THE “SUPERSTAR” takes up the cudgels for the public school teachers who honored her in Quezon City on Tuesday. NIÑO JESUS ORBETA

She didn’t finish grade school, but movie icon Nora Aunor has long made it to the honor roll in the eyes of fans, including star-struck public school teachers in Quezon City.

In celebration of National Language Month, the Quezon City Public School Teachers Association (QCPSTA) and the Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT) conferred on the actress the “Tunay na Alagad ng Sining” (true disciple of art) Award on Tuesday, citing her promotion of the Filipino language through her award-winning performances.

It was the latest occasion for academicians and artists to heap praise on Aunor following her non-inclusion in this year’s National Artist Awards, an honor bestowed by Malacañang, reportedly due to her history of drug use.

“This is to recognize her as a national artist and to celebrate Philippine art and culture,” QCPSTA president Priscilla Ampuan said in an interview after the program held at Ramon Magsaysay High School in Cubao.

The audience cheered Aunor on by singing her ’70s hit “Superstar ng Buhay Ko” (Superstar of My Life). Students—who were not yet even born when Aunor debuted in show biz, recorded love songs and starred in a string of classic films—reenacted her popular scenes and gave her roses onstage

In her speech, a teary-eyed Aunor said she reached only Grade 2, “but with this honor I feel like I was able to attend high school. I will never forget this.”

“I want you (students) to remember that whatever hardships you may now have, no matter how poor you are, you can reach your dreams if you work hard,” Aunor said.

“You came to know me as Nora Villamayor, the girl from the province (Camarines Sur) who sold water at the train station, who picked through trash for scraps of lead (tingga) to be sold per kilo at the junk shop for at least 10 centavos. On my way home from school, I often passed by the dump to look for copper so I could have some money to give to my parents. I worked hard to lift my family from poverty. There’s no such thing as an impossible dream.”

Aunor was accompanied by close friend and multi-awarded scriptwriter Ricky Lee who, in a video message played during the program, told her: “With everything that you’ve shared with the Filipino people, you no longer need to prove anything to anyone.”

ACT party-list Rep. Antonio Tinio, son of the late National Artist for Literature and Theater Rolando S. Tinio, noted that his father wrote the screenplay for “Till We Meet Again,” one of Aunor’s movies. “It’s an honor to be with you here today, ma’am,” the  lawmaker said.

Last month, an online campaign was launched to declare Aunor “People’s National Artist,” while the University of the Philippines’ College of Mass Communication announced that Aunor would receive the 2014 UP Gawad Plaridel media award for using her “tremendous popularity as an opportunity to (help) the masses… appreciate films and plays (depicting) the abject conditions of the Filipino majority and the poor and powerless characters that she  played with conviction.”

The Gawad Plaridel awarding rites are set on Aug. 27 at the UP Film Center.