INVESTITURE CEREMONY AND FAREWELL

• The new academic session commenced on 3rd April, 2018 with a Prayer Service led by the School Choir. Principal Fr. Susai Raj in his prayer blessed all for the safety and well – being of the school. Investiture Ceremony of Captains for the Academic Year 2018-19 commenced with a prayer service invoking God’s blessings. The lighting of the lamp was followed by the school choir’s beautiful rendition of hymns eulogizing God and Scripture readings. The School Captains swore in the name of God to serve the school honestly and sincerely. The Principal concluded the ceremony with advice to become aware of their duties.
• 11th May, 2018 was the day St. John’s School family bid farewell to their 8th Principal, Fr. Susai Raj who served for nearly ten years from 2008 to 2018. In an emotionally charged program, the teachers and students acknowledged his attributes and contributions. Farewell was also given to Mrs. Mrinal Pawagi on the same day.

ACADEMIC EVENTS

• In the academic year, 2018-19 overall performance was very good. Total Number of students is 4,726 comprising 2,643 boys and 2,083 girls.
• In ICSE 1st Akash Sinha 97%; 2nd Shristi Agrawal 96% and 3rd Ananya Jaiswal 96%. In ISC Science 1st Simran Maurya and Aakriti Srivastava; 93% 2nd Sneha Srivastava 92% and 3rd Ananya Upadhyay 89% ,in Commerce 1st Shalvi Samdharshni 85%, 2nd Anushka Kandpal 84%, 3rd Gifty Merin Jacob 84%. Altogether 99.95% students passed in ICSE and 99.85% students passed in the ISC.
• On 2nd of July the school reopened after the summer vacations. The new Principal, Fr. Louis Braggs was welcomed to the school by the school fraternity. After a short prayer, Rt. Rev. Dr. Eugene Joseph, the Bishop of Varanasi welcomed everyone with a few words of blessings. He highlighted the importance of the school being guided now by the new Principal. The new Principal, Fr. Louis Braggs, encouraged the students to work hard and set goals in life and laid a substantial stress on character formation.
• Scholastic Book fair was held to inculcate the reading habit and also let the children order books for their reading pleasure. Book Club was also held to encourage the reading habit among students.
• A Health Camp was held in the month of October where various health parameters of all students from classes L.K.G. to XII were checked and some of the important problems were discussed with the consent of parents. This year with the collaboration of U.P. government we had Vaccines of Measles and Rubella which many students benefited.
• The School Magazine, VISTA was published showcasing various achievements of the school. Students also exhibited their writing, poetic and drawing capabilities by getting their articles published.
• Parents’ Teachers’ Meetings were held twice during the course of the year; in the months of August, 2018 and February, 2019 to apprise Parents of their wards’ progress and to foster all round development of the children. There was interaction of Parents with Teachers for growth and advancement of the children along with the teachers’ affirmation of further progress especially in academics. Teachers were united in their urge to accomplish something substantial in the growth and development of the children.

FEAST DAY AND CELEBRATIONS

• Independence Day celebration on 15th August, 2018 was full of patriotic gaiety. After hoisting of the flag by the Principal, there was a short cultural programme highlighting nationalism and patriotism.
• Teacher’s Day Celebration was on 5th September. The Class Teachers spent valuable time with their class children who gave them their unbounded love and gratitude. Thereafter, there was a celebration where the teachers were entertained with a variety of dances and a skit acknowledging the valuable contribution made by their teachers.
• Diwali Celebration on 5th November, 2018 saw a special assembly conducted by Class XD along with Prayer and Scripture Reading. In a prayerful atmosphere children gained insight into the importance of light signifying enlightenment in their lives. Sweets were distributed.
• 14th of November, 2018 saw the Children’s Day celebration. After the garlanding of the photo of Jawaharlal Nehru by the Principal, Fr. Louis Braggs, a short prayer was said and there were Scripture Readings to enrich their spirituality. There was a group song by the teachers and then the children spent time with the teachers.
• Parents’ Day celebration or the School Annual Function was held on 20th November for parents of the primary classes and the chief guest was Mrs. Rashmi Goel, the General Manager of DLW. On 21st November, the parents of the secondary classes were invited and the Bishop of Varanasi, Rt. Rev. Dr. Eugene Joseph was the chief Guest. Programmes depicted the need for universal education, banning plastic, traffic rules, harmony, success, unity and diversity, protection, A scene from the Merchant of Venice and a Hindi skit were shown. On 20th November, X and XII Toppers were felicitated. Around 2500 students took part in the program. The Principal, Fr. Louis Braggs, thanked all for their dedicated support to make the program a success.
• Christmas was celebrated on 21st December, 2018 which began with a short prayer meeting and carol singing by the Christian students and teachers. Later every class sang Christmas Carols. A short skit depicting the birth of Jesus Christ was presented. Principal Fr. Louis Braggs highlighted the message of simplicity and sincerity in the life of the students. Cakes were also distributed.
• Alumni Day celebration was held on 22nd December, 2018 by the 1993 batch who numbered more than a hundred. The programme began with the lighting of the lamp by the Principal Fr. Louis Braggs and the members of the alumni. Former Presidents were felicitated after which there was a short programme by the students. A few programs were presented by the alumni members. Mementos were presented to their teachers and those who helped out in the management of the programme. A contribution of Rs. 75,000 was made to help poor students of the school.
• Republic Day Celebration on 26th January started with the flag being hoisted by the Chief Guest, Sr. Nandita Perriera, S.R.A. The Guest of Honor was Sr. Anny D’Souza., S.R.A. The primary and senior students together presented the cultural programme and dances displaying the patriotic theme. . There was patriotic song, a group dance and speeches in Hindi and English. The Chief Guest highlighted the importance of devotion towards the nation. The children were later given sweets.
• Farewell for Class XII students, organized by Class XI students was held on 2nd February, 2019. After a short prayer, dances and skit were put up to keep alive the memories associated with their time in the school.

SPORTS ACHIEVEMENTS

• On 13th July the XXVth MJM Football Tournament was declared open by Fr. C. Thomas, the Education Secretary, the Diocese of Varanasi. Thereafter a short prayer was held. From 13th to 18th July, 2018, 20 teams vied for the top spot. The winners were St. Mary’s School, Bhadohi(Juniors) and St. John’s School, D.L.W. (Senior). The Chief Guest for the prize distribution was Mr. Ambrish Gaur, SSP, Central Jail, Varanasi. Fr. Louis Braggs thanked for smoothly conducting and concluding the match peacefully.
• The Regional level ASISC UP & Uttarakhand Football Tournament was held at St. Joseph’s School, Noida from 4th to 6th August, 2018. The ASISC National Football Tournament was held at Guru Govind Singh Sports College, Lucknow from 24th to 26th November, 2018 with three participants from the school.
• In the ASISC Debate & Creative Writing Competitions held on 21st July and 28th July, 2018; Shivarjit Pathak won the Junior Debate and Anvika Ojha won the English Creative Writing.
• In the Zonal Level Athletic meet held at St. John’s School, Ghazipur on 24th & 25th July, 2018 Piyush Pal of XI-D, Rishabh Tripathi of X-C and Priya Mohini of X-D were the winners.
• In the Zonal Level Basketball Tournament the Senior and Junior Boys won the Basketball Tournament Two Boys Aaditya Ojha of X-B and Divyanshu Singh of XI-C were selected to represent UP at National Level and the CISCE team at SGFI National Games.
• In the ASISC Zonal Badminton Tournament winners were Shreya Pandey ,Stuti Shukla and Sambhavi Shakya in the Junior Girls, Yashaswi Mishra and Abhishek Kumar in the Junior Boys. Aryan Singh won in the senior category.
• In the State Level Cricket Tournament Shivendra Singh represented the state of UP at the National Level.
• In the ASISC Zonal Level Carrom Tournament held on 6th August at our school, Neha Palak Raj Gupta won the singles title, Jahnavi Tiwari and Monica Paira won the doubles title. Devansh Baranwal won in singles and Shubham Singh and Vikas Patel in doubles. Md. Ehtesham of X-C won in junior boys category.
• In the State level competition held at the same venue, Neha won the Gold Medal, Jahnavi Tiwari won the silver medal, Shubham and Vikas Patel won the silver Medal and Md. Ehtesham won the Gold medal. Neha won the Gold medal in National level at Hyderabad.
• Inter House Sports Day was held on 1st December, 2018. Junior Winners were Green House, followed by Red House and then Yellow House with Blue House bringing up the rear. Senior Winners were Green House, followed by Yellow House, Red House and then Blue House.
• The champions of the meet were as follow:
• Sub-junior Boy’s Champion: Aniket Tiwari VII –E with two gold medals and one bronze.
• Sub-junior Girl’s Champion: Shreya Nandi VIII –D with gold medals in 100, 200 and relay races.
• Junior Boy’s Champion: Rishab Tripathi X-C with gold medals in 400 & 800 meter race and relay races and silver medal in javelin throw.
• Junior Girl’s Champion: Nidhi Bhagat IX-D with gold medals in 100, 400 and relay races.
• Senior Boy’s Champion: Aditya Ojha XI-B with gold medals in 100, 200 and relay races
• Senior Girl’s Champion: Shristi Singh –XII –A with gold medals in discuss throw, relay race, shot put and javelin throw.
• The total house wise points of the Senior were:

• 1st Green House	2nd Yellow House	3rd Red House	4th Blue House
  233 points	191 points	158 points	148 points

• The total house wise points of the Primary were:

• 1st Green House	2nd Red House	3rd Yellow House	4th Blue House
  66 points	64 points	59 points	55 points

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EXTRA-CURRICULAR ACTIVITIES

• SATURDAY ACADEMY saw the children exhibit their talents in collage making, Christmas card making , pot making ,rakhi making, flower decoration, cap making , painting, best out of waste, salad decoration instrumental music. Their enthusiastic response warmed the hearts of the judges who were suitably impressed.
• UNIVERSAL SOLIDARITY MOVEMENT (U.S.M.) is held on the last Saturday of every month for Class VIII students. The main objective is to glorify the idea of ‘lighting a candle instead of cursing the darkness, to grow the civilization of love. They discuss ideas and measures to improve ethics and values, to be charitable, generous and humble. As an action plan, they visited Mother Teresa’s Home for the Destitute, Shivala Ghat where they witnessed the sisters engaged in spreading God’s love. They sacrificed and distributed some possessions for the less privileged members of society.

COMPETITIONS

• Tremendous enthusiasm was found among students for participation in International English Olympiad, International Maths Olympiad, National Science Olympiad, National Cyber Olympiad, International Company Secretaries Olympiad; all conducted by Science Olympiad Foundation, National Science Talent Search Examination, Max Top Olympiad, Wiz National Spell Bee, Bank of Baroda Wonderkid and Quiz organized by Catholic Bishops Conference of India (CBCI).

SEMINARS

• On 16th and 17th April, 2018 a five-day seminar was conducted by Don Bosco Research and Animation Kendra (DB-ARK), New Delhi on the theme of putting into action one’s idea. Miss Sneha, Mr. Abhishek , Mr. Sekhar , Mr. Allwyn and Mr. Bijay spoke about self love, self-esteem, friendship, family and life through audio-visual lessons, action songs, games, tasks, interspersed with true life experiences.
• A seminar highlighting the changes experienced during the adolescence period by the youth for girls of classes VI to XII was conducted by Sr. Sybil SRA on 30th November, 2018. It consisted of a short movie, various motivational video clips and a detailed discussion on behavioural and psychological changes during adolescence.
• Counseling for students of the secondary shift to motivate and inspire them for better performance was done by Fr. Cyriac in the first term and Sr. Sybil SRA in the second term.

CULTURAL EVENTS

• In the Sangeet Nritya Mahotsav organized by Nav Sadhna Kala Kendra, Varanasi on 29th and 30th October, students took part in vocal Hindustan Music, Indian Classical Dance, Indian Folk Dance and Instrumental. Vanshika Mishra of VII secured the 3rd position in Hindustani Vocal Music.

Programme on cultural diversity on 6th February, 2019

• A cultural programme was organized by the joint efforts of Kalai Kaveri College of Fine Arts, Tiruchirapalli, Tamil Nadu and Nav Sadhna Kala Kendra, Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh on February 6,2019 for students of classes 6th to 12th. Fr. Swaminathan, director of Kalai Kaveri College of Fine Arts and Fr. Wilfred Maurice, director of Nav Sadhna Kala were present for the occasion and were welcomed by the Vice Principal, Fr. Kasper. The programme highlighted the cultural diversity of India by means of fusion of the cultures of North and South India from River Ganga to River Kaveri.

SOCIAL EVENTS

• Kerala Flood Relief The St. John’s Family students, staff members and teachers showed their concern and support for the flood affected people of Kerala by contributing a sum of Rs. 5 lakhs to the rebuilding and relief measures after the devastating floods last year. Holy Childhood Day also saw a more than generous contribution from students and other well wishers for students coming from a less privileged background.
• Day for Differently Abled organized on 2nd January, 2019 by St. John’s School on behalf of the Diocese of Varanasi was a huge success as these differently abled children enjoyed their day of Sports, Cultural programmes .

Visit of Class XI girls to Asha Niketan, Varanasi on 7th February, 2019

• About 100 students accompanied by 2 teachers visited Asha Niketan, school for the mentally challenged where they witnessed differently abled children making a difference as they showed their creativity and talents. It was difficult to say that their capabilities were less than their normal counterparts.

Visit of Class XI boys to Central Jail, Varanasi on 9th February, 2019

• There are acres of farmland filled with variety of vegetables, fruits and flowers grown using natural manure such as cow dung, generated by the prison dairy that housed nearly 25 cows. Blood pressure and sugar levels being monitored every two hours, inmates are given a fixed diet as per their health conditions. Welding and other wood and iron works in the workshop generated quality furniture and almirahs etc. Students had an opportunity to witness the functioning of a prison where the inmates contribute to societal life.

Visit to Premal Jyoti School on 15th February, 2019

• Class IX students accompanied by two teachers visited Premal Jyoti an informal school, Lahartara, where they taught and interacted with the students from a deprived section of society. They also presented a cultural programme and gifted them stationery.

Visit to a martyr’s home on 27th February, 2019

• Mr. Ramesh Yadav was one of the 44 soldiers who fell a victim to the heinous and cowardly terror attack at Pulwama on 14th February. Four students and two teachers accompanied by Fr. Joseph visited the martyr’s home on 27th February, 2019. A shawl was presented to the martyr’s father and an amount of Rs. 47,300 was handed over to his wife, Mrs. Renu Yadav.

Condolance

• We are saddened by the unfortunate demise of Mr. Abhijeet Sen, Accountant, on 21st October, 2018. He served the institution for about 30 years selflessly and untiringly in the Office. We also grieve for a student from the primary section Archita Agrahari class III- D, whose untimely death on 7th October,2018, plunged us into sorrow.

Farewell

• A heartfelt farewell was given to Fr. Kasper, Sr. Lima, Sr. Ragini, Mrs. Panchali Srivastava, Mrs. Jaya Tewari, Mr. Sushil Edward, Mrs. Krishna Mishra and Mrs. Hilda Phillips Solomon. The Manager, Fr. Maurice D’Souza and the Principal, Fr. Loius Braggs, thanked them for their selfless service.