EIGHT months ago, I found myself on the organizing committee of our high school reunion. For such is the irony of life. However, I had a team of dedicated, proud, and committed individuals who were determined to deliver an epic school reunion. And we did, I think.
There were plenty of firsts. Our inborn and trademark challenge to a system, I suppose. It was the first reunion to be held outdoors at Bok Mata’s (a classmate) farm in Barangay Langub. It was the first to have corollary activities, i.e., gift-giving and tree planting. It may be the first to be PWD-inclusive. It was the first to have reunion souvenir shirts.
The first to serve snacks reminiscent of the ones we had in high school (e.g., grilled and fried bananas and sweet potatoes). Perhaps, the first to have white goods as raffle prizes. It was the first to engage the community, the snack providers who prepared and cooked right there in the venue, a team of barangay security and order, a standby ambulance, and trained emergency responders and health workers all through proper coordination with the Punong Barangay Leilani Bacalso and officials of Barangay Langub. And the first-ever reunion which painstakingly secured a Special Mayor’s Permit at Davao City Hall, so only our Local Government Unit knows that there is such a gathering in this side of the city.
Everyone had something to bring home if they wanted to. All of these were made possible by the amazing generosity of people, mostly previous classmates. They provided the ingredients for an epic reunion.
But what was more amazing were the ingredients of love and affection the committee members gave to the various tasks at hand. The generosity of time and talent invested to dish out a truly memorable reunion. Make no mistake, the universe does not owe an epic reunion to the class.
To gather a large diverse group of people and make them all happy by virtue of a common history of attending the same school and graduating in the same year is not an obligatory event. But there it was. It was as epic as promised. Delivered by an organizing group who were volunteers, not paid professionals. Thus, I felt obliged to write this.
As in Sam Cooke’s “Wonderful World (1960),” high school was not the best time to learn biology and history. Personal and social interaction and engagement were more important in that stage of our lives.
That is why I value the diversity of my high school class in terms of gender, social status, and intellectual capacity, to name a few. I have acknowledged these in my remarks on stage during the reunion. Being exposed to and engaged in a diverse community has significantly helped me in my life’s journey. An experience that may not be equally available in any other school.
Call it redemption. It is a blessing to go into a new year with a luggage full of beautiful memories from that school reunion. To watch the inner child of each elderly person dance, sing, laugh, and enjoy themselves is truly a bagful of happiness to bring into the new year. The place was simply oozing with happiness. An overload of gladness some have called euphoria.
To help make it happen is truly a blessing. Well done Team Jacinto. I wish this will give our hearts a song to sing all our lives. As for the rest of you, I wish you love y’all. C’est la belle vie.
What is unique about Class 1978, is that we are the last batch in Davao City High School to have an Evening Class, in which our classmates attend class from 5 o’clock in the afternoon to 9 o’clock in the evening. Everyone meets though during the CAT Formation every Saturday.
This only shows that DCHS is a melting pot of diverse social classes and our reunion gathers them every year to reconnect not minding which section one belongs, how we were in 1978, what we have achieved, or how much we are worth. We just have a good time and the “good times never die.”
The 2024 Reunion Organizing Committee (ROC) was assigned to Section Jacinto, composed of a bunch of risk-taking, highly creative, and strong-willed individuals, committed to fashionably revolutionizing our Class Reunions.
ROC 2024 – Chairman – Sergio Nabatar Jr. (Based in Australia)
Ways and Means – Georgette Cruz-Nash (Based in California, USA)
Belinda lee Cervantes (Based in Australia)
Ann Kirsti Faustino (Based in Canada)
Doris Alfafara (Based in Netherlands)
Gilda Hernandez – Horr (Based in Texas, USA)
Maria Theresa Pena (Based in Dubai)
Secretariat – Davao Based
Yolanda Ancheta-San Pedro
Villa Villarreiz – Dureza
Carlota Eva Cervantes – Cabiling
Zorayda Deriada – Robin
Ging Muego-Nosdo
Gil Venus
Nelson Amaut
Jose Ma. Cruz
Oscar G. Casaysay
About the author
Sergio Nabatar, Jr. was born in Davao City in 1962. After finishing his secondary education at the Davao City High School in 1978, he studied at the University of the Philippines at Los Banos. He then worked in the banking industry and also accepted short-term financial consultancy engagements with international funders i.e., Asian Development Bank, USAID, UNIDO, and the World Bank-International Finance Corporation.
Married Mary Ann Pimentel of Cagayan de Oro City in 1994 and later migrated to Australia in 2007. He settled in Hobart, in the beautiful island state of Tasmania. He also has a Master’s Degree in Environmental Planning from the University of Tasmania.
After obtaining an Australian qualification, he worked in several government-funded organizations involved in child protection, supporting asylum seekers, and supporting distressed families, He now works at an Australian federal agency in social services.
Since then, never attended our High School Class of 1978, which we yearly hold after graduating college. Davao City High School is a premier public school in the region or even in Mindanao then.
