Parañaque National High School

Parañaque National High School Mataas na Paaralang Pambansa ng Parañaque
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File:Quadrangle Close-up.jpg
Address
Kay Talise St. Dr. Santos Avenue, San Dionisio National Capital Region Parañaque, Metro Manila Philippines
Information
Former name	Parañaque Municipal High School
Motto	Home of the Gentle Warriors
Established	February 24, 1969
Founders	Mayor Florencio B. Bernabe, Sr. Vice Mayor Bienvinido A. Galang
School district	VIII (PNHS-MAIN)
School code	305424
Principal	Gerry A. Lumaban
Grades	7 to 12
Area	14,000 sq.m
Color(s)	Green and white
Song	PNHS Alma Mater
Newspaper	The Spark (English Publication) Ang Dagitab (Filipino Publication)
Affiliations	Division of Parañaque City
Website	pnhsmain.depedparanaquecity.com

Parañaque National High School (abbreviated as PNHS; Template:Lang-fil) formerly known as Parañaque Municipal High School is a secondary public school in Parañaque and has one of the biggest population in the Philippines, located at Kay Talise Street and Dr. A. Santos Avenue, San Dionisio, Parañaque. The school currently consists of a main campus in San Dionisio and annexes in Baclaran, Don Galo, and Don Bosco. It was established on 24 February 1969. The current principal is Gerry A. Lumaban, Principal IV.

History

Early history and expansion

In 1969, what was conceived to be the first public high school in Parañaque came to reality. Behind all these was a woman, Lourdes M. Bernabe who was then First lady of this town. Like any mother looking after the welfare of her children, she railed with the parents of the Parañaque youths for the equally enthusiastic people in education; Parañaque opened a great opportunity for those below the poverty level to improve their livelihood and their social class.

Mayor Florencio B. Bernabe, Sr. rented the Nery Building in Kabihasnan to accommodate 512 youngsters, which comprised the first year high school. Many out-of-school youths found the much awaited chance to get back to school.

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The Pioneer Teachers of PNHS-Main, posing for a shot at Nery Building.

With only 19 teachers including those in the administration, the only public high school in Parañaque began in operation.

Notwithstanding the many problems it met in its formative years, the school carried on. More and more enrollees came in each year, thus it sought transfer in 1973 to a new building --- its own in Sucat, Parañaque. The building was a two-storey structure located in a barren field along the stretch of rough and dusty Sucat Road. A good site, they believed. Year after year, buildings, houses, markets, theaters and rows of stores and food chains were built here-a sign that this area had promises of a good fortune and progress.

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File:PNHS Main Quadrangle 1970s.jpg

PNHS-Main during the 1970s

PMHS owes it predecessors, a quality uniquely, tagged as a reformatory school for having accepted so called “erring students” who had been dropped or advise forced to transfer by some other schools – this school had graduated not just a handful of this kind. Some would even come back to visit, grateful that they had found a school which had kept them in its portals and given them the chance to find themselves during those confusing years. Not sad but happy about being dubbed reformatory ground for the wayward and those in the blacklist, the school also prides itself for having its first principal, Angelita Samson, who herself is an institute of discipline.

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Ma'am Samson sitting at her desk

In spite of the complexity of her task as principal, she ran the institution smoothly-getting together information, people energy and materials and with herself as a prime mover and co-worker, the school turned into a mechanism that operates and transforms- no one could afford to remain idle. Any flaw in the subsystem could cause the failure of the whole process. This is the discipline that has become the moving force. A genuine inspiration for the succeeding generations to remain keeping with the goals for which their school was built: Impress knowledge and discipline for work among the young and lead them to levels of self sufficiency, not to mention – to prepare them for higher academic pursuit.

For 16 years, Samson stayed as principal. Strong and able at the age of 65, she was a reluctant retiree. She had finally given it up through – to her sister and the best friend in the professions, Rosario M. Soriano.

Her commitment coupled with generosity, warmth and motherly affection, were felt by all who surrounded her. There were all sorts of problem from lack of teachers to meet the growing number of students – to lack tools to bother about. Nevertheless, it was within that same year when she sought assistance from the Municipal OIC Rodolfo Buenavista and succeeded in seeing to the construction of additional open classrooms for the Home Economics Class.

In 1986, Rosa V. Sioson, the third principal began as OIC. Now, as she was in the position, she courted people in the municipality and in the Department of Education, Culture and Sports and won the graces in which the school constituents still relish until now.

Dealing with 10,000 student-population was no joke. From head of the English Department, she earned the position as OIC/Assistant Principal and then as Principal. Then, she had instant problems-from lack of teachers to salary disputes and teachers strike down to the clogged gutters, leaking roof, stinking toilets and garbage! She needed all people behind her.

Giving top priority to education among its municipal projects, Mayor Walfrido N. Ferrer and his councilmen had approved appropriations for the construction and rental of the buildings to accommodate the increasing number of students.

PMHS metamorphosed into a more complex structure as it branched out into several annexes- La Huerta (1989), Baclaran (1991), San Martin de Porres which is now Dr. Arcadio Santos (1991) and even adopting under its wings in the main- a new school- Parañaque Science High School (1990) which is on its fourth year of operation.

The creation of PMHS annexes has paved way to division of labor, giving authority and responsibility to the right people who exemplify obedience, maintain order, equity and enhance the esprit de corps. There is centralization of functions with maintained discipline, unity of command and unity of direction. In each annex is assigned OIC/Assistant Principal – Narcisa F. Catindig in La Huerta, Presencia Damian in Baclaran; and Urbano Agustin in San Martin de Porres. All OIC function as immediate head. Each annex has become a subsystem with the right and essential personnel placed where he can be of best service.

It is true; one can say that behind the progress of this school is always a generous Municipal Mayor who keeps his hands open to its cry to help. The current administration of Mayor Pablo R. Olivarez is looking into the construction of an 18-room-three-storey building in PMHS. The Mayor works hand in hand with the DECS on this infrastructure which is on top of the list of Sioson's 24-point-project for PMHS. The Mayor who advocates reconciliation.

School Quadrangle (2011)

With Rosa V. Sioson's retirement at the age of 65, a new lady principal came in. Estella C. Aseron, a Mathematics teacher, calculated quite well the components of success. She initiated beautification projects for school and instilled in every teacher and in every student the value of the discipline. It was in her term, where “Adopt-An Area” program was begun. Each Department then, adopted an area and beautified it. The school then had an imagination of nature anywhere- a sight to behold for the guest. PMHS then was renamed Parañaque National High School (PNHS).

In August 2006, a teacher and department head who started in PMHS in early 70's, once again stopped on the grounds of PNHS. This time he's stationed as the PNHS new principal, Urbano E. Agustin.

Urbano Agustin era (2006-October 2014)

Agustin came from Dr. Arcadio Santos National High School (the former annex of PNHS which became independent) which has been known in the entire division as a very nice school with much disciplined students. Teachers and Administration expected than that the same thing would happen with PNHS. They did not go wrong. The accomplishment of Agustin even went beyond expectations.

PNHS had its “face lift” in a matter of years. Air conditioned and newly renovated faculty rooms became Agustin's gifts to faculty members. A number of function rooms were also noted – speech laboratory, Science Laboratories, English Reading Center, Dance Room, Glee Club Room, Filipino Resource Center and Computer Rooms.

Innovative ICT Based Pilot Classroom

• In April 2012 Parañaque Municipal/National Alumni Association was formed.
• November 20, 2012 The South Korean government funded the P20-million project Innovative ICT Classroom

Rosendo Abulog era (October 2014-July 2018)

Dr. Rosendo Abulog, like his predecessor, also came from Doctor Arcadio Santos National High School-Main. The school expanded in order to accommodate the increasing number of students by adding the Luistro Building named after the secretary of Education that time. The school added the senior high school program as part of the K-12 curriculum that was being implemented by the Department of Education. This led to the sudden increase in the number of students in the school. Another key change that happened was the introduction of new school uniforms, with distinct uniforms for junior and senior high school students. The school gym was demolished during the time and Briones Building was built in its place, the building being named after the secretary of Education that time.

Gerry Lumaban era (July 2018-present)

Gerry Lumaban came from San Antonio Elementary School. During his time, the school continued its reconstruction efforts, building new school buildings that hosted classrooms. The school quadrangle was covered by a roof and the size of the quadrangle decreased because of the construction of new buildings at one side of the school. The school quadrangle also was elevated by approximately a meter. Beautification efforts were commenced by adding plants around the school premises and the school fountain was added during that time.

It was during his time that the school faced a new challenge because of the pandemic brought upon by COVID-19. Even though the pandemic struck, the school continued its efforts in providing education for its students. The school was one of the first schools in the country to spearhead the return of face-to-face classes through the HyLearn Program; which is a hybridized learning modality, combining the traditional face-to-face modality of teaching to online learning.

Buildings

Parañaque National High School is situated in an approximately 14,000 sq.m lot at Kay Talise Street and Dr. A. Santos Avenue, San Dionisio, Parañaque. Because of the relatively large student population while having a relatively small space, overcrowding can become an issue especially during class arrivals and dismissals. The school hosts multiple buildings catering to both junior high school and senior high school students. These buildings vary in age, with the oldest building built during the early 1970s and the newest building built during the early 2020s. An interesting thing to note is that many of the school buildings are named after the former and current secretaries of the Department of Education and the highest building has a height of four stories.

The school can be divided into two main areas, one handling the junior high school students and the other for the senior high school students. The names in parenthesis are the older or alternative names of the buildings.

Junior high school buildings

Junior High School Buildings

Briones Building

Gonzales Building

Marquez Building

Quisumbing Buildings

Quisumbing Buildings

Roco Building

SOF Building

SOF Building

The junior high school buildings are located in the western and northern parts of the school. These buildings collectively accommodate the Junior High School Programs, the Special Education Program (SPED), and the Special Program in the Arts (SPA).

• Briones Building, a four-storey building hosting classrooms for junior high school students. It stood on a former gymnasium.
• Gonzales Building, a four-storey building hosting classrooms for junior high school students. This is the largest individual building in terms of floor area.
• Marquez Building (Building C), a four-storey building hosting classrooms for junior high school students and has specialized rooms for the Technical Livelihood Education subject.
• Quisumbing Buildings (Building A), three four-storey buildings divided into three buildings: Quisumbing North Builiding, Quisumbing East Building, and Quisumbing South Building. These buildings collectively host canteens, school offices, and classrooms. The buildings not only cater to regular students but also students from the Special Education Program (SPED), and the Special Program in the Arts (SPA).
• Roco Building, a four-storey building hosting classrooms for junior high school students. It is the newest building of the school.
• SOF Building (Building B/ STE Building), a three-storey building and the current façade of the school. This building caters to the students of the Science, Technology, and Engineering (STE) Program.

Senior high school buildings

Senior High School Buildings

Bacani and Hidalgo Building

Bacani and Hidalgo Building

Golez Building

Lapus Building

Luistro Building

The senior high school buildings are located in the eastern and southern parts of the school. These buildings collectively accommodate the Senior High School Program.

• Bacani Building (Building D/ DOST Building), a three-storey building hosting the offices for the senior high school program and classrooms for senior high school students.
• Golez Building (Building E/ Tech-Voc Building), a four-storey building hosting rooms used by the students of the Technical-Vocational Livelihood track of the senior high school program.
• Hidalgo Building (Building G/ Parsci Building), a three-storey building hosting classrooms for the senior high school students of the Academic Track.
• Lapus Building (Building F), a three-storey building formerly used as the building for Parañaque Science High School Annex. This building also hosts a canteen.
• Luistro Building , a four-storey building hosting classrooms for senior high school students. This building also caters to the Open High School Program (OHSP) and Alternative Learning System (ALS)

Junior high school programs

The junior high school program is roughly equivalent to the middle school program in other countries. This grade level spans from grades 7 to 10.

• Alternative Learning System (ALS), this program serves as an alternative mode of formal secondary education by providing education to those adults and out-of-school youths.
• Open High School Program (OHSP), this program serves also as an alternative mode of formal secondary education by providing distance learning to elementary school graduates, high school drop-outs and successful examinees of the Philippine Education Placement Test (PEPT).
• Regular Program, this program is considered as the default program of the school. Elementary graduates from any DepEd accredited/recognized institution study core subjects.
• Science, Technology, and Engineering Program (STE) formerly Department of Science and Technology (DOST) program and also formerly Engineering and Science Education Program (ESEP), this program provides skills necessary in the field of science and technology for junior high school students in preparation of undertaking more advanced science subjects in higher grade levels.
• Special Program in the Arts (SPA), this program offers a comprehensive arts-based education to students with an inclination to the arts. The programs are listed below.
  • Dance (folk dance, contemporary, hip hop)
  • Visual Arts
  • Music (choir, voice, rondalla, drum & lyre)
  • Creative writing
  • Theater Arts

• Special Education Program (SPED)/ Inclusive Education, this program serves to help students with disabilities by doing a more inclusive approach to education.

Senior high school programs

The senior high school program is a program that spans from grades 11 to 12. This program requires students to take core subjects which are universally taken regardless of strand; applied subjects, which are similar to core subjects but differ in instruction based on the strand chosen; and specialized subjects, which are unique to a particular strand.

Academic track

This track focuses more on providing specialized academic subjects for students that may take higher education e.g. colleges.

• Accountancy, Business and Management (ABM)
• Humanities and Social Sciences (HUMSS)
• General Academic Strand (GAS) - this strand is no longer accommodated by the school.
• Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM)

Technical-vocational livelihood track (TVL)

This track focuses more on providing skills to students who wish to start working after graduating from senior high school. Students who graduate from this track will be given Certificates of Competency (COC) and National Certifications (NC).

• Automotive Servicing
• Beauty Care
• Bread and Pastry Production - unavailable
• Cookery
• Dressmaking
• Electrical Installation and Maintenance
• Electronics Products Assembly and Servicing
• Food and Beverage Services - unavailable
• Hairdressing - unavailable
• Informations and Communications Technology (ICT)
• Motorcycle and Small Engine Repair - unavailable
• Tailoring - unavailable
• Wellness Massage - unavailable

Principals

List of school principals

No.	Picture	Principal	Term of Office
1	Ma'am Angelita Samson	Angelita R. Samson	1969-6 June 1985
2	Ma'am Rosario Soriano	Rosario M. Soriano	7 June 1985 – 9 October 1986
3	Ma'am Rosa Sioson	Rosa V. Sioson	10 October 1986 – 30 August 2001
4		Estrella C. Aseron	7 January 2002-August 2006
5	Sir Urbano Agustin	Urbano E. Agustin	August 2006-24 October 2014
6	Sir Rosendo Abulog	Rosendo C. Abulog	28 October 2014-July 6, 2018
7	Sir Gerry Lumaban	Gerry A. Lumaban	July 9, 2018 – present

Gallery

Panorama

Parañaque National High School Panorama (June 2013)

Quadrangle

• PNHS Main Quadrangle (2014)
  PNHS Main Quadrangle (2014)
• View of the Quadrangle from the stage
  View of the Quadrangle from the stage
• Quadrangle taken from the fourth floor
  Quadrangle taken from the fourth floor
• School Fountain
  School Fountain

Bas Relief

• The Bas Relief of PNHS-Main, this represents academia, extracurricular activities, the various occupations.
  The Bas Relief of PNHS-Main, this represents academia, extracurricular activities, the various occupations.
• The Bas Relief Today
  The Bas Relief Today

Other

• 
  Historical Marker
• Taken by Mark Olaguera and Edited by Benedick Feliciano
  Floor Plan and Map (Bacani and Hidalgo Buildings were switched in this map)
• Lobby
  Lobby
• School Mural
  School Mural
• Senior High School Area
  Senior High School Area

External links

• Division of Parañaque
• Parañaque City
• PNHS Batch 2000-Alumni