Birthday celebrations of the Principal

CELEBRATING LIFE – A tribute to a great mind!

-Ms. Sunita D’Souza & Master Atharva Chaturvedi

St. Joseph’s High School,

Wadala

21^st Aug 2013

On 20th August, the birthday of our dear Principal, we began the day seeking God's blessings for Rev. Fr. Bernard Fernandes and wishing him 'Happy Birthday' at the day’s morning assembly.  As is done every morning, Fr. Bernard himself led the morning prayer reflection and expressed his gratitude to God for the precious experiences of life.  The Vice-Principal, Ms. Nicole Britto, thanked God for the gift of Fr. Bernard to us and invited everyone to pray for him in a special way on this day.

The head boys of the Secondary section - Master Moksh Jain, and the Primary section - Master Ian D’Souza, spoke on behalf of all the students and staff members of the school. They warmly conveyed their heartfelt sentiments and brought forth the many glowing qualities of the birthday boy. Everyone wished Fr. Bernard by singing the ‘Happy Birthday’ song.

In the weekly assembly that followed, the staff and students of the Primary section, incorporated the birthday celebrations into the morning’s programme. The little compere of Std. IIA warmly welcomed the distinguished guests. Master Ian D'Souza, the Headboy of the Primary Section recited a prayer invoking God's blessings on Fr.Bernard . He then invited Fr.Bernard to the stage to cut the birthday cake! As the 'Happy Birthday' song was sung, Fr.Bernard seemed to bask in the warmth of the love, joy and cheer of the assembly.

Later in the day, it was then the turn of the toddlers of the Sr. Kg., together with their teachers, to contribute their bit to the day’s celebrations through their beautiful flowers and bouquets for the Principal. The students of the entire school were given bookmarks and chocolates to celebrate the birthday of Fr.Bernard.

During the short break, the entire staff gathered in the computer room for a brief celebration to personally convey their birthday wishes to Fr.Bernard.  Master Aditya Dubey presented a special webpage for Fr.Bernard which was designed especially by him. Fr.Bernard unveiled the webpage which was a surprise gift for him! The staff then presented bouquets and a handmade card with their notes of appreciation to the birthday boy.  Up next, in a one of its kind felicitation, the staff representatives of the different departments of the school – Technology, Library (literary), History, Geography, Mathematics, Linguistic, Music, Nature (go-green),…- expressed their thoughts and feelings creatively towards Fr. Bernard in ‘their language’. Fr. Bernard, deeply touched by these special innovative birthday wishes warmly thanked everyone and urged them to keep him in their prayers. He gladly emphasized that their prayers have helped him tremendously to maintain good health. He reiterated his emotions on this day by saying that he would like to live up to the glowing praises he received from the entire family of St.Joseph's. Everyone partook of the refreshments and joined in celebrating Fr.Bernard's birthday in a spirit of fellowship and camaraderie.

After singing the melody of the perfectionist, the staff and students braced themselves for yet another celebration of the day – Raksha Bandhan. The day’s celebrations and events couldn’t have been better!