THE HONOURABLE MINISTER FOR YOUTH AND SPORTS
MR LAISENIA TUITUBOU
Address at Saint Thomas High School Pass Out Parade at Saint Thomas High School Grounds, Natabua, Lautoka on Friday 01st July at 1.00pm.
- The Principal of Saint Thomas High School;
- The Chairman of the Board of Directors.
- Teacher
- Invited Guests
- Ladies and Gentlemen
- Students and cadets.
Ni sa bula vinaka and good afternoon to you all
I am proud to be with you today as your reviewing officer to witness young Fijians lined up in a disciplined and splendid fashion. It is indeed a marvellous and wonderful scene to behold and I must thank the Principal for the invitation to be a part of today’s pass out parade.
Your parade display today does great credit to yourselves, to the Saint Thomas High School and to our country as a whole because you have done so with distinction. Your attention to detail is indicative of your hard work and dedication and sings praise of the national cadet programme in our schools throughout the country.
It is also encouraging for me to see the support of parents, guardians and friends for our children’s efforts to showcase the drills they have learnt over the last few weeks. I acknowledge the contribution of parents and guardians through your continued support and also thank families, friends and hardworking teachers for their time and effort so that our future generation could be academically prepared to face challenges of their choice.
The school that is Saint Thomas High School today began from humble beginnings in 1975. It started with Forms 1, 2 and 3 at Saint Thomas Primary School in Lautoka with four teachers and 178 students and today’s present site was opened on the 22nd of January, 1977. The school was also chosen by the Ministry of Education to be one of the pilot schools to offer Compulsory Education in 2012 and this showed the trust commanded by the school from Government. All of you are now part of this institution and its history as you all now belong to the Saint Thomas School family and its proud association.
The school is named after Saint Thomas who was an apostle of Jesus Christ and who is also known as ‘doubting Thomas’ as the Holy Bible tells us of his proclamation of belief when he says “My Lord and my God” John 20: 28; thereby showing his reverence and love for God.
From today you can choose to do something great for God through obedience and respect by ‘Obeying as a sense of duty to God’.
With that being said, through your cadet training you will have set a course for your future that only you can pursue but whatever you choose to do, the lessons of discipline, patriotism, duty, honour, integrity, honesty and service that you have learned as cadets will stay with you all your lives. You will take those lessons - those core values you have learned- - and set an example to others.
To the parade commander, parade adjutant, appointment holders and cadets; thank you for a wonderful parade. I am sure your parents, families and friends here will agree with me that we are very proud of you today. As proud as we are of you and your achievements, let us note that today marks a new beginning for you. It enforces the spirit, culture, love, selflessness, sharing and teamwork to achieve a common goal. Always remember that the initiative that the school has taken through cadetship would definitely lead you students to basic grounding in personal discipline and would also develop a sense of character.
The Fijian Government is committed to ensuring Fiji becomes a knowledge based society. It has implemented a lot of changes in trying to ensure that our children are given the best opportunities to grow. You are Fiji’s resources. Government is putting its best efforts in the areas of education so that Fiji can gain from the potential and talents you have in your own different ways to ensure that we remain a peaceful and independent nation.
Cadets, I know that you have been endowed with values and virtues throughout your life. Wherever your plans may lead you and whatever life may have in store for you, I would like to leave you today with some values or principles, I believe, will greatly assist you as you become young men.
The first value is hard work. A famous saying goes – hard work never killed a man! In today’s society, we seem to have a mentality where we want to have everything handed to us. It is important for us to realize that we cannot succeed unless we are ready to work hard for what we want.
Secondly, we must be committed. A commitment is a promise, it is a guarantee that you will do what you said you will do. It is important that once you have decided on a goal, on a career or even to excelling in your studies, commitment is what will keep you true and on the path to achieving your objective.
We must be honest. Honesty is the foundation upon which trust, honor and faith in one another is built. Cadets, we have seen the rise in crimes, social ills such as drug use, sexual abuse and corruption. Without honest people, our country will continue to see these ills grow and have a drastic effect on our wellbeing as a society.
Another important value we must aspire to is grace. Grace is the ability to forgive others who have wronged us. Grace is putting the needs of others before us. Grace is having the ability to work anywhere and with anyone, regardless of their race, gender or religion.
The fifth principle or value I would like to impart is service. In life, everything we do, whether it is in our families, in our schools or when we are employed – we provide a service. “In order to lead we must first learn how to serve”. Therefore we must have an attitude of service. This will ensure that whether it is a situation in the family, in the classroom or in the workplace, we will be driven to do whatever is required of us and do it to the best of our ability thereby becoming ‘servant leaders’.
The final principle is obedience. In the Holy Bible the first promise made by God to the Israelites was in the fifth commandment: “Honor your father and your mother and you shall live long in the land God is giving you”. Remember to obey your parents and your teachers and you will prosper.
Cadets I congratulate you once again on passing out this morning and to the military instructors, vinaka vakalevu for preparing them well.
The Principal, parents and teachers, I thank you for your support rendered to the cadets and urge you to continue to help and assist them in achieving what they want to do with their lives.
Ladies and Gentlemen, students and cadets, I wish you all the best in your future undertakings.
Vinaka vaka levu.
---ENDS---