Celebration of the School Feast, the Feast of Mother of Carmel

We celebrated our School Feast, the feast of our Lady of Mount Carmel on 15th July, 2022 in the School auditorium. The day also marked the 154th Anniversary of the Apostolic Carmel Congregation, founded by Venerable Mother Veronica in 1868 at Bayonne, France. Prior to this day, the thanksgiving Holy Mass was celebrated by Rev Fr Barnabas Monis OCD, thanking Mother Mary, Queen of Carmel for her maternal care and protection over the past years.

The programme by the students of Grade X A and B began with a prayer service. Miss Jeanne Coutinho welcomed the gathering and introduced the Chief Guest, Sr Julie Ann A.C, Provincial Councillor, Karnataka Province. The Head Girl, Miss Benita Rodrigues welcomed the Chief Guest with a flower sapling. This was then followed by a graceful welcome dance, rejoicing the spirit of the feast. Further, the students presented the significance of the day symbolically inscribing the eight virtues of Mother Mary i.e., Humility, Faith, Obedience, Prayer, Motivation, Purity, Charity, Patience. The group dance, a mixture of hindi and konkani culture, encapsulated the joyous spirit of the feast. Portraying the history of Carmel and the devotion to Mother of Carmel, a skit was presented. The cultural extravaganza concluded with a Karnataka and Gujarati fusion dance.

The Chief Guest, Sr Julie Ann in her address, congratulated the students and the teachers for putting up a meaningful programme. In her message, taking the example of a baton of the relay game, she advised the students to carry in their hearts the baton of love towards God, parents, self, neighbours and books. She further suggested the students to carry the baton of the Alma Mater in their hearts. In conclusion, she stated, “Never forget the hand that has fed you i.e parents and never forget the institution that has educated you.”

The Principal, Sr Melissa with her radiating smile and encouraging words addressed the audience and wished everyone a Happy Carmel Feast. She highlighted the importance of Prayer and Silence and advised the students to pass on the baton of Love, Prayer and Sacrifice to their families and the society.

On this auspicious day, the students took the privilege to honour and express their heartfelt gratitude to all the sisters working in the Institution on the occasion of their titular feast and offered a memento to each of them. The vote of thanks was delivered by Miss Disha N. The programme was compared by Miss Haneen Hannan and Master Tushar Bhat.

This was followed by the programme of Grade III C and D to the kindergarten and primary section. The musical welcome dance ushered in oneness and joy. The students highlighted the motto of the school ‘HIGHER AND NOBLER’ which was very well articulated, coupled with dances. The history of the Carmelite order, the role of Mother Mary in their lives and the scapular a signal grace for the Carmelite order was presented creatively. The Chief Guest Sr. Maria Roseema A C praised the students for putting up a worthy tribute to our Lady of Mount Carmel. Sr. Meena handed over the memento to Sr. Maria Roseema A C the chief guest as a token of appreciation and gratitude. The programme ended inscribing in the minds of students, staff and parents the core values of the Apostolic Carmel Congregation and reverence to the patroness our Lady of Mount Carmel. The programme was well appreciated by the parents, the creativity and spontaneity with which the students presented themselves on the stage. The celebration ended with a staff get-together in the evening with entertaining games and refreshments.

Kindly click the below links to view the programme:

Nursery to Primary – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R0lOAhvlQl0
Middle to Secondary – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rEyslZ2kdjQ

Prior to the celebration, a number of competitions were conducted to the students of Nursery to Grade XII on different topics class wise, to express their imaginative and artistic skills.