At Montfort awareness programmes are conducted as part of the education system. Today’s world is full of information and progress. There is a little too much of information available, so we at Montfort, channel and focus on specific subjects bringing the right awareness to the children for their future development. Tomorrow is theirs; today, we help them to face it.
POTENTIAL
Healing the World with Music
The World Music Day was celebrated at Montfort in remembrance and veneration of St. Cecilia the Patroness of the school choir and the patron saint of world musicians and Church music. The programme started with a spiritual song in praise of God – the Master Musician. Enacting some instances that happen in the day to day life children proved that listening to appropriate music can heal the body the mind and the soul restoring peace and joy in families. They also made music with kitchen utensils calling it “The Kitchen Chronicle.”
The Montfort Melody Makers sang the song “Bring it all back” stating that every student can reach the top, holding on to his or her individuality. The programme ended with the entire school performing some simple dance movement to the song called “The Music Man.”
SPIRITUAL
FEAST DAYS Trichets Reaching Out In Love:
Blessed Marie Louise Trichet, the Patroness of the Red Team, was venerated for her qualities of love and service. As a disciple of St. Montfort, she started a new congregation of young women dedicated to Incarnate Wisdom and served the poor in hospitals and homes.
The Trichets – the members of the Red team, striving to emulate their Patroness Blessed Trichet, by following the values Love and service. They put forth their team values ‘Love’ and ‘Service’ through a skit that gave the message, “Service to humanity is service to God.’
Celebrating Truth And Courage:
The members of the Blue team celebrated the twin virtues Truth and Courage on the feast day of their patron, St. Gabriel. A grand programme was organized to mark the occasion. The programme began with an invocation dance. Children enacted the story of the shepherd boy David, who with his unabated courage killed the giant Goliath and became a king. Children sang a beautiful song saying that they will never give up on anything in life because they have their Guardian angels watching over them. One of the students gave a rousing speech on the true spirit of Courage in Tamil. The speech motivated the audience to be strong and bold. A dance performance given by the members of the blue team gave the message that with courage anything is possible.
Gorettians Hailing Their Partroness For Her Purity:
The Gorettians – the members of the Green Team celebrated the feast of their patroness, St. Maria Goretti. The saint, a paradigm of purity and sacrifice lived a holy life, acceptable to God. In this materialistic, immoral world, her life can be taken as an example for the children and youth of today to follow. The function was presided over by Lt. Col. Ayub Ahmed, OTA, Chennai.
Children through dance choreography highlighted the importance of the virtues of purity and forgiveness. They prayed to God to help them remain pure at heart and forgive readily the wrong doings of others. The programme will be helpful for children to have restore peace in the world when they grow up.
God Has A Plan For Every Man:
Gonzalian, the members of the Yellow team commemorated the feast day of their patron St. Gonzalo of Garcia. Giving due honour to their patron, they narrated the story of his life.
Through a skit “The Tree that Woods” they explained that everything in life happens according to the will of God. They enlightened their fellow students on the fact that life is not always a bed of roses. Sometimes it is necessary for us to undergo hardships in order to develop a strong personality. By singing a song they expressed their gratitude to God for all blessing them with good parents, teachers, and friends. They thanked God above all for giving them a wonderful school where we learn to live a life of honour and dignity.
The Celebration Of God’s Love
Christmas the festival of God’s unconditional love was celebrated together with New Year. Love is the key to peace within oneself. Love is the key to peace and happiness among mankind and all creation. Love is a virtue that needs to be practiced. The seniors of the Green team organized the programme highlighting the above message.
ENVIRONMENTAL
Eco-Spiritualtiy
A special programme on Eco-spirituality was organized in school to create awareness among students on the need to preserve nature. The theme was “To Man’s destiny through Eco-spirituality”. The programme brought to light nature’s call to man to have a relationship that is spiritual and divine with the elements of nature and all living things on earth. It was a privilege to have Mr. Jude Sekar, an Officer in the Indian Forest Services for thirty years, as the Chief Guest.
Ocean Guardian
Students from MMS participated in the Flipper Fest ’09 organized by the Tree Foundation Organization at the Children’s National Park, Guindy. During the fest children participated in painting, quiz, essay-writing, exhibition, eco-drama and project presentation competitions. Children won the first prize for project presentation and exhibition and the third prize for painting and eco-drama competitions. The topic given for all the competitions conducted was Marine Bio-diversity and conservation of Marine Ecology. The Flipper Fest inspired the students so much that after the fest a special programme was organized in school to honour the founder and trustee-chairperson of Tree Foundation, Dr. Supraja Dharani.
Turtle Walk
A guided walk along the Neelangarai coast was organized for the students of Std. VIII, IX and XI to bring about awareness on conservation of Sea Turtles. Sea turtles are now endangered, facing a lot of threats due to man’s reckless attitude and actions. Hence, measures were taken by the school to create awareness among children to conserve these awesome, age old creatures that have live right from the period of the dinosaurs.
Around 100 students along with their principal and teachers in charge left for the turtle walk on 9th April, 2010 at 5:30 p.m. from school. They were first taken to the Tree Foundation office at Neelangarai where they saw “Karuna” a female Olive Ridley with three
lippers - two front flippers and a hind flipper severed off. Karuna was caught in a gill net that is used to catch huge fishes. Dr. Supraja Dharani, the founder and trustee chairperson of the Tree Foundation explained that in order to save their nets, the fishermen had cut her flippers off and thrown her away. Children’s eyes welled up when they heard that the tub in which Karuna was placed will replace her home - the deep blue sea, since she has lost the capacity to swim in it. Dr. Dharani also explained that surgeries had been performed on Karuna to cover the wounds and to help her survive. There was another female olive ridley which was yet to be named. One of the fore flippers of the turtle was wounded but she would be returned to the sea once the wound healed.
After meeting the olive ridlyes, children were shown a short documentary film on sea turtle conservation which cleared some of their doubts. Children by then understood the importance of sea turtle conservation. After the film show they were taken to the shore where the eggs were kept in a hatchery. It was amazing to see tiny little hatchlings of olive ridleys emerging out of the sea sand in the hatchery. Children had the opportunity of touching them, having them placed on their palms and feeling their delicate bodies. They together with the Tree Foundation volunteers collected the hatchlings in baskets and released them into the sea.
ABILITY Special Sports Meet
Montfort Matriculation Higher Secondary School and Montfort Community Development Society in association with Special Olympics, Bharath Tamilnadu organized the 5th Unified Sports Meet in Montfort school grounds. 150 special children from six Special schools in Chennai participated in the Sports Meet.
Games conducted during the Special Olympics helped the special children participate in sports activities, and also encouraged a friendly interaction with their Montfort student partners.
The Sports Meet began in an official way with Prayer dance, March Past, and Oath Taking. The torch relay was run by one special child from each school along with their Montfort partner. Rev. Bro. George, Principal of Montfort School hoisted the flag and declared the Sports Meet open.
International Day For Disabled Persons
The International Day for the Differently-abled was commemorated in MMS during a special programme emphasizing on the fact that ability is only a matter of one’s perception. Everybody in this world is in one way or the other disabled. At the same time special people either physically or intellectually challenged persons are gifted with special talents which normal people are incapable of doing. The programme was organized by the senior blue team members.
The appearance of Mr. Ilango, the Managing Director of ACE, Panacea Soft Skills Pvt. Ltd, a visually challenged person on stage as the Chief Guest was the most overwhelming moment of the day. Mr. Ilango is the most sought- after soft skills trainer, training several faculty members and students of colleges and corporates in English Communication Skills, every year. He has sung songs for Tamil films, many jingles and has sung Tamil pop songs in albums such as “Kasadathapara”, “Pookalin Moli” etc. He is also a voice over artist. His speech, interaction with the students and his beautiful voice kept the audience spell-bound. No one else would have been more appropriate to preside over such a function than Mr. Ilango. It was indeed a day of great motivation for the students. Through the programme they learnt that “Ability” is only a matter of one’s perception. They also learnt to love and respect the whole of mankind equally.
Special Sports Meet for Special Children
The 3rd Unified Sports Meet organized together with Montfort Community Development Society, Chennai, was an effort to develop friendship between normal and the differently-abled children. Unlike Special Olympics where the differently-abled children take part in regular sports events, special group games were organized, keeping in mind the ability of the special children who participated in the sports meet. The day was filled with activities that brought much joy to the special children. They were happy to interact and build friendship with the normal children of Montfort School. The Special Guest Dr. Nagarajan, Director Special Olympics, Asia Pacific lauded the Principal, Bro. George and the school and Bro. Patrick, Director of MCDS for showing special interest
in the welfare and happiness of the differently-abled, creating awareness and endeavoring to build friendships for them among the normal children.
Awareness on Child Labour
The Peer Group Association for Child Rights took a survey on the number of children working as Domestic Servants in the homes of their own classmates. In continuation of the survey taken, the children convened an awareness programme in school on eradication of Child Labour and helping them to join schools.
A skit on Child Labour by the students unveiled the hardships that little children like themselves undergo when employed as menial workers. It also taught students how to be of help to such underprivileged children.
They sang the song “People over the world”
expressing their unity with the poor and oppressed children of the society. A Choreography on the song “Another Day in Paradise” left its ineffaceable mark in the children’s hearts.
The programme was indeed meaningful, teaching the students to be instruments in eradicating social evils against little children like themselves. At Montfort, students are thus taught to take up the responsibility of building a world where one can find justice, equality and fraternity.
Aids Awareness
Aids awareness seminars were conducted for the students of Std. IX and X. Sessions were held separately for the girls and the boys. Through PowerPoint presentations the ways in which the disease spreads and the methods of control were explained. Awareness was given to the students at the right time, falling under the age group 14 – 15, the target group. At the end of the session children were asked to put forth their queries and their doubts were clarified.
Children learnt to protect themselves from such treacherous diseases and also gained confidence in leading a safe and healthy life.
Civic Sense Kindled Through Writing Skills
At Montfort Social responsibility and Civic sense are kindled by encouraging students to share their ideas in “Voice Your Views column in the daily “The Hindu”. Some of their views were even published. Apart from this children were also persuaded to participate in online quizzes in Science and Environmental Studies, motivating them to preserve Mother Nature.
MMS has thus adopted a creative way to develop the writing skills of students while teaching them to be responsible citizens.
Celebration of the International Women’s Day
International Women’s day has come a long way since the first celebrations that took place in 1911 with its focus on gender equality and upliftment of women. The theme for this year’s International Women’s Day is “Equal rights, equal opportunities: Progress for all”. In some countries this day is also observed as Mother’s Day. The auspicious day was graced and made grand by the presence of Mrs. Sowmya Anbumani, the president of a Pasumai Thayagam, wife of former health minister, Dr. Anbumani Ramadoss.
UNO Day
The message of Peace, Justice and Hope was delivered on the UNO day, the anniversary of the charter of the United Nations. The world today is wild with its delirium of hatred. “All creatures are crying for a new birth of thine” said Rabindranath Tagore. This day was observed in school in order to nurture peace and justice among children. Rev. Fr. Susai Sebastian. s.j., Principal of Loyola B.Ed. College, Chennai, graced the occasion.
Oil Pulling
The members of the staff and students at Montfort had the opportunity of learning Oil pulling Therapy. Dr. Gandhidas, a regular practitioner and propagator of oil pulling therapy explained the benefits of this simple, but valuable technique. Oil pulling just involves swishing oil inside the mouth for 20 minutes and spitting it out every morning, before eating anything. It absorbs toxins and cures ailments like headaches, bleedy gums, leukemia, as well as acne, digestive problems, and kidney disease. Oil pulling gives softer skin, better sleeping habits, and a higher boost of energy throughout the day. At the end of the session free sachets of Idhayam sesame oil were given for trial. Through this
seminar, ways to lead a healthier, disease
free and more active life was taught.
The staff and students benefited out of this seminar as it was an eye opener to an ancient remedy. They also came to know that keeping themselves healthy was an easy task.
Humour Hour
Bearing in mind the increasing tension children experience with regard to syllabi and social encumbrances, MMS decided to give the children a break from their daily routine and make them laugh for a while through “Humour Hour” – A Special Programme. Children imitated comedians and comical characters and put up fun-filled skits, mimicries, riddles, jokes and dances. Dr. T V S Padmaja, Principal, Valliammal College for Women, graced the occasion. She congratulated all the participants and appreciated the School and the Principal for giving the children such a rare opportunity.
This laughing therapy made the children realize the importance of humour. They were
made to understand that the 7th Sense that is ’Sense of Humour’ helps make a mountain into a mole hill.
Educational Tours
Montfort organizes educational tours for students once a year. The trip may vary from 3 to 5 days. Children are taken to visit historical places and places that are noted for their beauty, wildlife, trade, etc. Delhi, Agra, Mysore, Bangalore and Visakhapatnam are some of the places that the students have visited. Apart from these long trips the school also arranges a day’s outing for them to relax and refresh themselves. They spend their day out in theme parks and while they enjoy their day out, they also learn the physics involved in the mechanism of the rides.
Educational trips are indeed enriching and educative that opens the eyes and the mind into natural phenomena and beauty and into modern technologies and their uses.
Career Guidance for Std. IX Students
Life and career are one’s own adventures. To make them both enjoyable one needs to know his or her preferences and make choices accordingly.
MMS, together with Junior Achievement India - an organization that integrates India through intelligence, organized a career guidance workshop for the students of Std. IX. Volunteers from Cognizant conducted the 5 day seminar in 3 batches. In the first session children were made aware of what work is all about differentiating it from career, where Career is our Goal in life, while work is what we do to achieve it. In the second session children were taught the division of labour involved in
bringing a product into market through a PowerPoint presentation of the production of Chocolate. In the third session was about “SEEK” – Skill, Education, Experience and Knowledge, the basic parameters required to be fulfilled by a person for any job.
In the fourth session, the term ‘VISTA’ i.e. Value, Interest, Strength, Talent and Attitude was explained. VISTA helps to choose one’s career. The fifth and final session was a review of all that was said and done during the previous four sessions. Students were asked to fill in feedback forms and submit to the volunteers. The volunteers were happy that the students were very cooperative and highly interactive. At the end of the seminar students were given certificates of participation and handouts that contain opportunities that are available in different fields as a guide to choose their career.
It was indeed a useful seminar for the students of Std. IX helping them to work towards their goal in life at the right time. Students were made aware of job opportunities that exist. They also learnt to interact with the resource persons usefully.
Inclusive Education
MMS had the opportunity of participating in an inter-cultural dialogue, called the “Mondialogo Contest” conducted by UNICEF along with Daimler. In this contest a team of Six students in the age group 14+ along with a supervising teacher from MMS was paired with another team called the “Green Crocodile”, a school in Georgia to have inter-cultural dialogue and at the end of their dialogue for about 3 months, both teams together submitted a project of their choice “Integration of Differently-abled in Mainstream schools” i.e. “Inclusive Education”. The outcome of the project was a documentary film of 15 minutes duration.
The documentary talks about Child Rights as the fundamental freedoms and the inherent
rights of all human beings below the age of 18. These rights apply to every child, irrespective of the child's, race, colour, sex, creed or other status including disabilities.
And they are:
• the right to survival
• the right to protection
• the right to participation
• the right to development – i.e. to education, care, leisure and recreation
If one has to ask the question “Do all children enjoy these rights?” the answer, as we all know is certainly negative. Not all rights are enjoyed by all children especially the differently abled.
Through this project, the “Montfort Team” at Chennai and the “Green Crocodile Team” at Georgia have come together to address one issue faced by the differently abled, “The denial of the right to education in Main stream schools” and to find a solution for this issue.
The first step in addressing this issue was to meet people who are directly associated with the differently abled and get their opinion on Inclusive Education. So, the team visited some of the special schools in Chennai for the differently-abled and interviewed the heads and other members of these institutions.
The heads of the special schools unanimously agreed that the Differently-abled children must study in Main stream schools along with other normal children. Some of the teachers working in special schools felt that awareness must be given to the teachers, students and parents of the mainstream schools to treat the differently-abled as normal people entitled to all rights as other normal children. The differently-abled students also gave their opinion that they would be better off in Mainstream schools that offer a competitive environment, helping them to cope with the competitive world outside.
Life is not a bed of roses for these special children especially when they are not accepted, and when people pose a lot of limitations. Some of the parents and teachers of the Mainstream schools felt that special children need special care and so they need to study only in special schools. They also felt that Inclusive Education may be harmful for the growth and development of normal students.
Handicap by definition is the inability of a person to do something. Every individual is handicapped in one way or the other. Though we call ourselves normal, we too have a lot of handicaps. We are totally handicapped when it comes to understanding the needs of the physically and mentally challenged. It is time that we realized it.
This problem can be rectified by beginning to accept them as they are, as any other normal human being. Once we do that, integrating them in Mainstream schools becomes easy. All mainstream schools will be special schools where all, the normal and the physically and mentally challenged can study together. The differently-abled will no longer suffer isolation. Life will be a lot better and happier when there is equality and justice for all.
Through this project children learnt to interact with people of another country. They learnt to communicate online, sharing their culture with the people of the world. They learnt to approach people, interview them and to work for a good cause such as Inclusive Education. Thus, they also became socially aware of the right of the special (differently-abled) people.
