Levuka Public School Cadets
The highlight of the Levuka Public School reunion I believe was the passing-out parade of the school that was held on 12.7.19 at Nasau Park.
Early that morning at dawn, while it was still dark, the activities began and I was surprised to see the old scholars preparing for the march through town and decorating the floats.
The parents and the students began to arrive in truck loads and the shops were opened early to accommodate them.
At about 11am the School cadet markers took position and the eight platoons smartly marched onto the parade ground to the beat of the Police Band.
The march past was a delight to see where the students executed their moves, turns and formation changes with precise timing despite the muddy ground patches and the light drizzle.
Each movement of the platoon was greeted with deafening cheers from the onlookers and some took to the side of the ground and emulated the movement of the marchers that added to the excitement in the Old Capital. The commands and the drum beat was anticipated with great accuracy by students and made the people of the island very proud indeed.
However, the interesting fact was that out of the eight platoons, five platoons consisted of females, two males and the last one had both females and males.
I believe that out of the eight awards that were handed out to the cadets, five went to the females students and three were won by their male counterparts.
It was exhilarating to note the female participation in what was once a male-dominated parade in the country.
This is a product of immense drills, practice and a great deal of time the school spent on the perfection of manoeuvring.
The benefits of such training is that the cadets are motivated to improve their physical fitness, to work harder at their academic studies and to give back to their communities through volunteerism activities.
The old scholars were well cared for during the two days by the hosts, including the people of Ovalau, and I heartily congratulate the organising committee and the principal of the school for the event. Principal, sir thank you for showing me the old school bell and I believe it will be mounted back to its original position soon.