Better late than never!‏

I sent this out 3 weeks before, then the modem died, but some of the news is still good with some additions, so here goes again……………

Dear All,

Special greetings from PNG! How are you doing? Still celebrating the “new life” of the Easter Season as well as spring in many of your areas??? Yes, the liturgies are so rich at this time! Ascension, Pentecost, and Trinity Sunday on which the Archdiocese will celebrate 75 years of the Church in the Highlands area, there will be only one Mass celebrated in the area in which the first missionaries settled.

Yes, the faith is very young in our area of PNG! The Mass was beautiful and well prepared and attended!Saturday the students will have their May crowning of Mary prepared and executed by the grade 12 students. This was one of our best! So prayerful! The student who wrote the best on her love for Mary was a Lutheran and so she crowned Mary.

Last Saturday we had a wonderful and beautiful celebration of Sister Mary dePorres’ golden Jubilee – 50 years as a Sister!!! After a lunch with the invited priest and sisters of the diocese, we had a meaningful and beautiful celebration of the Mass in the parish church. Since Sister has spent much time working with the ladies of our parish, many parishioners, teachers, and students came for the celebration.

Our Archbishop was the main celebrant and talked about the relay that now is the time that someone else takes the stick and run in consecrated life. The day concluded with a short program. I’m sure that Sister felt many blessings that day!

The day before the Jubilee the students celebrated St. Julie’s Day with an opening school Mass followed by “war cries”, games, picnic lunch and a choral sing off in the evening! It was a very enjoyable day for all, but I was surprised how much energy was still bubbling over when it was time for bed!!!

Over the past month we have had 3 ordinations in our Archdiocese. The first was of a doctor from the USA who was ordained as a diocesan priest. He has been here for about 6 years. Last week two more National men were ordained as SOLT priests. I think they are the first for this community. With the SVD missionaries getting older, it is now necessary to depend on our National priest to carry the Gospel to their people.

Things happen so quickly and can change the way things are “suppose” to go! There was a killing in Banz and 3 of our teachers are affected since the man killed is from further down on our road in the Baiyer valley. Two of the teachers lost a week or two of school and my deputy principal has not been able to return to school because it is not “safe” to be away from the safety of their tribe. One never knows in the land of the unexpected!

This weekend the students went home if they wanted to so it is so much more quiet with only 80 students around! This marks the half of the term. The last chance for the grade 10 and 12 students to get their internal marks for their certificates!!! Now we are in the last week of term 2 – how fast time is flying!!! The week after next 1000 ladies from the Jubilee Christian Fellowship will have their national meeting here – so we will clean and clean some more next week!!! But there will still be 5 periods of school each day ~~~ You may say the advantage of having boarders!!!!!

Our gardens are doing great! We spent less on veggies this term than I usually did for one week!!! And our 3 agriculture teachers are gaining confidence plowing so this will surely speed the planting process!

Our dorm is coming along. The painting is in process, beds and cupboards are ready to be put in. But I wish it were faster!!! We will host 1000 women from all over PNG for the 1st week of the next break from the Christian Fellowship Church, so we need every bed we can get!!! Many will sleep in the classrooms on the floor since there are only 600 beds. PNG style!!! Our dorm is almoooooooost finished ~~~ I said that we will move in next Thursday! I’m still hoping!!!

After the Archdiocese’s celebration, Sr M. Magdalyn and I will travel to Port Moresby for the Catholic Secondary Principals’ Meeting and the religion coordinators. This is our 3rd one and it is always very enriching and informative! It was a great experience! Rain and coolness surprised us in Moresby ~~~ it is usually quite hot!

If I make this too long, you won’t persevere to end, so………..

Love and blessings,

SMVivette
Sister Mary Vivette Baker, S.N.D.
Notre Dame Secondary School
P.O. Box 164
Mt. Hagen, W.H.P. 281
PAPUA NEW GUINEA
Phone: 675-542-2150
Fax: 675-542-2175

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

Better late than never!‏

I sent this out 3 weeks before, then the modem died, but some of the news is still good with some additions, so here goes again……………

Dear All,

Special greetings from PNG! How are you doing? Still celebrating the “new life” of the Easter Season as well as spring in many of your areas??? Yes, the liturgies are so rich at this time! Ascension, Pentecost, and Trinity Sunday on which the Archdiocese will celebrate 75 years of the Church in the Highlands area, there will be only one Mass celebrated in the area in which the first missionaries settled.

Yes, the faith is very young in our area of PNG! The Mass was beautiful and well prepared and attended!Saturday the students will have their May crowning of Mary prepared and executed by the grade 12 students. This was one of our best! So prayerful! The student who wrote the best on her love for Mary was a Lutheran and so she crowned Mary.

Last Saturday we had a wonderful and beautiful celebration of Sister Mary dePorres’ golden Jubilee – 50 years as a Sister!!! After a lunch with the invited priest and sisters of the diocese, we had a meaningful and beautiful celebration of the Mass in the parish church. Since Sister has spent much time working with the ladies of our parish, many parishioners, teachers, and students came for the celebration.

Our Archbishop was the main celebrant and talked about the relay that now is the time that someone else takes the stick and run in consecrated life. The day concluded with a short program. I’m sure that Sister felt many blessings that day!

The day before the Jubilee the students celebrated St. Julie’s Day with an opening school Mass followed by “war cries”, games, picnic lunch and a choral sing off in the evening! It was a very enjoyable day for all, but I was surprised how much energy was still bubbling over when it was time for bed!!!

Over the past month we have had 3 ordinations in our Archdiocese. The first was of a doctor from the USA who was ordained as a diocesan priest. He has been here for about 6 years. Last week two more National men were ordained as SOLT priests. I think they are the first for this community. With the SVD missionaries getting older, it is now necessary to depend on our National priest to carry the Gospel to their people.

Things happen so quickly and can change the way things are “suppose” to go! There was a killing in Banz and 3 of our teachers are affected since the man killed is from further down on our road in the Baiyer valley. Two of the teachers lost a week or two of school and my deputy principal has not been able to return to school because it is not “safe” to be away from the safety of their tribe. One never knows in the land of the unexpected!

This weekend the students went home if they wanted to so it is so much more quiet with only 80 students around! This marks the half of the term. The last chance for the grade 10 and 12 students to get their internal marks for their certificates!!! Now we are in the last week of term 2 – how fast time is flying!!! The week after next 1000 ladies from the Jubilee Christian Fellowship will have their national meeting here – so we will clean and clean some more next week!!! But there will still be 5 periods of school each day ~~~ You may say the advantage of having boarders!!!!!

Our gardens are doing great! We spent less on veggies this term than I usually did for one week!!! And our 3 agriculture teachers are gaining confidence plowing so this will surely speed the planting process!

Our dorm is coming along. The painting is in process, beds and cupboards are ready to be put in. But I wish it were faster!!! We will host 1000 women from all over PNG for the 1st week of the next break from the Christian Fellowship Church, so we need every bed we can get!!! Many will sleep in the classrooms on the floor since there are only 600 beds. PNG style!!! Our dorm is almoooooooost finished ~~~ I said that we will move in next Thursday! I’m still hoping!!!

After the Archdiocese’s celebration, Sr M. Magdalyn and I will travel to Port Moresby for the Catholic Secondary Principals’ Meeting and the religion coordinators. This is our 3rd one and it is always very enriching and informative! It was a great experience! Rain and coolness surprised us in Moresby ~~~ it is usually quite hot!

If I make this too long, you won’t persevere to end, so………..

Love and blessings,

SMVivette
Sister Mary Vivette Baker, S.N.D.
Notre Dame Secondary School
P.O. Box 164
Mt. Hagen, W.H.P. 281
PAPUA NEW GUINEA
Phone: 675-542-2150
Fax: 675-542-2175

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

Better late than never!‏

I sent this out 3 weeks before, then the modem died, but some of the news is still good with some additions, so here goes again……………

Dear All,

Special greetings from PNG! How are you doing? Still celebrating the “new life” of the Easter Season as well as spring in many of your areas??? Yes, the liturgies are so rich at this time! Ascension, Pentecost, and Trinity Sunday on which the Archdiocese will celebrate 75 years of the Church in the Highlands area, there will be only one Mass celebrated in the area in which the first missionaries settled.

Yes, the faith is very young in our area of PNG! The Mass was beautiful and well prepared and attended!Saturday the students will have their May crowning of Mary prepared and executed by the grade 12 students. This was one of our best! So prayerful! The student who wrote the best on her love for Mary was a Lutheran and so she crowned Mary.

Last Saturday we had a wonderful and beautiful celebration of Sister Mary dePorres’ golden Jubilee – 50 years as a Sister!!! After a lunch with the invited priest and sisters of the diocese, we had a meaningful and beautiful celebration of the Mass in the parish church. Since Sister has spent much time working with the ladies of our parish, many parishioners, teachers, and students came for the celebration.

Our Archbishop was the main celebrant and talked about the relay that now is the time that someone else takes the stick and run in consecrated life. The day concluded with a short program. I’m sure that Sister felt many blessings that day!

The day before the Jubilee the students celebrated St. Julie’s Day with an opening school Mass followed by “war cries”, games, picnic lunch and a choral sing off in the evening! It was a very enjoyable day for all, but I was surprised how much energy was still bubbling over when it was time for bed!!!

Over the past month we have had 3 ordinations in our Archdiocese. The first was of a doctor from the USA who was ordained as a diocesan priest. He has been here for about 6 years. Last week two more National men were ordained as SOLT priests. I think they are the first for this community. With the SVD missionaries getting older, it is now necessary to depend on our National priest to carry the Gospel to their people.

Things happen so quickly and can change the way things are “suppose” to go! There was a killing in Banz and 3 of our teachers are affected since the man killed is from further down on our road in the Baiyer valley. Two of the teachers lost a week or two of school and my deputy principal has not been able to return to school because it is not “safe” to be away from the safety of their tribe. One never knows in the land of the unexpected!

This weekend the students went home if they wanted to so it is so much more quiet with only 80 students around! This marks the half of the term. The last chance for the grade 10 and 12 students to get their internal marks for their certificates!!! Now we are in the last week of term 2 – how fast time is flying!!! The week after next 1000 ladies from the Jubilee Christian Fellowship will have their national meeting here – so we will clean and clean some more next week!!! But there will still be 5 periods of school each day ~~~ You may say the advantage of having boarders!!!!!

Our gardens are doing great! We spent less on veggies this term than I usually did for one week!!! And our 3 agriculture teachers are gaining confidence plowing so this will surely speed the planting process!

Our dorm is coming along. The painting is in process, beds and cupboards are ready to be put in. But I wish it were faster!!! We will host 1000 women from all over PNG for the 1st week of the next break from the Christian Fellowship Church, so we need every bed we can get!!! Many will sleep in the classrooms on the floor since there are only 600 beds. PNG style!!! Our dorm is almoooooooost finished ~~~ I said that we will move in next Thursday! I’m still hoping!!!

After the Archdiocese’s celebration, Sr M. Magdalyn and I will travel to Port Moresby for the Catholic Secondary Principals’ Meeting and the religion coordinators. This is our 3rd one and it is always very enriching and informative! It was a great experience! Rain and coolness surprised us in Moresby ~~~ it is usually quite hot!

If I make this too long, you won’t persevere to end, so………..

Love and blessings,

SMVivette
Sister Mary Vivette Baker, S.N.D.
Notre Dame Secondary School
P.O. Box 164
Mt. Hagen, W.H.P. 281
PAPUA NEW GUINEA
Phone: 675-542-2150
Fax: 675-542-2175

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

First Days at Notre Dame Secondary, Kumdi, Mount Hagen, WHP, PNG

I hope that you experienced the joy of loved ones yesterday!

As you can imagine, as we start a new school year, life is busy, to say the least!!! Sister Anne Mary, our Toledo Provincial Superior was here for a quick visit during those initial days. As the school formed a guard of honor at her departure, I realized the volume of the students for 2009—640!!! And they are not “little girls”! Sister Mary Susan went off to her second year of nursing training soon after Sister’s arrival. Sister Peter Marie returned to Divine Word University to complete her diploma work in business studies too!

This week Wednesday, Sister Marietta will accompany our three Novices to Tanzania where they will do their Novitiate with our African Novices! Then too soon Sr. Mary Rose Bernard will be off to Germany and Rome for the Conference soon followed by Sr. Pauline Marie! All kinds of comings, but mostly goings these days!

We are starting our third week of school with most of the students here. We were given about 20 more than we have dorm space for so there are girls doubling in beds already starting the second week. Our new 52 bed dorm will be finished about Easter if all goes well and is already almost filled!!! We are one teacher short – any volunteers to teach grade 11 and 12 history??? My assistant principal administration became the principal of Fatima and the Principal there came here in Leo’s position!

Their gain and our loss! Otherwise our staff is almost the same! They are hardworking and dedicated. This year about 71% of the grade 12 students went on for further studies. This is great when the norm for the country is only 30%!!! Higher secondary education is very competitive!!! We have 3 each of grade 9 and 10 and 5 each of grades 11 and 12. And they are full classrooms ranging from 48 to 36!!! With the theme of BE & DO your BEST, we are hoping for the best this new school!

May your Lenten time be graced and as you prepare for the MIRACLE of miracles!

With a promise of prayer,
Sister Mary Vivette

Sister Mary Vivette Baker, S.N.D.
Notre Dame Secondary School
P.O. Box 164
Mt. Hagen, W.H.P.
PAPUA NEW GUINEA
Phone: 675-542-2150
Fax: 675-542-2175

First Days at Notre Dame Secondary, Kumdi, Mount Hagen, WHP, PNG

I hope that you experienced the joy of loved ones yesterday!

As you can imagine, as we start a new school year, life is busy, to say the least!!! Sister Anne Mary, our Toledo Provincial Superior was here for a quick visit during those initial days. As the school formed a guard of honor at her departure, I realized the volume of the students for 2009—640!!! And they are not “little girls”! Sister Mary Susan went off to her second year of nursing training soon after Sister’s arrival. Sister Peter Marie returned to Divine Word University to complete her diploma work in business studies too!

This week Wednesday, Sister Marietta will accompany our three Novices to Tanzania where they will do their Novitiate with our African Novices! Then too soon Sr. Mary Rose Bernard will be off to Germany and Rome for the Conference soon followed by Sr. Pauline Marie! All kinds of comings, but mostly goings these days!

We are starting our third week of school with most of the students here. We were given about 20 more than we have dorm space for so there are girls doubling in beds already starting the second week. Our new 52 bed dorm will be finished about Easter if all goes well and is already almost filled!!! We are one teacher short – any volunteers to teach grade 11 and 12 history??? My assistant principal administration became the principal of Fatima and the Principal there came here in Leo’s position!

Their gain and our loss! Otherwise our staff is almost the same! They are hardworking and dedicated. This year about 71% of the grade 12 students went on for further studies. This is great when the norm for the country is only 30%!!! Higher secondary education is very competitive!!! We have 3 each of grade 9 and 10 and 5 each of grades 11 and 12. And they are full classrooms ranging from 48 to 36!!! With the theme of BE & DO your BEST, we are hoping for the best this new school!

May your Lenten time be graced and as you prepare for the MIRACLE of miracles!

With a promise of prayer,
Sister Mary Vivette

Sister Mary Vivette Baker, S.N.D.
Notre Dame Secondary School
P.O. Box 164
Mt. Hagen, W.H.P.
PAPUA NEW GUINEA
Phone: 675-542-2150
Fax: 675-542-2175

First Days at Notre Dame Secondary, Kumdi, Mount Hagen, WHP, PNG

I hope that you experienced the joy of loved ones yesterday!

As you can imagine, as we start a new school year, life is busy, to say the least!!! Sister Anne Mary, our Toledo Provincial Superior was here for a quick visit during those initial days. As the school formed a guard of honor at her departure, I realized the volume of the students for 2009—640!!! And they are not “little girls”! Sister Mary Susan went off to her second year of nursing training soon after Sister’s arrival. Sister Peter Marie returned to Divine Word University to complete her diploma work in business studies too!

This week Wednesday, Sister Marietta will accompany our three Novices to Tanzania where they will do their Novitiate with our African Novices! Then too soon Sr. Mary Rose Bernard will be off to Germany and Rome for the Conference soon followed by Sr. Pauline Marie! All kinds of comings, but mostly goings these days!

We are starting our third week of school with most of the students here. We were given about 20 more than we have dorm space for so there are girls doubling in beds already starting the second week. Our new 52 bed dorm will be finished about Easter if all goes well and is already almost filled!!! We are one teacher short – any volunteers to teach grade 11 and 12 history??? My assistant principal administration became the principal of Fatima and the Principal there came here in Leo’s position!

Their gain and our loss! Otherwise our staff is almost the same! They are hardworking and dedicated. This year about 71% of the grade 12 students went on for further studies. This is great when the norm for the country is only 30%!!! Higher secondary education is very competitive!!! We have 3 each of grade 9 and 10 and 5 each of grades 11 and 12. And they are full classrooms ranging from 48 to 36!!! With the theme of BE & DO your BEST, we are hoping for the best this new school!

May your Lenten time be graced and as you prepare for the MIRACLE of miracles!

With a promise of prayer,
Sister Mary Vivette

Sister Mary Vivette Baker, S.N.D.
Notre Dame Secondary School
P.O. Box 164
Mt. Hagen, W.H.P.
PAPUA NEW GUINEA
Phone: 675-542-2150
Fax: 675-542-2175

Christmas Greetings from Notre Dame Secondary; Kumdi, Mount Hagen, WHP, PNG

Dear Friends Far and Near,

Can you believe that Christmas is only five days away? How time escapes us when we are preparing for a celebration! May your Christmas Season celebrations be filled with joy and peace as we experience Christ anew in our broken and needy world! Only He can give us the priceless gift of His peace-filled presence in the midst of all that is less than peaceful!

Life has been more than busy since I last sent you my Thanksgiving greetings! Thanksgiving was spent in Port Moresby doing the grade 11 selections for the 2009 school year. Even with another secondary school in the Province taking two additional classes, we were not able to place all the eligible students in our province in Secondary Schools. Over 3000 sat for the grade 10 exams and 1200 qualified in the upper 50% of the country and we were able to provide just over 1000 spaces in the 6 secondary schools. I will have a record number of about 205 young women if they all come! Our own grade 10’s surprised me with 85 qualifying to return out of 191 students! A very good percentage!

When I returned home we did celebrate Thanksgiving on Sunday in high style!!! This is one of the first years that turkey was on sale and even cranberry sauce! Our garden provided all the rest – kaukau (sweet potato), pumpkin and other vegetables for the banquet!

The following week was the last week of this school year! It surely passed so fast! Since all the clean up was completed when I was away, we could just celebrate. On Monday the students prepared plays, poems, songs, dances etc. to celebrate World Aids Day. They did a great job and even had some in tears as they presented their numbers. We are presently getting students who have lost both parents because of HIV/Aids. It is of epidemic proportions here! Some is due to culturally accepted practices and husbands with multiple wives.

Tuesday each class enjoyed a class picnic during the day and then we had our Christmas Assembly in the evening. Since real babies are played with rather than dolls here, Jesus was a huge stuffed rabbit this year! It wasn’t too noticeable until a group got up to sing a lullaby to Jesus and took the rabbit in their arms to sing to!!! After the planned part of the assembly, volunteers were asked to come and sing Christmas songs. Surprisingly there was no end to the volunteers, so after more than an hour, we had to conclude.

The next morning the students were up before five getting ready to leave! After all was in “perfect shape” we proceeded with our Honours Assembly so they could quickly get on their way. It was a wonderful year with much student and teacher cooperation!

Our grade 12 students did fantastically well on the final exams too! It looks like they may have topped the country in economics! We’ll see! There is great competition between schools and teachers when we get to the National Exams! Now we are awaiting word from all the tertiary institutions about their acceptance. More on that next time!

On the home front, the following week was the first retreat which I was happy to participate in and relax in the Lord! The same SVD priest in now almost at the end of the second retreat! The last retreat will be in mid-January. Sister Mary Susan returned home after completing her first year in nurses’ training! She is enthused about it and it seems to be a good program. On January 3rd we will celebrate when our two postulants become novices. Then there is our assembly. We will welcome Sister Anne Mary for a few weeks at the end of January when the new school year starts. And so time keeps moving us forward!

A special Christmas gift for Maria Kwin Women’s Resource Center and our School is a new dormitory funded by the PNG Sustainable Development Fund. This fund was set up by the OK Tedi (Gold) Mining Corporation in the Western Province which funds development projects throughout PNG. So we are back to building and expanding again! This dorm will give us 52 more beds making our boarding capacity 607 students!

Another new endeavor at this time is the NDSS Fund Raising Calendar for 2009! One of the teachers designed it! I wish I could give each of you one – they’re great with all our beautiful young women pictured in various school activities.

This will soon be a book if I don’t stop here to wish you ~~~

All the gifts of Jesus
Especially his loving presence
In your lives!

May 2009 be filled with Jesus,
His PEACE and JOY!

With a promise of prayerful remembrance during this Christmas Season,

Sister Mary Vivette, SND


Sister Mary Vivette Baker, S.N.D.
Notre Dame Secondary School
P.O. Box 164
Mt. Hagen, W.H.P.
PAPUA NEW GUINEA
Phone: 675-542-2150
Fax: 675-542-2175

Christmas Greetings from Notre Dame Secondary; Kumdi, Mount Hagen, WHP, PNG

Dear Friends Far and Near,

Can you believe that Christmas is only five days away? How time escapes us when we are preparing for a celebration! May your Christmas Season celebrations be filled with joy and peace as we experience Christ anew in our broken and needy world! Only He can give us the priceless gift of His peace-filled presence in the midst of all that is less than peaceful!

Life has been more than busy since I last sent you my Thanksgiving greetings! Thanksgiving was spent in Port Moresby doing the grade 11 selections for the 2009 school year. Even with another secondary school in the Province taking two additional classes, we were not able to place all the eligible students in our province in Secondary Schools. Over 3000 sat for the grade 10 exams and 1200 qualified in the upper 50% of the country and we were able to provide just over 1000 spaces in the 6 secondary schools. I will have a record number of about 205 young women if they all come! Our own grade 10’s surprised me with 85 qualifying to return out of 191 students! A very good percentage!

When I returned home we did celebrate Thanksgiving on Sunday in high style!!! This is one of the first years that turkey was on sale and even cranberry sauce! Our garden provided all the rest – kaukau (sweet potato), pumpkin and other vegetables for the banquet!

The following week was the last week of this school year! It surely passed so fast! Since all the clean up was completed when I was away, we could just celebrate. On Monday the students prepared plays, poems, songs, dances etc. to celebrate World Aids Day. They did a great job and even had some in tears as they presented their numbers. We are presently getting students who have lost both parents because of HIV/Aids. It is of epidemic proportions here! Some is due to culturally accepted practices and husbands with multiple wives.

Tuesday each class enjoyed a class picnic during the day and then we had our Christmas Assembly in the evening. Since real babies are played with rather than dolls here, Jesus was a huge stuffed rabbit this year! It wasn’t too noticeable until a group got up to sing a lullaby to Jesus and took the rabbit in their arms to sing to!!! After the planned part of the assembly, volunteers were asked to come and sing Christmas songs. Surprisingly there was no end to the volunteers, so after more than an hour, we had to conclude.

The next morning the students were up before five getting ready to leave! After all was in “perfect shape” we proceeded with our Honours Assembly so they could quickly get on their way. It was a wonderful year with much student and teacher cooperation!

Our grade 12 students did fantastically well on the final exams too! It looks like they may have topped the country in economics! We’ll see! There is great competition between schools and teachers when we get to the National Exams! Now we are awaiting word from all the tertiary institutions about their acceptance. More on that next time!

On the home front, the following week was the first retreat which I was happy to participate in and relax in the Lord! The same SVD priest in now almost at the end of the second retreat! The last retreat will be in mid-January. Sister Mary Susan returned home after completing her first year in nurses’ training! She is enthused about it and it seems to be a good program. On January 3rd we will celebrate when our two postulants become novices. Then there is our assembly. We will welcome Sister Anne Mary for a few weeks at the end of January when the new school year starts. And so time keeps moving us forward!

A special Christmas gift for Maria Kwin Women’s Resource Center and our School is a new dormitory funded by the PNG Sustainable Development Fund. This fund was set up by the OK Tedi (Gold) Mining Corporation in the Western Province which funds development projects throughout PNG. So we are back to building and expanding again! This dorm will give us 52 more beds making our boarding capacity 607 students!

Another new endeavor at this time is the NDSS Fund Raising Calendar for 2009! One of the teachers designed it! I wish I could give each of you one – they’re great with all our beautiful young women pictured in various school activities.

This will soon be a book if I don’t stop here to wish you ~~~

All the gifts of Jesus
Especially his loving presence
In your lives!

May 2009 be filled with Jesus,
His PEACE and JOY!

With a promise of prayerful remembrance during this Christmas Season,

Sister Mary Vivette, SND


Sister Mary Vivette Baker, S.N.D.
Notre Dame Secondary School
P.O. Box 164
Mt. Hagen, W.H.P.
PAPUA NEW GUINEA
Phone: 675-542-2150
Fax: 675-542-2175

Christmas Greetings from Notre Dame Secondary; Kumdi, Mount Hagen, WHP, PNG

Dear Friends Far and Near,

Can you believe that Christmas is only five days away? How time escapes us when we are preparing for a celebration! May your Christmas Season celebrations be filled with joy and peace as we experience Christ anew in our broken and needy world! Only He can give us the priceless gift of His peace-filled presence in the midst of all that is less than peaceful!

Life has been more than busy since I last sent you my Thanksgiving greetings! Thanksgiving was spent in Port Moresby doing the grade 11 selections for the 2009 school year. Even with another secondary school in the Province taking two additional classes, we were not able to place all the eligible students in our province in Secondary Schools. Over 3000 sat for the grade 10 exams and 1200 qualified in the upper 50% of the country and we were able to provide just over 1000 spaces in the 6 secondary schools. I will have a record number of about 205 young women if they all come! Our own grade 10’s surprised me with 85 qualifying to return out of 191 students! A very good percentage!

When I returned home we did celebrate Thanksgiving on Sunday in high style!!! This is one of the first years that turkey was on sale and even cranberry sauce! Our garden provided all the rest – kaukau (sweet potato), pumpkin and other vegetables for the banquet!

The following week was the last week of this school year! It surely passed so fast! Since all the clean up was completed when I was away, we could just celebrate. On Monday the students prepared plays, poems, songs, dances etc. to celebrate World Aids Day. They did a great job and even had some in tears as they presented their numbers. We are presently getting students who have lost both parents because of HIV/Aids. It is of epidemic proportions here! Some is due to culturally accepted practices and husbands with multiple wives.

Tuesday each class enjoyed a class picnic during the day and then we had our Christmas Assembly in the evening. Since real babies are played with rather than dolls here, Jesus was a huge stuffed rabbit this year! It wasn’t too noticeable until a group got up to sing a lullaby to Jesus and took the rabbit in their arms to sing to!!! After the planned part of the assembly, volunteers were asked to come and sing Christmas songs. Surprisingly there was no end to the volunteers, so after more than an hour, we had to conclude.

The next morning the students were up before five getting ready to leave! After all was in “perfect shape” we proceeded with our Honours Assembly so they could quickly get on their way. It was a wonderful year with much student and teacher cooperation!

Our grade 12 students did fantastically well on the final exams too! It looks like they may have topped the country in economics! We’ll see! There is great competition between schools and teachers when we get to the National Exams! Now we are awaiting word from all the tertiary institutions about their acceptance. More on that next time!

On the home front, the following week was the first retreat which I was happy to participate in and relax in the Lord! The same SVD priest in now almost at the end of the second retreat! The last retreat will be in mid-January. Sister Mary Susan returned home after completing her first year in nurses’ training! She is enthused about it and it seems to be a good program. On January 3rd we will celebrate when our two postulants become novices. Then there is our assembly. We will welcome Sister Anne Mary for a few weeks at the end of January when the new school year starts. And so time keeps moving us forward!

A special Christmas gift for Maria Kwin Women’s Resource Center and our School is a new dormitory funded by the PNG Sustainable Development Fund. This fund was set up by the OK Tedi (Gold) Mining Corporation in the Western Province which funds development projects throughout PNG. So we are back to building and expanding again! This dorm will give us 52 more beds making our boarding capacity 607 students!

Another new endeavor at this time is the NDSS Fund Raising Calendar for 2009! One of the teachers designed it! I wish I could give each of you one – they’re great with all our beautiful young women pictured in various school activities.

This will soon be a book if I don’t stop here to wish you ~~~

All the gifts of Jesus
Especially his loving presence
In your lives!

May 2009 be filled with Jesus,
His PEACE and JOY!

With a promise of prayerful remembrance during this Christmas Season,

Sister Mary Vivette, SND


Sister Mary Vivette Baker, S.N.D.
Notre Dame Secondary School
P.O. Box 164
Mt. Hagen, W.H.P.
PAPUA NEW GUINEA
Phone: 675-542-2150
Fax: 675-542-2175