Leadership Program

Be the change you want to see

-Atharva Chaturvedi

St. Joseph’s High School,

Wadala

26^th June, 2014

                        As it is rightly said that many hands make light work, the students of St. Joseph’s High School, Wadala, and Don Bosco, Matunga, imbibed this lesson in their leadership workshop conducted by the Adhyayan team at Don Bosco, Matunga. This camp was held on the 21^st, 23^rd, 24^th and the 25^th of June 2014, by three gems of the Adhyayan team - Christian, Holley and Alice. There were about 45 students who gave their all for this camp, thereby learning valuable lessons. 

                        On Saturday, the 21^st of June, the day began with some amusing activities which helped the students to get pumped up for the rest of the program. These activities also helped the neophytes to enhance their listening skills. After the session of games, the students were asked to prepare charts depicting their likes and dislikes of their alma mater. The first day was a rather vigorous day for all the students where many good values were imparted to them. On the second day, the students were given different roles to enact a perfect court scene which certainly boosted the counseling abilities of the novices. The students earnestly assimilated all the ideals from this session. The session also rendered all the qualities of a ‘Perfect Leader’ on this day.

                        The students gained knowledge about the quality of conviction on the third day when they actually tried to convince the audience that they are the BEST! They also prepared a list of points which they felt should be implemented or changed in their school. On the last day, the students attended an assembly conducted by X-E which was indeed elegant and graceful. The students then proceeded to present their apprehension about the problems that they face in school, to their respective Principals. The effort put in by the students was indeed remarkable! At the end of all presentations, Fr. Godfrey D’Sa, the Principal of St. Joseph’s High School, Wadala, gave a motivational speech to the students present there. It provided the necessary stimulation to the leaders to strive for a better tomorrow!                                   

Fr. Rector's inaugural conference

Straight From The Heart!

-Ms. Sunita D’Souza

St. Joseph’s High School,

Wadala

25^th June 2014

On 16th June, 2014 the day sprung into action just like the football World Cup stars in Brazil, with the teachers doing the quick step, dribbling their roles on duty, passionately envisioning the goal in sight - the heart and mind of the child!   The students were given a warm welcome by the teachers and guided through the day with instructions as to how both the teacher and the students need to work as a team to achieve the common goal. 

The school closed early at 10 a.m. Refreshments sponsored by the staff celebrating their birthdays were served to the teachers... a great way to begin the new year indeed with a symbolic celebration of the gift of new life.  At 11.45 a.m., the teachers assembled in the A.V.Room for the staff meeting. Rev. Fr. Godfrey D'Sa (Rector and Principal) warmly welcomed all the staff members. Rev. Fr. Vivian D'Souza (Vice- Rector and Parish Priest) and Rev. Fr. Allwyn Misquitta (Administrator) were present for the meeting to welcome all the staff members and usher in the new academic year with God's blessings. Ms. Nicole Britto (Vice-Principal) was thanked for her commitment and wholehearted service to the school.

Fr. Godfrey began with a prayer. This was done in a unique way through a special Power-Point presentation - 'A Reflection on Children - by Kahlil Gibran'. He then introduced the other newcomers in the parish and school - the 87-year old Fr. Salu, Bro Kiran, Mrs. Melissa Azaredo and Mrs. Florence Bina Lobo. Fr. Godfrey then conducted an introspective session with the teachers based on the needs of the child and EQ. He reiterated the Multiple Intelligence theory which states that each child is blessed with intelligences such as - Verbal, Mathematical (Logical), Visual and Spatial, Kinesthetic (body), Musical (rhythmic), Intra-personal (self) and Inter-personal (relationships). He stressed how we ought to take note of the responses of children, especially their aggressive behaviour and understand the underlying reasons behind it.  He stated the 4 reasons for aggressive behaviour

1. Environment (subtle over-involvement of adults),

2. Brain Disorder,

3. Therapy for the children who are disruptive (Environment and Brain Disorder)

 4. Habitual

Fr. Godfrey drew our attention to the pyramid of human emotions, especially the emotions of a child. The base of this pyramid was 'Modelling'(which is seen); on it is built 'Mentoring' (which is felt); and the top of the pyramid being 'Teaching' (which is heard). He focused on 8 ways of decreasing violence especially among the boys. The teachers were urged to keep in mind factors like enough sleep, playing outdoors, avoiding fantastic statements (negative remarks or comments), teaching concepts (avoiding rote learning), diagnosing (finding out what is wrong), being human (showing emotions - the teacher must express her emotions about the child's behaviour), working as a team, and touching which brings down aggression (an encouraging gesture)! These pointers were given to the teachers to analyse and work on positive ways to deal with aggressive behaviour when encountered in school!

The video clip 'BELIEVE' about a killer whale 'SHAMU' provided the teachers with deep insights, Fr. Godfrey then took the points on the agenda to guide and enable the teachers to ensure the smooth functioning of the school and he encouraged the teachers to go all out to create, discover and enhance the overall development of every child entrusted to them. The session came to a close at 1.20 p.m. on a cordial note with Fr. Godfrey wishing all the staff members a wonderful and fascinating year ahead!

The declaration of SSC results

A PROUD MOMENT – Declaration of SSC results!

-Master Anuj Patel

St. Joseph’s High School

Wadala,

24^th June 2014

Finally, after a long period of nervousness and excitement, and amidst the rumours flying thick and fast, the SSC students were finally relieved with the declaration of the Board results. It was a result to be cherished since the school achieved the distinction of securing a cent percent result for the second year in succession. The result was a fruit of the hard work and determination shown by our students, as well as the efforts and constant guidance and support provided by the teachers and parents. The results were officially declared in the school hall on 17^th June 2014 at a special gathering of excited students, proud parents and honoured staff members.  

Felicitations boost the morale of people and provide the encouragement to achieve more in life. The case in point was the special felicitation ceremony in the school hall for our successful students. The students entered the hall with pride, their parents walking proudly by their side! They were greeted by the happy, comforting and warm smiles of their teachers. At the program, the newly appointed Principal of the school, Fr. Godfrey D’Sa delivered a short speech, appreciating and congratulating the students for the brilliant results. In a spontaneous gesture, the students, out of gratitude, gave a standing ovation to the teachers present in the hall.

The Vice-Principal and HM, Ms. Nicole Britto, presented the statistics of the school at the SSC Board Exam. 72 of the 113 students who appeared for the Board exams secured distinction, whereas 32 students attained 1st class; 7 students got 2nd class and the remaining 2 students featured in the Pass class category. Students securing 90% and above found a special mention when the Principal rose to continue with the statistics and declaration of the results.  These students received a tumultuous applause from everyone present. Master Moksh Jain secured a massive 94.80% and stood first in the school, while the second place was secured by Master Shrey Jain who received an equally commendable 94.60%. Master Suraj Jha stood third by scoring 93.80%. The top three rankers were presented bouquets to acknowledge and honour their efforts. In the absence of Master Suraj Jha, the bouquet was presented to Master Jaykumar Jain and Master Harsh Savla who shared the fourth place. The names of the subject toppers were then announced by Ms. Nicole to the applause of the entire audience.  The instructions by the headmistress for the collection of the mark sheets and the leaving certificate made the students nostalgic, since they were now leaving the school for greater pursuits. The teachers met the students along with their parents and encouraged the students to choose the right field ahead in life and make them proud once more.

This program resulted in the students meeting their friends and teachers after a long time which was truly very invigorating. It also ignited a new flame within each and every student which urged them to move on in life with alacrity and face every challenge positively and with full vigour, keeping the school motto in mind and heart.......We are born for Greater Things!

Lesson plan training workshop

Teachers - Educators Of the Heart and Shapers Of The Soul

(Teacher training workshop – 4 Salesian Schools of Mumbai)

-Ms. Sunita D’Souza

St. Joseph’s High School,

Wadala

18^th June 2014

There was a sense of mystery and adventure in the air as the teachers of the four Salesian schools of Mumbai gathered at Don Bosco, Matunga on 13^th June,2014 for the first teacher training workshop for the new scholastic year. It was an imaginary and visionary short trip with a train map in lesson planning, to help lead every teacher and student reach a common destination - the overall development of the child.

After breakfast, there was a short prayer service seeking God's blessings followed by an audio-visual presentation that presented the subtle difference between a teacher and an educator. Fr. Bosco D’Mello, Principal of Don Bosco Matunga, welcomed the members of the Adhyayan team, all the Principals and the teachers of the four Salesian schools for the day’s programme. The teachers of Don Bosco, Matunga then brightened the proceedings with a beautiful rendition of a specially prepared Welcome Song.

Ms. Kavita Anand addressed the gathering – made interesting with a special sign language to communicate collective positive and negative responses - and defined the purpose of this special journey. The 6 Key Performance Areas (KPA's) - The Child, Teaching and Learning, Leadership and Management, The Curriculum, Community and Partnerships, Infrastructure and Resources- were up on the screen for review and reflection.  The teaching community were then introduced to an insightful video clip titled 'Did You Know? Shift Happens 2014' depicting the rapidly changing pace of technology in the world and the need for teachers to skilfully adapt to the changing trends in education.

The teachers were then directed to different classrooms for group discussions on the different learning levels. In the allotted classrooms, the teachers were ably guided by the enthusiastic Adyayan animators. The first session based on 'Settle the Culture - Class Atmosphere' provided group work roles - the Time-Keeper, Record-Keeper, Facilitator and the Material Manager - for the group members. They were handed topics for discussion related to the desired class atmosphere they liked and sought to achieve.  

In the second session, the teachers were led through a PPT to understand the difference between Teaching and Learning Objectives and Outcomes. The two questions, ‘What is Lesson Planning?’ and ‘How do we know when a lesson plan is well planned?’ provided the basis for the group discussion at this time.

The basic steps in the Lesson Plan were then displayed -

* Learning Outcome

* Learning Objective

* Starter

* Introduction In A Lesson

* Development

* Plenary

* Key Words In A Lesson

* Formative Assessment

* Summative Assessment

* Classroom Display

The teachers were instructed about the structure, aims and philosophy of the programme. They were led to recognise the link between effective teaching and learning, lesson planning, peer learning and display. They were then provided with material for the preparation of  a lesson plan using the newly structured guidelines. The creative and well structured lesson plans were presented after the sumptuous lunch break. The best plan, named the ‘Gold Plan’ from each group was selected with the best part (in each plan) being highlighted.

After the last session in effective teaching and learning 'Self Evaluation and Group Evaluation', Ms. Kavita conducted a quick feedback of the day’s program, and thanked all the teachers for their active participation. She looked forward to a healthy and enthusiastic interactive teaching-learning experience with the teachers,

Kudos to The Adyayan Team for invigorating us with the step by step process (each station well designed!) of teaching and learning to make the journey of the teacher and child fulfilling and fruitful!