Salutation
Lenten greetings your Eminence and fellow AFC Family!
Admin Briefs
The Forms 6 & 7 students returned to school on Wednesday. We anticipated a slow and small progress in terms of students willing to come back to school. We had to enforce all the guidelines highlighted by the Ministry of Health to ensure the safety of everyone. The two main gates were manned by teachers to check each student as they enter. Only those who have had their first and second vaccinations were allowed into the school's property. Even vehicles are being controlled to avoid congestion! Staff and students are reminded of the few basic requirements to wash their hands with sanitizers, wear masks at all times, and maintain social distancing.
Volunteer Program
All the Forms 6 & 7 staff and students were guided through the school's website today. In particular, we emphasized the use of the 'AFC Forum'. Those who were present are now able to log on and follow the rest of the instructions. They are now able to post there questions or comments on any topics of special interest to them. And the idea here is for teachers or ex-student volunteer tutors overseas to lend a hand in answering or explaining our students' queries on the same online platform.
Our faithful Coordinators, Mr. & Mrs. Lolohea, have sent the Package which contains the Laptops, iPads, Tablets, etc. to be utilized for this purpose. Unfortunately, due to the lockdown we have not been able to secure their release yet from Customs. The Level 6 staff are excited as they'll have their separate Printing System, Wifi, etc. which will hopefully motivate them to learn.
Cassava container
On Wednesday we managed to fill up the cassava container for New Zealand with 609 bags! The container will leave Tonga on the 29th of this month. Since this container concluded our harvest and use of the Nishi Trading facility at 'Utulau, we prepared a special lunch and shared it with Mr. Minoru Jr and his workers. This was the least we could do to thank them for such a generous support for the college.
As seen below, one could easily mistake these boys for DHL employees but these are our students who have been helping with the harvest since day 1. The bigger ones are in the senior Rugby Team, so this was part of their off-season training!!
Relief Aid
Relief aids are still arriving at the college. This time round it's from my Bilolevu Club in Fiji! They sent some food items to be distributed among the clergy and religious communities, plus a few desperate families. I've written a brief letter of gratitude to Mr. Howard Ah Sam, Mr. Willie Wye and the rest for this wonderful gesture of solidarity.
Conclusion
It has been announced in the Government's Press Conference this morning that another strict lockdown begins tomorrow evening. The number of positive cases has climbed to an alarming level! I've urged our staff and students to make good use of the AFC Forum during this time. Please continue to pray for the 'Apifo'ou Family especially those who have been affected by this pandemic. We thank you all.
Viva AFC!
Ekuasi