Education is the manifestation of dignity within

Hyderabad: The St. Francis Girls High School in Secunderabad was started with the motto of “Conquer through Love”. Talking through the journey of the school in conversation with The Young Hans, the highly-qualified Principal Sr Carmely Thaniath said that the school was established in the year 1850, by the Sister of Charity of St. Bartholomea Capitanio and St. Vincenza Gerosa.

Tell us about the school…
St. Francis Girls High School is truly a holistic educational institution committed to educate children for life and thus bring a change in the society. The School continues its service with the motto “Conquer through Love”, through the significance of our patron saint, St. Francis of Assisi. We instill peace and harmonious growth of every child, by focusing on the spiritual formation of the student, the intellectual development, a mature sense of responsibility, an upright conscience, an awakening to social awareness. Our school strength is around 2,655.

We have four branches: St. Philomena High School, Holy Mary High School, Holy Family High School and St. Francis Girls High School.

The School is privileged to earn the title “The Pride of the Catholic Church” by the Catholic Bishops Conference of India, New Delhi (CBCI Office) of education and culture for impacting value based education on the Gospel values to a commendable level.

We are involved in a special way with diverse roles, in the educational process of the youth, helping the young girls to understand the reality of life and look at it in truth with an enlightened intelligence.

What is the vision of the school?
Enable education as a tool of empowerment and evangelisation where learning paves the way for enlightenment.

What is the mission of the school?
Strive to build awareness in students about their own dignity as children of god. Develop critical thinking, analytical; ability and sound judgment. Inculcate self-discipline, moral responsibility and enterprising skills. Cultivate genuine love and commitment to service towards the poor and marginalised. Promote creative thinking minds in teachers towards balanced work-life effectiveness.

“Education is not just acquiring some degree a certificate for me first is education of the heart for nation of character is very important if they are formed to take care of the humanity they can be a better citizen and they are more helpful, service minded then I should say they are educated”
What is the use of education with the degree and diplomas, but they don’t have a heart to take care of the poor and the needy? They don’t have a sensitivity to take care of their own parents when they are old. What we are trying to do is education of the heart, education for humanity, education to love everyone that is our motto “Conquer through Love”said Sr Carmely Thaniathi.

What about the school faculty?
Our school has 92 staff members; they are researchers, leaders and influencers of a whole generation. The basic qualification for our faculty is a degree along with B Ed.

What are the extracurricular activities taken up in the school?
We stress on all-round development in the child. We make sure the child learns the necessary skills to develop a well-groomed personality and thereby succeed in this era of globalisation. For overall personality development there are multiple components that need to be honed in a child’s academic potential, social skills, character building and self concept, language development etc.

Seminars, guest lectures, and workshops also form an integral part of the school curriculum. We provide safe opportunities that encourage children of all ages to explore ideas and participate in events that promote skill-building, critical thinking and cross cultural friendship.

We have computer lab with 30 computers, the latest product in the market the mobile science lab is provided for middle school to facilitate learning by doing.

Counselling is a very important ingredient in shaping students behaviour and performance in academics. With the fast advancement of technology toys are replaced by smart phones in the hands of children and it is turning into addiction as they move to the age of adolescence.

In school today there are children who need the help of trained counselor. Their interaction with the students helps them to resolve emotional. Social and behavioral problems which in turn help them to develop a clear focus and sense of direction towards set goals.

Social Service Club Instills in the students the attitude of sharing by sparing their expenses, the children visited the institution Navjeevan Street Boys at Ramanthapur on the on the day of Raksha bandhan. Our students visited 12 institutions during the time of Christmas to express their love and house hold belongings.

What about the sports activities. How do you encourage the students in sports?
Our students participate in various sporting activities. We provide coaching in football; volley ball etc and our students have excelled in the sports activities. Our students , Harjeet Kaur , S Vaishnavi, Sai Tanvi, Kushali and Pragati Jain bagged gold medal and Ozha, Kathyani bagged silver medal at the Indo-Thai International Taekwondo Championship which was organised by the famed Asian Games Association (AGA) and United India Games Association (UIGA) in Thailand.

-Arti Adke