Q: The school is celebrating its 150th anniversary next year. What has helped the institution attain its stature?
The principles of the school have made it what it is. We have a strong value system that we try to inculcate in our students and that has remained constant. The Christian ethos has also been important to our success. We believe in making our students good human beings first, just like all other religions do.
Q: What will you be doing to mark this milestone?
We will be doing things throughout the year. Like we do every year, this year too, we will try to introduce something new. We will bring out school memorabilia; hold performances and workshops of various kinds. Basically, we will be doing everything on a larger scale. Our alumni are also closely involved.
Q: Last year must have been difficult, given that so many from the school suffered from the 26/11 attacks?
It was a very hard time. We couldn’t comprehend why this was happening to us. About 13 or 14 families were affected, including students, their parents, teachers and ex-students.
We had an all-faiths singing session in December. After that, our teachers worked closely with a bunch of counsellors so that they could themselves come to terms with what had happened before speaking to the children about it. When the new academic year opened, we discussed it at length in class. It was a catharsis of a kind. We have all tried to deal with it and move on.