Weekly Update: As Of February 07, 2005

Administrator's Notes:
By Chona Villafuerte-Go NHS Batch 1986
Website Administrator

Gung Hay Fat Choy! 

The Year of the Rooster is here. Lunar New Year dates from 2600 BC, when the Emperor Huang Ti introduced the first cycle of the zodiac. Because of cyclical lunar dating, the first day of the year can fall anywhere between late January and the middle of February. This year, it falls on February 9, 2005 - Lunar Year 4703...the year of the Rooster.

The sign of The Rooster indicates a person who is hard-working, confident and unwavering. This means Roosters can really crow about their own accomplishments. I was born with a Rooster sign and so are a lot of our fellow members. Join me fellow Roosters as I loudly crow “I am a Novaliches High School Alumnus and I’m sure proud of it”.

Whether you are commemorating this auspicious holiday with a party or quietly enjoying the time with friends, Novaliches High School Alumni On-line Community will definitely be here to share the fun with all of you.

This past few days have been a truly exciting one for our On-line Community. I am delighted to see that we have many new members joining us - all from different batch, as early as the 60’s and as recent & future grads from the 2000’s. Way to go!! Let’s continue and look for new avenues in getting more new members to sign up. As they always say, we should remember to be patient and let nature take its course, as it has done for centuries. Being too hurried for results can lead to the withering of our rewards. So let’s keep doing what we’re doing and maybe even try doing them better. Help us spread the word by telling your family and friends about our On-line Community. Be our developmental partner!

We live today in a world of instant communication, where the spoken and printed word can be heard or seen instantaneously around the world thanks to technological advances made in recent years. As important as those advances have been, here at Novaliches High School Alumni On-line Community we know that the true heart of our On-line Community is the relationship between NHS alumni & friends, current students and NHS faculty members. Our  students have the opportunity to learn from some of the most talented, dedicated and committed faculty members we have in NHS from the past to the present. By the time students graduate and become fellow NHS alumni themselves, they count many of their faculty members as mentors and friends.  And I’m so excited to tell you that next week we will be featuring one of the best teacher we have had in Novaliches High School “On Spotlight”, but you guys won’t be able to pressure me into telling you who it is…YET! So watch out for our next “On Spotlight” feature, I’m quite sure you won’t want to miss it for the world!

Indeed our Alma Mater Novaliches High School is a special place where students can begin to work toward achieving their long-term personal and professional goals while enjoying various aspects of being in High School, not to mention being “teenagers”. For those who are located near our school I would like to invite you to visit our high school and investigate how it has changed since you have graduated. Share your memories and stories with us… In the meantime, please use our On-line Community as your starting point and read what our fellow members know about what’s currently happening to NHS.

Special thanks to Rachelle Erika Libunao Dancel and to Norman Aceron Garcia for sharing what ‘s currently happening to our Alma Mater Novaliches High School.

NHS Message Board and Live Chat's CHATTERBOX
Some of you have already started making use of our Chatterbox where you can leave a short message for everybody to see. PLEASE Keep them coming!!

SMILIES
Chatterbox has the capability to automatically substitute typed emoticons in the posts with graphical smilies, to give the conversation a little more flavor.

Available Smilies:
Here's a list of smilies Chatterbox will recognize (it's not a huge list, but then Chatterbox is not a full fledged forum anyway):

Smilies	Emoticons
	:) , :-)
	:( , :-(
	:| , :-|
	:D , :-D
	;) , ;-)

See what NHS students, graduates, family, friends and specially YOU have to say about Novaliches High School Alumni On-line Community Website!
View Guestbook Entries
View Member Comments

Valentine’s Day Is Almost Here...Romantic Member Pictures Wanted!!
Send us pictures of your favorite
Valentine's or any romantic memory or story.

Also, If you have any comments about our next weekly update or topics you would like to see discussed please send them to nhsqcalumni@verizon.net. Please include your name and e-mail address.

On Spotlight Feature
Do you know a grad or NHS student of distinction? If you are a current student or a classmate graduated in Novaliches High School —and have achieved noteworthy career success, let us know. Please remember that this is a significant life-achievement pride that we will be proud of!

Grow your Alumni Network
Nothing means more to the growth of our On-line Community than when you let future members know what they can achieve here at NHS Alumni On-line Community. Show your NHS spirit... Be heard!!
 

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CURRENTLY ON OUR MESSAGE BOARD:

We dare you to visit our most viewed topic this month: "Ngiti Naman! English-Tagalog Translations" featuring not just one Joke but a lot MORE(sssss)!!! A big round of applause!!

Latest Posts:

Individual Class Year Messages
(We have just added this new topic so anyone can leave their own batch year a message…see you there!)
  Class Year 1985 (1 Reply)
Class Year 2001 (1 Reply)
Class Year 1968 (1 Reply)
Class 1982 (4 Replies)

Thanks For The Warm Welcome
(By Gerry Bayona Dec-Jan Moderator)
Welcome Feb. 2005 Moderator
(Let's welcome Benjie Canonoy Batch 1984 -
2  Replies) W

Currently On NHS
(Read about what’s been happening in Novaliches High School)

Edward Logan Batch 1993 -
International Human Rights Advocate
(Edward Logan is the youngest Filipino-American human rights advocate ever to participate raising awareness in the international community about the North Korea Freedom Act of 2003)

Launching gig of NHS Band
(This will be on Feb. 10 (Thursday), 7pm onwards at Booze Stop Bar & Grill. Yes, all band members are present students of Pablik. Let us support them. They could be the next Inertia!)

NHS Career Talk '05 Matagumpay
(Matagumpay na naidaos ang NHS Career Talk noong ika-18 ng Enero, 2005 sa Covered Court (dating Quadrangle) ng paaralan. Ang aktibiting ito ay proyekto ng Guidance Office sa pangunguna nina Mrs. Edith Dancel at Mr. Gilore Ofrancia. Ang tema nito ay: "Getting Started: Paths to Take towards the Greater Future")

Pinoy/Tagalog Movie Titles in English
(Badly titled movies ng pinoy which we can't help but literally translate them in english, and it sounds REALLY funny! Plus a personal view of what’s happening  to our Phillipine Entertainment)

Kuwentong Dugtungan
(Rules: Ituloy ang kuwento sa pamamagitan ng pagdagdag ng limang (5) salita lamang, walang labis, walang kulang. “Noong unang panahon may isang…”

A Name Game Just For Fun!
(Anybody who wants to change their names to a more celebrity-sounded one? Then you've got to read this...)

Ngiti Naman! English Tagalog Translations
(It’s a forum filled with jokes and even the less famous proverbs…This is a must see, we dare YOU!)

Around The House: Roachless
(Tips para sa maraming ipis!)

[ Poll ] Mc Donald's or Jollibee?
(Did you know that the Philippines is the only country in the world where McDonalds isn't the number 1?)

January On Spotlight Features:
1/5/05 -  1/12/05 - 1/19/05

February On Spotlight Feature:
2/7/05

December 2004 New Members [Page 1, Page 2]
January 2005 New Members [Page 1, Page 2]
February New Members
(See who just joined in, maybe you’ll even find your long lost friends here…check them out!)

February Birthdays & Wedding Anniversaries
(Birthday: Cathlyn Mel Imbao Cando Batch 2003
Wedding Anniversary: Janette "Jeng" Ellson-Espinosa Batch 1985 & Roel Cancio Batch 1982
We hope you’ll take a moment and greet our fellow members on their special day. Thank YOU!)

Lost Friends For The Month of December 2004
Lost Friends For The Month of January 2005
Lost Friends For The Month of February 2005
(If you have any information about any one of them, PLEASE let us know! Let’s help our fellow members find their lost NHS friends…)

In Memoriam: Hilario Robles '93 (+)
(Goodbye to a good friend...)

 

 

ON SPOTLIGHT:
Elizabeth Ellson-Fernandez Batch 1984

In an increasingly global society, the ability to speak and write in several languages is also becoming necessary to effectively compete in the job market. Bilingual literacy also preserves children's sense of pride in the language of their parents, allowing them to move freely in an English-language dominant society while retaining an important link to their cultural and linguistic heritage.

Bonjour! Bienvenue à “On Spotlight” Feature!

Today, you’re about to meet an exemplary NHS graduate Elizabeth Ellson-Fernandez Batch of 1984 a mother of three multi-lingual children…

 
The Fernandez family (L-R): Beth, Kevin, Kyle Krizia & Anton 

Elizabeth Ellson-Fernandez of NHS Batch 1984 was the assistant editor-in-chief for “Talisman” (the NHS official school paper) under the advisory of Mrs. Erlinda R. Berdin. She happily recalled having to spend most of her after school late nights at Mrs. Berdin’s home just to finish their first edition of the school paper. Asked to share about a facetious memories from high school, she glady told us about a very special friendship she had with fellow IV-1 classmates especially those in “row 6”. There was an incident back then as she recalled timidly, where Ms. Dela Cruz (famously known during their batch as the high school “Ms. Wonderwoman”) called each one of them in row 6. “Lahat ng sagot namin pare-pareho. Pati mali, pati tuldok, kasi nagkopyahan kami, kakatawa talaga!” ...Talk about high school memories. Let's be honest here for a moment, I bet most of us can relate to her classroom story, right?!!

After NHS graduation, Beth attended Chinese General Hospital in Manila Philippines graduating magna cumme laude and received a degree in Bachelors of Science in Nursing in year 1988. Right after graduation and passing the board exams as a Registered Nurse, she worked as a Clinical Nurse in Chinese General Hospital under Dr. Go’s Ob/Gyn. From 1988-1990 she worked as RN in Novaliches General Hospital, a Clinical Instructor at Dr. Carlos Lanting College and also was a School Nurse for a few months at Holy Child Academy. She worked at all those places "all at the same time". But the big question is - how did she managed to do all that? Luckily, the school (Lanting College) is just in front of the hospital (Novaliches General Hospital) where she worked the night shift until 8AM and then running off to her next job and to her next job and to her...well to simply put it she just loves “WORK”!

As a Registered Nurse on May 21, 1990 she moved to Montreal Canada where she met her loving husband Anthony Fernandez – a marine officer originally from Bacolod, Philippines. Mostly influenced by Beth and Anton’s passion for a very active life, they are blessed with three wonderful healthy and very active children.

Please click on the Picture for a Larger View

P Please click on the Picture for a Larger View

Their eldest, Kevin Anthony (11) loves to play basketball & taekwando; Krizia Liezel (8) loves ballet, taekwondo & swimming; and Kyle Anthony the youngest (who will be turning 6 this coming Valentine's day) also loves taekwando, swimming and hockey. All their children go to French School and is trilingual (fluency in Pilipino, English & French and should even be considered multi-lingual if counting  “ilongo” – being their dad Anton’s dialect).

Beth is simply a wonderwoman, she does everything when her husband Anton is aboard and at sea. Not an easy task being a father and a mother at the same time but she truly loves what she’s doing and she’s PERFECT for the job!

She has always viewed her choice to become a Registered Nurse not merely a profession but as a calling. She currently works as a Registered Nurse in geriatrics and psychiatric. She works full-time in an English nursing home, part-time in a Jewish Hospital and in a French Hospital where she deals with patients with Alzheimer's. Beth is fluent in French, have a working knowledge in Hebrew, Arabic, Greek and also Spanish. She loves playing trivia in the net (where she humbly admits she’s always the top1), is a wonderful cook, loves watching movies and spending quality time with her family. Her priorities – family, work and…. HOUSEWORK!

The whole family loves to travel. Beth’s family love to ski on the winter and they go to the US during summer. New York city is just a 7-hour drive from Canada where The Fernandez Family now calls home. Beth’s husband “Anton” is the president of Filipino Seafarer's Brotherhood in Montreal (approx. 200 active members). They are also active in the Filipino community (approximately 50,000 Filipinos) in Montreal, Canada. Their children are also members of the "Kalinangan Dance Troup of Montreal" where they do folkdances and perform in various functions. This helps protect their Filipino sense of identity, which is also strongly linked to their knowledge of the Philippine language, our culture and heritage.

Spirituality takes a front seat in Beth’s personal, family life and in her nursing profession.  Indeed, for a person like her to be truly healthy there must be a balance of a healthy mind, body, spirit, family and community ties!

From all of us Novaliches High School On-line Community, we say Bonne chance! Good luck to The Fernandez Family! Mabuhay!

(On Spotlight Feature By Chona Villafuerte-Go)

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We would like to thank the following
Message Board Contributors:
Jaime Balanay
Gerry Bayona
Cindy Bautista
Mercedita Bontoc
Benjie Canonoy
Rachelle Erika Libunao Dancel
Hernani & Erlinda Del Rosario
Alexander Domingo
Janette Ellson-Espinosa
Jaypee Estigoy
Elizabeth Ellson-Fernandez
Norman Aceron Garcia
Arlene Hipolito
Romarico G. Igot
Florescel Rodriguez Laparan
Perpetua Socorro Vaughn-Canton (Nee Licarte)
AKA "Perpetua Licarte"
Sergio Lugod
Jaime Macaraeg
Elizalde Muyon
Joey Ordonez
Joseph Paras
Mark Rone

Also to Usernames: aimagene & almater
(Missing membership information!)

YOU TRULY KEEP OUR MESSAGE BOARD ALIVE
WITH YOUR POSTS!

More power to ALL of YOU!

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Special Thanks to: jonathan_perfecto@yahoo.com, blue_winter17@yahoo.com, guila@lycos.com, cute_g_24@yahoo.com, cherleen_aquino@yahoo.com, digitalpimp_21@yahoo.com, mgrace5379@yahoo.com, yoj9ap@yahoo.com, ojaustria@pldt.com.ph, philedy_hmp@yahoo.com, hadelro@yahoo.com, archua1@comcast.net, petvaughn@telus.net, ruben_esp@yahoo.com
for all your member referrals.
Please Keep them coming!