The Report of Spoken English Course at Pethapur
April 5th to 25th, 2015
The Gandhinagar
Archdiocese organized the Spoken English Course from 5th to 25th
April for the students who have just completed their 10th and 12th
Standard. Totally forty nine students -
21 boys and 28 girls - from eight different parishes have benefited from this
course. His Grace Archbishop Stanislaus Fernandes inaugurated the course with
the celebration of the Holy Eucharist on 6th April. In order to
check the English knowledge of each student an entrance test was conducted and
according to their performance the students were divided into three
classes. The classes were named after
the three latest Indian saints St. Kuriakose Chavra, St. Euphrasia and St.
Joseph Vaz. There were six teaching staff members - 4 Brothers and 2 Sisters -
under the inspiring leadership of Fr. Xavier James who guided the students
throughout the programme. Each class was
taken care by 2 staff members. They were Srs. Sherly, Dipti, Brs. Prabu,
Dominic, Sugesh and Naiman.
The students began the
day with the Morning Prayer followed by the Holy Eucharist. Every evening they
had singing practice followed by the recitation of the holy Rosary where they
took active part in praising and thanking the Lord. They had 5 classes per day
for learning Basic English Grammar.
Apart from learning English, much importance was given to the faith
formation; some basic knowledge about the Holy Bible, Sacraments, Eucharist,
The precepts of the Church, The Ten commandments, The Seven Steps of praying
the Word of God were part of their curriculum. The students were also inspired
by the sharing of the vocation journey by the brothers and sisters.
Every alternative
evening the students put up beautiful cultural programme in English which
helped them to grow in their self confidence and also to recognize their hidden
talents. In order to make the process of learning English more interesting the
students had creative classes every afternoon in which they participated in the
active learning in their respective groups. In order to see the progress of
each student weekly tests were conducted and the weaker students were given
special attention. The evening time was allotted for sports and games. On 19th April the children were
taken to a park in sector 28 where students relaxed and enjoyed togetherness
with each other’s company. Making English as the compulsory medium of language
for prayers, Holy Eucharist and cultural programme gave them the atmosphere of
English. The students were encouraged by
the Fathers, Brothers and Sisters to communicate only in English.
The highlight of the
course was on 24th April with a colorful cultural evening. The
Archbishop graced the occasion with his presence and encouraged the students to
continue to learn English and to practice the values taught during the course.
The programme was well prepared with the help of Brothers and Sisters. Everyone who witnessed the programme enjoyed
and appreciated the children for their wonderful performance. On 25th
morning with the celebration of the Holy Eucharist the course had come to an
end. (Br Dominic Savio)
