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ANNUAL REPORT – 2010 – 2011. Honourable Chief Guest – Mr. Ratan Luth, Guests, Parents and my dear Boys and Girls …
The new academic year began in June with the teachers meeting for two consecutive days to discuss portfolios, activities and syllabuses. The boarders returned on the 6th and classes for all began on the 7th June. Since then, time has rolled on and today we are here on the last working day of the school calendar. Student Matters: The Academic year began with 236 Boarders and 912 Day Scholars, making a total strength of 1148 students. At present the total strength of the school is 1184, with 237 Boarders and 947 Day Scholars. Staff: We have a couple of staff members who resigned during the Academic year 2010-2011. They include Mr. Abhishek Gaur – the Senior Maths Teacher and Mrs. Shobha Pilkhwal – Middle School Hindi Teacher. Ms. Theresa D’Souza and Mrs. Kuntal Bishnoi, both teaching in the Primary Section, will not be returning for the new Academic session. Two of our Matrons, Mrs. Cheryl Moses and Mrs Wenderlen James have also decided not to return in the new academic year. The Principal, Mr. Bryan Martin also left on the 4th January 2011 for personal reasons. Mrs. A. Khan and Mr. R. Karmakar have also put in their resignations. The staff that were appointed during the year are Mrs. Azra Shaikh – Sr. School/Jr. College Physics Teacher, Mrs. Meenakshi Sharma – who replaced Mrs. Pilkhwal, Mrs. Dola Sengupta – Middle/Sr. School Geography Teacher, Ms. Aruna Badgujar – a replacement for Mr. Gaur and Mr. Furgus Simmons – a Residential P.T.I. A number of our staff were confirmed in their services during the year. They are – Mr. Ralph Russell- our Jr. College co-ordinator, Mr. D. Sonawane, Mrs. Natasha Gupta, Mrs. Preeti Russell, and Mrs. Moses. Academic Matters: Improvement of academic standards is always a difficult job but at the same time none of us can turn aside from meeting this challenge and we at Barnes are trying our level best to meet this challenge. We do have a number of weak students from all walks of life. We even admit weak students or else where would they go. Yet, we are proud that when our students pass out they are able to present themselves properly to the outside world. A Brain-storm session was conducted on 8th October 2010 to discuss different strategies to improve the academics of the school. This session was attended by the Honourable Directors of the School, the Principal, the Vice Principal and seventeen senior members of the school. The session was very fruitful and some of the suggestions that came up were put into practice immediately. Heads of Departments were nominated to monitor the progress of each subject. The introduction of Smart Class was also discussed and I’m happy to announce that in all probability this will start in the new academic year. A system of continuous and comprehensive evaluation was set up upto class eight. Fifty marls for CCE and fifty marks for the final examination. A constant check of Teachers’ work has been going on. Members of staff have been advised to equip themselves with the latest methodologies to make teaching and learning more interesting and meaningful. Extra classes were conducted for the Board classes. A period was set aside for ‘Spoken English’. We intend to have a specialist for this area very soon. The school had sent up eighty-three students for the ICSE and forty students for the ISC. Unfortunately, we didn’t get a 100% success rate this time. The pass percentage of the ICSE was 98.7% and that of the ISC was 93%. This was our first ISC batch so there were bound to be teething problems. The highest percentage for the ISC being 80.2% was scored by Abhiroop Chatopadhyay, and that of the ICSE which was scored by Abhishek Singh, his percentage being 90%. School Functions and Activities: On 19th June 2010 the whole School gathered in Evans Hall for the Investiture of the newly elected prefects. The Principal, Mr. Bryan Martin, administered the oath of Office and presented the Prefects and House Captains with their badges. The occasion was a solemn one. After the function the Prefects were given a treat at MacDonalds. The Primary School had its investiture on 17th June 2010. On 10th July 2010, our Football and Basketball teams went to Mumbai to play against St. Peter’s School, Mazagaon. St. Peter’s beat Barnes in both the games. In July itself the PTA was formed. Class representatives from amongst the parents were elected and from the elected lot the Executive Committee was elected. I’m happy to state that the formation of the Barnes School PTA was a great move and we look forward to its continuous support, suggestions and advice. The Members of our PTA Executive Committee are:
On 17th July we had an Inter-school Badminton tournament in which Barnes was the runner-up. On 24th July we had the Inter-House Cross-country Finals which went off very well. July and August are months when the Football fever grips the students of Barnes. The Inter-house matches were strongly contested. Football was introduced for the girls as well. The Junior School had its Patriotic Song competition on the 13th August 2010. It was a treat for the ears to hear our small ones singing soul-touching patriotic songs. Independence Day was celebrated with zest and enthusiasm on the 15th August. This year Barnes School hosted the Mega event….The All Maharashtra Anglo-Indian ICSE Schools Tournaments for Football and Basketball. Over three hundred and fifty children from 12 schools participated in the event. All these children were housed in our new dormitories. They had a grand time. Barnes reached the Semis in Football. The Football was won by Bishop’s School, Pune and the Basketball for girls was won by St. Mary’s School, Mumbai. On the 13th September our children participated in the Rochak Diwas competition hosted by Christ Church School. Our children did quite well in the competition. On the 17th September, the Junior School had its elocution competition which went off very well. Our Football and Basketball Teams also went for an Inter-school competition hosted by CCS. Our girls reached the Semi-finals in Basketball. Swimming was re-started in Barnes after almost twenty years. The Inter-house Swimming Gala was a grand finale. The event had a number of participants who had earlier been trained well. The Ex-students had a wonderful time during their stay here from the 27th to the 29th October. Children’s Day was celebrated on 14th November.The Barnes Walk was re-started. On the 20th November, nearly five hundred children and teachers walked from the school to the streets of Devlali and Bhagur with colourful banners for a cleaner and greener environment. The Junior School had its Sports Day on the 3rd December , while the Senior School had theirs on the 16th December. Both these events were spectacular events. The Musical Extravaganza, Joseph and his technicolour Dream Coat was staged on the 10th, 11th and 12th December. Nearly four hundred children took part in the Mega event which was a grand success. A big thank you to Mr. Shawn Tims and his team for putting up such a great show. The New Year began with the Prelims for standard X and XII. Republic Day was celebrated with zest and enthusiasm. Founders Day was celebrated on the 29th January. It was a solemn occasion graced by the newly appointed CEO, Mr. Carl Laurie. The Annual Fun Fair was held on the 30th January. It was a great success. Our parents had also put up a stall. The ISC Exams commenced on the 15th February. The ICSE Exams commenced on the 28th February. We have sent up 90 students for the ICSE and 40 for the ISC. We hope and pray that our students do well in their exams.The ICSE students were given a send off on the 24th March while the ISC students were given their Farewell on the 26th March 2011. On the 12th March the Junior School had its Variety Entertainment Programme. The show was a grand success. Every child of the Junior School took part. Thanks to Mrs. S. Coutinho and every Teacher of the Primary Section of the School. Our home exams began on the 28th March. The results of which will be given today. On the 1st April, the Junior School had a Fancy Dress Competition. Our routine games and activities, like Cricket, Volleyball, Hockey, Singing, Debates, Quizzes, Throwball, Boxing, Badminton and Table Tennis also went off very well. Achievements: With a new and beautiful Swimming Pool, swimming was resumed at Barnes after almost twenty years. We hope to have swimming during school hours from the new academic session. This will allow our day scholars to avail of this privilege. Our Boarders are far more comfortable in our new dormitories. Barnes took on the responsibility of hosting one of the major Inter School events in Maharashtra, “The All Maharashtra Anglo-Indian Schools Football and Basketball Tournaments,” which was a great success. Fifteen of our children took the Elementary and Intermediate Grade Examination, conducted by the Government of India and secured a good grade in the exam. This is an important exam for children wishing to pursue Art in later years. Many of our children participated in the Maggi Ryan Minithon in which schools from all across Maharashtra participated. Barnes stood second in the overall tally. In Fencing, not only have our children topped at the Inter-school level but have also won gold and silver medals at the District and State Levels as well. Some outstanding fencers are Mehmood Hamdulay, Mehal Singh, Ishan Pawar, Vaishnavi Veer, Tanisha Paul, Simran Kataria and Carol Bernard. Our children have also fared very well at the National Cyber Olympiad, National Science Olympiad and the National Math Olympiad. The Ramchandani brothers Vijay and Rahul, and Rajkumar Bhatt have done extremely well in this area and have brought laurels to themselves and to the school. Sushant Yadav of V – A stood first in the State level – Revolt Skate India. Hritik Khairnar has won gold and silver medals in Karate. Children of our Primary section were also very successful in many competitions.
Ashish Thakur of II – B won a Gold Medal at the Computer Olympiad. This brings me to the end of the Annual Report. I sincerely hope that you, as parents and guardians of children at Barnes School will appreciate all that we are doing to make your children ‘Balanced Individuals’ by providing them a wholesome education. I agree that there have been a few short comings which we will try to do away with, in the near future. I would, however, mention that without your help and cooperation, we cannot develop your child’s potential to become the all- round person that he or she can be. I appeal to you to lend us a helping hand, in terms of constructive suggestions and in advice, in taking Barnes to greater heights. Before I end, I would like to thank the Almighty for showering his blessings on this School. We have been without a Principal for over three months but by His grace, and the guidance and support of our Directors, Mr. R.K. White – our President, Mr. R.C. Woodman- Our Honorary Secretary, Mr. S. Daniel – Our Honorary Treasurer and Mr. Carl Laurie – our newly appointed C.E.O., the School has gone on. Thanks to all the workers of this school. On behalf of the Management of Barnes School, I thank all the Teachers, the Office Staff, the Security, Mr. Thomas and his Mess staff, Mr. VV Basetti and his Maintenance staff for their efforts in ensuring that the school ran smoothly. A special word of thanks to Mrs. S. Coutinho – the Junior School Supervisor, Mr. Ralph Russell – the coordinator of the Junior College, Mr. Vijay Nair coordinator for classes eight to ten and Mr. Malcolm Ovichegan – coordinator of the Middle School for looking after their areas. Finally, I thank all the parents who have placed their children in our care. A Big Thank You to all our children for whose sake we are here, and the School is here.
Thank you! |
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It is my proud privilege this morning
to present before you, the Annual Report on this special day when we have gathered
to acknowledge the efforts of our children who have excelled in various fields of
school endeavour.
