A ‘GREEN’ CELEBRATION FOR OUR PRINCIPAL

- Ms. Sunita D’Souza

The day, as always, began with a bhajan played over the intercom invoking God’s blessings.  Our headmistress, Ms. Nicole, then led the staff and students in prayer for Fr. Bernard Fernandes, our Principal, who celebrated his birthday on 20^th of August.  An address specially written for our Principal was read by the school leader, Master Neel Mehta.  The unique qualities of Fr. Bernard were enunciated and his unstinted efforts that contributed to the smooth and effective running of the school were generously appreciated.  The birthday song sung by the school students and staff then reverberated along the school corridors and classrooms.  The birthday boy was thereafter surprised by the gift of saplings – in place of the customary bouquets – and handmade birthday cards by the representatives of each class.  The school has indeed gone a long way to join the green bandwagon – greening has become a culture, an attitude that will be extant for a while.

Another felicitation program awaited our Principal in the assembly hall – this time by the Primary students.  Fr. Bernard was escorted to the stage along with the headmistress, Ms. Nicole Britto, and the head teacher of the Primary section, Mrs. Matilda Fernandes.  The dapperly emcee, young Master Daniel Sequeira, extended an invitation to Master Ian D’Souza to take the stage to deliver the formal speech specially prepared for the birthday boy on behalf of the staff and students of the Primary section.  Following that, the hall resonated to the sweet tune of the birthday song sung melodiously by the assembled gathering as Fr. Bernard cut the birthday cake.  An outpouring of love and affection, again in the form of handmade birthday greeting cards and saplings by each class representative of the Primary section, warmed the cockles of the heart not only of Fr. Bernard, but the entire assembly. 

The gathering was then treated to a beautiful program on ‘Unity’ – the theme of the week.  The colorful backdrop with the words, “Join hands and you can overcome problems”, the skit on the rainbow calling everyone to stand together for a cause, and the poem ‘Link arms, stand close’ and the many banners, synced with the theme. 

Up next for the birthday boy was the short yet sweet program by the staff and students of the Sr. Kg. section.  Waving their hands and hollering out their greetings, they welcomed Fr. Bernard in their midst. Their excitement reached a crescendo with the singing of the birthday song, and an action packed ditty. And then followed a procession of students, holding saplings and potted plants in their hands – some heavier than the tiny students themselves! – to present them to our Principal.  At the end of it all, Fr. Bernard was surrounded by an array of magnificent variety of green plants and colorful flowers.  A similar spontaneous program was held for the Principal in the afternoon by the Benjamins of the campus – the Jr. Kg. students.

A sea of pink greeted Fr. Bernard during the tea break at the staff gathering. You guessed it right. The lady teachers surprised the birthday boy with their pink attire symbolizing good health, life and harmony.  After the birthday song, another green plant came his way, this time in the form of a bamboo plant – a ‘Go Green gesture’ by the amazing staff. 

The birthday was indeed special for our dear Principal, Fr. Bernard, who was fed a steady diet of love, affection, warmth and ‘green’. Way to celebrate!