Levuka Public School

Levuka Public School (LPS) has about 450 pupils from years 9-13.

 

The school itself looked amazing on first appearance, it is a world heritage site after all, having been built as the first school in Fiji. However, on closer inspection i began to notice that many of the wooden buildings don’t appear to have had much work done to them over the last 135 years!

The staff were all very friendly and made sure to talk in English when I was around, only occasionally slipping back into Fijian. I had my own desk in the staff room- although finding a chair was be challenging at the best of times, and in true style my desk was messy, stacked full of books and paper.

The school chaplain

One thing was clear, I stood out like a sore thumb at the school! Nooone has ever volunteered at the school before so all the students were amazed by the new white person. They were all so frtiendly though and just want to chat at every possible chance and find out about England etc. The students were also incredibly well behaved- I wasn’t that good at school. Maybe its because I was still new, or maybe the overarching threat of corporal punishment enforced by the school.

sneaky photo inside a year 9 class

I taught year 11A English, year 11B Geography and occasionally year 12 Geography. I found that I really enjoy teaching, which to be honest I hadn’t expected. I thought that I would be given limited responsibility, working more as a classroom assistant, but instead I was put in a classroom with 40 students of 16 or older and asked to teach. Intimidating at first when most of the class were bigger than me (typical Fijians), while all the boys (and some of the girls) also have beards.  

I was also allocated to a house, Ma’afu! This was the green house with the emblem of a neck braker club! Much better than Tanoa, Qio and Mara! My first 2 weeks were spent supervising/watching the students doing a Fijian Meke (a tribal Fijian dance with spears) during the afternoon as students prepared for the 135^th anniversary.!!!

Ma'afu meke dance practice

 Assembly was held every Monday (but also whenever there is any form of large scale announcement) and involved all students standing in neat rows on the grass outside the staff room. Here the Principle and Chaplain addressed the school before the Assistant Principle orchestrated some army style standing to attention and turning etc before the national flag was raised and students are dismissed.

assembly