To My Alma Mater !!!!!!!

School life is long,the end seems so far,

But ambitions are hitched to a star,As we grow and we learn, we shall ever remember,

"Virtue Alone Ennobles"

Lines from our school anthem,just randomly came to my mind and urged me to dedicate a post to my School......St. Joseph's Convent Senior Secondary School,my second home,from Kinder Garten to Primary to Senior Secondary to High School,14 years of wonderful memories that the place gave me have been the most cherished of all the Institutes I studied at,I wonder if somebody would disagree at " There's nothing like school life "

The classic missionary building,the huge playground,the assembly stage,the magnificent auditorium,the beautiful Chapel, the calm Convent and the angelic statue of Mother Mary.........all flow like the flashback of a movie in my mind when I think about SJC.The place instilled discipline,punctuality and culture,by charging a modest fee that can be the lowest I could guess for a place like it is. Our day started with the wonderful prayer assemblies which refreshed us for the day... Yes, our school had an amazing concept for the morning assemblies,each class would get 3 days in which they would conduct morning assemblies accordingly

1. Life of a great personality,2. A topic in G.K, 3.Creative display,be it anything(skit,dance,drama)

These ideas never left us sleepy during our morning assemblies,the amount of effort we used to put to make our section's management of the same,the best. We had a class decoration competition in the starting of the academic year, the creativity with which we decorated our classrooms,the amazing charts that were prepared for each subject and the competition between different sections for the award of the "best decorated class". this was followed by elections for Captains and wise captains for each house(namely,Red, Blue,Green and Yellow),the same followed by Competitions on drama,dance and singing between all the four houses.

To participate and perform your best,we had awe-inspiring guidance from some of the best teachers in town,be it the Sports Day,or the Annual Day,teachers guided us with the same level of excitement as students....Thanks to them our school functions were amongst the best one could witness in terms of richness and performance..I still remember the Navras dance performance at one of our annual functions(all the 9 "rasas" of basic emotions,beautifully portrayed by a group of dancers on songs chosen across decades of Indian cinema,not even trained in classical dancing.......the kind of mystical experience it was,still lingers in my mind and freshens me up)

The way the teachers inspired students to take up extra-curricular activities,training them,spending extra time from work hours,that is what i guess is called devotion and love for what you do( when I am asked to spend an extra half an hour at work,frankly i know the kind of irritation it creates ;))Thanks to the blessings of those mentors(one name I would like to mention here is Mrs. Shetty,who was a mirror of what the definition of a teacher means,mentor, guide,Guru...words are not enough to express the gratitude that comes straight from heart...and Mrs. Juhi Mehra,one teacher who taught me to write and encouraged every single attempt that I made in the direction..Thanks to you,I am confident enough to dedicate this post to SJC.....

Not to forget the incredible staff,one name that comes to my mind is Nevel Uncle, a name that would come first whenever any kind of help was required. In today's world,where educational institutes have become  a source of making money,I truly feel lucky to have been to a place which has made me sense the pride in the same even after a gap of 7 years,and I am quite sure that this feeling would keep getting stronger in the years to come. The motto "Virtue Alone Ennobles" which emphasises on the strength of character,surely would be a source of inspiration to Josephites all over....Concluding the post with the remaining lines of the School Anthem..

Work and prayer are chosen ways of life,

Hope and peace to gladden every day,

Confidence and courage in every form of strife,

Faith and love to conquer all the way.

School life is a rock on which we shall build,

With a spirit of God to be filled.

As we grow in our minds

May this truth be instilled

"Virtue Alone Ennobles"

Long live SJC !!!!!!