Salutation:
Lenten Greetings your Eminence and fellow 'Apifo'ou Family! As we progress with our journey in the desert, may the words of St. Paul in 2 Cor. 12:9 "My grace is enough for you..." remain the silver-lining of this Lenten journey.
Admin Briefs
We're beyond the halfway mark of this Term after having completed week six. While the excitement is mounting with the extra-curricular activities currently undergoing, we're also focused on the 1st Assessment to come during weeks 8 & 9.
PTA Meeting
The annual PTA Meeting for Apifo'ou College was held yesterday. The strong presence of the parents presented a twofold statement: they're happy with the progress of the college up to this juncture; and they wish to come aboard in a big way to work together with the teachers towards better learning outcomes for their children. As seen below, the PTA presented a cheque of $4500 to the college to help with the preparation of our athletes. Malo fau e tokoni.
Seen above is Mrs. Kautoke, a die-hard supporter of the college, offering her words of encouragement. Seen below are the athletes enjoying their Lenten meal.
DEAR & Enrichment Programs
These two programs are rolled into one as Ms. Singa Kaifoto engaged with the students to improve their literacy rates and skills. We're grateful that the Volunteer Program fully supports these innovations. A 20ft-container will arrive this month from Melbourne bringing in more textbooks and other tools to assist the programs.
Form 7's Special Program
Special efforts are put in place to help the Form 7 students achieve optimum outcomes this year. One of their classrooms has been transformed into a Research Computer Lab and hopefully this will make a huge impact on their learning outcomes. The Modus Operandi for Form 7 is that when they exit the college at the end of the year, they are armed with a profound sense of 'Wholeness & Holiness'. And to that end, the Principal is teaming up with Dr. Leonaitasi Hoponoa to educate these final-year students in the areas of Spirituality and Human Development.
These programs are designed to allow these senior students to interact, articulate, and navigate their own journey towards full self-discovery.
School Assembly
The weekly school assembly provides a wonderful opportunity for students to take leading roles in educating the whole school. They choose the theme for the week and then elaborate on its meaning and relevancy. This week, Mrs. Fakalanu Tahi prepared her Form 6R Class to lead the assembly under the theme of Patience.
Weekly Eucharist
The weekly celebration of the Mass is the only other program that brings the whole school together apart from the weekly assembly. The whole school is always reminded that the Holy Eucharist is the 'lifeblood' of all activities at the college.
Religious Education (RE) Department
The RE Department, led by Sr. 'Akanesi Liongi, has been instrumental in organizing spiritual programs to help nurture the spiritual life of the college. Some of the Parish Priests, Religious, and Lay People have been involved in the Retreat and Prayer Day programs. The Retreats for all Levels will begin next week as part of the preparation for the Holy Week. However, this week the Department was blessed to have the ECL Director Fr. Mateo Kivalu guiding the teachers in a Professional Development session.
Athletics Squad
More athletes are in camp now as we have roughly 3 weeks left before the Inter-Collegiate Sports begin on the 2nd of April.
Seen here below is the Captain of the school's Athletics Squad, Ms Fele'unga Mafi, who hails from a sporting family in Ha'asini.
Our athletes enjoy from time to time some Zumba sessions led by the Principal himself. Other times they join the sessions led by some elite Zumba instructors.
NRL Teams
The school's NRL Teams have been blessed to have the services of the national NRL coaches, mostly from Ma'ufanga, to be giving them a few tips on how to do it.
Shared Lunch for Teachers
Every Friday the staff members gather in the Staff Room to share lunch and catch up on the latest announcements and developments. This week it was the ideal opportunity to welcome the 13 Teachers Trainees from the Tonga National University (TNU) and Tupou Tertiary Institute (TTI). Welcome one and all to AFC!
MEIDECC Tree-Planting Program
The government Department looking after the environment donated 200 assorted trees, mostly timber and fruit trees. They also helped students to do the planting. We're grateful to this contribution as it extends our AFC Botanical Garden Project.
Seen above is Mrs. Norma Bourke Taukapo, an Officer from MEIDECC, who was present with us to supervise the planting program.
Ex-Students' Executive Committee
The ex-students' Executive Committee are building up the momentum as we prepare for the historic event of the Ground-Breaking Ceremony of the college's new Chapel on the 26th of April. Seen blow are the participants in a TV & Radio program to discuss and prepare for the ceremony that was recorded on Tuesday.
PTA Pea Visitation
The PTA Executive Committee continued their visit and consultation in parishes on Tuesday evening. This time round it was the Parish of Pea. It's also wonderful to see the support of the Parish Priests.
New Teacher's Quarters
Last week the college signed with Officers from the Ministry of Infrastructure the formal contract of one housing quarter for Apifo'ou. I requested 3 houses from government but the Prime Minister counseled starting with one. The college badly needs to upgrade the teachers' living quarters. Luckily Tonga doesn't enforce any Occupation Safety rules otherwise all our teachers' quarters would be dismantled.
Seen below are our ex-students and Contractor who will construct the house.
Seen above is 'Alani Mahoni and below is the location of the new quarter. This used to be the quarter occupied by the late Deputy Principal, Mrs. 'Analena Ta'ai RIP.
Conclusion
Please accept our heartfelt gratitude for all the support and prayers for our beloved college.
Let's continue to pray for each other as we enter this 4th week of Lent.
Viva AFC!
Ekuasi