Text by Cecile Tria
The opening ceremonies for this year’s Olympics-inspired Sportsfest, with a slogan of “Citius, Altius, Fortius: Swifter, Higher, Stronger”, of the St. Luke’s College of Medicine-William H. Quasha Memorial was held at the Trinity High School Gymnasium last September 2, 2013 at 7 pm. The event was organized by the SLCM Student Council and the SLCM Athletics’ Guild and was hosted by Batch 2017’s Carlo Castillo and Ashee Banta, the Student Council’s Vice-President for External Affairs and Public Relations Officer for External Affairs, respectively. Students from the different batches and some members of the school staff attended the event.
The brief ceremony started with an opening prayer led by SLCM Agape’s Michael Fong of Batch 2018 followed by the national anthem sung by the SLCM Chorale. Earle Albert Yarra, member of Batch 2016 and President of the Athletics’ Guild, gave the opening remarks. He said, “Our students have this passion for the sports. They showed aggressiveness while playing. They showed excitement during the games. You would see that our student population is very cooperative and very participative when it comes to sports. So di lang tayo mga nerd. [So we’re not just nerds.]” He also expressed that the Sportsfest is for everyone, not just for a particular group of players. “It doesn’t matter if you are a player representing your batch, a volunteer in a game, or cheering in the sidelines. What’s important is that you are performing your role for the success of this event.” At the end of his speech, Mr. Yarra led the oath taking of the student athletes. The different student batches then showed off their camaraderie and competitive spirit through their respective batch cheers: Batch 2018 with their fierce “Batch El Toro di papatalo! Batch El Toro di papatalo! 2-0-1-8: We are the winners! That’s our fate!”; Batch 2017 with their confident “Labim-pito, walang tatalo! Labim-pito, ang panalo!”; and Batch 2016 with their royal “2016: We reign supreme!”
As per tradition, the batch representatives namely, Yel Cordova (Batch 2018), Jordan Diaz (Batch 2017), Pia Sandoval (Batch 2016), and Niño Ordillo (CIFast Alum), led the lighting of the torch. A short indoor fireworks display soon followed, signifying the end of the opening ceremonies and the start of the week-long celebration which culminated on Friday, September 6, 2013. [x]
The opening ceremonies for this year’s Olympics-inspired Sportsfest, with a slogan of “Citius, Altius, Fortius: Swifter, Higher, Stronger”, of the St. Luke’s College of Medicine-William H. Quasha Memorial was held at the Trinity High School Gymnasium last September 2, 2013 at 7 pm. The event was organized by the SLCM Student Council and the SLCM Athletics’ Guild and was hosted by Batch 2017’s Carlo Castillo and Ashee Banta, the Student Council’s Vice-President for External Affairs and Public Relations Officer for External Affairs, respectively. Students from the different batches and some members of the school staff attended the event.
The brief ceremony started with an opening prayer led by SLCM Agape’s Michael Fong of Batch 2018 followed by the national anthem sung by the SLCM Chorale. Earle Albert Yarra, member of Batch 2016 and President of the Athletics’ Guild, gave the opening remarks. He said, “Our students have this passion for the sports. They showed aggressiveness while playing. They showed excitement during the games. You would see that our student population is very cooperative and very participative when it comes to sports. So di lang tayo mga nerd. [So we’re not just nerds.]” He also expressed that the Sportsfest is for everyone, not just for a particular group of players. “It doesn’t matter if you are a player representing your batch, a volunteer in a game, or cheering in the sidelines. What’s important is that you are performing your role for the success of this event.” At the end of his speech, Mr. Yarra led the oath taking of the student athletes. The different student batches then showed off their camaraderie and competitive spirit through their respective batch cheers: Batch 2018 with their fierce “Batch El Toro di papatalo! Batch El Toro di papatalo! 2-0-1-8: We are the winners! That’s our fate!”; Batch 2017 with their confident “Labim-pito, walang tatalo! Labim-pito, ang panalo!”; and Batch 2016 with their royal “2016: We reign supreme!”
As per tradition, the batch representatives namely, Yel Cordova (Batch 2018), Jordan Diaz (Batch 2017), Pia Sandoval (Batch 2016), and Niño Ordillo (CIFast Alum), led the lighting of the torch. A short indoor fireworks display soon followed, signifying the end of the opening ceremonies and the start of the week-long celebration which culminated on Friday, September 6, 2013. [x]