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Tafuna High School

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Tafuna High School
Location
Map
Tafuna
,
Tuālāuta
,
American Samoa

United States
Information
TypePublic High School
Established1982
PrincipalTutuila Togilau
Grades9-12
Enrollment1,200+ Annually
Color(s)  Maroon
  White   Gold
MascotWarriors
NicknameWarrior Nation

Tafuna High School (THS) is a public high school located in the village of Tafuna, Tuālāuta County, Western District, American Samoa. It is one of the 6 public high schools under the jurisdiction of the American Samoa Department of Education.[1] Its inception in 1982 welcomed a 100 freshmen. Its enrollment has grown to an average of 1,200 students per academic year. It has been the largest public high school in American Samoa by enrollment since the early 2000's.[2]

History

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On March 18, 1966, Governor H. Rex Lee announced that the local government signed an agreement with the US Air Force to provide half a million dollars to build a transit dormitory for military men and women. This building would later be utilized as a classroom setting for various subjects taught at Tafuna High School. On October 19, 2018, the historic site would be demolished in dedication of a new two-story, 10-classroom building.[3]

Tafuna High School was established in 1982. It welcomed 100 freshmen and would have its first-graduating class in 1986. It was the fastest-growing school in the public school system in the 90's.[4]

In 2020, the then-Governor Lolo Matalasi Moliga had plans to relocate the E-rate office of DOE to the lower campus of Tafuna High School.[5] This would mean that the high school would lose its lower campus that housed its JROTC program. A peaceful protest and a petition from the school PTA ensued in hopes of the decision being rescinded. After an on-site visit of the lower campus in October 30, 2020, the Governor agreed to return the campus to Tafuna High School for future use.[6]

Tafuna High School's 50th anniversary (Golden Jubilee) will be held in the year 2032.

Athletics

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Tafuna offers the following sports overseen by the American Samoa High School Athletic Association (ASHSAA): football, volleyball, basketball, soccer, and baseball.

Tafuna has enjoyed a significant amount of success in many of its athletic programs. Some of its notable achievements include but are not limited to the following.The Girls-Volleyball team clinched a 3-peat Varsity championship streak in 2018[7] and became Varsity champions again in 2022.[8] The Boys-Basketball team clinched a consecutive Varsity championship win in 2021.[9] The Boys-Baseball team secured a 3rd-consecutive championship win in 2018[10]

The warrior's football program has come a long way in reaching its own milestones as well as making history. In 2007-2013, the team became the first and only ASHSAA football 5-peat champions in the JV division[11] and were the Varsity football back-to-back champions[12] after defeating Samoana High School in a lopsided 44-6 win in the 2013-14 Varsity football championship. Tafuna was once again at the top of the JV league after defeating Marist to become 4-peat champs in the 2021-22 football season and[13][14] back-to-back champs in the 2024-25 season. [15] Tafuna clinched its first 3-peat Varsity football championship title in 2022-23, and became the second team ever to earn a Varsity 4-peat championship in the 2023-24 season. [16][17] This year, Tafuna's Varsity football program made history in ASHSAA by becoming the first and only 5-peat Varsity champions after defeating Leone once again in the 2024-25 Varsity Football championship, in a rare and dominating shutout score of 40-0.[18]

Varsity Football Championships (Past 5 Years)
Season Top Seed Challenger Outcome
2020-21 Tafuna Warriors Samoana Sharks Warriors 25 Sharks 12
2021-22 Tafuna Warriors Samoana Sharks Warriors 22 Sharks 11
2022-23 Tafuna Warriors Leone Lions Warriors 36 Lions 16
2023-24 Tafuna Warriors Leone Lions Warriors 44 Lions 20
2024-25 Tafuna Warriors Leone Lions Warriors 40 Lions 0

Academics

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In addition to the general core subjects and electives it offers, THS also has College Accelerated Courses and participates in the Dual Enrollment Program at the American Samoa Community College.[19] It is highly competitive in islandwide academic competitions and has made strides in national academic competitions as well. In 2017, the Tafuna JROTC team competed in the 8th Annual Academic Challenge and placed first in the LET I division, beating 46 teams across the nation, Asia and other territories that participated in the event.[20] In the 2023 JPA, the JROTC program earned the Gold-Star distinction award after topping the 5 JROTC programs on island with an overall score of 99.13%.[21] In April 2023, THS swept the top 3 spots in the NHD islandwide competition and were the overall champions for the 7th year in a row.[22] The school also took first place in the 36th annual speech festival in 2023 for the third-successive year in a row.[23]

References

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  1. ^ Tan, Jon; Allan, Christine (2009). "Student Voices, Internationalisation and Critical Conversations in Initial Teacher Education". In Jones, Elspeth (ed.). Internationalisation and the Student Voice. pp. 70–78. doi:10.4324/9780203865309-12. ISBN 978-0-203-86530-9.
  2. ^ "Largest American Samoa Public Schools (2023)". www.publicschoolreview.com. Retrieved 2023-06-21.
  3. ^ "New classroom building for Tafuna High School". Talanei. Retrieved 2023-06-23.
  4. ^ Haleck, Peggy Ann (1996). Student voices: Samoan perspectives of ideal student and ideal teacher (Thesis).[page needed]
  5. ^ "E-Rate Office to be relocated to Tafuna High School lower campus". www.samoanews.com. 2020-09-06. Retrieved 2023-06-26.
  6. ^ "Governor agrees to return THS' lower campus to the school, says PTA prez". www.samoanews.com. 2020-10-30. Retrieved 2023-06-26.
  7. ^ "THS Girls Volleyball Seniors farewell". www.samoanews.com. 2018-10-18. Retrieved 2023-06-26.
  8. ^ "Lady Warriors photo & caption". www.samoanews.com. 2022-11-17. Retrieved 2023-06-26.
  9. ^ "Boys Varsity Basketball Champions – Tafuna High School photo & caption". www.samoanews.com. 2021-03-22. Retrieved 2023-06-26.
  10. ^ "Tafuna HS Warriors Boys' Baseball Team". www.samoanews.com. 2018-05-15. Retrieved 2023-06-26.
  11. ^ "A SALUTE TO THIS SEASON'S ASHSAA JV PLAYERS OF THE WEEK + GAMES VIDEO". www.samoanews.com. 2013-11-15. Retrieved 2023-06-26.
  12. ^ "Video: Back-2-Back Undefeated ASHSAA Football Champions — the Tafuna Warriors". www.samoanews.com. 2013-12-03. Retrieved 2023-06-26.
  13. ^ "Tafuna Warriors are ASHSAA's 3-Peat Junior Varsity Football Champions". www.samoanews.com. 2020-11-02. Retrieved 2023-06-26.
  14. ^ "Tafuna Warriors are JV Champs photo & caption". www.samoanews.com. 2021-11-19. Retrieved 2023-06-26.
  15. ^ "ASHSAA JV Championship game photo & caption". www.samoanews.com. 2023-11-06. Retrieved 2023-12-09.
  16. ^ "Tafuna High School is 3-Peat ASHSAA Varsity Football Champions". www.samoanews.com. 2022-11-28. Retrieved 2023-06-26.
  17. ^ "It's a 4-peat for Tafuna Warriors". Talanei. Retrieved 2023-12-09.
  18. ^ "Tafuna Warriors are 5-peat Football Champs". Talanei. Retrieved 2024-12-06.
  19. ^ "ASDOE College Accelerated Program - ASDOE". www.doe.as. Retrieved 2023-06-26.
  20. ^ "THS JROTC cadets take first". www.samoanews.com. 2017-05-16. Retrieved 2023-06-26.
  21. ^ "Tafuna High School JROTC awarded Honor Unit with Gold Star Distinction". www.samoanews.com. 2023-04-10. Retrieved 2023-06-26.
  22. ^ "Tafuna High School is National History Day champs photo & caption". www.samoanews.com. 2023-04-13. Retrieved 2023-06-26.
  23. ^ "2022- 2023 Secondary Speech Festival Winners — 3-Peat Warriors". www.samoanews.com. 2023-03-01. Retrieved 2023-07-02.
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