Living up to its reputation as a student – friendly school, the Zamboanga del Norte National High School (ZNNHS) offered its helping hand to Rene Angelou Gillera, a grade 12 student-athlete of the main campus. In his valiant effort to help his team advance to the championship round, Gillera sustained a horrific life-changing injury on his right leg during a basketball game of the school’s recently concluded intramural meet. He was brought to Corazon C. Aquino Memorial Hospital at Barra, Dipolog City where he went through an orthopedic surgery that had him confined there for more than two weeks. His surgery which necessitated a stainless steel implant cost around twenty – two thousand pesos (P22,000.00) excluding other expenses for his medications,  a hefty amount for his mother, a single parent, whose income is irregular and below the minimum wage.

Good thing for Gillera though, he is enrolled in a student – friendly school that is ready to extend any form of assistance in whatever possible way it can. Evident to this was the financial assistance amounting to sixteen thousand pesos (P16,000.00) extended to his family to help defray the fifty four percent (54%)  cost of the stainless steel and other expenses incurred during his confinement in the aforementioned hospital. This was made possible through the initiative of the School Sports Coordinator, Jonald L. Noli, with the full support of the school’s OIC – Principal, Adrian G. Refugio. The initiative was simply to appeal to all students, teachers and the non-teaching personnel for any amount of monetary assistance to raise funds for the partial payment of his surgery. The response was quite overwhelming and heart-warming. It highlighted the caring nature and generosity of ZNNHS community and the decisiveness of the school management to take action for the welfare of its learners. Such action was an embodiment of the school’s commitment to being a student-friendly school.