austraLasia #3108
Salesian Principals Aus-Pacific:
new bonds
of friendship and affection
ALAFUA: 2 August
2012 -- A visit to Samoa in early July has left an
indelible
impression on the hearts and imaginations of the Principals
from
Australian Salesian schools and forged a unique bond of
friendship and
affection between Don Bosco Samoa and Don Bosco
Australia.
The highlight of the week long programme by the members of
APSPA
(Australian Pacific Salesian Principals Association) was
visits to
schools, including St Joseph’s Primary School conducted by the
Salesian
Sisters at Leauva’a, the newly established Don Bosco High
School and
Vocational Centre at Salelologa and Don Bosco Technical Centre
at
Alafua. In each case there were opportunities to visit
classes,
interact with teachers and attend assemblies featuring
cultural
entertainment provided by students. The group also visited two
of the
three Salesian parishes of St Michael at Leauva’a and St
Francis de
Sales at Salelologa.
The 13 person delegation, including the Vice Provincial, Fr
Bernie
Graham SDB, experienced first-hand the joy, warmth, vitality
and energy
of the staff and students of the schools they visited.
In every
case they were greeted warmly with that generous hospitality
for which
Samoans are famous. Encounters with students in the
classroom
became opportunities for making new friends and exchanging
stories. At the same time classroom visits made the
Australians
keenly aware of the often overcrowded classroom conditions,
the lack of
basic educational resources, the very basic classroom
facilities, the
absence of technology, the use of very traditional teaching
methodologies and the negative impact of poverty upon
engagement in
schooling.
The Principals’ programme also included a dinner hosted by the
Australian High Commissioner to Samoa, Dr Stephen Henningham,
and his
wife, Catherine. A small hand-picked group of other
guests,
including prominent members of Samoan political, legal and
cultural
life, ensured that the evening, featuring outstanding food and
quality
Australian wine, was rich with conversation, learning and the
exchange
of experiences. Other highlights of the Principals’ tour
included
a short weekend break at one of Samoa’s famous beach resorts,
a tour of
island of Savai’i, Sunday Mass with magnificent singing
followed by
To’ona’i (traditional Sunday feast) at St Francis de Sales
Parish in
Salelologa, an encounter with the 18 young Australian Cagliero
missionaries participating in a cultural immersion programme,
a
beautiful Mass with the Salesian Community of Alafua and a
final dinner
at an Apia restaurant.
The visit of the Australian Principals marks a new stage in
the shared
journey of exchange between Don Bosco Samoa and Don Bosco
Australia. The past three years have been characterised
by an
increasing level of interaction between Salesian schools in
Australia
and Samoa. Samoan teachers have attended Salesian
seminars and
conferences in Australia and visited Salesian schools in
Victoria. Australian schools have more actively engaged
with the
Salesian mission in Samoa, spurred on by fundraising efforts
to assist
the newly founded Salesian school at Salelologa, which opened
in
2011. The name of the Principals’ Association was
changed to the
Australia Pacific Salesian Principals Association in 2011
reflecting
the growing links between all the schools of the Australia
Pacific
Province.
This cultural immersion and educational exchange has
heightened the
consciousness of the Australian Salesian Principals to the
unique
strengths and challenges of education in Samoa.
Furthermore, it
has forged a bond of unity, compassion and friendship between
educational communities that share the same spirit and mission
of Don
Bosco and have the common goal of forming honest citizens and
good
Christians.