GREEN FEATHER IN OUR CAP - THE SECOND TIME!
- Mrs. Sunita D’Souza
St. Joseph’s High School
Wadala
15th March 2013
After a long wait, the
propitious moment arrived on 14th March 2013. A group of five
students, of St. Joseph’s High School, Wadala, Cleon, Unnat, Parth, Yash and
Bishabh, accompanied by their teachers Mrs. Pavita and Ms. Sunita promenaded
along the avenue leading to Don Bosco High School, Matunga. They were on their
way to the GreenLine awards ceremony scheduled for the day. A palpable ripple of excitement and a sense
of bliss – after all they were in the company of nature - were their companions
on this journey.
An array of the
wonderful GreenLine activities displayed on the screen greeted the eye upon our
arrival at the venue. These were the activities taken up by the different
schools under the ‘Green Schools Campaign’ banner. We were proud to be a part
of these 'Green Crusaders'. Eminent environmentalist, Mr. Sunjoy Monga, was the
chief guest for the awards ceremony. Also present, as the guest of honour, was
Fr. Edwin D’Souza, Rector of the Shrine of Don Bosco, Matunga.
Rev. Fr. Savio
Silveira, Director of the GreenLine team, welcomed the gathering and
congratulated all the 51 participating schools for putting in that extra effort
to contribute to the success of the Greenline activities. The green crusaders
had to go beyond the requirements of the school! And “to walk the extra mile is
never easy!’’ said he. However, “working together is a fascinating
experience!" He appreciated the presence
of the journalists and reporters from the Hindustan Times and the Week who
always gave that extra fillip to the GreenLine ventures through their thought
provoking articles and reporting.
An eye-catching and
informative power-point presentation on the Green School Campaign 2012 - 2013 was
presented by Ms. Devyani Singh and Mr. Aristo of the GreenLine team. They
highlighted the major themes of the year - 'Green Cover', 'Our Faunatastic
World', 'Threats and Conservation', 'Project Sparrow', 'Project Butterfly' and
'Project Green Zone'. A special mention was made of their e-magazine 'Green
Runner' - a green concept of the Greenline Team – that allows students to express
their thoughts and feelings on biodiversity through articles, poems, paintings,
and the like.
Presentations by three
schools based on the theme 'My Green Dream For The City' followed thereafter.
Our students, Cleon, Unnat and Parth recited a poem – their own composition for
this occasion - alongside a power-point presentation with images and scenes
that matched their thoughts.
The Chief Guest, Mr.
Sunjoy Monga, enthralled the audience with flashbacks of his schooling days
when he enjoyed catching frogs and other insects just to observe them closely
because he was immensely fascinated by nature. This passion led him on to
create a career for himself in which he devotes his time and energies to the
protection of nature. 'Little Actions - Big Difference!’, that was his message
to all of us
Outlining the criteria
for the awards, Fr. Savio Silveira mentioned that the key areas for the point
system were participation and involvement, session outcomes, participation in
events, initiatives by the school, creativity of ideas, impact on the
neighbourhood, school environment and sustainability of activities. The list of
the top ten schools was up on display next. And were we not excited to see our
name out there! And yes, our joy knew no bounds when it was announced that our
school was awarded the ‘Maschio Foundation award for the Greenest School’ for
the second consecutive year. A cheque for Rs. one lakh accompanied the prize
for the promotion of programmes and projects related to environmental education
and greening activities in the school. The ‘Green Hero’ award for the ‘Greenest
student’ of the school was won by Master Cleo Braganza of Std. VII for his
outstanding contribution in all the GreenLine activities.
Credit to the
Management, staff members and the students for pooling in to work towards a ‘sustained
commitment to develop a green culture’ in the school. We now march in unison, with yet another green
feather in our cap, towards a land of biodiversity, and a greener and cleaner
world!
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