austraLasia #2797
Shortland Islands: not 'the' statue, but a Don Bosco Statue procession, nevertheless!
Bishop Luciano Capelli sdb
NILA (Shortland Islands, Gizo diocese, Solomon Isalnds): 3 February 2011 -- When I first heard of the name of the Saint John School at Nila I inquired about who that saint John was:
"John the Baptist, John the Evangelist or John who, nao?
"John Bosco" was the reply.
I could not believe my ears, the Saint whom I took as a model for my life, the founder of the Congregation to which I have belonged for 45 years, the John after whom I named the first Don Bosco School in the country... has been waiting for me as the Patron Saint of a Primary school built by the Dominicans decades ago. Right there and then I knew what the name of the Secondary school wanted by all the chiefs in the Shortlands would be: Saint John Bosco Senior Secondary School and Training Centre.
This is the school that was blessed and inaugurated on the feast of Saint John Bosco last January 31, 2011 at Poporang Island (the cradle of Christianity in the Shortlands 110 years ago) as part of the mission of the Nila Mission Station belonging to the diocese of Gizo.
The first students have arrived, majority graduates from Tuha Junior secondary school and others from the rest of the diocese. The staff are all well experienced Don Bosco Trained Instructors and educators from the Philippines and some of the early graduates and instructors at the Don Bosco Technical Institute, Secondary School and Training Centre established at Henderson in 2000
The new school set up in Nila will pioneer the much awaited and talked about TVET curriculum students for students who passed Form Three, consisting in a curriculum of 60% academic and 40% technical. In agreement with the ministry the same school will also give the possibility and be open to those who failed Form Three but have a strong motivation to pursue a TVET curriculum in Forms Four and Five (70% hands on skills development and 30% academic subjects)
The school believes in the educational method of Don Bosco in forming honest Citizens because they are good Christians. A good education is the best prevention of all forms of criminality by bringing out the best from every young person, am image of God with dignity and a destiny.
Hundreds of community leaders and members joined in the affair and expressed their support to the new school with a great sense of pride and achievement. Many chiefs promised to sustain the efforts for the incoming Phase two of the school. Italian Volunteers who generously supported the Don Bosco Henderson and Tetere projects have been very much involved in the project and will do so till the end of phase three.
The statue of Don Bosco was brought in procession to the new school through a new road built by the Italian volunteers through the hillside... away from the danger of Tsunamis...
Meantime The FAMOA chiefs have donated the lease of the Tuha Land to the Diocese of Gizo for 50 years for the purpose of running and improving the Tuha Junior secondary school which is in very pitiful condition. Maintenance and renewal works are ongoing and will soon provide Tuha with a new face and a new name: Saint John Bosco Tuha Junior Secondary School, following the TVET program for secondary schools as piloted by Don Bosco Henderson as a new way of running secondary schools in the country. Some of those who graduated from Don Bosco TVET 6 year program in secondary school are now being trained in Vanga Teachers college (run by the Catholic church of Gizo) to provide a new kind of teacher for the country.
_________________
AustraLasia is an email service for the Salesian Family of Asia Pacific. It also functions as an agency for ANS based in Rome. For queries please contact admin@bosconet.aust.com . RSS feeds - just go to Bosconet, click on austraLasia 2011 in the sidebar. You will see the RSS orange icon in your browser address bar - add it from there. Or be interactive with the EAO blog Cetera Tolle. Avail yourself of the Salesian Digital Library at http://sdl.sdb.org
Shortland Islands: not 'the' statue, but a Don Bosco Statue procession, nevertheless!
Bishop Luciano Capelli sdb
NILA (Shortland Islands, Gizo diocese, Solomon Isalnds): 3 February 2011 -- When I first heard of the name of the Saint John School at Nila I inquired about who that saint John was:
"John the Baptist, John the Evangelist or John who, nao?
"John Bosco" was the reply.
I could not believe my ears, the Saint whom I took as a model for my life, the founder of the Congregation to which I have belonged for 45 years, the John after whom I named the first Don Bosco School in the country... has been waiting for me as the Patron Saint of a Primary school built by the Dominicans decades ago. Right there and then I knew what the name of the Secondary school wanted by all the chiefs in the Shortlands would be: Saint John Bosco Senior Secondary School and Training Centre.
This is the school that was blessed and inaugurated on the feast of Saint John Bosco last January 31, 2011 at Poporang Island (the cradle of Christianity in the Shortlands 110 years ago) as part of the mission of the Nila Mission Station belonging to the diocese of Gizo.
The first students have arrived, majority graduates from Tuha Junior secondary school and others from the rest of the diocese. The staff are all well experienced Don Bosco Trained Instructors and educators from the Philippines and some of the early graduates and instructors at the Don Bosco Technical Institute, Secondary School and Training Centre established at Henderson in 2000
The new school set up in Nila will pioneer the much awaited and talked about TVET curriculum students for students who passed Form Three, consisting in a curriculum of 60% academic and 40% technical. In agreement with the ministry the same school will also give the possibility and be open to those who failed Form Three but have a strong motivation to pursue a TVET curriculum in Forms Four and Five (70% hands on skills development and 30% academic subjects)
The school believes in the educational method of Don Bosco in forming honest Citizens because they are good Christians. A good education is the best prevention of all forms of criminality by bringing out the best from every young person, am image of God with dignity and a destiny.
Hundreds of community leaders and members joined in the affair and expressed their support to the new school with a great sense of pride and achievement. Many chiefs promised to sustain the efforts for the incoming Phase two of the school. Italian Volunteers who generously supported the Don Bosco Henderson and Tetere projects have been very much involved in the project and will do so till the end of phase three.
The statue of Don Bosco was brought in procession to the new school through a new road built by the Italian volunteers through the hillside... away from the danger of Tsunamis...
Meantime The FAMOA chiefs have donated the lease of the Tuha Land to the Diocese of Gizo for 50 years for the purpose of running and improving the Tuha Junior secondary school which is in very pitiful condition. Maintenance and renewal works are ongoing and will soon provide Tuha with a new face and a new name: Saint John Bosco Tuha Junior Secondary School, following the TVET program for secondary schools as piloted by Don Bosco Henderson as a new way of running secondary schools in the country. Some of those who graduated from Don Bosco TVET 6 year program in secondary school are now being trained in Vanga Teachers college (run by the Catholic church of Gizo) to provide a new kind of teacher for the country.
_________________
AustraLasia is an email service for the Salesian Family of Asia Pacific. It also functions as an agency for ANS based in Rome. For queries please contact admin@bosconet.aust.com . RSS feeds - just go to Bosconet, click on austraLasia 2011 in the sidebar. You will see the RSS orange icon in your browser address bar - add it from there. Or be interactive with the EAO blog Cetera Tolle. Avail yourself of the Salesian Digital Library at http://sdl.sdb.org
