Message from Chairman of CES

Over the years, I have repeatedly mentioned our intention of building a school hall and at that time most of you must have wondered if it will ever eventuate.  Well this year it has become reality as construction began at the beginning of the year with completion after some delay, now scheduled for the end of October.

Building a project of this size was no easy task.  Needless to say a lot of work went into its planning.  Whilst we wanted this building to accommodate the very best facilities, we had to balance this desire whit the practical issue of cost.  Originally, we expected the total cost of this project to be approximately $1.5m, but this has now escalated to cost $1.7m.  However now that we have a building in place, we can all be proud of it.  This building represents a good investment for the future as it now provides us with an additional resource to develop our students.

This is a state of the art sports hall and is one of its kind in the country.  With its rubberized floor from the Sydney Olympic Games, the 600 lux lighting system together with spectator seating capacity of nearly 400, our hall has the facilities to host many international standard competitions.  At school level competitions, it can cater for most indoor sports.  However, besides using this hall for school holidays by organizing sporting activities to keep our children occupied and off the streets.

Our outdoor sports ground has also been upgraded; we are now once again able to play the likes of soccer, rugby and athletics.  With all these facilities, we should now be able to develop some top sportsmen and sportswomen.

The students should all be congratulated for their patience while waiting or the building to be completed. . Since construction began they have obediently kept away form the site and I wish to thank them for their cooperation.

We have had some generous financial contributors behind this project and I wish to thank them all. Without their support we would not have been able to build such an impressive facility. I would also like to thank all the members on the CES board for their dedication and support, without whom this project would not have been possible.

It is fitting that we have timed the completion of the hail to farewell Mrs. Bessie A She is retiring at the end of this year. I wanted her to remain with us at least until the completion of the hall as she has always been committed to the project and has offered much support over the years.

After some 14 years with us, we will all be sadden by her departure, she has served us faithfully and given the school so many years of good service. Other than a short stint of absence in the early nineties, she has been with the school since it’s inception in 1986. At that time we had only 68 students, today we have a roll of nearly 400

As our Principal, Mrs. All has been the cornerstone of our success; at all times she has shown strong leadership and maintained fairness in all her judgments. As a strong leader, she has led our school to produce top students with excellent results. Whilst many or them have won scholarships that have secured them good futures, most have gone ton to complete their tertiary education and finished up in top positions in government, commerce and industry, both in Fiji and abroad.

Our school is known for it’s academic excellence and student discipline, our reputation is second to none. Mrs. Ali has set a standard that will be very difficult to maintain, i however she has groomed her successor, Mrs. Susanna Tevita to carry on the work that she will leave behind. I am confident with proper support; Mrs. Tevita will be able to fill her role.

We will all miss her when she leaves but I am confident she will continue to keep in touch with us and continue to offer us guidance.

On behalf of the CES Board, staff and students, I thank her for her service to the school and thank her for being such a good principal. I wish her a happy retirement.

Gregory Yee

Chairman, Chinese Education Society of Fiji.