The Learning Curve

The evening will begin with a short church service followed by a tour around the school. Says Veena Vora,who passed out from the school in 1959 and is the president of OGA,“The school tour will be conducted by the current students for ex-Maryites. It will literally be a walk down memory lane.” House anthems and felicitations of teachers will follow. The spotlight of love and respect will also shine on those who have been associated with the school as students and then as teachers. “Students who passed out of the school even before Independence will be felicitated because of their selfless service to the institute,” says Ashvina Vakil,a 1981 pass-out and secretary of OGA. Among them is Miss Lawrence,the oldest teacher who taught drawing,Miss Evelyn Devadawson,who joined the school in 1942 and passed out in the year 1949,and Miss D’Costa,a 1942 pass out.

“In 1942,St Mary’s School was under the Nuns of the Community of St Mary’s,The Virgin (CSMV). We took the Senior Cambridge examination. In 1977,Elizabeth Mathew took over the administration when the nuns went back to England,” recalls 78-year-old Devadawson who was a music teacher at the school later. Despite the change in administration,the standards of the school were always well-maintained,points out D’Costa. Even though more competition crept into the system of education over the years,the quality of teaching and learning at the school was never compromised. “That has made us what we are today,” Devadawson says. Vora seconds her and adds,“I owe everything to my alma mater.”

Students who have passed out from the school in the last three decades have been witness to the progress of the institute. “Academics and extra-curriculum activities are given equal importance now. It is a good way to keep up with the demands of the society,” feels Vakil.

The OGA community,with a large number of ex-students as members,has been active through social networking sites. “OGA helped us re-establish our bond. School friends will always be close to one’s heart no matter how old we grow,” Devadawson says with a smile. And it is this friendship that will be celebrated on December 17.