Rhona Canoy SO... Fifty years ago this year, I graduated from elementary school. And 50 years ago, my elementary school was 50 years old. East City Central School (not the one in Lapasan) is what it used to be called, when our city had only two major elementary schools. Since then, it has become City Central School, still where it has always been, at Yacapin corner Del Mar (now Don Apolinar Velez) Streets. And this month we celebrate its centennial. I remember starting first grade there in 1961, under the tutelage of Mrs. Nene Raagas Cariño. She was our neighbor who lived on the next corner from our house. My parents were hard put to give me something to do and get me out of their hair so, in their infinite wisdom, they decided to let me and my cousin, Mitzi Escobar (now Buot), attend as visitors. Del Mar Street used to be a lovely walk from our house to school. The acacia trees along the way provided lots of shade from the heat, and lots of itchy worms during leaf-shedding season. Tartanillas traversed the way, along with small jeepneys. The old days, the simpler times. Kids 10 years and under got to ride for free, and if you were only a kilometer from where you were going, walking was fine. There were few buildings on campus then. The grades 1-4 classrooms were in the building that has the flag pole in front of it. Grades 5-6 were in the wooden buildings near Yacapin Street, which burned down and was replaced by that unoccupied monstrosity which also was engulfed in fire a few years ago. The City Library used to be an open yard in front of the Home Economics Building, where I later learned to sew, crochet, and cook ampalaya under Mrs. Isadora Yasay Awa. Every morning, after flag ceremony—yes, Juan, every morning we sang Bayang Magiliw and recited the oath of allegiance—everyone had to take their bolos and dig out the irritating banggot grass that was always attempting a coup d’etat to take over the carabao grass. Caimito trees lined the fence on the Del Mar side. Across the street, Dr. Palacio had his dental clinic, and the Jacutins had their home. Grade Two put me in Mrs. Raypon’s class, where I first became classmates with Armi Jane Roa and Egay Uy, among others. That was the year I found out that if I had to sit on my hands, speaking became a difficult matter. Miss Nieves Waga was our third grade teacher. One of the two Misses Waga. I remember having a classmate who fainted when we had to have our regular vaccinations. That was also the year that I had a classmate die. I remember Evelyn’s face to this day, and the pretty yellow dress she was laid out in. I wasn’t around for fourth grade with Miss Anunciacion Waga. My parents thought that going away to school would be a good experience for me, so I was sent to Cebu American School. But my homesickness got the better of me, and I returned at the end of that school year. Mrs. Consuelo Almazan had the enviable task of being our Grade Five adviser. We had vegetable gardens, and for some of us girls, we got our first period. That was also the year that I started to get tall, which was traumatic. Everyone else was shorter than me, and I was always at the end of the line. Grade Six was the big year. Our homeroom teacher, Miss Cabanos, was the first teacher I ever had who took to giving me extra work to keep me out of trouble. I was editor of the school paper. Armi Jane was our class valedictorian, and is one of the few class valedictorians I have seen to actually realize and fulfill all the potential she had from those times. Egay Uy became a lawyer, and is now head of the RTA. My cousin Mitzi is a doctor. Our math wizard, Rabin Polito, is an engineer in the US. Ernie Palacio became a rock star, and is now a pastor. Bernardo Roa was the city administrator a couple of mayors ago, and is now successful in his own right. Joan Quizo is our intrepid world traveler. Teling Alejado was my only classmate who could out-talk me. There are many others, not just in our class but also through the years, who walked through the Trinidad Gate of City Central School. They have all become successful in their own right. My father and his siblings are among them. The list is long and illustrious. I am a proud alumna of that school. And after the first one hundred years, may it continue to serve our city well. Long live City Central School!