03/02/2026
The Founding of Saint Paulâs Memorial School: A History of Faith, Resilience, and Community Spirit
[Synthesized from the writings of Mrs. Ernestine Griffiths, Valentina Attolba, Nancy Fonbuena, Augustus U. Saboy and Lloyd Tangbawan.]
As we celebrate the Centennial of Saint Paulâs Mission, we look back with profound gratitude at one of its most enduring legacies: Saint Paulâs Memorial School (SPMS), now SPMSKI. While records often fade with time, the discovery of handwritten notes on yellowed paper by the late Lloyd Tangbawan, combined with the memoirs of the Griffiths family and Augustus Saboy, allows us to piece together the remarkable story of how this institution came to be.
The story of SPMS is not merely one of academic necessity; it is a story of a community rebuilding itself after the ravages of World War II, driven by a desire for peace, education, and honor.
THE POST-WAR VACUUM
Following the surrender of Japan and the end of World War II, the mountains of Kalinga were silent but scarred. Education had been disrupted for years. Young men and women from Balbalasang, eager to resume their studies, faced a daunting landscape. The nearest high schools â St. Teresitaâs School and Kalinga Academyâwere in Lubuagan, more than a dayâs hike away. Lagangilang High School in Abra was an even more arduous three-day journey.
For many students, the distance was not the only barrier. As recounted by the late Augustus U. Saboy, the political climate following a congressional election had severed the Bodong (Peace Pact) between the Banao and Lubuagan tribes. With the threat of vengeance killing and tribal conflict looming, it became unsafe for Balbalasang students to trek to Lubuagan. The youth were trapped â hungry for education but hemmed in by conflict and geography. It was this combination of longing for education, dangerous travel, and the harsh memory of war that prepared the ground for a new idea in Balbalasang.
A PROPOSAL IN THE MISSION HOUSE
On June 9, 1946, in his residence at St. Paulâs Mission, Rev. Griffiths called together a small group of village leaders, teachers, and young people to discuss an important proposal: the opening of a high school in Balbalasang itself.
Those present included Frederick Daoâayan, Eugene Lingayo, Mariano Gumabay, Henry Abbacan, Henry Daoâwan, George Malaggay, Samuel Saboy, John Daoâwan, Mariano Simâang, and Lloyd Tangbawan. For some of them, the discussion was not just about âa schoolâ in the abstract â it was about whether they and their children could continue their own education without the danger and cost of long journeys to distant towns.
The idea was quickly and warmly received. For the youth of Balbalasang, it held the promise of continuing their education âin their own village,â only a short walk from their homes instead of grueling days on the trail. On the civil side, Kalinga SubâProvincial Deputy Governor Mary PuyaoâCuesta pledged her support and promised to help secure government recognition for the proposed high school. Local leaders, notably Municipal President Juan Puyao, also expressed their backing.
The response in that June meeting was immediate and enthusiastic. The question was no longer whether to have a school, but what kind of school it should be and how soon it could open.
CHOOSING THE KIND OF SCHOOL
The first debate centered on the type of school Balbalasang needed. Some argued for an agricultural or vocational school, believing that such a program would be more directly suited to the life of a farming and tribal community. Others, led by Mr. Frederick Daoâayan, pointed out that an agricultural school required more land, capital, and equipment than the community could presently provide. There were also more teachers available with academic training than with agricultural specialization.
In the end, the group agreed that an academic secondary school â with strong Christian, practical, and community components â would best serve the youth and could realistically be started with the people and resources at hand.
A NAME IN MEMORY
As the plans for the new school took shape, another important question arose: what should it be called? Several names were proposed, including St. Paulâs Academy and Balbalasang High School. Rev. Griffiths, however, urged the community to consider a name that would embody both the missionâs patron and the villageâs recent history: Saint Paulâs Memorial School.
The name was chosen as a memorial to the men from St. Paulâs Mission who gave their lives in the Second World War â among them eight soldiers from Balbalasang and Talalang. The high school would stand not only as an answer to the educational needs of the youth, but also as a living monument to the courage and sacrifice of those who had fallen âfor the sake of freedom during the war.â (Read more here: https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1DL6ywZYJm/ )
The community embraced the idea. Thus was born Saint Paulâs Memorial School (SPMS), a school whose very name is a reminder that education is both a gift and a responsibility, paid for in part by the sacrifices of an earlier generation.
FORMAL OPENING: JULY 15, 1946
From the âyellow pagesâ of Mr. Tangbawanâs notes and other supporting documents, we now know that St. Paulâs Memorial School formally opened on July 15, 1946, and classes began in 1947. Twentyâsix students enrolled in the first and second year levels. With no dedicated classrooms yet, the church building served as the main venue for instruction.
The pioneer faculty were a small but remarkable group: Rev. Alfred L. Griffiths himself; Mrs. Ernestine C. Griffiths, who taught English; Mr. Frederick Daoâayan, who also served as the first principal; Mr. Lloyd Tangbawan; and Mrs. Anne Wasay Dungo. They understood that a fledgling private high school in a farâflung mountain village might not attract many students from distant places.
Yet they believed that if it served faithfully the youth of Balbalasang and neighboring communities, it would survive and even thrive. Time proved them right.
In recognition of this documented opening date, it is now fitting for SPMS/SPMSKI to celebrate July 15, 1946 as its Foundation Day, even as some earlier commemorations used official government recognition dates, such as April 27, 1957, when the Department of Education authorized the school to operate a full secondary program.
EARLY LIFE AT ST. PAULâS MEMORIAL SCHOOL
From 1947 to 1950, Mrs. Ernestine Griffithsâ letters and manuscripts paint a vivid picture of life at the young high school. Students came âfrom far and near⌠some two and a half days distant,â bringing their own rice and living in the dormitories so as not to burden the villagers still recovering from war and repeated famines. Classes were conducted in English, as required by the Bureau of Private Schools, with additional requirements in Tagalog and Spanish. Alongside academic courses, students took religious education, athletics, and industrial work.
The girls learned sewing and knitting, while the boys made brooms, wove baskets, and cared for chickens and pigs. All students worked in the school gardens, which produced abundant vegetablesâpechay, cabbage, radish, beans, tomatoes, and camoteâthat nourished both body and community. One outstanding contribution of those early classes was the writing down, for the first time, of the legends and stories of their people, preserving Kalinga and Tingguian heritage for future generations.
Music, too, was at the heart of the schoolâs life. St. Paulâs choir, trained by Rev. Griffiths and mission nurse Miss Dorothea Taverner, became renowned for its fourâpart a capella singing during church services and festivals. Annual fiestas for St. Paulâs Day (January 25), along with Christmas, Holy Week, and other great feasts, wove together liturgy, athletics, community feasting, and indigenous cultural expressions into a powerful experience of shared life âwhere all were of one mind and one spirit in Christ.â
BUILT BY FAITH, SUSTAINED BY SERVICE
The schoolâs development in the decades after its founding continued to reflect the same spirit of selfâhelp and service. After Mr. Daoâayanâs retirement, he was succeeded as principal by Mr. Lloyd Tangbawan, whose careful notes preserved much of the schoolâs early history. In 1968, while Mr. Tangbawan was on study leave, the Rev. Alejandro R. Tauli served as principal and described St. Paulâs as a school âerected gratis in 1945 by the village people⌠a labor of love and faith,â serving primarily the Tingguian and Kalinga communities at the edge of the KalingaâAbra region.
Leadership passed in time to Mrs. Rose C. Mangaoang (principal from 1970 until her retirement in 1992), Mrs. Virginia Mangaoang (TIC), the Rev. Allen Aligo (headmaster), Mrs. Bernadette Rose M. Page (TIC, 1997â2009), and then to Mrs. Valentina Attolba, Ph.D., who was appointed principal in 2010 with the task of reorganizing staff, curriculum, and facilities and was later named Executive Director.
In 2013, Mrs. Rachel A. Panod, Ph.D., became principal, working alongside Dr. Attolba to modernize the school while preserving its mission identity. SPMS became Saint Paulâs Memorial School of Kalinga, Inc. (SPMSKI) in the early 2000s.
Today, Saint Paulâs Memorial School of Kalinga, Inc. (SPMSKI), as it is now known, stands as one of the enduring fruits of St. Paulâs Mission. It was born from war, yet dedicated to peace; born from local initiative, yet open to the wider church and world; born as a memorial to the fallen, yet committed to forming the living.
As we mark the centennial of Saint Paulâs Mission, we honor with gratitude the visionaries, teachers, students, benefactors, elders, and villagers whose faith and courage brought Saint Paulâs Memorial School into being in 1946. Their legacy endures every time a young person from Balbalasang and beyond walks up the hill to class, hears the Gospel, discovers the joy of learning, and takes a place in the long story of Godâs work through St. Paulâs.
