I am convinced that no other batch of St. Scholastica's Academy has dented the school's history as much as the high school batch of 1983.  Of course I tend to be biased.  After all, a large part of Bacolod Scholasticans I know hail from this batch.  What may surprise you reader is that I am not even their age.  Batch 83 is two years ahead of my own year (which makes their average age around 42 (owww!)).  Ok lang 42 na pero joven gyapon itsura ah :-)

So what makes this Batch stand out among the rest?  Well, for one, they have the thickest yearbook St. Scho Bacolod ever had.  In 1979, the year they graduated from grade school, both Grade 6 and Grade 7 marched up to receive their grade school diplomas thus consolidating the two year levels into the largest high school batch SSA-B has ever had.  I leave it to your imagination how the halls of SSA-B were like on the day school opened in June 1979, seeing around 200 new freshmen (or freshwomen to be more gender correct).

Within our clan alone, the scions of D. Mariano Ramos, I count six members of SSA-B 83.  These include Binky Alunan, Reeda Bantug, Marijean Limjap, Liscel Ramos, and the "BAYO sisters", Corcor and Lynn Dizon.  This count of six does not include all the distant relatives within the batch.  Negrense ancestry and heritage weaves this complex web of family relationships which can easily make a total stranger become part of the family by a mere "count-back" (daw golf ba!).

Then there was this episode in college wherein I had to be in a class with a whole bunch of them.  The school, La Consolacion College Bacolod.  The class, Oriental Art under fave teacher Bamboo Tonogbanua.  This was the only time wherein Interior Design students were lumped in one classroom with the Advertising students.   Sitting at the back of the room, I observed that every class was a scene out of a Billy Joel song where the uptown girls had to mingle with the backstreet guys :-) .  Riot! Riot! Riot!  Gender and class borders were broken with whispers stating, "Pssst, akon na lang `na tunga sang Bultog mo".

The hallmarks of Batch `83...Crayon Shoes, Teri de Sario's "Ain't Nothing Gonna Keep Me From You", Jordache, Sasson, Calvin Klein, Gloria Vanderbilt, Famolare, the basement of the Sea Breeze Hotel commonly known as the Spectrum, Magik 103FM blaring Nicolette Larson's "It's Gonna Take A Lot of Love", Marcialangelo photoshoots (with his trusty Nikon F2AS and Harley-Davidson), Bob's Big Boy, CB radio, skateboard, "Good Times" by Chic, happy herb (not all did it, mmmmm, mga 49% lang, pati ah.), biking in Capitolville, softball, Don Juan tragedy, martial law, NPA, sugar crisis, strict parents, Republic Sugar Bank, este Republic Planters Bank, cheering for West Visayas in the Palarong Pambansa.....the list may go on but one easily gets the picture.  It was a period in time wherein despite the backdrop of a politically charged and tumultuous Negros in the early 1980s, idyllic would not be enough of an adjective to describe high school life.

Twenty-five years have come and gone.  Batch 83 sang SSA ara gyapon a!  Grabe ang energy!  In your lingo, "Fuerte!!!".

Kudos to you on your Silver Jubilee!  Kudos to Miss Batch 83 and Alfred E. Neuman awardee, Julie May Calderon!  Hopefully by your Ruby Jubillee you would have finished the AVPresentation slash Indie Film entitled "Mga Tuig Sang Katingalahan" wherein you would do the voice over a la Fred Savage.

Am thinking...maayo lang (good thing) my sister wasn't a part of your batch (whatever that means).

As such, let's just change that blog title to : The Indefatigable Batch `83 of St. Scho Bacolod


Batch `83 25 Years After