CLEAN
UP OF CHUUK
Possible or Impossible?
by Rengel
Ueki (SO)
 |
| Nicolette
and Joshua working together as team to clean up trash on Chuuk's
road. |
Trash is the number 1 problem here
at Chuuk. Everywhere you go you see a lot of trash. There are
trash bags next to the roads, there are bottles and cans in the
puddles and there was also trash in front and behind houses. It
was our job to clean up the mess.
At 9:30 on Monday October the 2nd it was Chuuk’s
Constitutional Day. Fr. Arthur gave us another way to help Chuuk,
so we cleaned. We started at 9:30am in front of Kurasa. It was
hot because the sun was on top of us and when we looked before
we started there was a lot of trash and the road was really dusty.
That was how we started up our Monday morning.
At 10:30am we made it to the front of Bernie’s
Store and we were somewhat happy because we were about to finish.
I was mostly tired because it is a long way from Kurasa to Bernie’s,
but there was still a lot of trash and the road was still very
dusty and the day was even hotter. That’s how long it takes
to clean just a small area!
At 11:30am we were all at Andersen Field. We
were so happy that we finally reached our destination and when
we looked back, we could see the road was much cleaner but was
still too dusty. Even though we didn’t pick up all the trash,
the road looked cleaner because we picked up the big trash. That
was how much time we spent cleaning Chuuk.
What I learned from this event in my
life is that I am lucky to be from a place where the government
is paid to do these things. I also learned that we should work
together to do something good for our community.
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GIRLS
ORIENTATION
16 September 2006
by Maylani Phillip (SR)
Girl’s orientation is one of the most
important activities of the school year. It is when the bond between
the girls and their families, and the bond between Xavier and
girls, build up. Parents, as well as the female students, get
to express their complaints, concerns and questions to the school
or among themselves. This year’s orientation was different
from the previous ones.
On Saturday (date) we got picked up around
7:00am. To start off, we all gathered in the Callaghan Hall for
a quick guide of what we were going to do throughout the day.
The idea was to break down in groups and discuss four main issues.
After the group discussions, everyone had to come back together
in the Callaghan Hall and each group presented their ideas on
the issues through a skit. This was the most fun part. Some of
the skits were funny, some were very serious, but overall they
all exposed the main idea.
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by Natasha Mefy (FR)
Girl’s orientation was the BOMB! Though
it was kind of new for some of us, we still enjoyed it. AWESOME
would be the word to describe that day. From the introduction
to the discussions, and to the skits, everything turned out perfect.
As one of the freshman girls always says, “It’s all
G-double O-d baby!” Ever since the day it was announced
we all wondered what it will be like. “What will happen?”
But as the day arrived and we really got to experience it, we
were relieved that it wasn’t a waste of our time. It was
a actually a day to remember and a day to look forward to in the
years to come.
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RECYCLING
ROCKS XAVIER'S FOUNDATIONS
By Rengel Ueki (SO) & Kristofer
Person (JR)
For
a very long time Non and Makoto, the two people who run the galley,
have been trying to keep the school clean for the students to
have a good learning environment. They are the ones who started
the recycling of cans on Xavier campus. They have collected the
cans and brought them down to Kimuchi World Store, in front of
the hospital.
The owner, Mr. Paku, has decided that he could
help Chuuk State by collecting cans and sending them to America
to be reprocessed and used again. Mr. Paku has a machine that
can compact the cans so that they get smaller. He doesn’t
really care that he doesn’t get any profit from doing this
but he just wants to help Chuuk become cleaner.
Parts of Chuuk also started recycling but they
don’t have enough money to buy gas to go to the Kimuchi
World Store. Penia is the only place in Chuuk which I heard began
recycling. But because of the gas price, it’s hard for them
to go very far.
Recycling at Xavier
started the 2nd semester in the school year of 2005-2006. Last
year’s cans that were sold were only $7.50, which the galley
donated to the school.
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Freshman Literature Creative
Writing
by
Michael Kigimnang (FR)
Sept. 5 2006
There was once a rich man named Mr. Allsworth.
He was very wealthy, yet he did not have any family or relatives.
As Mr. Allsworth grew old and weary, he knew that he would soon
pass away. So he went through the villages and towns distributing
his possessions for free. But of all his possessions, he cherished
his donkey the most. It was his best friend and his only pal.
After a few hours of giving out his stuff,
Mr. Allsworth was very tired. He sat near a fountain and watched
its trickling water. The next thing he knew, a little boy was
patting him on the back saying, “Sir, can I have your donkey,
please?” Mr. Allsworth then, suddenly and sadly, agreed.
The boy was very excited and quickly got on the donkey. He kept
on shouting, “KIRIYAH! KIRIYAH!” But the donkey did
not move an inch. “What’s wrong with your horse?”
asked the boy.
“Well,” said Mr. Allsworth, “it
moves forward when you say ‘close’ and stops if you
say ‘pots’. Mr. Allsworth sighed and said, “By
the way, it’s not a horse. It’s a donkey.”
“Oh, ok then,” said the little
boy. “CLOSE, CLOSE, CLOSE!” shouted the boy. The donkey
walked forward at a fast pace. “Thank you kind sir”
said the boy as he left. Mr. Allsworth replied, “Take care
of my donkey.” The boy waved and disappeared out of sight.
Mr. Allsworth went home worried about his donkey, and relieved
that he had given away all his belongings.
As for the boy, he was very happy about the
donkey. He kept on shouting “CLOSE, CLOSE, CLOSE! My little
horsie!” and so the donkey ran faster and faster. He rode
through a thick bush and when he got to the clearing on the other
side, he saw he was nearing the edge of a cliff. He hesitated
and paused, but the donkey did not. “Uh, uh, uh,”
he stammered. At the very edge he remembered and shouted “POTS!”
The donkey came to a quick halt one step from falling. The boy
sighed and said, ”Whew, that was close! And the donkey took
a step to their doom.
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Xavier High School
By: Angelica Seiola
sophomore from Pohnpei, FSM
Coming to Xavier High School was such a great experience for me
due to the fact that it helped me see my inner self. Xavier is
a place that helps its students become independent and successful
people. It enables us to experience hunger and homesickness. This
is why Xavier, or Chuuk, is a perfect place for students to become
successful people. Some examples include the lack of electricity
and water in Chuuk. Students learn how to conserve water and finish
up work that needs to be finished before the power goes off.
The first
thing I did when I came to Chuuk was meet my sponsor family. The
first few days and weeks I stayed with them were very hard for
me. I was always in my room because I was shy and scared. But,
when I came back sophomore year, I was more comfortable and open
with my sponsors. While I am staying with sponsors I learned two
things: how to live with others and that being shy is the reason
it will take a long time for me to get to know other people.
The second
thing I have learned while at Xavier is about meeting different
kinds of people from different places. The first few months of
my freshman year were hard for me. I was always shy and did not
know what to do when I was in class or among people. I regretted
my decision to come to Xavier many times throughout my freshman
year. But now I do not regret it because it is easier than last
year, even though the courses are much harder. By attending Xavier
I learned how to interact with people. I also learned about the
positive reasons I should attend Xavier rather than the high schools
in my state.
The third
and fourth most important events I experienced, and will continue
until I leave Xavier, are hunger and homesickness. These two things
came after I had stayed awhile with my host family. I always got
hungry either because I did not like the food or I was lonely.
The times that I always thought about my home in Pohnpei were
when I got hungry, when I did not want to eat the food, or when
my sponsor mom scolded me. Suffering from these two things taught
me that when you suffer, you would learn something that will be
useful someday in the future, like how to be independent.
The main
lesson that I learned in coming to Xavier is that life is hard.
It can be harder by either enjoying it too much or not at all.
It is my choice to make it more difficult. For example, I could
use drugs or be shy, but life will be more difficult. These are
the reasons I want to continue attending Xavier so I can become
a better person.
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My
First Trip to Jaluit
by Rington Paul
(sophomore from Majuro, RMI
“Wow,” would be the word that I would use to describe
my first visit to my home island of Jaluit, in the Marshall Islands.
It is thirty miles southeast of Majuro, which is the capital of
the Marshalls. Its distance from modern civilization has made
it one of the most culturally preserved and beautiful places amongst
these islands. With this great beauty, it has attracted many tourists
and people to it. I was attracted by the positive things my relatives
had told me about Jaluit. It was not until a family reunion that
I had a chance to see if the rumors were true.
On a bright morning during my summer vacation,
my family and I left Majuro airport and flew to Jaluit. I was
amazed to see huts around the airstrip as we landed. Some of my
relatives who I had never met before came and met us at the airstrip.
They helped us with our luggage while we walked from the airstrip
to our house. As soon as I reached the house, I went inside and
slept, due to exhaustion from the trip. In my sleep I dreamt of
the civilization back in Majuro.
It was dark outside when my little brother
finally woke me. He was yelling wildly and telling me to go outside.
I was met with the sounds of local music and the smells of foreign
food. There were people dancing and chatting. My relatives were
giving us a welcome ceremony!
The activities caught my attention the most.
I saw many dances and plays that I have never seen before. The
bright kerosene lamps lit up the atmosphere as I watched and enjoyed
myself. I was very happy that I got to see these dances because
it was not every day we see them back in Majuro. It was on the
third day that my family and I had to leave for Majuro again.
We went on a small cargo ship that took one night to finally reach
Majuro. I still could not forget my experience there. A part of
me regretted leaving, but I knew that it would not be my last
visit to Jaluit.
These events changed me forever on how I look
at the world. When I was back on Majuro, all I could see was modernization.
There were people worrying about money, physical objects, and
so on. But when I went to Jaluit, I felt like all of those things
did not matter. Life was simpler than back on Majuro. The atmosphere
made me proud to know that even though we are modernizing and
changing, there are some places close to us that are still holding
onto our culture and beliefs.
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