“A bright mind is nothing without a humble heart,” a phrase every Lapiscian is familiar with. After hearing this motto so many times, have you ever been curious about how our beloved LPSci came to be?

Established on July 30, 2009, Las Piñas City National Science High School is approaching its 13th year of excellence with the reopening of face-to-face classes.

In honor of this, we bring you a brief history of LPSci. Let’s reawaken our LPSci spirit from the two years of online classes. For the freshmen and women who have not yet experienced the LPSci campus life, this article might just get you into the school spirit.

To help us with this article, I interviewed Sir Reynaldo Gayas, one of our school’s pioneer teachers, for a deeper view of LPSci’s history.

Origins and Identity

Let’s start with the basics. The idea of establishing a Science High School in Las Piñas was first acknowledged in 2007 through R.A. 9451, but classes didn’t start until June 8, 2009. Fun fact No. 1; the first batch of Lapiscians stayed for a month at Las Piñas East National High School - Talon Village Annex before the official opening of the LPSci campus on July 30, 2009.

I asked Sir Gayas about their time at Las Piñas East and he shared, “The school welcomed us well. In fact, we occupied their auditorium. The school provided us with a faculty room. We did not feel any awkwardness, any sort of harassment, or disrespect. The teachers were attentive to our needs. We had a good relationship with them too and some of them became our friends.”

One of the other things Sir Gayas and I talked about was the school's logo. He shared, "The neuron represents the brain so that the school works at its best. The dendrites are parts of the neuron that signify constant communication with our stakeholders. The pioneer teachers and the administrators are represented by the rays coming from the torch. The rays also represent the different intelligences that the internal stakeholders possess."

If you came from one of the older batches of LPSci, like me, you may have heard... that the eight dendrites in the LPSci logo signify the eight pioneer teachers; however, Sir Gayas debunked this information saying, "Incidentally, it represents the 8 pioneer teachers when the logo was designed but it was not on purpose."

If you look closely at the two logos, you’ll see that the virtues at the bottom part have changed. According to Sir Gayas, the virtues were changed when Ma’am Cuevas, the third school head, decided to revise the school’s mission and vision to be anchored with Dep-Ed’s mission and vision during their in-service training.

Expanding on the logo’s symbolism, Sir Gayas shared that the shield represents protection and security to help us face challenges, and the lamp symbolizes education and wisdom. The bamboo at the bottom part of the logo represents Las Piñas, while the rainbow-like structure at the top is patterned to the logo of Las Piñas City Hall.

Clothed in Simplicity

Fun fact #2; the colors of our P.E uniform are also patterned to the color of the original logo of Las Piñas City Hall.

Speaking of uniforms, have you ever complained about ours? Be honest.

I know that LPSci student uniforms can seem boring with their beige and white color; however, it carries certain meaning to their design. When asked about our uniforms, Sir Gayas shared that the original uniforms they had designed were far from what we have today. “Ang unang design ng uniform natin ay blue ang collar na parang sailor type.” he shared. This design was rejected by the SDS or the Schools Division Superintendent and was changed to beige to symbolize the simple way of living.

Fun fact #3; in the earliest batches of LPSci, the girls’ uniforms didn’t have collars to put more emphasis on simplicity.

Batch 2009-2010

Undying Hymn of Excellence

Besides our uniform, another thing unique to LPSci is its hymn written by Sir Gayas and another pioneer teacher, the late Mr. Ronel Balistoy, and hymned by Sir Larry Byl Cuenca.

I asked Sir Gayas about his experience with writing the hymn, and he shared: “We started writing the lyrics with gladness in our hearts...we felt that sense of pride and contentment that we were the chosen few who started building the school and creating the environment.”

He added, “We were inspired by our own, our presence, committed to doing our very best to establish the post and to dream what the future holds for us. We believe that tomorrow is never a promise, but by believing in ourselves and inspiring ourselves to do our part, we were able to write the lyrics. It boils down to the love for our Alma Mater.”

He continued to say that the hymn started with the melody made by Sir Byl, and only after hearing the notes did they start weaving the lyrics.

Only Change is Constant

For being with LPSci since it was established, I asked Sir Gayas about his own experience with the school and the changes he saw throughout the years. “I've literally witnessed the good and the bad. One of the biggest changes is the physical facility kasi we started with [a] few things. We had one computer, 'yung Averatec, used by the whole faculty. All in one na siya,” he shared.

The school used to rely mainly on solicitations because the School Maintenance and Other Operating Expenses (MOOE) just wasn’t enough. Today, the school has many more resources in both the science and ICT lab.

Another change Sir Gayas observed was the approach to school programs. “One fact na ‘di ko alam kung positive or negative ay ‘yung pagdating sa programs sa school.” He said culminating activities used to be more fun because the whole school community was involved and that they even managed to allocate full days for these types of programs. However, now these programs are handled more strictly.

Aside from all of these changes, the most obvious and most important is the growth of the school population. “The LPSci family has grown a lot, dati kasi kaunti lang.” said Sir Gayas. From 24 students and eight pioneer teachers, LPSci has grown to over 800 students and more than 50 school faculty and staff. And it will continue to do so.

I have been in LPSci since 2017, and I’ve seen so much change - changes made by students, teachers, staff, and even parents. All of us today are part of LPSci’s history, and LPSci will always be part of our personal histories. Throughout the five years, I have been in this school, I have learned countless life lessons that I will carry with me forever.

So many things have changed in LPSci since its establishment in 2009. However, the one thing that has not changed is its motto: “A bright mind is nothing without a humble heart." That is perhaps the biggest life lesson LPSci has taught me.

Photo Credits: Jabez Zape