Teacher retires after 32 years of service

By JASON SOM KAUT
A long serving female educationist has call it a day after teaching for 32 years.
Sakaing Fooks announced her retirement yesterday at the 45th graduation of Bugandi secondary school.
Mrs Fooks leaves Bugandi as the schools’ longest serving head of department (HOD) having served as HOD of language and literature for 11 years.
Born in Sakaing Kesu at Butibam village, Morobe province, she graduated with a diploma in secondary teaching in 1973 and returned to her old school of Bumayong and served for three years before moving over to Tusbab High School in Madang province in 1978.
In 1979, she was selected to represent PNG in the South Pacific Games in Suva, Fiji.
Upon her return, she married Laurie Fooks from Brisbane, Australia, who was then a lecturer at the Highlands Agricultural College in Mt Hagen.
In 1980, she moved to Mt Hagen High School for five years before moving back to Lae and joining the staff at Bugandi in 1985.
The main highlight of her first stint at Bugandi was the first intake of girls into the all boys high school in 1987.
In 1992, Mrs Fooks moved to Busu High School spending three years there before embarking on her bachelors degree programme in 1995 at the University of PNG.
She rejoined Bugandi in 1996 as head of the language and literature department and served with distinction until her retirement yesterday.
Mrs Fooks will be joining her husband who is currently working in Fiji.