ST. SEBASTIAN'S HIGH SCHOOL, CHEMBUR: STD X Value Education Orientation

ST. SEBASTIAN HIGH SCHOOL, CHEMBUR: STANDARD X VALUE ORIENTATION

August 8, 2012: At the invitation of Sr. Carmine D'Costa, Principal of St. Sebastian's High School, Chembur and the animating presence of Mrs. Manju Chhabra, Value Education Coordinator for the school, AVEC accepted a two session Value Education Orientation Program for Two Hundred and Fifty students of Standard Ten. After a brief introduction by Mrs. Manju, each of the two sessions began with a prayer song 'Sarvesham Swastir Bhavatu', to which the students prayerfully joined in.

Mr. Rochwyn Fernandes took the students through a fantasy meditation while assisting them to focus on their breath. The students took part in this session in a very serious manner. One could see the relaxed and calm faces after this brief meditation. Mr. Rochwyn Fernandes then took the time to say a few words about AVEC and then introduced Fr. Glenford Lowe to the students.

 Fr. Glenn began his session by focusing on the need to have a direction in life that was guided by a 'Value Compass'. Only in the 'law of the jungle' does 'velocity' play a greater role that 'direction'. In life, direction is more important than velocity. "It is not how fast you run that matters, but whether you are in the right direction, that counts!" said Fr. Lowe. Meaning Questions are the key to living a significant life, not the survival questions that we daily ask. Live your life guided by a Value Compass! You will never get lost on the way.

 Fr. Glenn inspired the two hundred and odd students with his creative style of presentations, his insightful and challenging life experiences and with quite moments for personal reflection. Numerous Values were taught through songs, personal testimonies, group interactions and personal insights and powerful video clippings. There never was a dull moment. The time looked too short for the entire session. Students were challenged to get M.A.D..Make A Difference!

At the end of the session, Mr. Mihir Jain, School Captain, proposed the Vote of Thanks on behalf of the Management and the Students themselves.

 Below are some of the comments written by the students in the AVEC Log Book:

“It was a wonderful session. We got to know the real truths of life and also received a lot of encouragement” – Rupal A. Kaldate X-A

 “According to my opinion, it was a direction to bloom like a flower in life and help others to bloom like me” – Mamata V. Havnur X-A

 “Elusive, amazing, enlightening and inspiring and as Fr. Glenn said, we are already looking forward to being ‘lighthouse’ students”- Mihir Jain X-A School Captain

 “From my opinion, it was a very lovable session and I firmly resolved to be a good person in life” – Nikhil Nogdev X-A

 “It was a wonderful session according to me. It helped me know the real aspects of life. It helped me to change my views and to be a better person in future” – Vandana Maurya

 “I felt very nice and light and relaxed after attending this session, It was very enlightening and it will help us out in the future to take decisions for our life. Fr. Glenn is a very nice person and I am looking forward to communicate with him” ­– Sakshi Gaware X-B

 “I felt the session was very fruitful. Everyone learned important values in life which will be very important for them in future. I will look on and communicate with Fr. Glenn” – ­Rohit Patel X-B

 “It was a very encouraging session and also it paved a way for my own future” – Ketan Jadhav X-B

 “A very beautiful and encouraging session!  I really liked it. I thank the organizers for making it possible for us” -  Malhotra Amanjeet X-C

 "A very refreshing and complete new experience. Really encouraging to look towards life in a new way. Would like to thank the organizers on behalf of my class" -  Preksha Jagtap X-C

 "It was a very beautiful moment for us as we could learn something new and a new way to live our live. We are extremely happy to learn new things from today's Value session" - Sheran Swing X-D

 "It was a great learning for all of us students of Std X, and to know about life and proceed with a positive attitude" - Flavia D'Souza X-C

 "It was a very beautiful and encouraging session. I could learn something new and a way to live our life on Values. It made life for me an extreme change now. It made me extremely happy to learn new things from today's Value session. And the very best part of today's session was to think positive"  - Gaurav Kamble X-D

Congratulations to all the students for your cooperation and accepting the challenge to MAKE A DIFFERENCE. I pray God's blessings on you and on your school and, in a special way, may your exams be successful and your life a lot more meaningful and significant too.