Salutation:
Warm greeting to Your Eminence and fellow Apifo'ou Family! Special greetings and welcome home to the Alumni 72-73, St. John's & St. Mary's from all over the globe who are currently here in Tonga for their Reunion!
Admin Briefs
The focus for this week is the coverage of syllabus for all Levels. Meanwhile, the Level 6 students are still engaged in their Internal Assessments. The Form 7 students have one more week of break before they resume studies for Semester 2.
The week was quite eventful as far as extra-curricular activities are concerned. The college hosted the McAuley High School girls from Auckland. School sports such as Rugby, Netball, and Soccer are in their Playoffs stage. This means that some Teams have wrapped up early their competitions while others are still fighting on! The afternoon and evening classes for Level 6 have resumed. This is done both at the college and at the Parishes, which is part of our strategies to help students prepare well for their exams, both internal and external.
Extra Classes
The PTA is taking leading roles in organizing the evening classes. It's not an easy task as some classes are done at the college while some are held at the Parishes. It takes good planning but more importantly, the commitment of teachers, students, and parents. Part of this exercise is that the teachers get a stipend of $50 per hour.
Seen here are Sr. Sesilia and Lisiate Telefoni with their English and Maths students.
Sports
All the sporting Teams at the college are in the Playoffs stage. For Rugby, only three Teams remained to do battle in the semis and finals. The two Grade 1's are still surviving, so is our Senior 1XV.
As for the Netball Teams, only the Intermediate A & B are through to the finals. The rest have bowed out!
The Soccer Teams are doing better than both Rugby and Netball as they have more Teams still continuing into the final stages.
Seen above are our senior Team members, Fea'o mo e Lotu & Stefan Kama presenting cash donations to the Officials of the Vava'u combined Team. The rugby boys from Vava'u shocked the nation as they beat Tonga College in the quarters 36-31 on Friday! Seen here are the Principal of Kelana, Mr. Edgar Haak and the Coach Hingano. Amazingly, they collected 18,000 from their Street Appeal!
Seen above are our Senior Rugby Squad taking part in their weekly Eucharist as an integral part of their preparations.
Seen above is the Head Coach of Grade 1's, 'Alipate, giving that pep talk to inspire the boys! Seen below is the Senior Team doing their usual routine saying a Prayer of Thanksgiving after beating Tonga High School 24-14 in the 1/4 Final. They're now psyching up for the showdown against Tupou College in the semifinal. Vava'u will meet Liahona in the other semifinal.
Tonga National University Students
Eleven students from TNU will begin their four-week Practicum at the college next week. They were briefed by the DP Curriculum, Ms. Laumanu Ma'afu on Friday.
McAuley Girls High School
This week we welcomed the Principal, Deputy Principal, four staff members and 30 students from McAuley High School. They were accorded the Kava Ceremony which was really moving for the Touring Party. They were then treated to a shared Lunch with the whole school, both to thank and farewell them on Thursday. Though brief, they admitted that they thoroughly enjoyed their time here at 'Apifo'ou.
Seen above is the Kava ceremony being accorded to the Principal of McAuley. Seen below are the Principal, staff and students arriving at the college.
The two schools exchanged a lot in terms of cultures through dancing and singing.
Seen below is Mrs. Soana Kauhalaniua. Her trip 'Foki Ki 'Api' was a joy-filled one. However, there was a touch of melancholy as she recalled all those years that she went through Apifo'ou as a student and as a Teacher. The Kauhalaniua's have Blue-Hearts and thus coming home to visit was very unique.
Special Visitor!
On Monday a 'Palangi boy' walked into my Office, already dressed in the school uniform, and looking confidently. With a grin on his face, he announced that he's now a student of 'Apifo'ou College. I asked him about all this and he said, "Since my Dad was the Dux in 1999 I have every right to be here!" Seen below is Jaden Andreas, son of Tamale Andreas, Dux of 1999. You can see Tamale's name on the Honour's Board on the wall. Anyway, Jaden came to Tonga for a holiday but decided he must come visit the school where his dad excelled.
Malia Tu'ineau
Malia, our Science Teacher, has been offered a 'Lifeline' by Mr. Kelemete 'Elika and a few ex-students from Seattle. They have sent enough funds to cover her Tuition, Travels, Accommodation, and Allowance Package. Seen below is Mr. Kelemete 'Elika, who with a handful of ex-students including his wife, sent TOP $11,482 for this project. Malo lahi e 'ofa Mete.
The smile says it all! Malia is all smiles as she's now able to go back to the University of the South Pacific in Fiji to complete her studies for a Bachelor of Science Degree.
Frank Enterprises
We continue to witness the ongoing efforts by Mr. Frank Mateo and his family to expand their business. This time they moved into Real Estate. They've just completed two fully furnished houses for rent. We were informed that before the consecration yesterday the two houses have been taken up by the Australian High Commission.
Special Reunion!
The top three students from 'Apifo'ou College in 1981 reunited last week after 42 years! Though brief, Felise Tavo and his beloved wife Kara, met up with the Hon. Minister for Infrastructure, Seventeen Toumo'ua, and Maletino Hola. They are also part of the 1975 Alumni Group which celebrate their 50th Anniversary next year!
Alumni 1972 - 1973 Reunion Ball Pictorials!
It's worth a mention here, that these Alumni ex-students have been very generous to the school over the years. They have had several Projects for the Anniversary celebrations in 2011. However, the prominent ones are the two Buses and Truck that the college have enjoyed to date. However, the remaining bus appeared to have outlived its designated years of service! Hence, much to my joy and gratitude, it was announced at the Ball last night that they've accepted the college's humble request for a Shuttle Bus! Grace a Dieu! Fakamalo lahi atu 'Eiki Katinali mo ho To'uako e toutou tali e fakatangi 'oku fai atu mei hotau 'Apiako 'Ofa'anga!
Seeing all the new styles and fashions last night, one might think that the Emmy Awards were held at the Tanoa Hotel. Seen below is a special group as some of the Champions of that Rugby "Triple Crowns 77-78-79" Teams are found here below.
Seen above are the Coordinators of the Apifo'ou Volunteers Program from Melbourne, Mr. & Mrs. Lolohea. Great to see you both back in Tonga.
Seen below is His Eminence, Cardinal Paini Mafi, after cutting the Anniversary cake.
This Alumni has special talented individuals. Seen above is 'Aleki Tamole doing a Mr. Bean show! Below is the super Pop singer, Mr. Sati Naufahu.
Seen above is Lady Pasemata Vi Taunisila gracing the occasion with a dance.
Seen above is Tu'akilaumea a.k.a. Setefano Loloa calling his troops from Aussie for their item, and guess who would respond first, none other than Sosefo Selui. Seen below is Sefo exhibiting some of his moves on the dance floor.
Conclusion
May I take this opportunity to thank you all for your continuous support for our beloved 'Apifo'ou College.
Please continue to pray for our remaining Teams in the Playoffs and of course all the planned activities of the college for this third term.
VIVA AFC!
Ekuasi
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