03/09/2023
HISTORY OF TABAS NATIONAL HIGH SCHOOL
The history is divided into three chapters:
1. The Dim and Distant Past
2. The Enlightenment
3. The Eternal Flame
THE DIM AND DISTANT PAST
"Every great thing has its humble birth," so the maxim goes.
As parents patiently and painstakingly sent their children to a very distant school, one could not help but hope for a possibility of having a definite secondary school in the barangay itself.
The absence of the said public institution for learning meant many things to parents, students, and the community as a whole. In those days gone by, students would wake up very early to catch up a passenger vehicle and would travel to and from the school regardless of the road and weather conditions. Since the only means of parent's livelihood was crop production, it was indeed additional economic burden once their children started schooling especially in a far-flung area.
Then a vision was born. Dream was snatched from parent's longing for a realization of school institution.
THE ENLIGHTENMENT
Mister Severino Obog, whose philantrophic act touched lives of countless students, donated a land area containing an area of one hectare (more or less). Here stood the first school institution of Baranggay Tabas and ran from 1971 to 1975. Due to some financial constraints, an imminent closure of the school was on its way. It did so. The administration then saw no alternative but to close it down henceforth.
The countless efforts to re-establish the school were due to perseverance of concerned individuals.
Mrs. Violeta B. Cabunas, one of the pioneers of the school and who has been in decades of untiring service and sincere work, had to run a few errands at the Department of Education, Culture and Sports (DECS) - Division Office in Daet, Camarines Norte for the school to be properly documented, approved and institutionalized. Together with Mr. Alfredo F. Oira III, another pioneer, they both set in motion a period of exhausting physcial effort, determination and ingenuity to get the school in national recognition.
Unfortunately, sixteen long years after its closure, the "Deed of Donation" was nowhere to be found on the stockpile. It was a disastrous blow since the school would never be DECS-recognized school without the significant document.
Sensing that the situation is on the verge of losing the grip from reality, the Baranggay Captain then, Mr. Sabas, would have to do its part in fulfilling this ambitious vision. It turned out that the "Deed of Donation" paper would be a baranggay local unit initiative instead of the original one. He agreed to terms and conditions by acknowledging the new Deed of Donation as a bequethal from the baranggay.
At length, like a light in the middle of darkness that delighted everyone's soul, good news was handed down and brought relief to many.
In 1991, the school site was re-opened, became an annex of Paracale National High School and adopted the name Paracale National High School - Tabas Extension under Mrs. Corazon Q. Custado, the principal.
Back in those unsettled days, things did not go well. The newly-opened school was still empty. Mrs. Violeta B. Cabunas and Sir Alfredo F. Oira III would have to stay and teach at Paracale National High School for a week as they looked and waited for first batch of enrollees of the school.
Furthermore, the school faced its second strike of trouble by not having a modest and conducive environment for learning. Since the abandonment, the site was a desolate place for years. It would be a herculean task to shape up and replenish the site as an institution of learning.
August 1991, with twenty-six (26) entrants on the list, Mrs. Violeta B. Cabunas and Sir Alfredo F. Oira III consequently started their first days of teaching in Baranggay Tabas housing at S. Basilio Elementary School, Tabas, Paracale, Camarines Norte.
Finally, sometime in August 1993, Mrs. Violeta B. Cabunas hit an unprecedented plan to ease the burden. A succesfull income generating project paved the way to building of two (2) makeshift classrooms on the very site. It all started here, a two-teacher school under the supervision of Mrs. Corazon Q. Custado of Paracale National High School, Paracale, Camarines Norte.
Then another blow of trouble was felt. Typhoon Monang hit the country on November 1993 and the two (2) makeshift classrooms were severely damaged. Nothing left behind, teachers and students then had to vacate and house at S. Basilio Elementary School, Tabas, Paracale, Camarines Norte.
Still, with a full-fledged acquisition of the property, a promising future was said to be next in line.
Enrollment increased year after year. From the original 26 students, the list of enrollees grew gradually. Students were not solely came from Baranggay Tabas but also from nearby baranggays such as Mangkasay, Labnig, Bakal of Paracale and baranggays Mampungo, Matango, Aguit-it and Dancalan of Vinzons.
It was on Mr. Carullo's time that the school was finally separated from the mother school, Paracale National High School, and was recognized as Tabas National High School by virtue of law (attached). Two clubs, Chamber of Artists for Recreation and Entertainment (CARE) and Drum & Lyre Corps (DLC), were also born during his stay.
Tabas National High School, with the School ID 301912, is located along the main road of Tabas, Paracale, Camarines Norte. Its size is 1,130 sq. m. It is approximately 25 kilometers from the town proper of Paracale, Camarines Norte via Baranggay Calaburnay and 10 kilometers away via Baranggay Labnig.
In 2014, Mr. Ronaldo N. Rafael, who had rendered service at San Lorenzo Ruiz National High School for years, was designated as Principal I of Tabas National High School .
During his time, changes were also observed for the improvement of the school amenities and professional growth. He stands committed to sustaining strong and dynamic advent of innovations.
In line with the implementation of K to 12 Program, a new building for Senior High School was opened in 2014 with modern surroundings and standard classroom sizes. This promotes a high level of personal interaction between teachers and students.
Come the first quarter of 2021, following the system of School Head’s rotational management after five years or so, TNHS welcomed sir PEDRO C. TALAVERA III whose indefatigable effforts to bring changes would surely benefit the school and the community. He is a hands-on person, meaning he does not just talk but actually work on a particular thing.
The pandemic created new term that describes a person who likes/loves taking care of flowering plants, it’s plantito (for male), plantita (for female). Sir PEDRO C. TALAVERA III is one of these descriptions. Seeing this kind of personality, teachers were encouraged too to do some more landscaping and restructuring inside and outside the classroom.
Today, Tabas National High School has a total of 20 classrooms - 18 of which are for instructional purposes and the remaining 2 for non-instructional uses. All in all, the school has at least one canteen, computer lab, general academic classroom, faculty room, library, audio room, and Principal's Office. Of the instructional rooms, all of them are standard rooms, meaning they met the DepEd's guidelines for safety and usability.
THE ETERNAL FLAME
The school site and its facilities we see now today is not what it was like before. In its day-to-day operation, it would be easy for one to forget its humble and colorful beginnings.
Names will be forgotten and things will never be the same, but still, it is an epic story of hope, heartaches, happiness, dedication and perseverance of a small crop of people that should be remembered, cherished, and treasured for.
It is only up in our hands and our willingness to continue, keep the burning flame alive and show appreciation how our predecessors turned earnest hopes and dreams into shining realities.
WORTH MENTIONING:
1. Gratitude to Mrs. Violeta B. Cabunas, Teacher I of TNHS, for the details, figures and information shared.
2. For update as of July 2021, according to Mrs. Rosabel S. Mancenido, Teacher III of Tabas National High School, the Minutes of the Special Meeting of the Barrio Council of Tabas dated March 9, 1968 is kept safe by her husband’s family to this day.
* For erratum: The writer is open for reaction and suggestion; thus, this article is subject for revision and update.
