First of all I would like to salute and honor all those who have made this graduation possible. The parents, guardians, families and relatives. This graduation is your graduation. We offer it to you. Congratulations and thank you. We give you a round of applause.
Secondly, our teachers, administrators, staff, led by Principal Mam Liza Garrido, and Assistant Principals Mam Nimfa Mabalot, Mam Mercibel Fegarido, and Mam Elena Segurigan. This graduation is a testimony of your success and achievement as educators, as formators of our children. Congratulations and thank you. We give you a round of applause.
We also thank the people who have also helped us in many ways. The household helpers, the drivers, the security guards, the physical plant and maintenance personnel, the central services, our donors and benefactors. You also made this possible. Thank you. Let us give them a round
of applause.
Now let me address you, our dear graduates. Congratulations to all of you! Before we end this ceremony, as your President, I would like to ask you to remember at least three more things: first is gratitude, or to be thankful; second is responsibility, or to continue your studies; and third is
obedience, or to continue following God, your parents, and your teachers.
First, be thankful that you have reached this point of your graduation. Be thankful to your parents, your families, your teachers, the staff of the Grade School, to everyone who have helped you graduate. If you are thankful, you will be humble. You know that without these people, you would not have made it to graduation. So, be thankful to them, be grateful, be humble.
Second, be responsible. After Grade School, you will proceed to Junior High School. This summer, prepare yourselves for Junior High School. To be responsible is also to use what you have learned in Grade School. Remember your lessons in all your subjects in class. Do not forget them. Remember your lessons about God, about the world, about society, about science, about math, about language, about everything! An Atenean is responsible for his or her learning. Use all you have learned to be better boys, better girls, better children!
Third, and last, be obedient. In Grade School, I hope that you learned how to be obedient, or how to follow the rules and regulations, how to meet the requirements, how to do your assignments, how to submit your projects on time, how to discipline yourselves. In the Grade School, I hope that you learned how to be obedient to your teachers, to your parents at home, to your elders, and most especially, how to be obedient to God. You obey because they know what is best for you. You obey because they love you and care for you, and also, you obey because you love and care for them as well. To be obedient to God you should know how to pray to God, how to listen to Him, how to be a friend of God. Do you know how to pray? I hope that Ateneo has taught you how to pray to God.
To summarize, as your President, I hope that as Ateneo grade school graduates, you have learned how to be grateful or thankful, how to be responsible, and how to be obedient. One last thing: we hope that in the Ateneo you learned how to love – how to love others, your parents, yoru family, how to love school, how to love the poor, how to love God, and how to love
yourselves.
You need all of these – gratitude, responsibility, obedience, and love – in Junior High School, and later, in Senior High School and in College. Tonight, do not forget to thank your parents, your family, your teachers, your classmates, and most of all, do not forget to thank God.
Congratulations, graduates, and may God bless you always!
