St Aloysius College Higher Primary School organized the Annual Athletic Meet for the academic year 2022-23 on November 24, 2022 in the Centenary grounds. The Chief Guest for the Inaugural Programme was Mr B Sunil Baliga, the Senior Accountant at CAG Department, Bangalore. The President of the Meet was Rev Fr Melwin Pinto SJ, Rector St Aloysius Institutions. The school band well trained by Mr Ronald Ajith D Souza resounded at the grounds. Prisha, the band leader welcomed the dignitaries with the general salute and led the band. Respectful guard of honour was given by the Loyola Scout troop.
The dignitaries marched towards the flag post thereby the Chief Guest hoisted the School Flag after which they raised the platform to receive the salutation from the four Houses, Red – Blue – Green – Yellow and the Loyola Scout troop respectively as the students marched with pride carrying their House flags. Rev Fr Gerald Furtado SJ, the Correspondent and the Headmistress, Mrs Jositta Noronha led the dignitaries to the stage. To invoke God’s blessing the students sang a beautiful prayer song. Mrs Jositta Noronha with honour welcomed the gathering. The guests were welcomed with a sapling each.
The Division Level Basketball players Kiran D Souza, Shallon Monteiro, Pranam Shankar, Shannon Pinto,Sohan P, Ayush, S Abhish Bangera, Prisha Rajesh, Divya Shetty, Reenal Paul, Deena Pereira. State Level Mohammed Aman Rana. Division Level Cricket players – Joshua Mascarenhas and Prince Alish. State Level Swimmer Nathan D Souza and District Level Athlete Rashaan Mohammed carried the torch in turns with all pride, handed over it to the Chief Guest and the Chief Guest handed over it back to the athletes and it was lit with the message to shine and to enkindle.
The Chief Guest then gave his message during which he recalled his school memories at the portals of St Aloysius College Higher Primary School from class 4 onwards quoting the names of his beloved teachers too. He owed his gratitude to the institution as he acknowledged that the values he has carried from here are the keys to his life’s success. He also advised the student crowd to remain grateful to their almamater. Thereafter he declared the Annual Sports Meet 2022-23 open. The bunch of air filled balloons blue and white signifying the school uniform were released in the air by the dignitaries with the message ‘Higher and higher, nobler and nobler’.
The President of the programme, Rev Fr Melwin Pinto SJ then blessed the students. In his message he encouraged the students to take sports seriously and practicing it on daily basis will help them show better performance on the day. Mohammed Nuyam of class 7 took the Sports pledge on behalf of all the athletes. A feet taping display was showcased by class 5 students under the guidance of their class teachers. The first event of the day, relay race of class 7 and 6 was witnessed by all during the formal programme and the winners were felicitated immediately. In conclusion to the formal programme, Mrs Chitra Kini proposed the Vote of thanks. The entire Inaugural programme was very neatly and impressively compered by Mrs Celestine Vaz.
The remaining events continued for the rest of the day. Every child enthusiastically participated in various events. They also enjoyed the eateries and soft drinks at the stall put by the PTA.
The Valedictory Ceremony of the day took place in the afternoon. The Chief Guest of this part of the programme was Mr Loy Noronha, proprietor ‘Symphony Musical Istruments’ and former Vice President of the PTA. The dignitaries were welcomed by the School band and led them to the dais.The school choir sang a prayer song to begin the programme.
A formal welcome was done by the Headmistress of the school. The Chief Guest then delivered his message wherein he expressed his sentiments for inviting him as the Chief Guest. He also spoke about the importance of sports and encouraged the participation of every child which will remain as good memory later too. Rev Fr Gerald Furtado SJ, the Correspondent referred to the ongoing FIFA World cup and cited the discipline and sportsmanship followed by the teams which we also need to follow. The last event of the day, the relay finals was witnessed during the Valedictory programme. The Chief Guest lowered the school flag with all reverence and handed it over to the headmistress. The flame that was lit in the morning was put off by Mr Marcel. Mrs Poornima Mayya thanked all who were responsible for making the day a successful one. To conclude the programme, the school band played the National Anthem where all joined in singing of the National Anthem. The Valedictory programme was compered by Mr Padmanabh Rao paying attention to the details of the programme.
