KHS - History

Year 1983 when Ms. Diana Santos, principal of Rizal High School decided that a new annex should be established to cater to high school students from Barangays Pineda, Oranbo, Ugong and Bagong Ilog. Scouting for the most ideal location, she came to know of a parcel of land donated by Ortigas and Co., to the government of Pasig (then still a municipality), originally intended for the extension of Pineda Elementary School. Having proved that there was a greater need and urgency for an annex campus in the secondary level compared to the elementary, Ms. Santos was granted the use of the land for the third annex of Rizal High School. And so it was that Rizal High School Annex, Kapitolyo started with just one building with eight classrooms, the Imelda Building. There were only six sections then - three on first year level and another three on second year level. The first Head Teacher In-Charge of the annex was Mrs. Bella C. Conde, now a permanent resident of U.S.A.

The annex back then was open, without the present perimeter walls. The stairs leading down to the main ground was muddy and very slippery during the rainy season. On sunny and windy days the ground is cluttered with dried leaves and kapok from the numerous trees that grow on the once open land. Students and teachers make do with whatever provisions were given by the mother school. Classes then ended at 7:30 p.m. A couple of years after, a second building was built - the Chinese Building so-named after the donor, Federation of Chinese Chamber of Commerce, Inc. It was a two-floor, two-classroom building made of wood. To accommodate more students, a four-classroom one-storey, semi-concrete structure was built diagonally opposite Imelda Building from government funds. Another two-classroom structure was donated by one Gabaldon and Co. and was named Jacinto Building. This was followed by the construction of the school canteen, a bungalow type structure. A six-classroom pre-fab structure was also constructed adjacent to the Chinese Building.

Rizal High School Annex, Kapitolyo together with all the public schools in Pasig experienced a facelift when Vicente P. Eusebio was elected municipal Mayor. His government thrust was on education and he thought of improving it through infrastructures. In 1997, the new four-storey VPE Bldg., Phase I was constructed and replaced the old and dilapidated four-classroom structure. It was after its inauguration that Mrs. Conde left the school and migrated to the USA. Mrs. Nenita Villamarin, the former Science Department Head of the main campus took over the headship of the annex. During her time, from February 1997 to November 2001, the campus received a lot of improvements. A modern Science laboratory was put up in place of the two classrooms on the ground floor of Imelda Building. A BSP/GSP troop house was erected from canteen funds. The VPE Phase II Building, an imposing six-storey structure was constructed on the site where the six-classroom structure formerly stood. The Chinese Building had to be demolished to give way for this construction. A Guidance Center and a School Clinic were put up in place of the remaining classrooms on the ground floor of Imelda Building. The computer room formerly housed on the third floor of VPE I was moved to the second floor of Imelda Bldg. Another room was needed to house the additional computer units. An AVR and a property stock room were put up on the same floor.

On November 2001, Mrs. Villamarin was transferred to Pinagbuhatan Annex, a campus student population almost tripled that of Kapitolyo. She was replaced by Mr. Inocencio C. Arabit, former THE department Head of the main campus.

An action man by heart, Mr. Arabit requested one after another improvements on security of the campus. The perimeter walls surrounding the campus were either augmented or replaced by stronger structures, thus ending the old problem of forcible entries into the campus by unscrupulous elements. The windows of the two VPE Buildings were also secured by grills and iron gates were installed on the ground floors. the age-old problem of deficient supply of potable water was ended with the rehabilitation of the MWSS water pipeline leading to the school and the construction of a drinking fountain for the students. The roofdeck, which could not be used as alternate venue for school programs because of too much heat on sunny days and rain during heavy rains now serves as both conference room and as activity hail for MAPEH classes after having been renovated and its roof insulated. The covered pathwalk had been cemented and the drainage canal had been covered, thus improving the overall appearance of the campus grounds. Twenty-six brand new computer units as well as computer tables and chairs were added to the original sets being used, courtesy of the City Government.

As to accomplishments, RHSAK has also gone a long way. Two students from the campus who made their teachers very proud are Edelle Mabazza, who emerged Magna Cum Laude in BS Economics of the Polytechnic University of the Philippines for school year 2001 - 2002 and Norberto Esteral, who was given the American Hoover's Young Engineer Award and his project received the Best Environmental Project Award from the American Meteorological Association during the National Intel Science Fair in 2001. Mabazza was among the first batch (1997) of graduates from RHSAK, while Esteral belonged to batch 2002.

Before year 2002 ended, Mr. Arabit thought of requesting the Division Office for the graduation of Batch 2003 of RHSAK to be held in the annex campus. The PTA Officers were more than glad to support the idea and immediately resolved to push for its realization. And so it was that Batch 2003 received their diplomas in the campus where they spent four years of their high school life as the first-ever commencement exercise was held in the annex campus on April 2, 2003. Batch 2004 was even luckier as five of them graduated with the titles Valedictorian, Salutatorian, First, Second and Third Honorable Mentions on same stage and in the same campus.

The HTIC motivated by the approval of a separate graduation exercise for the annex school, initiated a move with the help of the PTA to work for the independence of the annex campus from its mother school. The tedious process of preparing all the documentary requirements for this seemed endless but the prospect of success was overwhelming.

Thus, on June 2, 2004, the annex campus was separated from the mother school and was named KAPITOLYO HIGH SCHOOL. The newly-gained independence motivated both faculty and students to strive and make a name for the new school, all its own, towards “unhiding” the “hidden” and proving the real paradise of learning it wants so much to be. The future looks good and promising for the school with humble beginnings.