Ocean of Light International School

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The Ocean of Light International School, located in Tonga, is a private international Bahá'í school dedicated to the development of the spiritual, intellectual, and physical potential of the students and to the fostering of a new world society identifying itself with the principles of a world citizenship, a universal value system, a world embracing administrative, economic, social and educational systems based on the concept of unity in diversity, established in 1996. [1] To achieve this the School aims to develop in the students those capacities, skills, habits and attitudes necessary to enable them to provide for their families; to effectively contribute to the peace, prosperity and tranquillity of mankind and society; and to participate in the creation of new institutions, processes and relationships as they are defined and established.

Tonga country in Oceania

Tonga, officially the Kingdom of Tonga, is a Polynesian country and archipelago comprising 169 islands, of which 36 are inhabited. The total surface area is about 750 square kilometres (290 sq mi) scattered over 700,000 square kilometres (270,000 sq mi) of the southern Pacific Ocean. The sovereign state has a population of 100,651 people, of whom 70% reside on the main island of Tongatapu.

International school type of school

An international school is a school that promotes international education, in an international environment, either by adopting a curriculum such as that of the International Baccalaureate, Edexcel or Cambridge International Examinations, or by following a national curriculum different from that of the school's country of residence.

Baháí school school run by the Baháí institutions, teaching Baháí teachings, Baháí history, and/or a general curriculum

A Bahá'í school at its simplest would be a school run officially by the Bahá'í institutions in its jurisdiction and may be a local class or set of classes, normally run weekly where children get together to study about Bahá'í teachings, Bahá'í central figures, or Bahá'í administration. Bahá'í topics may be minimized in favor of a general curriculum, often with an internationalist form, with accreditation from a variety of sources.

Contents

The School is directly administered by a non-profit Board of Education nominated by the National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha'is of Tonga. The school is known as a Baha'i school and is striving to incorporate Baha'i ideals, principles and concepts into the curriculum and organization of the school. The school is located in Kolomotu’a / Hofoa - about 3 kilometers from the centre of Nukuʻalofa. It offers classes from kindergarten (3 years old) to high school diploma using Cambridge International Examinations including the International General Certificate of Secondary Education.

The Bahá'í teachings represent a considerable number of theological, social, and spiritual ideas that were established in the Bahá'í Faith by Bahá'u'lláh, the founder of the religion, and clarified by successive leaders including `Abdu'l-Bahá, Bahá'u'lláh's son, and Shoghi Effendi, `Abdu'l-Bahá's grandson. The teachings were written in various Bahá'í writings. The teachings of the religion, combined with the authentic teachings of several past religions, including Islam and Christianity, are regarded by Bahá'ís as teachings revealed by God.

Nukuʻalofa Place in Tongatapu, Tonga

Nukuʻalofa is the capital of Tonga. It is located on the north coast of the island of Tongatapu, in the southernmost island group of Tonga.

The International General Certificate of Secondary Education is an English language based examination similar to GCSE and is recognized in the UK as being equivalent to the GCSE for the purposes of recognizing prior attainment. It was developed by University of Cambridge International Examinations. The examination board Edexcel and OxfordAQA also offer its own versions of International GCSE's. Most Students begin learning the syllabus at the beginning of Year 10 and take the test at the end of Year 11. Unlike pre-2017 GCSE, coursework of any kind is not a compulsory component.

The school is listed by the Australian Defense Department as a Primary and Secondary "Benchmark school" for those posted to Tonga. [2]

Events

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Religion in Tonga

The overwhelming majority of people in Tonga consider themselves Christians, which is dominated by Methodists.

Free Church of Tonga church building in Nukualofa, Tonga

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The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has had a presence in Tonga since 1891. The Tongan Mission was organized in 1916. However, due to anti-Mormon rumors and government policies, the LDS Church did not grow steadily in Tonga until 1924. Between 1946 and 1956, church leaders published Tongan translations of the scriptures and built a church-sponsored school known as the Liahona School. In 1968, Tonga's first LDS stake was organized and the Nuku'alofa Tonga Temple was dedicated in 1983.

The Bahá'í Faith in Samoa and American Samoa begins with the then head of the religion, `Abdu'l-Bahá, mentioning the islands in 1916. This inspired Bahá'ís on their way to Australia in 1920 to stop in Samoa. Thirty four years later another Bahá'í from Australia pioneered to Samoa in 1954. With the first converts the first Bahá'í Local Spiritual Assembly was elected in 1961, and the Bahá'í National Spiritual Assembly was first elected in 1970. Following the conversion of the then Head of State of Samoa, King Malietoa Tanumafili II, the first Bahá'í House of Worship of the Pacific Islands was finished in 1984 and the Bahá'í community reached a population of over 3,000 in about the year 2000.

The Bahá'í Faith in Tonga started after being set as a goal to introduce the religion in 1953, and Bahá'ís arrived in 1954. With conversions and pioneers the first Bahá'í Local Spiritual Assembly was elected in 1958. From 1959 the Bahá'ís of Tonga and their local institutions were members of a Regional Spiritual Assembly of the South Pacific. By 1963 there were five local assemblies. Less than forty years later, in 1996, the Bahá'ís of Tonga established their paramount Bahá'í school in the form of the Ocean of Light International School. Around 2004 there were 29 local spiritual assemblies. The 2015 estimate of the World Religion Database ranked the Bahá'ís at 3.5% of the national population, though as recently as 2006 the Tonga Broadcasting Commission maintained a policy that does not allow discussions by members of the Bahá'í Faith of its founder, Bahá'u'lláh on its radio broadcasts.

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References

  1. 1 2 Ocean of Light School celebrates 10th anniversary Nuku'Alofa, Tonga 17 July 2006 (BWNS)
  2. ↑ Defence Determination 2007/12 accessed Jan. 5, 2008
  3. ↑ Prince praises school at opening of new buildings Nuku'Alofa, Tonga, 2 March 2003 (BWNS)

Coordinates: 21°8′21″S175°13′53″W / 21.13917°S 175.23139°W / -21.13917; -175.23139

Geographic coordinate system Coordinate system

A geographic coordinate system is a coordinate system that enables every location on Earth to be specified by a set of numbers, letters or symbols. The coordinates are often chosen such that one of the numbers represents a vertical position and two or three of the numbers represent a horizontal position; alternatively, a geographic position may be expressed in a combined three-dimensional Cartesian vector. A common choice of coordinates is latitude, longitude and elevation. To specify a location on a plane requires a map projection.

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