More than 500 former students of St Thomas Primary and St Thomas High schools marched through Lautoka, in Fiji, on Saturday to celebrate the 90th anniversary of the primary and 40th anniversary of the high school.
The celebration began with a mass at 7am before the march through town at 9.30am, which was led by the St Thomas High School brass band.
A soli [entertainment and money rinsing event] was held at the primary school grounds and a dinner and dance at the Northern Club in Lautoka with entertainment by popular vocalist, Georgina Ledua and Kulture band.
Lautoka has traditionally been closely associated with the Colonial Sugar refinery and is commonly known as Sugar City.
St Thomas Primary School was founded in 1925.
According to tradition St Thomas the Apostle, the doubting one, travelled to India in AD 52.
He is regarded as the patron saint of India.
The school in Lautoka was initially established as an Archdiocese school for the educational needs of Fijians of Indian descent children, and not European students, who actually joined later.
In Suva, St Thomas Indian School had been established in 1897 for Fijians of Indian descent students.
The Suva school was later known as St Columbus, and is now Marist Brothers Primary School.
St Thomas high school in Lautoka was established in 1975 with forms one, two and three.
There were four teachers and 178 students.
In 2013 its overall administration to the Montfort Brothers of Saint Gabriel.
St Thomas High School is owned by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Fiji.
It is administered by the Our Lady of Perpetual Help Parish Catholic community through the STHS board of governors and Father Cecil Wiilams who is the school manager.
Source
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