Monday, 14 July 2014

Feast of St. Dominic Savio - Investiture Ceremony



Daring to lead like St. Dominic Savio

- Ms. Sunita D’Souza, Ms. Lidwina Mascarenhas




St. Joseph’s High School,
Wadala
14th July 2014


At the first sign of dawn, on 4th June, 2014, excitement and exuberance filled the air as the family of St.Joseph's, Wadala, was eager to celebrate the feast of St. Dominic Savio.  Leading by example, St.Dominic Savio paved the way for young leaders to follow in his footsteps by the virtuous life he led, with the guidance and support of his teacher, St. John Bosco.

The day began with a special morning prayer led by Ms. Nicole highlighting the virtues of St. Dominic Savio, who was an extraordinary student of St. John Bosco. Simultaneously, there was a special mass for the Catholic students from Stds. III - X in the parish church.  Rev. Fr. Vivian D'Souza celebrated the thanksgiving mass unfurling the day on a spiritual note. The school choir comprising our students and budding guitarist. Master Cleo Braganza, and guided by Bro. Kiran Salve, added a bright spark and melody to the proceedings.

On this day, the students of Sr. Kg. of St. Dominic Savio Kindergarten had an enjoyable time in their classes, celebrating their feast with a short film on St. Dominic Savio and some interesting games organized by their teachers.

The words on the backdrop in the school hall were indeed inspiring and inviting - ' A Leader Knows The Way, Goes The Way and Shows The Way.' At 10 a.m., the Primary Section assembled in the school hall as the leaders sprung into action taking their positions like little soldiers ready to welcome our Chief Guest for the Investiture Ceremony, Rev. Fr. Salvador D'Souza.  The newly appointed leaders forming the guard of honour briskly ushered in the Chief Guest who was accompanied by Rev. Fr. Vivian D'Souza, the Vice-Rector, Ms. Nicole Britto, the Vice-Principal, and Mrs. Matilda Fernandes, the Primary Head Teacher. The two comperes, dressed in traditional attire, warmly welcomed the dignitaries. Rev. Fr. Vivian then introduced the Chief Guest to the gathering who was then presented with a bouquet of flowers. A group of students then reverently invoked the blessings of St. Dominic Savio through prayers.

Fr. Salvador began the Investiture Ceremony by investing the Head Boy of the Primary Section, Master Umang Achalia and the Asst. Head Boy, Master Shaurya Shetty. The House Captains and Vice-Captains of the four houses received their flags and ties from Fr. Salvador. The class house captains were then invested in turn by Fr. Vivian, Ms. Nicole and Mrs. Matilda. The little leaders were wreathed in smiles as they received their ties, symbolising leadership, co-operation and teamwork. The class teachers of Stds. I to IV invested the Class Monitors and the Asst. Class Monitors of their respective classes. All the leaders in turn pledged to carry out their duties to the best of their ability. Fr. Salvador then addressed the leaders congratulating them for assuming their newly appointed roles of leadership. He encouraged them to work together as they fulfill their duties, take care of the students and perform their duty with love. He urged them to become better leaders as they progressed in life and become responsible citizens of the community. Ms. Nicole then proposed the vote of thanks and the programme drew to a close at 10.40 a.m. with the singing of the school anthem. 

During the short break, the staff members partook of some tasty refreshments wonderfullspecially organized by the teachers of St. Dominic Savio kindergarten. Chocolates were distributed to all the students to celebrate the feast of St. Dominic Savio! 

After the break, the Secondary Section assembled in the hall for its Investiture Ceremony. Once again, Fr. Salvador D’Souza did the honours as the Chief Guest. The hall resounded with a thunderous applause as Master Atharva Chaturvedi was installed as the Head Boy and Master Varun Tirthani as the Asst. Head Boy. The rest of the school leaders and class leaders were invested in turn by Fr. Vivian, Ms. Nicole, Mrs. Sangita ending with the class teachers investing their Monitors and Assistant Monitors. The NCC and RSP captains were also installed as leaders at this solemn ceremony. The ceremony ended with the students singing the school anthem with gusto.

The leaders drawing inspiration from St. Dominic Savio, honorably received their ties and are now all set, in body, mind and spirit to do his bidding! They now set forth to accomplish the greater glory of God, following in the footsteps of St. Dominic Savio, propelled by the school motto 'I am born for greater things!'        

No comments:

Post a Comment