Salutation:
Greetings your Eminence and fellow AFC Family! Hope all is well with you and your respective families and communities, wherever you are, despite the ongoing threat from COVID-19!
Admin Briefs:
~ Tomorrow will be the last day of revision prior to the exams which will begin next Tuesday since Monday is a public holiday.
~ Tomorrow, all the Form 6 students taking the Tongan 'Anga fakafonua' course will conduct their IA Tasks and be marked by moderators from the MoE. For these particular tasks students learn how to present (fakatu'uta), and count (lau e ngaue).
~ All exam papers have been checked by the respective HOD's, and submitted to the DP Curriculum for final check before being given the green light to print. By Monday all papers should be ready.
Double Funerals:
Last Thursday the late Mr. Taufa Tatafu was called to eternal rest and his funeral was supposed to be on Tuesday 2nd of June. However, on Monday morning, his beloved wife Lata, who was in critical condition, also regrettably passed away. Both families then decided to hold one burial service for the beloved husband and wife.
His Eminence, Cardinal Mafi, was present at the funerals this morning (photo 009). Also present were a few staff members from AFC plus the college brass band to honor the late Mr. Tatafu who built the Memorial Hall of Sir. Sofele Kakala & Bp. Patelisio Finau. Since the late Mr. Tatafu was an ex-scholar of Tonga College, the 'Atele Brass Band were also there. It was a wonderful scene to see the two college bands combined to accompany the funeral cortege to the graveyard (photo 016).
Construction & Reconstruction Works:
~ The 3rd new building, which is the southern side of St. Mary's admin block, is going up and currently they're pouring concrete on the beams (photo 024). The first and second new buildings are about 80% and 70% completed, respectively.
~ Science Lab: The excitement around the Science Labs is the display of skills by a lone Chinese man laying the tiles (photo 010). It's a sight to behold observing the master-tiler in action! As the building is nearing completion, there's beauty emanating from it because of its size and height (photo 026).
~ We're looking forward to commence the labs for the Science students next week. Makalita Kiutau has been scratching her poor head as the work was dragging on, but now she can smile! There are a few items desperately needed such as the gas burner faces which can't be found here in Tonga. However, we made some desperate calls to our committed ex-students in Sydney and they're responding promptly with the help of Fr. 'Ita Koloamatangi. Hopefully, these items will arrive soon.
AFC Botanical Garden:
Recently, the weather has been favourable to our sandal woods. We also received some professional tips from officers of the Ministry of Agriculture to plant alongside the ahi what is locally known as 'tanetane' as they reciprocate. Hence, the students and teachers are now cutting and collecting tanetane from wherever they can find them and plant them beside the ahi trees.
The Department for Environment has learned of our project and they've promised to contribute 250 fruit trees. It's heartening to experience the local support to our project. Meanwhile, we're still keeping our fingers crossed for the funds requested from the NZ High Com.
Conclusion:
Please pray for our students as they psyche themselves up for the Mid-Year exams beginning next Tuesday.
Viva AFC!
Ekuasi