TONGAN YOUTH ASSOCIATION OF TEXAS
TYAT TIME
A B HONOR ROLL & PERFECT
ATTENDANCE
2010-2011 SCHOOL
YEAR: Congratulations to
the following students and
their parents for their hard
work in achieving the fol-
lowing standards that all
Tongans in Texas can be
proud of. Please join TYAT
in congratulating the fol-
lowing parents and stu-
dents for their accomplish-
ments. Malo e ngaue
malohi moe poupou lelei
„oku fakahoko „ehe matu‟a
ma‟ae fanau!!! Keep it up!!!
A B HONOR ROLL LD
Bell Students—1st 6
Wks— MORONAE BUR-
GESS, NIFAE BURGESS,
LORITA SANFT, NANISE
VAKE, KAFO TUHA. 2nd 6
Wks.—MORONAE BUR-
GESS, NIFAE BURGESS,
TISILELI MANU, LORITA
SANFT, NANISE VAKE,
KAFO TUHA. 3rd 6 Wks—
35 Tongan Students toured
TCC on Jan. 9, 2011.
Fepueli/Ma’asi,
2011
Special points
MORONAE BURGESS, CHANEL VAITU‟ULALA. of interest:
NIFAE BURGESS, RICH- Congratulations! The  Perfect Attendance
ARD MAKA, LORITA
following students had
SANFT, NANISE VAKE,  A B Honor Roll Stu-
PERFECT ATTEN-
KAFO TUHA. DANCE: LD Bell Stu- dents
AB HONOR ROLL Trin- dents—1st 6 Wks.—  ACT / SAT Exams
ity High School Stu- MORONAE BURGESS,
 Tour of TCC
dents—3rd 6 Wks. MELE- NIFAE BURGESS,
SUNGU FU‟UTO ALEA MO- KILISITINA FIEFIA,  Tour of Navarro &
TUA, ADRIAN JOSEPH STEPHANIE MANISELA, UNT Colleges
CAVAZOS, TOMI TEAU TISILELI MANU, KAFO  Koe ha e „Uhinga
FINAU, MELIAME FA NOEL TUHA, „OFA UASIKE,
FINEFEUIAKI, BRENNEN  FAFSA
ALEXANDER VAKE JR.,
CHASE IGNACIO, RICH- NANISE VAKE, TEVITA  Graduating Senior?
ARD LOLOHEA, KAILAHI VUNIPOLA. 2nd 6 Wks. —
CARLOS KAUTAI, EVELYN MORONAE BURGESS,
“TYAT-Dance” for
VIKA LANGI, SIONE INOKE NIFAE BURGESS,
Trinity & LD Bell
LANGI, „AKANESI SITANI, KILISITINA FIEFIA,
students ONLY!
LOLO MANA‟IA SOAKAI, TERESA LATU, LORITA
FELONITESI „ATELEA SANFT, OFA UASIKE, Thursday, May
TAU, MARIE STELLA ALEXANDER VAKE JR., 26, 6-10 p.m.
ELISIVA TONGA, MAKA NANISE VAKE. 3rd 6
RECOGNITIONS
TONGA, SALESI SIAOSI Wks.— MORONAE BUR-
ACHIEVEMENTS
LOFAKAI „UHATAFE, GE- GESS, NIFAE BUR-
AWARDS
RALD CHRISTIAN-REI GESS, KILISITINA
Individual & group dance
VAENUKU, KUNIE FIEFIA. PERFECT AT-
competition; each grade
TENDANCE Trinity level tau’olunga’s, guys
High School Stu- against gals, games,
dents—MELIAME FINE- prizes, snack, etc.
FEUIAKI, SIONE FINAU, LOCATION TBA
BRENNEN IGNACIO, We need 12 students to
EVELYN LANGI, PAUL join the planning com-
LANGI, SIONE LANGI, mittee for the dance.
RICHARD LOLOHEA, (we need 4 from Bell, 8 from
JESSICA MA‟AFU, THS, different churches &
different grades, call me if
CHRISTIANA TAVO, you can do this!!)
SELU TONGA TUA, 817-683-4825
CALEB ‟UNGA, GAIUS
VAENUKU, GERALD Go on Facebook
CHRISTIAN-REI
for details
VAENUKU.
 COLLEGE TOURS (sophomores, juniors and seniors)
COLLEGE TOURS. If you are interested in going to college, we can help you! TYAT and Trinity High School will be
taking students in all grade levels from both THS and LD Bell on a tour of Navarro College on Saturday, March 5,
2011 and the University of North Texas (UNT) on Saturday, April 2, 2011 (UNT tour is for sophomores and juniors
only, and some freshmen‟s.) Both tours will be leaving from the main Trinity High School parking lot at 7:15 a.m.
returning around 3 p.m. Transportation will be provided for up to 40 students. Brunch is included, each student
must bring $7 for lunch at Cici‟s. Permission slips from your parents must be signed before you can go. Mrs.
Melissa Mieyr will sponsor both tours with assistance from Agnieszka Beavers. There will be a mandatory meeting
for those who are going in Mrs. Moon‟s classroom on Thursday, March 3 at 4:30 p.m. and on Thursday, March 31
at 4:30p.m. Contact Ofa 817-683-4825 or anyone from TYAT for more information.
Matu‟a tauhi fanau Tonga, koe taha eni e ngaahi faingamalie „oku tuku mai „ehe HEB-ISD ke tokoni‟i kitautolu moe
fanau Tonga, kenau fakaangaanga ki he anga „oe mo‟ui fakaako he ngaahi Kolisi pe Iunivesiti hili „enau lava mei
High School. „Oku „iai e faka‟amu ke poupou‟i mo fakalotolahia e fanau Tonga nofo Tekisisi ke hoko atu „enau
feinga fakaako ki he ‟u ‟iunivesiti moe ngaahi kolisii ‟o ‟ikai ngata pe he High School. Malo „Aupito.

35 Tongan students from Trinity High School took a tour of TCC

Northeast Campus on Friday, January 14, 2011. Lunch and transpor-
tation was provided by the HEB-ISD. Students listened to a presenta-
tion about college placement exams, financial aid information, registra-
tion information, and other general college entrance information. In
general, these students were talked to about the process of attending
college. After the presentation, tour guides led the students on a tour
of the campus. Na‟e lava lelei „ae ‟a‟ahi ‟a e fanau pea koe me‟a
Students on campus tour at TCC. fakafiefia taha koe ngaahi fehu‟i na‟e ‟eke ‟ehe fanau fekau‟aki moe
Thank you for your help La! ngaahi founga ke nau lava ai „o hu „o Kolisi. He hili „ae polokalama
na‟e pehe „e Kirsty Foni, “I want to get a culinary degree and I don‟t
mind going to school here.” and Valentine Cocker, “I want to be a police officer.” For many students, the exposure
was eye opening and it allowed them to see the possibility of attending college. Some students like Junior Vaka‟uta
didn‟t really have plans to go to college but after the tour, he though college was a goal that he too can attain. Many
students expressed their appreciation to TYAT members and Kathryn Larusso, who sponsored the tour with Trinity
HS. It‟s very important to note that the purpose of the college tours is to familiarize our Tongan teens with college
life, with what it may feel like in a dorm, what it may feel like to be away from family, etc., it doesn‟t mean your child
has to go to that college. Thank you to all the students who went on the tour, thank you for listening and represent-
ing our Community!! Malo, thank you to all students who were able to go and who listened!!!! Malo.
A SPECIAL THANK YOU TO MR. MIKE HARRIS, MRS. KATHRYN LARRUSO AND THS FOR MAKING THIS POSSIBLE .

TRiO-TALLENT SEARCH—Koe ha ’ae TRiO? Ko fe ‘ae taimi tonu

“TriO is the reason why
taha ke tau talanoa ai ki he ‘etau fanau fekau’aki mo honau kaha’u faka-
I am in college. It
ako? Tali: Kimu’a he kalasi 9. ’Io matu’a Tonga, koe anga ia ‘a e faka-
helped me get on the
matala ‘a e faiako pule moe kau faiako kuo nau mataotao he ngaue moe
right track in life”—
fanau Tonga. Koe taimi tonu taha ke kamata ai hono fakaangaanga e
Salesi Havili
fakakaukau ’a e fanau ki honau kaha’u fakaako koe kalasi 7 pe 8. TRiO-
Talent Search is a program that can help students be prepared to go to
college. This program is funded by government funds and its free to students. ‘E tokoni e polokalama
ni hono fokotu’utu’u, fakahinohino’i
Being in the TRiO Talent Search program really helped me prepare mo fakaangaanga e fanau Tonga ke
for college by informing me everything I needed to know about
teuteu hoko atu ‘enau feinga fakaako ki
college and the steps that I needed to take to successfully become a
college student. I am now a junior in college and I’m planning to he kolisi moe ngaahi ‘iunivesiti. Fe-
graduate on time, thanks to the help of Agnieszka and the pro- tu’utaki mai kia Michele Faletau pe ko
gram. I love the program and I love Agnieszka and if it wasn’t for
ha taha he TYAT fekau’aki moe polo-
the TRiO Talent Search program, I wouldn’t have made it this far
in my college career. —Esther Kautai
kalam ni. Malo!!!
WHAT IS TYAT-KOE HA ‘AE ‘UHINGA
Over five years ago, a few people
began discussing the idea of help-
ing more Tongan students go to
college. It was noted that the ratio
of Tongan students going to col-
lege was highly disproportionate to
the total number of Tongan stu-
dents who graduated from high
school. Furthermore, out of those
that did go to college, more than
half were returning to Euless less
than two years before they even
received their Associate Degree.
In addition, there were growing
concerns about groups of Tongan
students stealing and vandalizing
property at Trinity High. A few inci-
dences with the Euless Police De-
partment were also starting to crop
up. There were other concerns
about Tongan students from one
church fighting Tongans from an-
other church as well as fights in
the schools. In general, there were
fear that behaviors that were more
common in our Tongan youth in
other states were beginning to
show up here in Texas. With these
statistics in mind and genuine con-
cern for the future of the youth of
Texas, a few people met for the
first time on Wednesday, October
14, 2009 at the Midway Recreation
Center to discuss the possibility of
starting a program to increase col-
lege attendance for the Tongan
youth of Texas. The hope being to
promote education and keep
Texas‟ youth busy pursuing their
education rather than “hanging
out” and getting in trouble. At this
meeting, the following was agreed
to as general goals for the Com-
mittee:
1. To help promote and send at
least 50%of all graduating
‘OKU TEU faka‟osi ako ho foha pe „ofefine? ‟Oku ke hange koe tokolahi ‟o ‟ikai teke fie fakamole pa‟anga
hono fakatau e cap moe gown ke tui tu‟o taha pe „ehe fanau KI he „enau faka‟osiako? „Oku ma‟u „e Trinity „a
e „u caps/gowns ta‟etotongi „e lava „o „oatu ke tui ho‟o ki‟i tamasi‟i pe ta‟ahine kihe faka‟osiako pea toki faka-
foki ki Trinity. „Oku „iai moe „u tokoni makehe ki he seniors. Fetu‟utaki kia Mrs. Peggy McIntyre 817-399-3640.
high school Tongan students
to college.
2. Agreed not to re-create or
take over existing programs
already offered by the Inde-
pendent School District or the
“Palangi‟s”, including
(tutoring, teaching, offer schol-
arships, etc., etc.) In general
the Association will learn the
programs the Palangi‟s al-
ready offer and pass the infor-
mation on to the Tongan
population.
3. Help the Tongan Youth of
Texas transition successfully
between the American and
Tongan culture in pursuant of
higher education.
Since that first meeting, TYAT‟s
basic goals have remained the
same, however, we now have a
ten year goal to increase the num-
ber of high school graduating stu-
dents going to college from 50%
to 75% with 50% of these students
graduating college with Bachelors
degrees or higher. Yes, it‟s a very
lofty goal, but we have set it and
with the community and the
School District‟s support we will
achieve it!! In addition, we‟ve
learned that there are scholar-
ships, government grants and
loans, etc. to help pay for our stu-
dent‟s education. There are also
programs beginning in kindergar-
ten that can help Tongan students
become successful!! Kainga
Tonga, this means we don‟t have
to settle for just any job for our
children nor should we settle for
just certain economic lifestyle for Faka’apa’apa Atu—- Tongan Youth
our community. Our children can
become doctors, lawyers, law en-
forcers, emergency medical person-
nel, city managers, mayors, and
yes, maybe one day even become
Senators or NASA employees!
These are the aspirations of TYAT,
to change trends and help our peo-
ple and our students become re-
sponsible, reliable, Tongan Ameri-
cans. For most of us, we are not
moving back to Tonga, this is our
home, Euless, Texas, more specifi-
cally, America! We can either sit
back and hope for the best for the
future of the youth of Texas or we
can do something about it. Ko ia ai
kainga Tonga, ko eni e faka‟amu
moe taumu‟a „a e TYAT. „Oku „ikai ke
„i ai ha toe „asenita, koe anga eni e
fakakaukau ma‟ulalo moe taumu‟a
„oku fakahangahanga ki ai e ngaue
„a e TYAT. Kuo mahino pea „oku
„ikai puli, koe tupulaki moe mo‟ui „oe
ngaue ni „e makatu‟unga ia mei he
fepoupouaki „e fakahoko „e kitautolu
kotoa, mei he kau taki lotu, ki he
fanau ako kae tautefito ki he matu‟a
tauhi fanau Tonga „o Tekisisi.
Hange koe lau „a e kau palangi, “No
man is an island” pea moe pehe
“United we stand, divided we fall.” ko
ia „a e mahino „oku ma‟u „e he TYAT,
„e „ikai, pea „e „ikai, pea „e „ikai, ke
lava ha ngaue ia ka „ikai ha poupou
mei he kainga Tonga! „Oku „i ai e tui
koe tokolahi „ia kitautolu „oku tau loto
tatau fekau‟aki moe kaha‟u hotau ki‟i
feitu‟u ni. Ko ia „ae „uhinga „oe
ngaahi polokalama „oku fakaon-
goongo atu mei he TYAT. Ko ia ai
„ae kole ho‟o mou lotu mo ho‟o mou-
hufaki kae „uma‟aa ho‟o mou poupou
fekau‟aki moe polokalama ma „ae
fanau. Malo.
Assn. of Texas
SENIORS-PAU SIVI ACT/SAT KIMU’A HU KOLISI
Parents...have your students
taken the ACT or the SAT exam
yet? The end of the year is fast
approaching and all seniors who
are planning to attend a 4 year
college must take one of these 2
exams. Juniors can take the exam
for free, just get a waiver from
your counselors office. Kuo pau
ke ‟ave ‟ehe tokotaha kotoa pe
„oku fakakaukau ke hu „o
„iunivesiti ‟ae taha he ongo sivi ni.
‟E sivi kinautolu he Fika, English,
Saienisi moe Social Studies.
Fakatokanga‟i ange koe ‟aho sivi
pe ‟e 2 ‟oku toe he ongo sivi ni,
pea koe schedule ena „oku fakaha
atu ia he konga faka‟osi ‟oe tohi
ni.
Pea „oku „ikai ngata pe foki he
ongo sivi ni ka „oku pau ke paasi
e tamasi‟I moe ta‟ahine kotoa he heni, „e lava pe keke fetu‟utaki
sivi TAKS kae toki ma‟u „ene ki he faiakokopule „o Trinity, Mr.
tipiloma mei he High School. Mike Harris. Tenau lava ke
Koe toe me‟a faka‟osi pe „e taha „oatu ha fakahinohino fekau‟aki
ketau tokanga ki ai koe FAFSA. moe founga lelei taha ke ala
„E lava ke ma‟u mai e pa‟anga ma‟u atu ai ha tokoni. „E toe
mei he pule‟anga ke totongi „aki lava pe foki keke fetu‟utaki mai
e konga lahi pe koe kotoa „oe ki ha taha he TYAT „o ka fie-
tuition „ae fanau „o a‟u ki hono ma‟u. Malo.
ma‟u „enau mata‟itohii. Kai kehe
„Aho Registra- Totongi
koe vave ange ‟ete fakafonu e Sivi-SAT tion Dead- Tomui Late
FAFSA koe lahi ange ia e seniti line Fee
e ma‟u ke tokoni hono totongi e
5/7/11 4/8/11 4/22/11
ako ‟a e fanau. Ko ‟ene ‟osi pe
‟ae pa‟anga ko eni ko ‟ene ‟osii ia 6/4/11 5/6/11 5/20/11
pea ‟e pau leva kete tali ki he
ta‟u hono hoko kete toe apply „Aho Sivi Registra- Totongi
fo‟ou. ACT tion Tomui
Deadline Late Fee
„O kapau „oku ke fiema‟u ha
4/9/11 3/4/11 3/5-3/18
tokoni pe ‟oku ke fie‟ilo fekau‟aki
moe ngaahi me‟a „oku ha atu 5/6/11 6/11/11 5/7-5/20

A male Tongan student was

Thank you (Malo Teu!!) called into questioning the week
of February 7th for stealing a very
MONKEY TREE SERVICE
expensive cell phone that was
For your support of the Tongan Youth Association of Texas and stolen from a palangi student.
‟Oku mahu‟inga ke tala ki he fa-
the future of the youth of Texas. nau kenau takitaha ala pe ki he
‟ene me‟a…‟oua ‟e alanoa mo
Free estimates on stump removal, tree cutting, tree limbs & kaiha‟a fanau Tonga moe fakama!
stump removal, etc., etc. Nothing too small, nothing too large.
Report any errors, comments or
For a free estimate call……….. suggestions-Ka ‘oku ke fakatokan-
ga’i ha fehalaaki kataki ‘o fetu’u-
TOMI or LIO at 817-680-4477 taki mai ‘e tokoni lahi ia….malo.

Kali Vaka‟uta—817-829-2624.
TYAT on Facebook
petelo275@msn.com
Fred Katoa— 817-542-6173 fredka-
TONGAN YOUTH toa@hebisd.edu
ASSOCIATION Ofa Faiva-Siale: 817-683-4825
OF TEXAS ofakivavau@tx.rr.com
Michele Faletau—817-770-6676
faltau21@sbcglobal.net
Michael Harris, Trinity HS, 817-399-
3631 / harrism@hebisd.edu
Donna Paul, LD Bell, 817-282-2551 /
donnapaul@hebisd.edu
Derek Keil, Mia Langi, Tilolou Va‟ai,
Lepi & Luseane Ta‟ai, Taani Langi,
Miki Langi, Kepa Siale, Mia Langi
MISSION STATEMENT
To promote awareness and opportunity for higher edu-
cation and availability of resources benefiting academic
growth and cultural awareness to ease transitions be-
tween the Tongan and American culture amongst the
Tongan Youth of Texas.
MISIONA ‘A E KOMITI
Ke fakatokanga‟i „a e faingamalie mo e ngaahi tokoni
„oku „ataa ke tokoni‟i „etau fanau ke fakalakalaka „enau
ako faka‟atamai mo fakatupulaki honau „ulungaanga
fakatonga lolotonga „enau tupu hake „i „Amelika ni ko e
to‟utupu Tonga nofo „i Tekisisi.