2014 – 2015 was a great and memorable year in the Salesian Diary. It marked the celebration of the Bicentenary of the birth of our Founder and Father Don Bosco. All over the world the Salesians held various programmes to honour this great Saint who worked tirelessly for the young and abandoned youth.

At  Holy Child Auxilium ,R.K.Puram too, various activities were held to mark the 200^th birth anniversary of Don Bosco.   Every  class was assigned the task of conducting  the morning assembly . The children recited poems, read out thoughts, chanted slogans and sang songs in honour of the great saint.

A poster competition for the students of Class III, IV & V  and a colouring competition for Nursery, K.G , Class I  & II was organized . The children had to surf the internet and find out more about Don Bosco and draw or stick pictures of the saint. The best posters and art work were awarded certificates.

To culminate this great event a two day programme was planned out.  31^st July, 2015  was set aside for a prayer service, remembering what Don Bosco said, ‘All armies are useless unless assisted by God’ . A fun day for the tiny tots of Nursery  and K.G  was also held on this day.

The prayer service began with the lighting of the lamp by Sr.Lily P. the Superior, Sr. Asha  Kerketta the Headmistress and Sr. Alphonsa  the Adminstrator. The students of Class V then walked in dressed in their white uniform with colourful scarves which bore the Bicentenary Logo. They carried artistically designed paper candles to depict and portray the light of Don Bosco throughout the world. The children enacted the song “Carry Your Candle”. The children then offered their prayers to the Lord and invoked His blessings on all. This was followed by a well synchronized prayer dance to the tune of “Here I come to worship”.

A well decorated board depicting the Bicentenary Logo and thoughts of Don Bosco also adorned the ground.

Finally to end the Prayer service a vibrant celebration dance was performed by the children holding colourful pompoms. They danced to the tune of “We are the children of Don Bosco”.

Sr. Superior then spoke to the children thanking them for the marvellous performance and exhorted them to walk in the footsteps of our Great Founder.

The second day , 1^st August was a day of fun and frolic as the children were geared up for the much awaited “Don Bosco Mela” at the Junior school grounds.

An innovative venture by our Principal, Sr.Celine, to bring the Junior and Senior school together to organize and conduct various activities , bore fruit on this day as the teachers of both the schools collaborated to make the “Don Bosco mela” a grand success.

To begin with, the students of the Senior school presented a beautiful rendition of the song “ We are the World”.It was a joy to see the talent of the students as they played various instruments and sang melodiously, telling us that we have to make the world a better place by being sensitive to the poor and sick and helping those in need just as Our Founder, Don Bosco did.

Following this,  a spectacular enactment of one of the dreams of Don Bosco was made by the students of Class XI. The students of the Junior school watched with rapt attention as the dream unfolded beautifully.

This dreams showcased the love Don Bosco had for his Heavenly Mother and how every moment of his life, our Lady played a stellar role in driving Don Bosco towards the realization of his dream.

Sr.Lily then thanked the Senior School Teachers and Students for their wonderful performance and then formally declared the “Don Bosco Mela” open.

The mela had many stalls which dished out tasty and yummy food for the little ones . Game stalls were also put up where the children tested their skills and won prizes. The lucky dip and the accessories stall was also a crowd puller. After enjoying the eats the children cooled themselves at the ice cream stall. There was also a Dance floor where the children danced to their heart’s content to various English and Bollywood tunes.

The day was enjoyed thoroughly by the sisters, teachers and students.

Indeed it was a celebration which made the bicentenary of our founder a memorable one. And with this grand finale, Holy Child Auxilium, R.K.Puram drew the curtains to the celebrations of the Bicentenary of the birth of Don Bosco keeping in mind his precious message, “Jump, play, run, shout but do not sin”.

Ms.Paula Fernandes