Summer is up! It is the perfect time for your sons to venture on other cool stuff. Springdale is offering the Verano Camp for Boys, the summer clubs or classes for your son to enjoy and have a productive summer.

For inquiries please call Mr. Loreto at 232-2234 or 232-2220 or click HERE!

This powerful quote from the greatest basketball player of all time-Michael Jordan- – is what inspires me and Batch 2012 to strive for excellence in everything that we do, be it a simple or daunting task.

Take this speech for example. When I actually started writing it, I found out that it’s even harder to do than our Research Paper. Yet, one thing was certain though. I knew that the reason why I made it here today is that I never gave up in pursuing excellence. A line from the movie, “Three Idiots”, gave me the inspiration I needed. It goes, “Pursue excellence and success will just follow.”

So, it looks like… this is it! Finally, we have made it to the end of high school and I, personally, am very thankful to be part of this batch. As we are all gathered here to commemorate this important milestone in our lives, let us savor the fruits of our efforts. Without you guys, I wouldn’t be here and so this speech is not only mine, but yours as well.

Many consider us the best batch that Springdale has seen so far. We have heard it several times in elementary, only to hear the same thing again all throughout high school. And so with this, we went out to fulfill what everyone had expected of us. It propelled us to work harder and excel in academics, sports, and other extracurricular activities. Majority of us are on the director’s list, but… we’re not just a bunch of nerds. Almost everyone in the batch is part of the varsity and we have reaped numerous awards in soccer, basketball, taekwondo, debate, golf, swimming, cycling and even scrabble. That is what makes our batch truly amazing.

And guess what? We are also known as the guinea pigs of the school. Because of our high performance, we were always the first ones to try new things, like when they needed to change the curriculum. We didn’t see it as something bad because it just showed how much the school believed in us, making us a benchmark for other batches to emulate. And when we graduate, they will probably say things like “look at this batch and how much they have achieved.” Yes, these are just a few of our accomplishments that will definitely go down in Springdale history.

All these would not have been possible if not for those people who have been instrumental in helping us become what we are today: Our beloved parents and teachers. Our parents for their unwavering love and constant support, and our teachers for their deep wells of patience. In all our struggles, our parents have continued to serve as our guiding light to keep us going and stay focused on our goals. Without them, we might have gotten lost along the way.

Our heartfelt gratitude also goes out to all our teachers who have painstakingly handled our batch throughout the years. The experience we had during our Chemistry exhibits, when we were tasked to teach younger kids who did nothing but run around, made us realize how difficult it must be to be a teacher, especially to high school students who sometimes act like Grade 1 pupils.

Our teachers, together with our parents, have also instilled in us the love for God who makes all things possible. Nothing would have come to fruition without him. For all these, we cannot indeed, thank you enough.

Although we will be travelling different roads, hopefully, we will one day meet again and share new experiences and take pride in our lofty pursuits. Perhaps we will meet as Springdale parents. One of us may even be the chaplain of the school, or some may be influential business leaders in the community.

But no matter what path we take, we will forever be grateful for the wealth of experience that Springdale has provided for us. It has been a pleasure spending the last four years in high school with all of you. And because of the endless support from our parents and teachers, the hard work and never giving up on our goals, we have been better prepared for greater responsibilities ahead.

So, to the graduating class of 2012, let’s go out into the real world, take on new challenges, and show to everyone why we are the best batch of Springdale! - Graduation Speech by Alfredo Relucio Jr, Batch 2012

Mr. Ampiloquio, Dr. Payod, Mr. Mendoza, Mr. Rosal, Mr. Cabuguas, teachers and staff
My dear parents and friends… 
My fellow awardees… 

Sport teaches me a lot of things. Allow me to share them with you especially to the younger Titans.

The first one is to love your sport. Never do it to please someone else. It has to be your choice… it has to be your passion.

Defeats are like fire. It can destroy or strengthen you, depending on your outlook in life. But remember, the fire that melts the butter is the same fire that hardens the steel.

Champions are not made in the gym. Champions are made from something they have deep inside them – a desire, a dream, a vision.

The only place success comes before work is in the dictionary. And remember, when you are not practicing, someone, somewhere, is practicing and when you meet him, he will win. This goes to show how important hard work and sacrifice is.

Being a student and an athlete at the same time is not easy … it takes a lot of hard work, sacrifice, determination and proper time management on both our school work and training schedules. We could not have done this without the support of our parents and our school, PAREF Springdale.

In behalf of all the awardees, let me thank our school for giving us the opportunity to learn things outside the four walls of our classrooms. You encourage us to explore on extra-curricular activities such as sports, without having to give up on our academics. Your all-out support and understanding by excusing us from our classes yet allowing us to make up for our absences is such a privilege that not all student-athletes from other schools enjoy. This is probably the reason why most of us, Springdale athletes, if not all, excel in our sports.

We learned how to balance both our chosen sport and our studies. We thank you, teachers, for shaping our character and making us the kind of student-athletes that we are today. We really appreciate and will forever be grateful for the opportunities you opened up for us not only academically but also in the field of sports. And of course, to all our parents, we thank you for your unconditional love. Thank you for the support and sacrifices you have given us to make things possible and for always being there for us, no matter what.

Let me end this by sharing with you my “3 Simple Rules in Life”:

- If you do not GO after what you want … you will never have it. 
- If you do not ASK … the answer will always be a no. 
- If you do not step FORWARD … you will always be in the same place.

Learn to TAKE risks … and see where your brave heart can take you!

God bless the Titans! Good evening.

Athlete's Night Address by Luis Miguel "IgiMax" Maximo, Philippine Cycling Team

It’s because six Filipino high school students made history by emerging among the top four teams, alongside Scotland, Wales and England in the WSDC tournament held last month in Cape Town, South Africa.

The team was composed of Mariella Antoinette Salazar from International School Manila, Joaquin Maria Bonoan Escano from PAREF Southridge School, Donald Felbaum and Nico Lorenzo Flaminiano from Xavier School, Rico Rey Francis Holganza, Jr. from PAREF Springdale School in Cebu, and Sanjeev Parmanand from Ateneo de Zamboanga University High School.

They breezed through eight preliminary rounds of debates with six wins, and then went on to defeat Team Canada in the first round of the finals with a two to one decision, and then Team Singapore in the quarter-finals with a unanimous vote or a 5-0 score.

The team, however, was narrowly defeated in the semi-finals by Scotland.

Making it to the semi-finals was the farthest place any Philippine team has gone to in the competition. The closest it got in past WSDC tournaments was the top 16 ranking in 2009, followed by the 20th slot last year.

Team member Mariella Salazar says Team Philippines also earned high speaker points during the quarterfinals from top caliber judges.

UNEXPECTED WIN ON A CONTROVERSIAL TOPIC

Despite giving their best performance, the members didn’t really expect to defeat the big teams Canada and Singapore, 2010 and 2011 WSDC champions respectively. In fact, they only realized they were winning when the chief adjudicator was already explaining the merits of their arguments, and announced their victory!

Among the motions or topics discussed during their debates include socio economic rights, the ban on religious parties from running, rural urban migration, Arab Spring, and a feminist movement’s ban on pornography.

For Rico Holganza, Jr. of PAREF Springdale School, what sealed their win against Singapore was the motion which was really close to home, about believing that the gay rights movement should out gay celebrities.

"Team Singapore which was in favor of this motion argued that these gay celebrities who are public figures don’t have a right to privacy because they use their personality to market their brand or products. It runs counter to their values to be closeted gays because it’s deceptive. It's like false advertising. They also said they want to out these celebrities so they can be a model for gay children in conservative societies," says Nico Flaminiano of Xavier School.

But the Philippine team, who cited Hollywood and local gay celebrities in their arguments, maintained that these persons should still have some level of privacy and that they be given the freedom to come out by themselves in their own time and if they want to.

"We argued that some people are successful in creating a dichotomy between their public and private lives. This is very important in trying to protect their party, their children, family and friends from harm. We told them it's also very dangerous to mix public and private life," explains Nico.

Mariella, on the other hand, raised the issue of fragmentation between the movement itself and how outing gay celebrities is counterproductive to the movement.

"Instead of finding inspiration in this gay celebrities and making them role models, what it actually does is alienate certain people. It's like a witchhunt! You don’t have that level of scrutiny with the straight people then why do you want to have that level of scrutiny with gay people? Besides, many celebrities are happy with their lives and don’t even have to come out because they're already accepted,” she adds.

More than the arguments though, Donald Felbaum of Xavier School believes their responsiveness to the issues was what really got the judges on their side. “Both teams were really good. We just edged them out on the criteria of responsiveness and I think that's what sealed the debate more than anything," he notes.

FROM UNDERDOGS TO TEAM FAVORITE

In the earlier part of the tournament, Joaquin Escano of Southridge School says they were among the underdogs. People didn’t expect them to make it that far.

Thus when they advanced to the quarters and semi finals, the other teams began to take notice of their performance. Everyone wanted to watch them perform.

“The best feeling I had there was when we got off the bus and everybody cheered, congratulating us for beating Canada. They told us that we were the talk of the tournament. They even compared us to the Cinderella story, like we were the giant slayers!” Rico enthuses.

For Mariella, the most memorable part of the debates was when the judges announced that they won and the whole room got wild. “Our friends from Peru and Argentina started shouting Filipino, Filipino! They said we were friends with the Philippines before they even got famous!”

Joaquin cited their friendly nature as another reason for the team’s popularity in WSDC. Contrary to perception that debaters are out for the kill, he says that even when they aim for the win, teams still engage in a friendly match. Competing against a team, he adds, is one of the easiest ways to make friends with them.

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Cape Town, Africa. Foto / Sharmila Parmanand

Having participated since 2002, this was the furthest that any team from the Philippines had ever progressed. The team, composed of Joaquin Maria Bonoan Escano from PAREF Southridge School, Donald Felbaum and Nico Lorenzo Flaminiano from Xavier School, Rico Rey Francis Holganza, Jr., from PAREF Springdale School in Cebu, Sanjeev Parmanand from Ateneo de Zamboanga University High School, and Mariella Antoinette Salazar from International School Manila, finished 8th after 8 preliminary rounds of debating, with 6 wins – the highest ever for a team from the Philippines.

Education Secretary Br. Armin Luistro FSC extends his greetings to the Philippine team for the honor they have brought to the country. “I am truly pleased with the convergence of young people from different parts of the world to share their opinions on issues affecting their respective countries locally and globally. But more importantly, hats off to the Philippine team for showing the world the great potential of Filipino students,” said Luistro.

He added that the competition has been a golden opportunity for the world to hear and understand the youth’s views on topics that are often discussed only by the older generation – when the issues discussed shall most certainly affect the younger generation.

The team proved to be the tournament’s surprise package, earning the respect of judges and coaches all over the world, as they went on to defeat Canada (2010 champions) in the first round of the finals, and Singapore (2011 champions) in the quarter-finals. They were narrowly defeated in the semi-finals by eventual champions Scotland.

“The team put in a great amount of work, researching topics and practicing their debating, along with having to manage their schoolwork, and it’s good to see their effort and dedication rewarded,” said Sharmila Parmanand, a three-time Asian Champion debater and former member of the Ateneo de Manila Debate Society, who served as coach this year.

Kip Oebanda, a Philippine national champion and two-time Asian semi-finalist, who coached the Philippine team for the previous two championships, noted that this was the first team to field speakers from outside Manila, with a speaker each from Visayas and Mindanao.

“It’s exciting to see debate spreading across the country,” he said.

Source: http://deped.net/team-philippines-among-the-top-four-in-2012-world-schools-debating-championships.html

The Springdale Titans started slow and trailed the CIE Lions, 18-8, owing to the strong showing of Akeem Amistad. However, the Titans was able to recover in the second quarter with Zach Go, Ace Gochuan, Carlo Diola and Tonyo Carcel combining for 14 points to cut the lead to 24-22.

After a give-and-go battle in the third quarter, the Titans banked on Go, Gochuan, Carcel and Dional for their fourth quarter run as they delivered 16 points for their close six-point win.

In the other games, Cebu Cherish School defeated St. Louis School of Mandaue, 54-35, while Mt. Olives Christian Academy routed St. Francis of Assisi School, 63-33.

In the elementary division, Springdale made it 2-0 for the Titans with a 28-23 win over the San Isidro Parish School.

Tournament director Marlove Alquizar said they organized this tournament to give a chance to private schools with small populations to compete in basketball.

The secondary divisions, which attracted eight teams, will have a single round robin, while the three-team elementary division will have a double-round robin play.

The tournament, which will have games every Thursday, Friday and Saturday, will run until March 3.

Published in the Sun.Star Cebu newspaper on February 05, 2012. By Iste S. Leopoldo Saturday, February 4, 2012

Courtesy photo by Maximax

Sixteen-year-old Cebuano junior cyclist Luis Miguel “Igi” Maximo achieved a long-standing dream of his as he was named to the Philippine cycling team, becoming its youngest member and the only junior cyclist from the Visayas and Mindanao.

PhilCycling, the UCI-recognized National Sports Association of cycling in the country headed by Mayor Abraham Tolentino, conducted two nationwide qualifying rounds for the National Junior Trials.

In the Tour of Clark last Nov. 26-27 in Clark, Pampanga, which served as the preliminary round for Juniors 16-17, Maximo finished in second place in the Individual Time Trial (ITT) 10km and third overall in the General Classification standings.

In the Tagaytay Trials last Dec. 12, in spite of travel fatigue and pressure from school commitments, he delivered a sixth place finish in the Individual Time Trial (ITT) 30km among the 22 aspiring cyclists.

“I did not expect it will come this soon. I was up against older riders during the Trials, all I wished for was a slot in the national training pool,” said Maximo. “Cyclists from Pangasinan and Central Luzon—known hotbeds of cycling in the country—were strong. The top-of-the-line cycling racing equipment provided by Cebu-based YKK Trading really made the big difference in the race,” added Maximo.

As part of the Philippine National Junior Team, Maximo is now in the shortlist for inclusion into the country’s participation in the 2012 Asian Juniors Cycling Championships this coming Feb. 8 to 18 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Published in the Cebu Daily News on January 3, 2012 by Jonas Panerio, CDN.

The outreach on January 2, 2012 was organized by Dream Foundation led by PAREF Springdale Alumnus & Philippine Azkal Player, Paolo Pascual, and Miss Earth Philippines-Water 2011, Murielle Adrienne Orais. Some alumni of PAREF Springdale Batch 2008 and 2007, and friends joined them. 

It doesn't come as a surprise why Bonbon was chosen as the venue. It's because Paolo's high school batch of 2008 pioneered the outreach in Bonbon Elementary School during their senior year. Since then, Bonbon Elementary School officially became an adopted-school of PAREF Springdale School with already three work missions organized by subsequent batches.

At exactly 10:40 AM, the activity started with a short introduction of the team members. Fun games were played that broke the ice and created a bonding between the kids and the Dream Foundation Team; filling the school with loud cheers and laughter. The pupils were then treated to lunch and gifts. 

Notwithstanding the celebrity status of Muriel and Paolo, the short program was without any press.

They’ve both implied that the children’s smiles and their simple “thank you’s” are in themselves PRICELESS! Their example reminds one of a proverbial phrase, “But when you are giving in charity, let not your left hand perceive what your right hand is doing.”

Text by Choy Tura

Sixteen-year-old Cebuano junior cyclist Luis Miguel “Igi” Maximo achieved a long-standing dream of his as he was named to the Philippine cycling team, becoming its youngest member and the only junior cyclist from the Visayas and Mindanao.

PhilCycling, the UCI-recognized National Sports Association of cycling in the country headed by Mayor Abraham Tolentino, conducted two nationwide qualifying rounds for the National Junior Trials.

In the Tour of Clark last Nov. 26-27 in Clark, Pampanga, which served as the preliminary round for Juniors 16-17, Maximo finished in second place in the Individual Time Trial (ITT) 10km and third overall in the General Classification standings.

In the Tagaytay Trials last Dec. 12, in spite of travel fatigue and pressure from school commitments, he delivered a sixth place finish in the Individual Time Trial (ITT) 30km among the 22 aspiring cyclists.

“I did not expect it will come this soon. I was up against older riders during the Trials, all I wished for was a slot in the national training pool,” said Maximo. “Cyclists from Pangasinan and Central Luzon—known hotbeds of cycling in the country—were strong. The top-of-the-line cycling racing equipment provided by Cebu-based YKK Trading really made the big difference in the race,” added Maximo.

As part of the Philippine National Junior Team, Maximo is now in the shortlist for inclusion into the country’s participation in the 2012 Asian Juniors Cycling Championships this coming Feb. 8 to 18 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Published in the Cebu Daily News on January 3, 2012 by Jonas Panerio, CDN.

Christante Veloso, a Grade 6 PAREF Springdale Titan and one of the members of the Cebu City swimming team, contributed two Golds and a few other medals on the following events:

Gold, Boys 4 x 100 Meter Free Relay

Gold, Boys 4 x 50 Meter Free Relay

Silver, 50 Meter Backstroke

Silver, 100 Meter Backstroke

Bronze, 50 Meter Backstroke

In the Secondary and Elementary Football Competitions, two more PAREF Springdale Titans, namely, Nico Villacin (2HS) and Ryan James Haosen (G7) were also mentioned in the Inquirer News Sports article, as follows:

“The secondary Niños topped their bracket with a spectacular 18-0 routing of Talisay City.

Lyon Valenzuela (4HS) was the other Springdale Titan who was drafted to the Secondary Football Niños.

(Contributed Photo)