Daily Morning Flag Raising Assembly

Join the educational mission at  HLIS to:

• Teach in a Lutheran School in Papua New Guinea.
• Teach in a developing country that has significant needs.
• Teach small class sizes.
• Contribute to a growing school as it works toward its mission of providing “Excellence in Education Guided by the gospel of Jesus Christ” in Papua New Guinea.
• Contribute your God given gifts and talents to a remote region of the world were such gifts are appreciated.
• Live in a beautiful tropical, alpine environment.
• Live in a pleasant year round climate.
• Experience the Melanesian Culture in the South Pacific.
• Experience tribal living, culture and society.
• Build and influence the future of PNG through Christian education.
• Help to expand a well-established school.

     Act now to join the multicultural faculty team at Highland Lutheran International School, where you will find:

• A challenging, fulfilling teaching experience
• The unique cultural environment of the Enga Province
• Inquisitive students who want to learn
• Basic housing (shared if single) and utilities
• Basic teaching supplies (paper/pens/notebooks)
• Basic furnishings (stove/fridge/bed/bedding/table/chairs)
• Periodic round trip transportation to your home of record
• A living allowance based on experience and level of formal education
• Basic evacuation and medical insurance

Families or teachers with special needs or requirements may need to raise additional support before coming to PNG. Teachers that require private transport in the country will need to raise funds for a vehicle.

For further details contact:

Paul Van Wezel
Highland Lutheran International School
P.O. Box 363
Wabag, Enga Province
Papua New Guinea

  (675)-547-1235   (phone/fax)

     Students at HLIS enjoy informal sports all year long.  Those which are the favorite are rugby (above), soccer, volleyball (below) and basketball.  The campus has a large field for open running sports, a basketball court and a volleyball court.  Sports competitions with other schools and local sports clubs are also scheduled during appropriate seasons of the sports year. 

     Drama, music and arts activities are also a part of the school program from time to time, often in relation to weekly chapel and worship services, and a Papua New Guinea Culture Day is held each year to focus the value of the multiple cultures in the country.

• Small class sizes and individual teacher attention
• Regular Worship opportunities
• A quiet rural setting conducive to study
• Friendly teachers that are dedicated to your success
• Hard work and demanding academic requirements
• Learning with computers and access to the internet with teacher supervision
• An opportunity to be prepared for National Exams
• An opportunity to be prepared for a University education upon successful completion of the HLIS curriculum

     The faculty at HLIS comes from several different countries, including England, Australia, the United States, Holland and Papua New Guinea.  They represent a cross section of nationalities and teaching talent.

     The property at Amapyaka was purchased in 1953 by missionaries from Lutheran Church Missouri Synod (LCMS), and the original school was a grass hut that was used to prepare young national men to teach the Word of God throughout Papua New Guinea.

     In 1957 the number of missionaries coming from LCMS greatly increased and Lutheran Women’s Missionary League in the United States donated 40,000 US dollars to build a permanent building that served nearly 100 missionary children.   In 1975, when PNG became independent from Australia and many missionaries returned home, enrollment at the school dropped to about 40 students, and soon after the school began to increase programs and services to national students.  In the mid-nineties the school grew again to about 190 students.

     Then HLIS was hard hit by tribal warfare that broke out in October 2002 and resulted in the main building, with all of it resources, being destroyed by fire in January 2003.   The school is now energetically rebuilding and renewing its mission to provide excellence in education guided by the Gospel of Jesus Christ to qualified students from all over PNG.

1. Fill out and send an application via email or regular mail. You can use either the Microsoft Word or the Simple Text (readable by all computers) version of the form.
2. Send copies of transcripts, report cards and transfer cards.
3. Send a personal reference from a teacher, pastor, or principal.
4. Make and appointment for a placement examination or contact Principal Paul VanWezel for further information.
5. Visit the school

PaulVanWezel
Highland Lutheran International School
P.O. Box 363
Wabag, Enga Province
Papua New Guinea

 (675)-547-1235  (phone/fax)

     Papua New Guinea is a developing country, geographically comprising the eastern half of the New Guinea Island north of Australia.  Its rich cultural heritage includes more than 800 language groups, each with a unique  tradition, from the boat people of Milne Bay to the rugged mountain tribes of the Chimbu, Enga and Southern and Western Highlands.

     Highlands Lutheran Internatinal School is situated among the Enga people of the Enga Privince west of Mount Hagen.  A single road and a single air strip connect this area to the outside world, and while missionaries first entered the area after World War II, many people here are very unfamiliar with white faces.

     Homes among the Enga are hidden in the subtropical bush of the mile high mountains and accessed by orange clay paths.   Families include extended relatives and relationships are deep, communal and fiercely loyal.  Traditional ceremonies are many and include weddings, singsings and Christmas gatherings, all of which call for traditional clothing  and body decoration (right).

     The spiritual life of the Enga is intense and very real.  People are not only open to the gospel message of the Bible, but over the years since missionaries arrived, the church at large has also grown and cultural patterns and celebrations have been integrated in an exciting way with worship and faith.

     To remember and celebrate the multiple cultural heritages of students, Highland Lutheran International School features an annual ”Culture Day.”

Highland Lutheran International School’s staff needs

     If you’re interested in teaching at Highland Lutheran International School, you need to apply now in preparation for 2010 school year. It can take six months to over a year from the time of application to the time that teachers are in the classroom, and it is important to note that the school year starts in late January and lasts until mid December on a Southern Hemisphere school calendar.

Here are our projected needs for the 2010 school year.

Elementary teachers needed in 

          Elementary Music and Art

High School teachers needed in

English Humanities
Music/ Art/ Drama
Practical Skills

Other professional staff needed

Dormitory Parents
Elementary Head Teacher

If you’re interested, please go to our application page for further details.

     The school is located on a nine-acre property on the Highland’s Highway between Wabag and Wapenamanda.  The campus has several education buildings, including a main office and classroom complex, two early childhood buildings, a stand alone science laboratory and two classrooms attached to the dormitories.  New classrooms, a central chapel and a rebuilt main structure are in the plans for the future campus renewal. 

     The present campus also has a small but adequate library and a computer center with internet access for students and teachers. A 50-bed dormitory with a large kitchen and mess hall (below) serves our boarding students, and a newly build modern girl’s dormitory (above) was completed in 2008.  There are also five teacher houses, four teacher apartments and a guest house that combines PNG and modern comforts.

     At present the school’s facilities also include a large field for sports, a basketball court and a volleyball court.  In addition, a large traditional “Enga house man” built for the National Executive Meeting in 2009 still provides performance space and worship space for larger gatherings.