A New Building for St. Nicholas
Academy
By: Rev. Ramon Danilo R. Laeda, SNA Director
Rally Friends to St. Nicholas! Does that ring a bell for any graduate of
St. Nicholas Academy? Of course that opening phrase of the hymn of SNA should
conjure lots of memories to any alumus/alumna of this revered institution in
Vintar. How could they ever forget that song which they used to sing every
morning for four years.
Last year we celebrated the 40th anniversary (Ruby Jubilee) of the
foundation of SNA. We can only say that so much water has already passed
under the bridge. It had its humble beginnings in 1964 with then Fr. Pedro
Santos as its first director with classrooms at the choir loft of the St.
Nicholas de Tolentino parish church, in the dungeon-like lower floors of the
old convento, and others etched out at the side of the parish church facing
Vintar Central School. Then came the two-story, six-classroom building, which
served for nearly 20 years until it was declared uninhabitable after it was
damaged by the strong earthquake, which wreaked havoc in the baroque churches
of the province in 1983.
That building has radically changed since then. For 15 years it was
precariously used until the second floor had to go in 2002. The first floor
was preserved which is now the administration building: principal and
treasurer’s offices, teachers’ lounge, guidance office, Technology
and Livelihood Education (TLE) classroom and canteen, and library. This is
now called Archbishop Antonio Ll. Mabutas Building to honor the first bishop
of the Diocese of Laoag who spearheaded the establishment of Catholic Schools
in our local church.
After the devastation of the 1983 earthquake came the two new buildings
with a total of eight classrooms, which were constructed through the efforts
of our then Bishop, the Most Rev. Edmundo M. Abaya. Single handedly, the
bishop raised the funds needed for the construction thus giving more tidy
classrooms for SNA. The five-classroom building has been dedicated Archbishop
Edmundo M. Abaya Building to give due recognition to the indefatigable
efforts of Apo Mundo to improve the lot of SNA. The other building has been
named Msgr. Arsenio L. Pacis Building to honor the first priest from Vintar
who, incidentally, had his 150th anniversary of his birth year in 2004.
A new building (it has been named the Ruby Jubilee Building) is coming up
along the dike of Bislak River, adjacent to the lot of Mr. & Mrs. Harvey
Wilson. Remember where the caimito and mansanas trees used to stand? Those
old trees, which are mute witnesses to the puppy loves of many former
students of SNA, are now gone to give a place for this new building to stand.
This two-classroom structure will house the science and computer
laboratories. Last year we acquired ten new computers so we can introduce our
students into the information technology and the cyber world. One classroom
of this building will house the computers. We hope to install an air
conditioning unit in the next couple of years to better protect the
computers. The other classroom will be the permanent science laboratory with
all the equipment needed plus an internet service to allow the students to
research on line. An ambitious project with lots of air? Not at all because
they are now within our reach!
The original cost estimate for this project was about Six Hundred Thousand
Pesos but with the expenses we have already incurred we will need only 75% of
that amount. The initial funding came from the solicitation I had with Dante
Mabanag (SNA Batch 74) who is now the vice-president of the SNA Alumni
Association in a swing around Hawaii and California in September and October
last year visiting some of our alumni and we were able to raise $2,300.00.
With this money we started the construction in November last year and we were
able to do the main structure.
During the Ruby Jubilee Grand Alumni Homecoming last December we were able
to generate a little more than a hundred thousand pesos. It’s quite an
astonishment to me how our SNA Alumni Association President Ms. Norma
Wilson-Torralba did it very successfully. There was not a single centavo to
start with the alumni homecoming but look at the surplus! No wonder that
Manang Norma is a successful businesswoman. With that fund we continued the
construction in January and we were able to place the trusses and roof.
Our budget has now reached barrel-bottom-scraping. However, we have
continued the work with the initial electrical fittings, flooring with
cement-finish and plastering
on borrowed funds. Thanks partially to Engr. Espiridion Viernes (SNA Batch
73) who extended our credit line in his hardware store. Voila! Come hell or
high waters we will use the new building with the opening of the School Year
on June 6th.
To pay off the debts we have already incurred and to finish the project to
include the pieces of furniture, we will need about Two Hundred
Thousand Pesos more. We hope to receive soon the pledges of our alumni and
friends in Hawaii and California with whom we paid a visit last year. But we
still need any financial help that we could get for this project.
We are
rallying you our SNA alumni and concerned friends to support this project to
improve the education of our youth in Vintar. Send your donation to Dante
Mabanag, which will be duly acknowledged. If you are using a personal
check address it to St. Nicholas Academy of Vintar.
Rally friends to St. Nicholas, pride of Vintar, hope of the young. We shall
carry on her principles of justice and charity. May that line in our
SNA hymn keep ringing in your hearts.
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