Sunday, September 6, 2009
Verbum Sat Sapienti ♫ 7:23 AM
In the fading light, we welcome the night...
So as you can all see in my shout out in the Extras sidebar, a dear member of the Science High family passed away last tuesday. ]=Sir Emmett Brown Asuncion... The founder of our school.
Yes, he was 70 years old... Which means our school isn't very old compared to several other distinguished schools. But that doesn't stop our school from being so awesome. :D
According to several people, Sir Emmett left [or rather stopped teaching in] Science High a year before my brother [batch 2k5; Avenguardia] entered. Although he regularly visited even until my sister [batch 2k8; Optimus] was a freshman.
I'm not sure if batch 2k9 [Infragilis Nexus] got to meet him like that, but according to my sister, the last time he visited Science High was when she was a freshman, and that batch 2k9 mostly only know him because of their batchmates, manong Rufus, who happens to be related to Sir Emmett. [=
Anywayss... Last tuesday night, text messages kept going around saying that he passed away. At first I couldn't believe it, but then a second text came saying something similar to the first one. Then that's when I remembered that he's been bed-ridden for almost a year, if I'm not mistaken.
So the next day, we tried to keep the school as disciplined as we could. We told them to maintain Sacred Silence for the whole day as much as possible. But as expected, it wasn't easy. -.-"
We dedicated the morning devotion to him, and after that, the seniors were called for a meeting at the conference room.
During that meeting, manong VJ said they wanted to send all the batches to go visit Sir Emmett's wake. But he said they weren't confident about that since discipline would be a big problem, that includes the seniors. Although, I guess they really wanted scholars to visit, so they sent us, seniors.
Then ma'am Dep talked to us. She told us stories about Sir Emmett, she talked about how great a person he was, she told us a lot of things about him, and whenever she'd start saying really nice things, she'd cry. ]=
It's like, even though we never had him as a teacher, and even though a lot of us haven't met him in person, a lot of us could feel their pain. It was like losing a close family member. Believe it or not, just by listening to Ma'am Dep and Manong VJ, my necktie was drenched in tears. ]=
So for the whole morning, classes for the seniors were cancelled so we could practice the songs we would sing at his wake. ^^
As said my Manong VJ earlier on, one of Sir Emmett's favorite songs was Home, Sweet Home. It's a song we sing during Red Carpet, and I actually like it a lot as well. [= So we practiced singing that song, and a Manang even taught Laika how to sing the second voice of that song over the phone.
Weeee~ I actually recorded us singing it. ^^ But the file format isn't compatible for internet upload, so I can't put it in my blog. Sorry. :|
Oh, and I almost forgot. Manong VJ told us the story behind one of our devotion songs, Despite. It was a song the the manangs and manongs from batch '81 made for Sir Emmett.
From what I understood, their batch wasn't in good terms with Sir Emmett, and right before they graduated, they somewhat apologized to Sir Emmett. And they wrote this song for him.
[Batchmates, if ever I got the story wrong, please tell me. Hahah! [= ]
Here are the lyrics. ^^
Despite
Despite our ups and downs, Our smiles and frowns
Will you still love us?
The moon that hides, the sun that shines
The red-tailed lights
Shadows that guide us
We can not smile for a while
When we know the love you've shown is done
One time our love was gone
But has come back
Now it's stronger
The long, long rides
The well known sites of those sweet times
Shadows that guide us
We can not smile for a while
When we know the love you've shown is gone
And to tell you the truth, this has always been my favorite devotion song. ^^ It was one of the first songs that our SCAs taught us when we were freshmen. [=
There's even a group on FaceBook, Tribute to Sir Emmett Brown Asuncion. And here are some of the messages that alumni posted on the wall. [=
We, the batch of 2008, consider ourselves very fortunate since he was still able to personally teach and share to us his wisdom during our first year, and at the same time less fortunate for we were not able to have him fully present in our High School life. Fragile he may be, his heart never allowed to falter and still presses on to share us his wisdom and values we need. The seemingly timeless traditions of the Science High taught to us, which started in the early years of the Science High with sir Emmett, trickled down all the way from the earlier batches to the younger batches, such as us, to instill us the morals and values in life. We consider it to be a complete privilege for being allowed to be part of his legacy such as the building the Tower of Life, which stands as a testament of his compassion and indomitable spirit for all of us. He has molded us to a sharp but compassionate character and will forever live in our lives. Thank you sir Emmett!
-Manong Jonathan Rilloraza
All those years in high school we had always thought of him as the 'Dictator'... we always took for granted all those preaches he made every morning... but who's really ironic is that every word he said would always linger in our minds and hearts....he taught us respect, he reiterated the true meaning of family, he inculcated in us great values that had helped us mold into who we are right now... He may have gone but the lessons leraned from him will always stick with us that we may continue to be someone he'll be really proud of... we are all his children as he usually says.... "......WE SALUTE THE DAWN!"
-Manang Lorrayne Dyze T. Buking
I feel so fortunate being part of a batch who at least learned a lot about life from a great man even though we never had him as a teacher. Something I still treasure is the moment he told us to take care of the school's traditions because there are things that only a true Science High scholar posesses and knows by heart. He is truly missed not only by us but by all of the people whose lives he has touched and influenced in his own ways.
Farewell to you but not forever...:D Thank You and we Love you Sir Emmett..
-Manang Vanessa Vizcarra
There are over 70 posts, but I only chose a few as so not to lengthen my blog again. :P
Sir Emmett was not only the school's founder, he wasn't only a teacher, or a friend. He was a father to all his students. [=
From what I've heard, he didn't have an immediate family. [I'm not sure if I heard right though.] The Science High family is his family.
Asia's first Science High School. That may be true, but that's not what makes our school so great. Coming from me, our school is so special because of Sir Emmett. [=
From our devotion songs, our major activities, our traditions... everything. These are all things that Sir Emmett left us. It's his legacy. We may not have experienced him being our teacher, or have we met him in person, but we are all very fortunate to be part of his legacy. [=
Sir Emmett believed that learning is not and should not be confined in the the four walls of the classroom. He taught us about life... a journey.
He is the reason why we endlessly practice to be disciplined and respectful. He was strict, and he was a perfectionist, but not in a bad picky way. Because of him, we have Verbum Sat Sapienti. Our school's motto, which, in Latin, means One Word is Enough for the Wise.
He was the one who said Only Great Minds Meet.
A lot of people outside UB may not understand why we grieve so much over his death, but there are things that words can't fully explain
Today, we're going to have a Tribute to Sir Emmett. It's a Sunday, but we're all willing to put on our uniforms and go to school to practice songs and visit him once again. [=
This was something that previous batches were always worried about. The thought always entered their minds during their senior year in Science High, "What if Emmett dies during our year?"
And to think it happens now... It happens to us... The batch who never experienced a single year in High School with the guidance of our beloved Sir Emmett.
I heard Daryll [our Prime Minister] say that since he's gone, we should maintain the Science High's culture and bring back lost Traditions.
Wow... What a challenge. [=
Sir Emmett Brown Asuncion
March 03, 1939 - September 02, 2009
A teacher, a mentor, a father... A friend.
You will always be remembered as the man who made Science High how we are now.
You will be greatly missed. :)
Thank you, Sir Emmett. ^^
...And across the darkness, we salute the dawn.
Meet Nick Jonas <3
