The Lourdite family celebrated Christmas on the 23rd of December 2015 at 8.00am in the School grounds. The programme began as the students of class XI Aakanksha Singh and Jeeth Suvarna welcomed the Manager of LCS Rev. Fr. Wilson Vitus D’Souza, our Principal Rev. Fr. Robert D’Souza, Vice Principal Mrs Belita Mascarenhas, all the teaching and non-teaching staff and all the Lourdites who were dressed in festive colours for the celebration. As the year 2015 comes to a close each of us have numerous things to be grateful to God for. To evoke his blessings students of Class XI danced gracefully, thanking the Lord for all that He had done for us and continues to do every day.
Our Principal Rev. Fr. Robert D’Souza addressed the gathering and shared with us his message of how God came down to us from heaven to save us because of His great love for us. None of us are strangers to the plight of our brethren in Chennai and other cities of Tamil Nadu. The floods have wreaked havoc in their lives, many having lost their lives, their loved ones, their homes, they have gone days without food, drinking water, shelter. They too like Mary and Joseph are seeking shelter, and are in need of our help. But just as Mary and Joseph found shelter in a manger, God’s embrace will shelter them. Echoing these words of hope and concern, the students of Class XI sang a thematic song in solidarity with the flood victims.
This was followed by a speech by Joyston D’Souza of Class XII who told the story of Christmas celebrations that took place in 1914 at the beginning of World War I bringing out the true significance of Christmas day. To tell the tale of how God sent his own son Jesus Christ to earth, to establish people’s faith in Him and the power of His love, Class XII students sang a song ‘Mary, did you know!’ that tell us of all the miracles Jesus did when he lived amongst us. This was followed by the Manager’s address, where he inspired us to imbibe in ourselves the peace, love and hope that Christmas brought with it.
To lighten the mood, the youngest members of the Lourdite family, children of the KG section, welcomed the new born King to our midst by performing Christmas carols. The students of Class XI then went on to depict the life of Jesus Christ and all the values He stood for in the form of a mime. The Christmas story tells us how Mary and Joseph welcomed the baby boy to their family. Christmas reminds us of how important family is to everyone of us. Christmas is the season where families come together, understanding each other. The Class XI students put up a short skit.
The 13th of November 2015 was a dark day in the history of the world as 130 people lost their lives in the Paris attack. The whole world was plunged into a state of mourning for all the souls that had been lost. This is just a reminder that the world is in a state of conflict, and that innocent blood is being spilled, and families torn apart. As a tribute to these innocent people the Class XI students dedicated a song , voicing the hope of millions that the birth of the Prince of Peace may bring about a change.
No Christmas programme is complete without Christmas carols. The Class XI students enthralled us with an array of Christmas carols, the audience joined in the songs, celebrating the arrival of Christmas. Just when everyone believed the programme to be over, along came our beloved Santa Claus, bringing with him sweets and distributing prizes to the students of the primary section. Thus the Christmas celebrations of LCS came to a befitting end.
Sthuthi Sadananda
Class XII A
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