to 1,500 which led to an extension at Bascaran and the number of staff members has grown to around sixty witty and vigilant mentors. A number of them had served as facilitators and trainers in school, division and regional seminars, especially the designated chairmen and heads of the different departments. 4 Community and provincial affairs had been participated in actively by the teachers and students with exemplary performance. The school became famous academically, thus, began to accept practice teachers from Nueva Vizcaya State Institute of Technology (NVSIT now NVSU), Saint Mary’s University (SMU) and Aldersgate College. From then, several developments have been made. With the exemplary managerial skills of the head of the institution, it is not a wonder for Solano High School to be a partner of other bigger schools in the province. Dep.Ed. Vission, Mission and Core Values Vision We dream of Filipinos who passionately love their country and whose values and competencies enable them to realize their full potential and contribute meaningfully to building the nation. As a learner-centered public institution, the Department of Education continuously improves itself to better serve its stakeholders. Mission To protect and promote the right of every Filipino to quality, equitable, culturebased, and complete basic education where students learn in a child-friendly, gendersensitive, safe, and motivating environment. Teachers facilitate learning and constantly nurture every learner. Administrators and staff, as stewards of the institution, ensure an enabling and supportive environment for effective learning to happen. Family, community, and other stakeholders are actively engaged and share responsibility for developing lifelong learners. Core Values Maka – Diyos, Makatao, Makakalikasan at Makabansa 5 Organizational Chart 6 Calendar of Activities 7 8 9 10