School Starts 2018 & Super Blue Blood Moon

Students have returned to campus!  Monday was Orientation; faculty members and new students were introduced and the school rules were shared.  Rules covered attendance, dress code, hair cuts, policies, and everything in between.  When classes started Tuesday, students were finding classrooms, working through schedule glitches, figuring out transportation, etc.    

A new family from Australia is attending Vaiola College this year.  Brother McKenna purchased and presented the school with new uniforms for the rugby team.

Brother McKenna's son showing the uniform---so appreciated!

This year the 9 Be's are being incorporated into homeroom where students will repeat them each morning with the corresponding hand motions.  The 9 Be's are:  Be Grateful, Be Smart, Be Clean, Be True, Be Humble, Be Prayerful, Be Positive, Be Still, and Be Involved.

Teachers presenting the 9 B's.

 It is great to welcome back dorm boys and girls who arrived from the Solomon Islands and Vanuatu as well as the surrounding areas of Savaii too distant for a commute.  We love hearing laughter again and seeing volleyball, rugby, netball, and soccer practices underway.

Saturday laundry is a sure sign the kids are back.

What is our part in all this?   We are making preparations in anticipation of ITEP classes starting up next week.  We've solidified a syllabus for each of the four ITEP classes that will run concurrently, a very robust endeavor.  Initial contact with teachers indicates full participation.  We continue to work with BYU-Hawaii applicants, especially since Feb. 1^st was a deadline.  

Students loved the welcome back activity on Friday---a dance all morning.  Prior to the dance portion, they had inspection which means each must show their school uniform, their matching flip flops, and scriptures; the boys must have appropriate hair cuts.  They were dressed in their Sunday best and with encouragement from teachers, all were eventually on the floor dancing.

Group of girls waiting for their inspection.

Yep, they have everything.

 Waiting for the Dance:

Let the dance begin! 

 

Wednesday night to early Thursday morning was the Super Blue Blood Moon.  Ron took some great pictures:

Saturday presented an opportunity for us to attend a baptism of a young boy.   The baptism font sits outside in the middle of the church grounds located in the village of Puapua.  We've become acquainted with that family who operates a store, decorates cakes, and rents motorcycles for tourists.  

Just for fun from Grandpa---ants carrying a Gecko.

Church today was packed with the dorm kids filling the pews.  They are like a built in choir.

Additionally, I pay tribute to a beloved friend, Jane Barton, who passed away this week.  She was one of my mother's best friends while growing up in Nevada and I was greatly blessed by her kindly influence.