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A Place of Dreams



by: Marianita Roldan Ilao



Along the shore of Ragay Gulf at the southern tip of Quezon
There is a quiet strip of land, serene, so rich and beautiful
Started as small fishing village, became an old town to recall
From land and sea it has produced with abundance for its people

When good nature showered its gifts, the town got most of its blessings
It has become a paradise, rich in sunshine and fresh clean air
Its sandy beach and soft sea breeze, the hills with their spring water
The singing waves from friendly sea is music to everyone’s ears

With good values and friendliness, people strive to live at peace
They are honest and God fearing: they love to be educated
Some of them worked hard on their farm, others desired to go places
Their paradise inspired them all to brave the world and be counted.

It is place where most of us started to weave our simple dreams
It offered us many choices would you see places or would you stay?
Those who preferred to stay behind, had all their time to nestle in
Fulfilled the dreams they had designed and passed them on to their children

To those who left and saw places, they brought their dreams but left their heart
Pursued their fate and traveled on, and may have been to different lands
But memories of old hometown are still fresh footprints in the sand
The treasures found in their journeys, carried back home in their backpacks

And now after the long travel, they have but one and only dream
To stay for good in Guinayangan, their hometown missed for many years
Deep in their hearts there is a call form paradise where they had been
Where the sea winds will sing once more the old song echoed from the hills

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Message From The President Of GAAA

August 15, 2015

Dear all,

On behalf of the officers and members of the board of trustees of Guinayangan Academy Alumni Association, I would like to thank all of you for your all-out support to our grand alumni homecoming held last June 12-15, 2015 in celebration of the 75th Founding Anniversary of Guinayangan Academy (GA). To be more specific, we give our most sincere thanks to

The children of Mr. Guillermo and Mrs. Victorina Garcia, namely Dr. Archie, Sir William, Dr. Elsa, Ma’am Guina and Ma’am Cret (Only Sir William was not able to come during the homecoming due to health reasons and he opted to stay in the US with Ma’am Cely; Dr. Archie came with Ma’am Bebe, Dr. Elsa with Sir George and Ma’am Cret with Sir Manny.),

The heads and members of the different working committees, class coordinators and our adviser Ma’am Guina,

All alumni, including those who spent at least a year of their high school years in GA, and our former teachers who attended (They came from different parts of the world­ —Canada, Germany, Japan, USA and different parts of the Philippines such as Cebu, Ilo-ilo, Aklan, Palawan and the northern to southern parts of Luzon including our town.),

Those who actively disseminate the information about the homecoming and campaign for attendance,

Those who donated/contributed cash or in kind (A complete list will be posted later),

Those who were not able to attend but extended their help through their donations/contributions, information dissemination, suggestions, moral support etc,

The academic and non-academic staff of GA and the current students for the help in the physical arrangement of the school, preparation of materials for the registration of participants, manning the registration, etc. and for their joining the parade and other activities,

The organizers of the 50th homecoming and board members of the previous alumni association headed by Ma’am Helen Torres (This well-organized 50th homecoming provided us ideas and materials for the recent 75th homecoming.),

The local government headed by Mayor Cesar J. Isaac III for the support in keeping peace and order and other forms of support including the provision of the narra tree that was planted in GA ground to commemorate the celebration of the 75th Founding Anniversary of GA,

Father Redentor Barsaga, a native-born priest from our hometown who gladly accepted the invitation to celebrate the mass and bless our homecoming,

Our townmates who cheered and welcomed us during the actual events, and,

Those who prayed for our success.

We were able to succeed in this recent homecoming because of our love for our

alma mater and its founder, Mrs. Victorina Garcia,

classmates and our teachers,

youth (and our concern for their future) and,

our community.

We were able to succeed because we were able to

pool all our positive attitudes,

reinforce our efforts and concerns for each other,

volunteer without counting the cost,

strategize how we could gather the alumni across ages and distance, and

respond properly to constructive criticisms.

Although during the planning stage, we were limited by distance from each other, health conditions, busy working activities and financial constraints etc., these did not deter us from meeting some goals at every step of the way.

This homecoming not only paved the way for the reunion of classmates, teachers and best friends who had not seen each other for decades but also paved the way for families or clans to reunite. For those of us who for a long time had not seen our town and attended its feast day in honor of St. Aloysius Gonzaga, this homecoming gave us also the more reasons to come .

Our trust and faith in God and with each other and our hope made this event a reality with lots of surprises at each bend along the way and spontaneous genuine happy response during the course of events. We were indeed delighted. What a happy event!

At the very start of the planning, we prayed for guidance and we were indeed guided accordingly. Even if we were not able to accomplish some of the activities we wanted, we were led to other desirable activities.

Let the success of this event be for the glory of God the Father through His Son Jesus Christ.

I hope to write again later to share with you some of the previous happenings, update you about all the contributions and donations including the King and Queen fund, plan for the election and many other things.

Sincerely,

Corazon C. Buerano





Guinayangan Academy Brief History

Secondary Education in the municipality did not exist in the early 1920’s. Most seventh grade graduates have to go to Manila or Lucena to pursue their studies. In most cases, only a few were able to continue their studies, not until the mid-thirties, when Mr. Vicente Vilar opened the first private high school, the Southern Tagalog Institute. Many students took advantage of the opportunity to pursue secondary courses in this institution. High school graduates in those days were the employed in government offices as clerks, or teachers in the elementary school. The Southern Tagalog Institute did not last long.


And in 1940, the Guinayangan Academy was founded by Mrs. Victorina R. Garcia, with a handful of students. The war between America and Japan stop educational pursuits in all levels for three years. After liberation, the Academy resumed classes in rented building until it moved to its present site.

Being the only source of secondary education in the area, the enrolment in Guinayangan Academy gradually increased and reached an overwhelming population of almost a thousand from 1960 to 1970. Starting with only three instructors in 1941, it reached a total of 15 faculty members in 1970. In a span of more than 70 years, the Academy produced successful professionals


 
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