Exactly ______ years ago, I also . At that time, medals were rarely given, .

I led the entire graduating class

as we marched toward the stage. I knew my parents were so proud of me of the accomplishments and
achievements I worked hard for. I saw how their fellow parents approached them to congratulate them after
the Commencement Exercises.
To me, it was the sweetest day of my life. To me, IT was my golden years of feathers in the hat. The medals I
reaped represented the so many opportunities where I had discovered and honed my talents and skills,
improved myself socially, intellectually, physically, academically, and spiritually. I gave my best when I was in
high school. I gave them all to my parents.
Today, I now feel what must have been felt by my own parents when I was GRADUATED. I am now a parent of
one of the graduating students, our very dear ___________________, whom I consider one of the precious
gifts of God to us especially when she was born. I literally jumped for joy when I learned that my baby was
a girl .
Today as she is about to graduate from elementary, I cant help but feel proud of our daughter. She gave her
best. We never pressured her to do so. My parents never pressured me, too, when I was A STUDENT.. My
parents, simply motivated me to always give my best.
For them, there should never be a dull moment for learning. Every moment counted so much. I never fell
asleep in my classes. I might miss the most important lesson of the hour. The library was my home. There
was not a single book Ive seen that I never opened, may they be books for college or for professionals. For
me, there was more to what my teachers were teaching us in the formal classroom.
I could say that if others think that the most important lessons in life were learned when they were in
kindergarten, I learned them when I was in elementary and high school. The lessons are more lasting. The
relationships are more meaningful. Dreams become more realistic. Ambitions are more tangible. Morals are
more concrete. Virtues and values are clearer. Choices become more definitive and predictive of what one
becomes. School lives definitely have a great bearing in adult life.
That is why the choice of school for education matters. The Vision and Mission of a school matter. The
professional competence of teachers matters. It is because our childrens views of the world and of their
lives depend on how these have been introduced to them as they were growing up. What they will do to
themselves and to the society where they will be would somehow be some reflections of how they had been
raised.
MIssy, your Alma Mater, is no ordinary one. It is a home to so many alumni who are now key players of the
society. I need not mention names, lest, there may be some that I miss, yet are equally important. Through
the years, Blessed Christ Child Montesorri Foundation has maintained its identity as a bastion of quality
education in this part of the country. Through the years, your Alma Mater has produced hundreds of
graduates who are now productive members of the society, making a difference not just in their families but
also in the world. Your teachers have prepared you well. They have equipped you not just with knowledge
and skills needed to survive in the next ladder of education. They also taught you about our God whose

immense love for us is unfathomable, immeasureable, unconditional and ever so pure. They taught you
about Jesus and about salvation. To me, that is the most important of all. For what profits a man to gain the
whole world but loses his soul!
I am so proud of you, my dear. You are graduating from elementary where hard work is emphasized. You are
graduating from a school where excellence is very much implemented. That alone is the greatest
Montesorrian legacy that you can carry through thick and thin on the struggles of life. No matter how
difficult life may be, God is enough reason to go on. God is enough reason to sail on.
To the BCCM administrations, our daughter has been under your maternal and paternal care. In behalf of my
fellow parents, especially my fellow dads, I thank you most sincerely for teaching our children the necessary
skills and competencies for them to hurdle a more challenging level of education. I thank you for teaching
them about values and morals, discipline and order, perseverance and hard work, consistency and
determination, care and responsibility, spirituality and excellence. Parents like me who are so busy with
work and responsibilities may, at times, forget our childrens needs, especially at their most confusing
moments and teenage adventurism. Thanks to the teachers and Sisters who are more than eyes and ears of
parents. Through you, we are able to know our children better. Through you, we discover and hone their
strengths, interests, skills, talents, and directions. Through you, we also learn their weaknesses, limitations,
failures, flaws and softness. Together, we have produced them into who they are right before our very eyes
(number of graduates_)________candidates for graduation for having completed satisfactorily all the
requirements prescribed by the Department of Education for a diploma in ELEMENTARY EDUCATION. Thank
you so much, dear STAFF and colleagues.
Our dear children, as you are about to graduate from your elementary years, remember, theres no such
thing as success in life. There is only hardwork. Medals, citations, awards dont make a man. It is the heart
and soul that know how to love, to give importance, to give the best, to be compassionate, to be humble
that make a man. It is the person who recognizes that God is the ultimate source of all the giftedness in him.

One child said: Paglaki ko gusto ko maging doktor upang gagamutin ko aking kapwa.
Another one quipped: Gusto ko maging engineer. Magpapatayo ako ng mga tulay at mga gusali para sa aking
kapwa.
Another one stood up and declared: Ako magiging guro upang turuan ko ang aking kapwa.
Yet another proudly said: Gusto ko maging presidente upang mas maraming kapwa ang aking matutulungan.
On one corner was Juan Tamad. He finally stood up and told everyone:Ako naman, gusto ko maging kapwa.
And so our dear children, be instruments of change for the better. Explore the world, make the right,
responsible choices. Be meaningful in your lives. Live for others. Share in the salvific mission of the Church.
But come back to your Alma Mater. Attend reunions. Then and only then, perhaps, that you can truly and
sincerely say thank you to your teachers who have brought you up well.
Good luck and God bless all of you. Congratulations, and thank you Blessed Christ Child Montesorri
Foundation.