ST. ANTHONY'S HIGH SCHOOL - MALWANI: LEADERSHIP TRAINING

St. ANTHONY HIGH SCHOOL - MALWANI: STUDENTS' LEADERSHIP TRAINING

July 24, 2013: For seventy four students, today's program 'LEADING BY VALUES' came as a total surprise. AVEC organised the 'Leadership or Leadershift' session in the school hall. The program was conducted by Mr. Rochwyn Fernandes and Fr. Glenford Lowe. The school principal, Fr. James D'Costa, welcomed and introduced the guest speakers and invited the students to participate in the program wholeheartedly. 

Mr. Rochwyn began the session, inviting the students, to participate in a 'prayer-meditation-fantasy' exercise and to slow down and relax too. The students participated in the spiritual part of the session very well. Through this spiritual exercise, the leaders were invited to trust in a God who is in control and who uses us an instruments for building a better valued- earth. Mr. Fernandes, then, introduced Fr. Glenford Lowe and used him as an example of 'selfless giving' - by his noble gesture of donating his kidney to a fellow Salesian priest.

Fr. Glenford Lowe, right from the word go, struck a chord with the young leaders. He challenged them, that as leaders, their role in school is much more than just maintaining discipline and walking in straight lines! The young leaders were invited to a 'Day of Leadershifts' - leading by a Value Compass. The entire Leadershift session involved a lot of group activity, personal reflections, group sharings and opportunities for deeper insights and enlightenment. In spite of the heavy rains, that keep pounding on the rooftop, the young leaders were really glued to the entire session.

Important themes were discussed all through the morning: The Wisdom of Self Awareness, the Clarity of Vision, the Power of Sharing the Vision through TEAM, the importance of SMART Planning, the force of Creative thinking, the nobility of Delegating Responsibility, the clarity of Proper Communication, the Importance of Time Management and finally the desire to leave behind a Lasting Legacy. Unfortunately, because of the heavy rains, the school had to be closed earlier, much to the disappointment of the young leaders. as a result, some points could not be completed.

 A number of students came forward to write their impressions in the AVEC log book:
"It was a very good session. A lot of inspiration too. An awesome experience as a leader!" - Nishita Singh IX-A

 "It was so nice to have Fr. Glenn in our school. Whatever you said was so inspiring and you are so nice too" - Lavina Das IX - C

 "It was fun in today's session. learnt so many points on Leadership or Leadershift which I will inculcate in my life. Thanks for coming to our school" - Joanna D'Souza X - C

 "It was an inspiring teaching and I enjoyed it very much" -  Patricia D'Souza VII - C

 "I enjoyed very much. I will never forget this day" - Abhirami Sunil VII-B

"Thank you father for giving us so much examples of life for a peaceful living. I will remember all the things you taught us and thank you for coming to our school. We are expecting you much more in our school" - Abishek Lotikar IX-A

 "I liked the session very much. Thank you for coming to our school and do come again" -  Cleophas Sampai VIII - C

Congratulations to all the students and well done! May God bless your efforts to make this world a better place through your leadership skills. thank you - Fr. Glenford Lowe