by Father Godfrey D'Sa
MUMBAI, NOV 10, 2017: It was 1917. A time for New Beginnings, New Hope! World War I was drawing to a close. The freedom movement in India was 
gathering momentum. The slogan "Swaraj is my birthright" filled the air and the minds of Indians. Wadala then was a cluster of villages in the midst of marshy fields and salt pans. Cut off from the main stay of social action, it afforded a mundane existence to the folks, whose only thought was to put food on the table.
It was in such surroundings that Father Domingo DeSa ventured to sow a seed. With one teacher and two others, he started two elementary classes for the few boys and girls he had gathered together in a dingy little room close to the then chapel of Our Lady of Dolours. It was the best Father DeSa could do for his people. He could not visualize that the seed sown with so much love would, in God's own time, grow into a huge tree which would nurture the hearts and minds of generations of youth.
It had been an uphill task from the beginning, and Father DeSa's successors looked after the tender sapling with devotion and care with few resources at their disposal. He was ably succeeded by Father Jose Pereira (1918-20), Father Gerrmaine D'Annunceao (1920-22), Father Amarel D'Andrade (1922-23), Father J.E. Fernandes (1923-24), Father Felix Almeida (1924-1930) and Father Peter P. D'Mello (1934-35). The beginnings were indeed a tough proposition for the Principals. There was pretty little they could do to improve the extremely unsatisfactory conditions. The youngsters came from the poorer sections of society and the parents had very little to offer the so called school by way of contributions or the follow up of their children.
A break came in 1937; Father Augusto Fernandes, who was appointed both Parish Priest and Principal at St. Joseph's School, crossed a great hurdle, when he was able to procure for the school, the recognition from the Bombay Improvement Trust (later the Bombay Municipal Corporation) as an aided English-medium primary school. The strength of the small school then was 175 students.
The school celebrated its Silver Jubilee in 1942, but with not much to show by way of a well-established and neatly housed institution. However, it could celebrate a heart-warming effort to reach out to the educational and other needs of its humble students.
Meanwhile the pressure for better accommodation was steadily mounting, and steps needed to be taken urgently to remedy the situation. Only in 1943 could the enterprising Father Augusto move into this matter and secure a piece of land with a shed. This was on lease from the Municipality, and was in the vicinity of the Church compound. With some alterations and improvements, the shed was converted into classrooms and Class V was added to the existing classes. The relief provided by the increase in accommodation was of course negligible as the number of students had risen to 368 and comprised both boys and girls. Two years later, the school was recognised as a Municipal-Aided Middle School.
THE SALESIAN SISTERS STEP IN
On 28 January 1946, at the invitation of Father Balaquer S.J., the Vicar General of Bombay, the newly appointed Salesian Sisters' Provincial, Mother Teresa Merlo and Sister Luigina Appiano arrived in Bombay to finalise the formalities for the proposed foundation for the sisters at Wadala, and to get to know the school that was to be temporarily entrusted to them.
They discovered that St. Joseph's School was a well-attended mixed school although the premises and the infrastructure were woefully poor and inadequate. One glance at the school made them aware of its precarious situation. There were four classes in a long tin shed with stone and mud flooring; another two in a smaller shed with a dilapidated roof; one in the portico in front of the church; another in the corridor flanking the church and yet another in the choir loft. The rest of the four classes were spread out in various poorly ventilated dark rooms.
On 1 June 1946, Sister Eugenia Versino (Principal), took charge of the school. The students, much older for their classes, were mostly from poor Catholic and other families from the surrounding villages. The sisters set about establishing a system and routine in the school. Soon there were two school inspections in January and August 1947. The Inspectors were quite impressed with the performance and the discipline of the children, but made insistent recommendations for the urgent repairs to the tin shed and the roof. The Salesian Sisters, having acquired a plot of land for their future school, would give up the administration of St. Joseph's at the end of the scholastic year in 1948.
SALESIANS OF DON BOSCO TAKE CHARGE
The year 1947-48 was a turning point in the history of the school. In that year of India's Independence, the management of the school was taken over by the Salesians of Don Bosco On April 12, 1948, the Salesian Provincial Msgr. Jose Carreño along with Father Edward Rego, visited the school brimming with pupils, and realised the need for the expansion of the building.
At the beginning of June 1948, the school administration passed over from the Archdiocese to the Salesian Congregation. Father Edward Rego and Father P Sprattwere appointed Principal and vice-principal respectively.
When the Salesians took over, many of the pre-primary and primary classes were conducted in the then Parish House (in what constitutes the present meeting rooms of the parish). The dynamic and visionary Father Rego had a few key objectives: to build a good structure to convert St. Joseph's into a High School, to acquire educational aids needed for the school, and to secure government recognition. Father Rego quickly drew up plans for a new school building, and engaged the services of a budding and upcoming architect C S K Raj to realise his ambitious vision. He used his good public relations skills to garner the necessary resources.
CONSOLIDATION
Undaunted by the magnitude of the challenge and the odds that came by, Father Rego, with his staff, went from door to door soliciting donations and loans. Rebuffs were many, but these only urged him on to greater effort. After years of struggle, his dream began to take shape. In 1952, G.N. Desai, the Mayor of Bombay, laid the foundation stone of the new school building. The following year the number of students reached the 800 mark, and classes VIII and IX were introduced. Mention must be made that the institution played host to a large number of refugees from North India.
There was of course no relaxing the quest for funds. As the building steadily took shape, the demand for finance grew by leaps and bounds. The campaign for loans and donations intensified. Many people responded favourably, and a number of commercial firms contributed through advertisements in the school publications. Some of the notable contributors to this cause were the Mayor of Bombay, Prem Ahula of Universal Motors, Kothari and Vijaymal Sandh from Birla Industries, Bany Talwar from Famous Cine Studios, Ignatius D'Cruz from Films Division, film stars like Raj Kapoor, Shammi Kapoor and Shashi Kapoor, Mathura of Khalsa College, the reputed builder Pupala.
King Kong, the famed wrestler gave charity shows on the school grounds and at the St. Xavier's sports ground. Raj Kapoor put up a "Boot Polish" performance on the church grounds. Frank De Santacruz and Victor Michael D'Cruz put up Hindi and Marathi performances at Damodar hall. Father Aurelius Maschio and the Salesians contributed a great deal to the project of the construction of the school building.
The new building, a single storied structure with spacious class rooms, a science laboratory and a fully equipped auditorium, all facing the Nathalal Parekh Marg, was declared open in 1954 by the late Msgr V Dyer, then Vicar-General of Bombay. Architect C S K Raj handled this project with great dexterity. A special feature of the building was the provision for a lift, the first of its kind for any school in Mumbai.
The next step was to obtain official recognition from the government. This called for much streamlining: the staff was reorganised; recruitment was restricted to qualified and experienced personnel; curricular and extra-curricular activities prescribed by the Education Department were introduced; and necessary maps, charts and other educational aids had to be acquired. The recognition from the government eventually came in 1954. In 1955 St. Joseph High School sent its first batch of 28 students for the Government Secondary School Certificate (SSC) examinations; 27 candidates returned successful, much in answer to the prayers and the hard work put in by the staff. St. Joseph's had taken its first bow in a spectacular fashion and it is gratifying to note that the reputation has since then been assiduously maintained down the years.
Another notable shift in the pattern of education at St. Joseph's occurred in June 1955, when the Salesian Sisters commenced the Auxilium School, an all-girls school in the neighbourhood. St. Joseph's High School, which up until now, was a co-educational institution, was converted into an exclusive boys school. The fast pace of Wadala's development had an impact on the school. With an increasing number of people taking up residence in the area, the demand for admissions increased. The new school building, spacious though it was, was no longer adequate and in 1959 an additional floor was built.
The year 1960 saw Father Edward Rego leave for his new assignment to Madras, and Father Eleutherius Fernandes took over as Parish Priest and Principal of the school. With the help of his able and energetic aide, Father A F Perez, Father Fernandes creditably guided the school. The accommodation situation continued to be unsatisfactory; classes were held in the portico and the side wings of the church.
THE GOLDEN ERA
In May 1962, Father Victor D'Souza was appointed vice-principal. With his coming, began a new chapter in the development of the school. The neat and streamlined new wing of the building stands as an eloquent tribute to his vision and zeal. The foundation stone for the extension was laid by Bishop Longinus Pereira in 1963. Within a year the whole structure costing over rupees five lakhs - through generous donations and sponsorships - was completed, and the students moved into the classrooms by June 1964.
June 1966 witnessed a radical change in the management of the school. Departing from the past practice of combining the offices of Principal and Parish Priest, the superiors appointed an independent Principal in the person of Father Joseph Menezes; Father Fernandes continued as Parish Priest and Father Victor D'Souza as Vice-Principal.
Under the stewardship of Father Menezes, who devoted his every waking moment to the mission entrusted to him, the school continued to make rapid progress towards the goal of providing ideal conditions for the all-round education and upliftment of the young. Nearly 1,500 boys were now seeking the light of knowledge under its roof.
The progress at St. Joseph's should not to be assessed merely in terms of construction of stone walls, acquisition of equipment and increase in the student population. Far from it! Under the able guidance of Father Jos Menezes, St. Joseph's established an enviable academic record: it consistently secured a very high percentage of successes at the SCC examinations; many students secured creditable ranks; in 1963, Rajiv Arora, stood first among the candidates of Bombay city. In 1967, the Golden Jubilee of the school, the school secured 100% success at the SCC exams: all the 69 students passed with flying colors.
St. Joseph's has always laid stress on all-round formation: academics, discipline and moral formation, extra-curricular activities. The Poor Boys' Fund, Students' Saving Bank, Art and Literary circles, Junior Red Cross, Boy Scouts and Cubs, Civic Committee, Traffic Patrol, Medical Unit, Science Club, Philatelic Club, Social Service League, supervised evening study classes were some activities that became part of the set up at St. Joseph's High School.
Sports also found a prominent place in the programme of activities. Inter-class and inter-house competitions, indoor and outdoor games were regularly organised. Some of our students represented Maharashtra state in table tennis and basket-ball. Father Jos Menezes also began the Past Pupils' Association and the Parent-Teacher Association (PTA) both of which made major efforts to collect funds for the many activities and programmes held in the Jubilee year.
Father Menezes moved over to South India in 1968 and Father Cedric Bout took over as Principal, for a short time. He was followed by Father John Samala. 14 November 1973 saw the inauguration of the Children's Park, sponsored by the PTA. On 2 February 1974, S V Jog inaugurated the 'Sanchayika' and handed over charge to the boys to run their own bank. The school band was also formed and coaching facilities in indoor and outdoor games were enhanced. The Poor Boys Fund scheme was initiated and through this several students were offered a mid-day meal. The Past Pupils Association was reorganised in 1973 through the efforts of Father John Samala and gained steam when Father Desmond Paes took over the reins in 1975. An ace musician himself, he nurtured the musical and singing talents of the students in the school and in the parish. He also laid great stress on training the students for elocution competitions.
In 1976, the school felt the need of having a separate building for the pre-primary section. The Salesians had a plot of land across the road and a one storey block came up and was completed within a year. The pre-primary section then relocated to their new classrooms in this block. A few years later, there were administrative issues with the pre-primary being a separate entity from the main school building. Hence it was once again amalgamated with the main building in 1987. The building, now empty, was dedicated to the work for street children and was christened Shelter Don Bosco. It was the Centenary project of the Mumbai Province, in 1988, to commemorate the Death Anniversary of Don Bosco.
Shelter Don Bosco was a notable addition to St. Joseph's colourful history, with Father Bosco Pereira and Father Raphael Lobo at the helm of affairs. This was almost an extension of the school as the students carried out their social responsibility through interacting with the street children.
A musical nite at the Shanmukananda Hall was the hallmark of the celebrations to commemorate this Diamond Jubilee of the school. Father Desmond Paes at the helm of affairs (1975-78) was responsible for the celebrations. With Father Jos Menezes back again in the saddle in 1978, St. Joseph's had an audio-visual hall and a well-equipped library cum lunch room set up in 1979. The Staff Bonus Fund was also introduced by him to encourage the teachers.
In 1983, there was a change in the management. Father Adolph Furtado was appointed Principal and Headmaster. During his tenure, St. Joseph's entered the world of computers in 1985, having its own sets of computers. A full-fledged activity room to facilitate play-way and activity based methods were introduced in the kindergarten. New methods of learning from Std I to IV were also set up. Karate was introduced under the guidance of a special coach and boys were trained in table tennis by the Senior National Champion Kamlesh Mehta, a past student of the school.
In 1987, Father Corlis Gonsalves took over as Principal and Headmaster. The all-round development of the child being the need of the time, St. Joseph's now had a variety of activities like yoga, swimming, speech and drama etc. for all the boys from kindergarten to class ten. He was the first one to put up a musical as part of the annual day celebrations in the school, and continued to stage musicals for the occasion every year. He began the Open Schooling along with Freida D'Souza, a parishioner and Salesian Cooperator, to cater to school dropouts.
ST. JOSEPH MARCHES ON
Father Egidius Falcao took over in June 1991. Under his dynamic guidance the Platinum Jubilee Year was ushered in with the lighting of the Platinum Lamp in 1991. St. Joseph's had a new look – a new computer hall, a new audio-visual hall, the renovated laboratory and the beautiful façade for the school hall. The Jubilee celebrations were held on December 18 and 19. The past-pupils played a big role in celebrating this event. The highlight of the celebrations was the participation of all the students in the annual day celebration that had songs and dances based on the school, their love for the school and teachers and their own life. The finale ended with a song sung by the staff and students pledging their love and loyalty to the school.
With Father Vivian D'Souza taking over as Principal in 1994, a great deal of emphasis was laid on value education. Following the directives of the Education department, the zero period was introduced every morning at the start of the school with a 20-minute value education program. Father D'Souza reorganised the library, took a keen interest in sports coaching, and in the organisation of the sports festival. Together with the senior teachers, the school parliament was introduced - the school leaders took up disciplinary matters, and meted out admonitions in their own creative way. Counselling facilities were also introduced as a part time service and students with learning disabilities were identified.
Father Donald Fernandez who stepped into St. Joseph's in 1998 implemented several innovative projects namely weekly sports activity, wherein the students could participate in outdoor or indoor games, during the last hour every Friday afternoon; the Sports Festival was made more participative; exhibitions in science, art and craft and social studies were held on a regular basis and activities aimed at identifying and developing the child's potential in fine arts, nature and sports were initiated. He revived the past pupils movement with the young past-pupils called the "GEX" group.
St. Joseph High School, under the guidance of Father Anthony Pinto, who assumed the office of Principal in 2002, took great strides in the field of academics, cultural and sports activities. Father Pinto streamlined the infrastructure in the school: completed the repairs and painting of the school, improved conditions on the basketball court, the activity room, created cabins for the administration staff, installed a lift to assist the physically challenged students, created lawns on the playground, and introduced sports activity for the primary students as well.
A keen lover of nature, he took great pains to keep the playgrounds green and introduce vermiculture. After a gap of several years the school won laurels in basketball, football, handball, gymnastics, table-tennis and chess. Special coaches in these games were appointed and a good follow-up was set in place. Towards the end of his tenure, in June 2008, Nicole Britto took over as the Headmistress of the School.
Under Father Bernard Fernandes appointed as Principal in 2010, St. Joseph's progressed in the field of academics, and he streamlined the learning process. Father Fernandes, with his passion for reading, enhanced the library. He was also instrumental in giving the kindergarten classrooms a facelift with beautiful ceiling to floor paintings, introduced activities in KG through music, and installed flat-screen televisions in each class for the KG section. St. Joseph joined the group of Salesian schools in the Mumbai region to have common syllabus and common question papers as well as securing the services of "Adhyanan" to evaluate and enhance syllabus, teacher training, educational activities etc.
Project Green Line, was an initiative of the Development Office at the Provincial House, Matunga, to encourage 'Care for the Environment'. St. Joseph's has been regularly participating in its programmes conducted as also conducting its own initiatives to spread awareness for the care of nature. In 2010-2011, St. Joseph's secured the 'Best New Initiative Award'. In 2011-2012, the school launched out in a big way to encourage student-teacher participation in this project. There were efforts to promote garbage segregation, to create gold from waste, and to reflect on the need to preserve our forests and water, a precious commodity in our daily life. The Annual Day musical followed this theme of nature serves the one who cares for it, entitled: "The Emerald Crown". For this combined effort carried out throughout the year, with the cooperation of the staff and students, the school received the 'Green School' Award.
GEARING UP FOR THE CENTENARY
Father Godfrey D'Sa, appointed as Rector, Parish Priest and Manager from June 2011, took over the reins of the School as Principal from June 2014. An alumni himself, Father D'Sa galvanised the staff, students, parents, past pupils and well-wishers to work together as a team to upgrade the school. Being a mental health professional, he appointed two fulltime professional counsellors and introduced the 'Well-Being Programme' for students from class five to ten and their parents.
He took a special interest in developing the curriculum of the pre-primary and primary and was focused on helping children master the English language. Children from the pre-primary and primary were assessed for Sensory Processing Disorder and the services of an Occupational Therapist was enlisted to help boys in several difficult situations. The SETSS (Special Education Teachers Support Services) programme was enhanced and children with learning disabilities were given additional help to cope with their studies so that they could finally get included with the rest of their class.
Upon the resignation of Nicole Britto, Sangita Bhattarcharya was appointed as the new headmistress of the Secondary Section in 2015. In the same year, major repairs were carried out like re-surfacing the school terrace, re-doing the audio-visual hall, and reinforcing the weaker parts of the building structure. In 2016, the Centenary Year, the building and classrooms were freshly painted to give the school a completely new look! The science laboratory was upgraded and modernised.
The past pupil grew very enthusiastic and decided to bring about a radical change in the school. They raised funds, re-designed and monitored the change of the entire electrical wiring of the school. They installed in every classroom, in the primary and secondary sections, interactive smart boards with a server, Wi-Fi and internet connections. The school auditorium and foyer was totally transformed with funds collected from the alumni. The school can now boast of a very elegant foyer and an air-conditioned auditorium with the latest light and sound equipment. It is re-christened "The Fr. Jos Menezes Auditorium – Centre for Learning, Arts and Culture."
These changes in the school demanded that the teaching-learning process also underwent a radical change. Teachers were trained in creative teaching techniques and in the effective use of smart boards. Children from standards three to eight began learning math using tablets. Detailed Assessment (DA) was introduced for english and science from standards three to eight to help critical thinking and put in timely remedial measures.
Two municipal schools from the vicinity were adopted, as part of a social outreach programme. The British Council programme, International School Awards (ISA) was introduced in school to encourage students become global citizens. A 'Bridge Course' was initiated with the help of extra teachers to help weak students from class five to eight catch up with the rest in their class. Through all these initiatives, we seek to live up to our motto: Ad MajoraNatus Sum – We are born for greater things!