A gesture of entrustment to Mary Help of Christians
Procession to the Chapel with a lighted candle
Gesture of handing over the animation of the community
A seminar on SCC was conducted by Rev. Fr. Jagdish Parmer on 8th June 2016 at St. Mary’s Convent Kurseong. 34 sisters took part in the seminar. Fr. Jagdish presented to the participants the brief history of SCC, gave valuable points on how to visit the families, made to understand with clarity the method to conduct faith sharing in SCC groups, inculcated interest and love to form SCC groups and encouraged to take active participation in SCC.
The Annual Spiritual Retreat started with the message of Provincial Sr. Rose Ezarath on 31st May at Auxilium Kurseong. She wished the 33 participants to have a desire of loving God in the heart, wisdom in the mouth and Holy Spirit in actions. At 6.00 p.m. the Holy Eucharist was presided over by the preacher, Fr. Varghese Chittilappilly SDB, the Rector of Don Bosco School, Dimapur. It was the feast of the visitation of our Blessed Lady to St. Elizabeth. So Fr. Varghese wished us to meet the Lord in haste like our Blessed Mother.
During the retreat the preacher dealt with various topics such as; Eucharistic person, religious as a prophet, ongoing formation, community living, vocation, evangelization, vows, and consecrated life. He also took an extract from the meeting of the entire superior general from all the continents in 2004. In it he commented on the theme that was taken, “Passion for Christ and Passion for humanity” and also the three icons, the Transfiguration, Samaritan woman and Good Samaritan.
He stressed the need to stay always in the upper room rather than down stairs and not send baggage of negativity before the person reaches to her community. When he brought out the example of the fig tree in the gospel, he urged the participants to bear fruit in season and out of season. All the retareatants took active part in the whole day’s programmes and spent quality time during the expositions of the Blessed Sacraments and other moments.
Provincial during her good night talks touched on the Constitution particularly prayer and community life. She often referred to the spirit of Mornese exhorting to imitate Don Bosco and Mother Mazzarello. She expressed her dream of living as sisters and invited everyone to love everybody in the community and make it a home, which will make us responsible sisters in the apostolate.
At the end of the retreat the following commitments were taken:To be constant, faithful and diligent to personal prayer. To be gentle, kind, prudent and appreciate one another in our dealings. To be Joyful, active and vigilant presence among the young.
On the 7th morning all the sisters went for pilgrimage to the Immaculate Conception Cathedral, Darjeeling. They thanked the Lord for all the graces received and prayed for various intentions and received plenary indulgence.
In an emotional atmosphere the students, staff and management of the school bid adieu to our dear Superior Sr. Teresa Ruben, on 20th May, 2016, at H. C. Auxilium School campus. The programme commenced with felicitating the Superior with bouquet of flowers and cards wishing her good luck.
The school Head girl,in her nostalgic speech, expressed her sincere and heartfelt thanks on behalf of the school for Superior’s selfless service rendered to the institution.
A beautiful self-composed poem was recited by Feba Bovas of class IX. This was followed by a melodious song sung by the school choir. Superior Sr. Ruben then addressed the gathering, expressing her love and affection towards us and all her time spent in the school. The programme concluded with a thanksgiving speech by the school vice head girl.
Self Composed Poem by Feba Bovas
When I sat down to write this poem
I found myself in a dilemma
A dilemma of whether I should portray you
Differently than your image in my head.
Now don’t get offended
For I was utterly confused at this matter so trifling
Because as far back as I could remember your face here,
I remembered it smiling.
Smiling through speeches ,programs , songs, and dances
And if I dare say so, sometimes even through your rare scoldings.
So then, should I have taken my chances?
But then I think I’ll just stick with a simple ”Thank You”.
Thank you for being here for us
Ever ready to help in every step of the way.
Thank you for steering and guiding us
When we went hopelessly astray.
Thank you for every single thing that you did throughout your stay,
Thank you for all the hope and encouragement you threw our wayward way.
I could say it in a hundred different ways;
‘gracias’ in Spanish,the French ‘ Je Vous remercie’ or the Arabic ‘ shukran’
But I shall just stick to the simple and the known,
Words often spoken yet seldom understood ‘Thank you’.
I say this for you seemed to understand
And I assure you; all I say is true.
And what I have to say is just one final, tiny thing
Thank you, for being you.
– Feba Bovas
On 10th May, 2016 H.C.Auxilium Vasant Vihar celebrated the feast of St. Mary Mazzarello. The programme commenced with a welcome speech by the Mazzarello House captain, highlighting various aspects of the saint’s life. Then was a floral tribute to St. Mary Mazzarello was given by all the teachers and sisters. This was followed by a prayer dance and a prayer to St. Mary Mazzarello to bless everyone .A PowerPoint presentation was also presented on St. Mary Mazzarello’s life which she had devoted towards serving God and His children. Then was a prayer song sung by the Mazzarello House members followed by a thanksgiving speech by the Mazzarello House vice captain. The programme came to an end with magnificent speech by Vice Principal, Sr. Karuna Kanchan.
On 7th May, 2016 feast of St. Dominic Savio’s was celebrated in the H.C.Auxilium Vasant Vihar. The programme commenced with a welcome speech by the Savio House captain, highlighting various aspects of the saint’s life.
This was followed by a PowerPoint presentation on St. Dominic Savio’s life, which he had devoted to God’s service and followed the motto: “DEATH RATHER THAN SIN”. There was a skit depicting St. John Bosco’s description of St. Dominic Savio’s life, and his motto which he kept up to till his death. It was followed by a melodious prayer song sung by the Savio House members which was followed by a thanksgiving speech by Savio House vice captain and secretary.
The programme came to an end with an inspiring speech by Principal Sr. Celina A.
Parenting is a joy, it’s a blessing but it’s a very big responsibility too. The aim of every good parent is to ensure their children grow up into good citizens and good human beings.
A seminar was organised at H.C. Auxilium Vasant Vihar by Bharti Bhawan Publishers and Distributers on the 6th and 7th May 2016 from 6:00 pm- 8:00 pm for the parents of classes VI- XII. The enriching session was conducted by a skilled and professional school headmistress, life skills trainer and motivational speaker Mrs.Renu Vashishta.
The seminar was very interactive and gave an insight to the parents on the various ways to deal with children of different age groups and the different dimensions and complexities faced by the children and parents, such as ; ‘Be truthful to yourself, use affirmation technique, spend quality time with family, be friends not dictators, etc. The seminar consisted of a meditating session which helped the parents to find their inner-selves. It’s also consisted of various prayer songs and motivating quotes. A token of appreciation was presented to the esteemed guest by our Principal, Sr.Celine.
The workers day celebrations were held in the H.C. Auxilium school auditorium on May 6, 2016 to recognize the importance of all the workers in the school and thank them for all that they do. The celebrations began with Holy Mass presided over by Fr. Prasad George from St. Dominic’s Church. The Programme was followed by welcome speech, and a beautiful and graceful dance by the school students. Then was the recital of a thoughtful self composed poem by a teacher Mrs. Neeraj Jain and Tanika Bisht a student. The exciting game of musical chairs was conducted by the students in which all the workers participated sportingly and the winners of the game also got prizes. Addressing speech was given by Mr. Ramesh where he praised all the students for their efforts and gave his best wishes to them. The programme was concluded by the school vice head girl thanking all the workers for their efforts in making our school what it is today.
The Leadership camp, titled ‘youth for transformation’ organized by EDUMEDYM, the three sectors of education, Media and youth ministry was held at St. Anthony’s high School, Jaigaon from 15th -18th May 2016. The camp YFT (youth for transformation) was participated by five Auxilium schools namely, Bandel, Barsat, Dum Dum, New Chumta and St. Anthony’s Jaigaon. St. Anthony’s school sisters, staff and students accorded a warm welcome to the four school participants and all felt at home in the calm and pleasant ambient surrounded by the enchanting Bhutan hills.
The YFT leadership camp commenced with the inaugural ceremony at 5 p.m with welcome ceremony of the chief guest Fr. Philip Tor and the Edumedym organizers and the participants by the host school, St. Anthony’s Jaigaon. The programme continued with welcome song and a mesmerizing Nepali dance. Fr. Philip in his speech highlighted the importance of silence, Synchronization, positive outlook and God centeredness in the life of a leader. The ceremony concluded with AYM anthem sung by the Auxilium school Dum Dum.
At six p.m. Sr. Stella addressed the participants on the camp schedule , discipline and criteria for the selection of the best school, group and best camper. After the tea break the teacher coordinators of Bandel conducted the ice breaking session and after the know of each other they were delegated to 5 groups. At 7.30 p.m. the participants were led into prayer moment by Auxilium School Barasat on the theme of the camp.After supper at 9 a.m. all assembled to witness the cultural show on the theme ‘youth for transformation’. All the five schools depicted the theme with lot of creativity through dances, enactment and songs and it was tough for the jury to decide the best. The day came to an end with a short night prayer recalling all the blessings experienced throughout the day.
The second day of the camp commenced with a prayer session conducted by Auxilium Dum Dum on the theme Trust in God. At 9.a.m – Session on the theme was delivered by Sr. Stella the coordinator for education. Through pertinent videos she brought out the qualities of a transformational leader as chrisma, social responsibility defined through a video on Naryanan Krishnan who sacrificed his life for feeding the downtrodden, shared vision, inspirational, motivational, influential, overcoming obstacle, fighting against social evils defined through video on Anuradha Koirola from Nepal who campaigned against human trafficking and saved 12,000 women and girls, integrity, intellectual stimulation, individual consideration, developing potential, silence, proactive, and god oriented. The session ended with the video on Mahatma Gandhi as transformational leader.
This session followed by group dynamics where the five groups presented the name of the group with novelty and the names presented being prism, Jurevos, Satyagraha , Ray and Army of God. After tea break time was set aside for preparation for the camp fire in groups. After lunch at 1.15 p.m. the teacher coordinators organized amusing games for the campers like bombing the city, bursting the balloons and the Edumedym organizers conducted a game for the teacher coordinators ,’Save yours and pull off others tails”. At 2.30 a.m. Fr. Alfred Paul SDB took the stage to enlighten the students on leadership and he commenced with a preamble, his experience at Ashalyam a home for street children. He continued the session with the video on the ‘power of the dream’ and enforced his message with the song “We shall overcome” singing it in five languages. He concluded the session with the song ‘Tell me Why?’ a mind steering theme on social issues by is a singleby English singer Declan Galbraith.The second session of the afternoon was a group discussion on the following ,’Things that can be achieved if you pursue your goal’ and presentation on the same. For the rest of the session Fr. Alfred drew the attention of the participants on the following factor,’ The mysterious talent’. The session ended with the song by Declan, ‘The dream of my life” At 7 a.m. Auxilium New Chumta led the group into prayer paying homage to our blessed Mother. At 9. Am. the much awaited campfire commenced with the five group leaders coming from five corners with lighted torches with a message to light the camp fire. As flame gained momentum the campers sang camp fire is burning draw nearer, dancing in circles. It was continued with group competitions like comic and western dance. The competitions were interspersed and peppered with mimicries, amusing claps conducted by Fr. Alfred. The campfire came to finishing lines with announcement of results, short good night and night prayers.
17th May commenced with a prayer conducted by Auxilium convent school Bandel with inspirational videos, song and reading from various Holy Scriptures.Sr. Elizabeth Valliyil the coordinator for Media the moderator of the second day gave an enlightening introduction and briefed on the procedures of the day. The 9 a.m. session by Fr. Alfred Paul stressed that in order to be a leader, one has to choose the last place that is a servant leader imitating Jesus. In the 10.30 a.m. session he highlighted that a leader has not to give up in pursuing his goal whatever may be the obstacles presenting videos on the lives of Nick Vujiicic and Jessica Cox two handicapped personalities who reached heights of success in spite of physical impediments. Through the game of crocodile Fr. Alfred taught us lessons on real life – the fittest survive although all wish to win. From 1.15 p.m. the groups were given time to prepare for folk dance and unconventional orchestra competitions. At 2.30 p.m all gathered in the hall for an interesting panel discussion of the role of youth in today’s scenario captained by Sr. Ester Rani Abraham, the coordinator of Youth Ministry. The speaker from Auxilium Bandel spoke on the topic Youth instruments of peace, Auxilium Barasat spoke on,‘Youth messengers of mercy,’ Auxilium Dum Dum highlighted how youth could become the voice of the voiceless, St. Anthony’s Jaigaon delineated that the role of youth as nation builders and Auxilium New Chumta spoke in vernacular on the theme ‘youth as catalyst of social change’. After the panel discussion Auxilium Dum Dum expressed their deep gratitude to Fr. Alfred Paul SDB, the resource person.
4.30 p.m. groups engaged in preparing the action plan and pledge which were later synthesised and made into one . At 7.15 p.m. the participants were led into the well set chapel for the Taize’ prayer. Each entered with lit candle as a symbol of offering oneself to God in procession and placed them in the containers. The well set chapel, the repetitive songs, reflections , psalms helped each one to have a deep encounter with God. After supper was the most interesting night show the competition of folk dance and unconventional orchestra. Though the items were prepared in groups with a short span of time the performances were superb and astounding. The interesting day completed with a short night prayer resonated with thanksgiving for all the wonderful experiences . 18th May was a very exciting day as it was a day scheduled for outing . The day began with the morning prayer steered by Auxilium New Chumta on the theme put your trust in God. The prayer came to its close with the song , ‘you rise me up’ and with soul searching question, Is it possible to live a God centred life? After the breakfast all gathered in front of the Sisters residence to be instructed on the agenda of the day and boarded the two buses. The buses stopped at the Bhutan gate and the students were extremely excited to enter the portals of another world – the foreign land. The students were allotted 1 hour to explore and do marketing. They boarded the buses and proceeded through winding mountains and reached old Gumba, the Buddist monastery. The scenic beauty of Bhutan and mesmerizing view of Jaigaon from the top was anenthralling site. The students were then treated with Chou mean and cold drinks. After an exciting games at the mountainous field the campers proceed to the crocodile park. The garials, crocodiles and tortoise were all is siesta mood and looked like rocks in their position. But a few moved their snouts and others swam to give pleasure to the participants. The participants were grateful to Sr. Makil who organized the outing with the help of Jaigaon community. At 5.30 a.m. they gathered in groups to prepare for the night homage to Salesian saints and thanksgiving ceremony school wise. The prayer at 7.30 p.m. carried out by Barasat was a thanksgiving prayer through event photos and a contemporary duet dance. After supper each group paid homage with lots of creativity through self- composed prayer, songs and dance to Mother Mary, Don Bosco, Mary Mazzarello, Dominic Savio and Laura Vicuna placed on decorated pedestals. This was followed by the prize distribution for the various competitions and activities held both at school and group level coordinated by Sr. Rosy Veliyan , the Media Coordinator. The best camper boy prize was awarded to Ritwick Majumdar from Auxilium Barasat and Best camper girl was awarded to Ms. Suzanna Sharma of St. Anthony’s Jaigoan. The best group award went to Group one and runner up was Group 3. The best school trophy was coveted by Auxilium Barasat and the runner up school was again St. Anthony’s Jaigaon. The day ebbed to its close with the thanksgiving ceremony to various groups by different schools and the pledge taking ceremony. Thus the leadership camp, Youth for transformation drew down its curtains imprinting indelible memories in the heart of each participant.
The Edumedym coordinators will remain ever grateful to Sr. Lily D’Souza and her community members who left no stone unturned to make this event an impressive and extraordinary event through their 24×7 moment availability, generosity and cheerful dispositions. May the Lord bless them with unending blessings and make their apostolic endeavours flourish for the glory of God.
A summer camp was held at Auxilium, Dum Dum as soon as the summer holidays began. It was conducted by Mr. Cha Jihwan, Director, International Youth Fellowship ( IYF) of Kolkata. It was scheduled for three days, our students 185 of them from classes 3-8 participated in it. The Director of the camp Mr. Cha Jiwan and his team of 16 members of IYF, offered an exciting combination of International development programme for our children.
The International Youth Fellowship is a worldwide youth organization formed in South Korea by prominent people from different fields and levels in order to develop mindsets for the upcoming generation. Mr. Cha Jiwan through his lecture, and video clips focused on providing the growing kids strong minds, capable of overcoming whatever hardship they face in life and become the leaders of the next generation. The dances and other interactive sessions enabled our children for a global cultural exchange with each other in particular with their friends. Another creative and fun filled enjoyment for them was the activities conducted for different classes by the team. The activities they participated were mini Olympics, folk dance, taekwondo class, (karate) Korean cultural dances and language and painting. The participants grabbed every opportunity to explore new learning, and enjoyed self- expression. Through these activities the IYF team guided the participants to acquire a healthy mind and a benign heart.
Veronica Adhikary one of the students of class 8 thanked the Director and the IYF team, on behalf of all the participants, and also expressed words of appreciation to Sr. Superior and Sr. Principal for providing them with wonderful opportunity and the vice Principal for her constant presence with them. The participants said, “ We have enjoyed a lot and we have become courageous to face little problems, and will always treasure the theme the three “C”s Challenge, Change, Cohesion”.
The organizers appreciated the whole hearted cooperation of the students who were so happy and enthusiastic always and the assistance of the sisters and teachers who were there to guide them. The IYF team sincerely esteemed the effort and co-operation of Auxilium family in making this camp a successful one.
Sr. Jancy Valliyil
FMA INC News Update 