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

14^th 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!'        

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!