Assembly- Std. III A: Don Bosco, a musician and artiste

Don Bosco - The Musician and The Artiste

-Ms. Sunita D’Souza

St. Joseph’s High School,

Wadala,

22^nd July 2014

A warm welcome was accorded to Fr. Godfrey, Mrs. Matilda and everyone present by the two comperes in the school hall. It was indeed done on a musical note, as the music notes merrily filled the air. The backdrop on the panel of the stage held the words - 'The Don Bosco Way - Reason, Religion and Loving Kindness'.

The narration of the story of Don Bosco by the two comperes set the ball rolling for the assembly. Don Bosco juggled with different roles in his life as a musician, learnt to master magic tricks, taught the youth to follow God and pray to Him –all this right from the time he was a little boy! The curtains opened and the beautiful scenes in Don Bosco’s life unravelled – his life journey under the guidance of his mother who played an important role in his life by shaping his personality; the scenes of the Magic Show, the Market Place and the Church provided examples of how Don Bosco learnt different skills in each of these places and made a positive impact on the lives of the people who interacted with him. All this while, the choir sang hymns melodiously backstage – the hymns included 'O Give Thanks To the Lord' and 'Ave Maria'.

The special group of dancers then performed a dance to the rhythm of the song 'All Hail to You Don Bosco'.  Sporting suspenders and dancing in sync with the lyrics, the dancers portrayed beautifully the meaning of every word in the hymn, paying tribute to Don Bosco, in their own, unique style. There was a pictorial power-point presentation which drew the class assembly to a close. The presentation was based on the story of Don Bosco, his birth, his parents and the manner in which he became the patron of the Salesian institutions all over the world, with the sole purpose of reaching out to every child.

 Fr. Godfrey then addressed the students. He thanked the students and the class teacher for their wonderful performance and was especially glad with the performance of little Don Bosco. He spoke about how Don Bosco showed keen interest in learning new skills, which made him renowned as a musician and an aritste, who enjoyed learning. The same need to be emulated by everyone to achieve success and pursue goals with confidence and self-belief. Fr. Godfrey congratulated the winners of the Friday activity: Stds. I & II - Frog Race and Stds. III & IV - Picture colouring competition. The class assembly concluded with the singing of the school anthem with due reverence.         

Assembly IV B: Don Bosco, the avid student

Don Bosco - The Avid Student

-Ms. Sunita D’Souza

St. Joseph’s High School,

Wadala,

15^th July 2014

At the start of the morning assembly, the compere from Std. IV B accorded a warm welcome to the Chief Guest, Rev. Fr. Godfrey Desa (Principal) and Mrs. Matilda Fernandes (Head teacher of the Primary Section) and everyone present in the school hall. The words on the backdrop displayed the qualities- respectful, hardworking,sincere and obedience - Don Bosco practised as a student,  and who thus turned out to be a role model for all students all over the world.  The messages on either side of the panel read - 'Have Fun, But Don't Neglect Study Or Prayer' and 'Purity Is The Greatest Virtue That Comes From Obedience'.

The choir and troupe of dancers dressed as angels in white kurtas, began the class assembly invoking the blessings of St. John Bosco through the words of the song 'Raise Your Voices' a hymn specially dedicated to Don Bosco.  Next, the skit that was enacted by a group of students highlighted 7 scenes from the life of St. Don Bosco as a student which shaped his personality and moulded him to become the founder saint of the organisation named the 'Salesians of Don Bosco'! His learning was not restricted to the classroom or to books; he was enthusiastic and ‘avid’ about learning. He did his best to master his skill at learning to study, acquire magic tricks, be a good stable boy, be honest with his mother and patient with his brothers, practising loving kindness at all times, as he was guided by the hand of God. He learnt to master the work of a blacksmith, a carpenter and play the church organ.  Most of all he reached out to help the poor students and shared with them, the gift of education.

Little Johnny Bosco was given a praiseworthy salute at the end of the skit as he stepped forward as a priest who made his dream come true - his dream to become a priest to love and serve God! The group of students holding little hearts with the letters of his name then spoke what each letter of his name stood for as some other student standing beside them held up the banners displaying the values and virtues he believed in and practised all his life. 

The power-point presentation led by Master Chaitanya with instrumental music playing in the background, showcased how Don Bosco grew up to become a role model for all students teaching them to become avid learners, with a firm belief in themselves through the words, 'I am just a pupil determined to study and learn' when he was asked if he was a genius!

Fr. Godfrey then addressed the students. He expressed his happiness with the presentation and thanked Std. IV B for the same. He reiterated the qualities of Don Bosco and drew the attention of everyone present to the various skills St. John Bosco took interest in and tried his best to master, which truly made him stand out as an extraordinary avid student. Fr. Godfrey then congratulated the winners of the Friday activity - Stds. I & II - Picture Colouring Competition and Stds. III & IV - Frog Race. The assembly concluded with the singing of the school anthem.

St. John Bosco, we follow in your footsteps, filled with the enthusiasm to learn to master our abilities and make the most of our potential, shining like bright stars just like you, which is our promise to you!  

The Green Rangers...Greenline team meets the Josephites!

Josephites - The Green Rangers!

-Master Donnel Shibu and Ms. Sunita D’Souza

St. Joseph’s High School,

9^th July 2014

On 9th July, 2014 the eco-friendly Josephites had the first session of the Greenline Project for the year 2014-2015. The session began at 9.30 a.m. The GreenLine team comprised Kaustubh, Sonia and Shruti who were given a warm welcome by the Josephites. The monitors from Stds. IV-X took the lead on our green adventure with their presence and with their thinking caps, thinking green! The theme for this year is 'Tree Rangers'! Rev. Fr. Godfrey Desa (Principal) gave the Josephites a green pep talk to kickstart our adventure with nature, our friend.  Mrs. Pavita, Mrs. Cleopatra, Mrs. Saluja and Ms. Sunita along with the students forming the Green Brigade were ready to begin this new venture!

The session began with a prayer invoking God's blessings. Ms. Sonia conducted a session titled 'Who Am I?' drawing the attention of the students to the different kinds of trees, shrubs, herbs, vines and creepers, identification of trees, their size and shape, trunks, colour, pattern, texture, flowers, fruits, cones, different types of barks like flaking bark, fissured bark, smooth bark and thorny bark. The students were shown pictures of simple and compound leaves. The Greenline Team conducted an interesting game based on the kinds of leaves. The students were escorted by the Greenline Team into the 'World of Trees' and were introduced to the city's oldest trees like the Mahogany, Banyan, Gorakh Chinch and Boababi. They were taught how to plant trees, and the characteristics of certain new species of trees.

 

Ms. Sonia conducted an interesting quiz for the students who participated enthusiastically. The quiz was based on trees located in Mumbai City. The students guessed the names of the trees based on the sample leaves flashed on the screen, Both the teams performed extremely well. The students were told a few basic things that a Tree Ranger should do, to preserve, protect and love nature!

Ms. Shruti.then gave the Josephites a plan of action to start asap! She gave the students some challenging activities to complete. She briefed them on the steps needed to be taken to map trees by preparing an outline map of the school with the trees situated in the school campus. She suggested that the students take samples of the leaves of the trees in the school campus while recording their names, measure the girth, identify whether they are flowering or fruiting trees and record the trees visited in the tabular format presented and enlist these trees on the map. She encouraged the students to organise an exhibition and come up with their own ideas. 

Ms. Shruti then highlighted the pointers that would be taken for consideration while discerning and deciding the Best Green Awards at the end of the academic year. There would be one Green Champ selected from each school.Master Atharva Chaturvedi, the school head boy thanked the Greenline Team members and assured them that we would strive to live up to the promise that Mother Earth expects of us, by proving we are true 'Tree Rangers'. Some leaders of the higher classes then came forward with ideas that could be implemented to think green, see green and act green! The session ended at 10.30 a.m. with everyone present feeling energised, eco-sensitised to take on the mantle of 'Green Rangers'. 

Mother Earth, your 'Green Rangers' are here, to make you smile! Back in action! The action starts now!

Don Bosco, the role model for youth: Assembly by IV A

Don Bosco - The Role Model for the Youth

-Ms. Sunita D’Souza

St. Joseph’s High School,

Wadala

9^th July 2014

On 9th July, we had the first assembly in the Primary Section in honour of St. John Bosco, as we celebrate the bicentenary of his birth. The two comperes of Std. IV A warmly welcomed Fr. Godfrey Desa and Mrs. Matilda Fernandes and everyone present in the school hall. The backdrop held the words 'Don Bosco - Role Model For The Youth' along with the qualities he possessed - encourage, love, peace, joy, brotherhood and hope.'The assembly began by invoking God's blessings on our school by singing the hymn 'Bless Our School'. A group of students enacted the story based on Don Bosco's dream when he was 9 years old, which shaped his future and directed him to reach out to the youth, especially the poor and give them a brighter future with loving kindness.

Some students then came forward holding placards speaking about the qualities Don Bosco practised like hard work, perseverance, ambition, enthusiasm, faithfulness and honesty. The dance that followed was gracefully performed to the lyrics of the song 'Let's Celebrate Don Bosco'. The video-clip showcasing the works of Don Bosco and his interaction with the youth was then screened as the words of the hymn to Don Bosco was played seeking his blessings to guide us in all that we do. Fr. Godfrey addressed the students. He congratulated the students and the class teacher of Std. IV A for the marvelous assembly. He reiterated the values of Don Bosco and the way in which he practised what he preached. Certificates were distributed to the winners from Stds. I-IV for the Clay Moulding Competition which was the Friday weekly activity. The assembly concluded with the singing of the school anthem with due reverence. 

Guided by Don Bosco, we set forth on the journey he has set before us, to change and transform the world with loving kindness!