While writing this note I look back with nostalgia to the years gone in the making of our school. It has been a long and exciting journey that started in the summer of 2003. The first and foremost challenge was defining the vision and philosophy of the school. Believe me, in the beginning it all seemed pretty simple and easy till we actually discovered how resistant the human psyche is to anything different. It was then I realized how limited the resources can be when the social mind-set is inclined towards the opposite direction. The deeper we dived, the greater the vastness of the ocean of ignorance we discovered. It is not the number of days that have passed, but the number of days you remember, that make up a life. And in these past years. there have been many such days. I would not count these days by the number of breaths I took, but by the number of moments that took my breath away.
But, God has been kind. We have been fortunate to make the most of all these roadblocks and turn them into opportunities. We are proud to have great visionaries on our board of Advisors. St. Joseph’s thus emerged as a fresh concept in school education. Today our school has been able to build a good awareness in the community. However, this means greater expectations and so increased responsibilities.
Our greatness doesn’t lie in where we stand — instead it lies in the direction in which we are moving. Our greatest strength is not in never failing, but in learning to succeed every time we fail. In fact we see failure as the perception of the future victories; Obstacles are those frightful things you see when you take your eyes off your goals.
Education is a liberating force, and in our age is also a democratizing force, cutting across the barriers of caste, creed and class, smoothing out inequalities imposed by birth and other circumstances. At St. Joseph’s we insist on true international education which crosses all the boundaries of a mere academic curriculum. In fact, the all round education offered in the school would encapsulate a training to young people to be a true citizen of the new millennium. The students learn to acknowledge their responsibilities towards others, exposing them to a broad range of culture and belief and help them as they approach adulthood to show tolerance and patience.
Children are taught to be thinkers and not mere recipients. Teachers devote quality time to each student and understand each one’s need. Teachers are encouraged not only to be facilitators but mentors as well. Our prime vision is to contribute meaningfully towards the nation building by creating an institution that encourages children into becoming citizens with a great sense of responsibility and leaders in their respective fields.
The key today is to learn from all our experiences and march forward. St. Joseph’s would like to be a pioneer in the field of education that would constantly keep in touch with the development of education in imaginative, creative and positive ways to bring out the best from students of different learning and performing abilities. We are thus setting ourselves fresh challenges which I’m sure we’ll more than achieve.
Now St. Joseph’s has become a ‘movement’ that knows only one direction – FORWARD
Only as high as I reach can I grow
Only as far as I seek I can go
Only as deep as I look I can see
Only as much as I dream can I be.
“To Dream is everything….”
Warmest Regards,
Archana Rodrigues,
Principal,
St. Joseph’s HighSchool