St. Columba's School
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St. Columba's is one of twelve of its kind conducted by the Indian Province of the Congregation of Christian Brothers which was founded by Blessed Edmund Rice. Following the C.B.S.E. system of education since 1991, Columba's is spread over a comfortably sized campus, in the very heart of Delhi. Offering a modest range of subjects for students in Class Eleven and Twelve, Columba's was the first to introduce many a facility for the betterment of the students, such as computer sciences and computer labs. Columba's, though known for numerous prestigious events of its own, has always had a notable presence in all other inter-school events like the Columban Open Quiz, which is one of the largest inter-school quizzes in North India, attracting over 200 teams and has been at the forefront when it came to charitable causes.
Another school, of the same name, exists in Kilmacolm, Renfrewshire in the United Kingdom.
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[edit] History
Officially opened on Tuesday, 29th April 1941, Columba began with 32 boys in New Delhi next to the Sacred Heart Cathedral. Admitting boys till class 6, the school known for its beautiful buildings, soon grew in strength and reputation to become one of the premier institutions of education in India. It was one of the first schools in the India to introduce computer education. It was a pioneer in providing other facilities like a swimming pool too.
[edit] Founder
Blessed Edmund Ignatius Rice (born 1762, died 1844) was a Catholic missionary and educationalist who was Beatified by Pope John Paul II in October 1996. He was born in Callan, County Kilkenny, Ireland, in 1762 and died in Waterford, Ireland in 1844. His remains are in a casket in Mount Sion, Waterford.
When Edmund's wife died after an accident in 1789, he devoted himself to prayer and charitable work, particularly with the poor and marginalised. In 1802, he opened a school for them but the children were so difficult to manage that the teachers resigned. This prompted him to give up his own business and devote himself to training teachers who would dedicate their lives to prayers and to teaching the children free of charge.
He is the founder of two orders of religious brothers: The Congregation of Christian Brothers and the Presentation Brothers.
The Christian Brothers grew throughout Ireland, England, Southern Africa, India, America and Australia and today many schools in those countries owe their existence to his vision. His mission is continued by more than 1900 brothers living in over 350 communities educating more than 200,000 students throughout the world.
[edit] Various Buildings
The school compound comprises of 5 buildings:
- Junior School
- Middle School
- Senior School
- Edmund Rice Hall
- Residential Block
[edit] Junior School
The Junior School, built in 1955, was the second building to come up. Attendance having increased dramatically to 2200 from 600 in 3 years, its need was clearly felt. Today, this cream and brick structure houses the junior classes from K.G. to 3, including an upgraded computer lab and other facilities such as singing rooms and a separate multimedia room. The place where it was built was earlier a rose garden.
[edit] Diwali Show 2006 : Junior Section
On the 19th October 2006, students of KG Sections A, B and C under the supervision of Ms. Nupur Ghoshal, Class Teacher KG B and other class teachers, staged a short play on the Ramayana and its significance to Diwali. It was wonderful to see the kids in colourful costumes. The hall in the Junior Section was jam packed and the play was a great success.
At the end of the play, children put up anti cracker placards.
[edit] Middle School
The Middle School building, built in stark contrast to the rest of the school, not only in colour but also in style, was built in 1967-68. It now houses classes from 4 onwards to 10, with even more laboratories, a totally separate computer room, the best in the school, and, the most reminiscent place for every ex-columban, the Canteen.
The Middle Section has many facilities like a small hospital wing, auditorium, basketball court, cricket nets, a large field, computer lab, a separate multimedia lab, physics, biology and chemistry labs, two libraries (one for small children and the other main), and a music room. It also has a P.A. intercom system connected to all rooms in the building.
[edit] The Prism
The Middle Section started an annual Children's Day Bash on the 14th of November 2004. It was called the Prism. The Prism is a study-free day when children first participate in various competitions in different activities, like clay modelling, greeting cards, singing, dancing and art etc. After these competitions, the children go out to the Middle School Field where a DJ is organized. Hundreds of people dance on the beats of the latest hit songs.
[edit] Panchtatwa : The EcoFest 2006
On October 12 2006, the Middle School boys of Class 8 hosted Panchtatwa, an Ecofest. Class 8 sections, under supervision of Mrs. Surbhi Vaid, put up various stalls depicting threats to the environment, biodiversity and importance of organic foods. There were a variety of folk dances on display. The School Band, under the supervision of Mr. McDonald Samuel performed the latest rock songs. Girls from the neighbouring school , Convent of Jesus and Mary visited the fest. As the fest coincided with the Middle School Reports Day, a lot of parents dropped in and had a look around.
[edit] Fun Fair 2006
On 25th November the Middle section is organising a fete called the Fun Fair 2006. Classes 8 and 9 are putting up game stalls with lots of prizes to be won. There is also going to be a lucky draw for which tickets have been sold by the students of class 4-10. This event promises to be a blast so please be present and HAVE FUN !!!
[edit] Senior School
The most majestic of buildings, the senior school building, when built, stood alone and housed the entire school. Today, the 11th and 12th classes are to be found here along with a library, science laboratories and the administration wing. On the first floor are the residences of the Christian Brothers.
[edit] Interact Club
The St. Columba's Interact Club is affiliated to the Rotary Club Chanakyapuri branch. The members of this club organize street plays , assemblies , etc. on human rights , child labour , environment conservation , drug abuse and many other topics. On 20th November 2006 The Interact Club will perform a street play on drug abuse in Tihar Jail. The Office Bearers for the year 2006-2007 are as follows: President - Jyotesh Singh: Vice President - Harsh: Secretary - Sidhant Khanijo: Treasurer - Shayuk: Board of Directors - Arjun Ravishankar, Unmesh Rajendran, Arhan Sibal
[edit] School Anthem
Chorus:
We sing praises of you St. Columba, Scholars of Columba's we, Dare to be wise always Sincere and constant we. This is our motto that guides us Through life eternally, This truth we learn in our days of youth Gives us strength in fraternity.
Para 1:
With glory glows the spirit of S.C.S. Marking all our efforts with true success And our Alma Mater seals us as a chosen band We all work together for the glory of our land.
Ch:
We sing praises of you St. Columba, Scholars of Columba's we, Dare to be wise always Sincere and constant we. This is our motto that guides us Through life eternally, This truth we learn in our days of youth Gives us strength in fraternity.
Para 2:
Pride in Carrying our banners of green and gold Banners that will lead us towards, all our goals Service to others and our nation's good We all come together in godly brotherhood.
Ch:
We sing praises of you St. Columba, Scholars of Columba's we, Dare to be wise always Sincere and constant we. This is our motto that guides us Through life eternally, This truth we learn in our days of youth Gives us strength in fraternity.
[edit] Alumni
The school's alumini is full of distinguished personalities in all fields imaginable like Shahrukh Khan, Deepak Chopra, Pramod Haque, Pallav Shinghal, Vivek Paul, Rahul Gandhi, Anil Shastri, DJ Cyrus, and Palash Sen, the lead singer of the band Euphoria.
External Links
- The Official School website
- Another (detailed but unofficial, last updated in 1998) website
- Old Columban Association website (regularly updated)
- St. Edmund's College, Shillong, Meghalaya website (regularly updated)
