School celebrates 100 years with music

This weekend, Byculla will resound with the sound of music.

On the occasion of its centenary year celebrations, Convent of Mary and Jesus’s St Agnes School, one of city’s oldest girls’ schools, hosted an audio-visual musical showcasing the potential of a girl child on Friday.

Composed by Father Charles Vaz, over 500 students participated in the concert, Amar Prem, which narrates the life and deeds of the school’s patron saint, St Agnes.

The musical will also be held for the public on the school premises on Saturday and Sunday.

Sr Louisa D’mello, principal, said: “We are grateful to Fr Charles for accepting our request to celebrate this event in such an extraordinary way. There couldn’t be a better plot for Amar Prem than the life story of St Agnes, which in present times makes for an interesting re-telling. Emphasising the values and the determination that every girl child is blessed with, the story of St Agnes is a story with a powerful message.”

Started by missionaries of the Convent Jesus and Mary in 1912, St Agnes in its initial years housed two schools under the same banner — one affiliated to the Council for Indian School Certificate Examination and the other to the state board.

In the early 1970s, both schools were merged into a government-aided state board school. At present, around 2,000 girls study in the school. In 1992, the school opened its doors for special students too.

St Ignatius School, which adjoins St Ignatius Church in Byculla, too, will mark 100 years in 2014.

The co-educational school started as a small shed with a primary section is now a full-fledged building.

In the 1970s, a corridor was built in the school for teachers so that they do not have to go through classrooms to reach their class.