The 60th anniversary of the canonization of their patron saint, St. Louis Marie Grignion de Montfort was a joyful celebration during which the missionary ardor and the dream of St. Montfort to see true followers of his ideals were recalled. His passionate love for God alone and for his neighbours that instilled the missionary zeal in him and stirred him to lead an apostolic life was reflected upon. The celebration was a call to fulfill his deep desire of following the two inseparable dimensions - prayer and providence and transmit the Montfortian Charisma.
The 335th Birthday of The School Patron St. Montfort
The 335th birthday of the patron, St. Louis Marie Grignion de Montfort, a man of piety and simplicity, was celebrated on 31st January, 2008. St. Montfort exhibited a lot of love for God by loving the poor and the needy. Being their patron, all the members of the school were called to follow the footsteps of this man of God. The virtues that St. Montfort preached during his lifetime were shared. The students were beckoned to seek more to give than to receive. Through this programme students were taught the values of sharing and caring for the poor and the needy.
Feast Day Celebrations of the School Houses (Teams)
The housemates of each team celebrated the feast days of their patron saints. During the celebration, the children presented their house mottoes and explained the values and virtues given for each team to follow. The commemoration of these feast days proved to be learning opportunities for students to know about the life of their patrons and patronesses and also the essence of living a life in perfect fellowship with others that is acceptable to God.
Teachers Day Celebration
Children expressed their love and gratitude to their teachers on Teachers Day. During the programme they read out the life and contributions of Sarvapalli Dr. Radhakrishnan, whose birthday is celebrated as Teachers Day all over India. A short allegory of the seed growing into a sapling which is watered, pruned and taken care of by the gardener was performed comparing the student to the seed and the teacher to the gardener. The choir sang songs of gratitude for their teachers. Children prayed ardently asking God to bless their teachers in moulding their lives. The students gave a memento of an earthen pot to each teacher, symbolizing that they are the clay in the hands of their teachers who mould them into great individuals. This celebration helped the children in understanding the role of a teacher in their lives, and how important it is to appreciate their contributions in moulding them, thus practicing the virtue of Gratitude.
Children’s Day
MMS celebrated Children – God’s Amazing Gift on Earth and the Birth Anniversary of the country’s first Prime Minister, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru. Children learnt the fact that Life on earth is a quest for understanding and meaning, it is a journey towards perfection, letting go of doubts, fears and problems. They learnt to appreciate the gift of life.
Diwali – Spreading the Light Of Social Awareness
Diwali - the Festival of Lights was joyfully celebrated at Montfort, organized by the students of Std. III. Through this celebration children brought out the message that the light lit during Diwali empowers us to commit ourselves to good deeds that bring us closer to divinity. At Montfort the light brought hope and joy when children took a pledge to preserve Mother Nature from pollution and to restore the rights of children working in firework factories, by refraining from bursting fireworks. The festival of light made the children comprehend to seek for a lasting happiness from within oneself and not from the materialistic world. They also promised not to burst fireworks.
Christmas & New Year celebrations
This year, due to heavy rains in the month of December, the school closed early for the Half Yearly Holiday, postponing Christmas Celebrations to January. When children returned from their holiday, a grand celebration coupling Christmas and New Year revels was organized. Mr. Venkat and Mrs. Nisha Venkat, the small screen celebrities were the guests for the day. Prayer dance, a short skit explaining the uniqueness of each individual and how special they are, were staged. A live crib was displayed. Following this, one of the students explained how New Year’s Day came to be celebrated on the 1st of January and its significance as a day to renew our faith in ourselves and hope for a better future. The little angels of Montfort
performed a dance thanking and praising God for all the blessings the New Year brought along with it.
This celebration renewed their hopes and aspirations. It also helped them learn the true meaning of sharing selfless and unconditional love. They practiced the gift of sharing.
Pongal – A Tamil Festival
Pongal – the Harvest Festival of Tamilnadu was celebrated. Children put up a humorous but meaningful skit that spoke of Pongal as an ecumenical festival promoting religious harmony. Children performed dances that brought out the colourful cultural heritage of Tamilnadu. The programme was an eye-opener to the invaluable heritage of our native land.
This celebration was an effort in teaching the children to harmonize with nature and also tapped their civic sense of Secularism.
Independence Day
Montfort celebrated the Diamond Jubilee of our country’s Independence with much joy and anticipation for its development. An imaginary parody that brought the leaders of the past, who took part in the freedom struggle, from paradise to earth, was presented. The skit evoked the sentiments of the students to see India as a developed nation. The children vowed to contribute whatever possible in effacing all evils such as poverty, racism, and child labour from the face of the country. A parade depicting the rich and varied culture of India, where students dressed themselves as representatives of the different states of India was done giving the message of “Unity in Diversity”.
A patriotic fusion dance honouring the Tiranga was performed towards the end of the celebration. Rev. Mathew, the Chief Guest of the day was happy to take part in the celebration. He shared his inspiring thoughts on patriotism with the children, urging them to be courageous and hardworking citizens.
Gandhi Jayanthi
The birthday of the Mahatma was celebrated at Montfort on the theme “A life of sacrifice is a pinnacle of true joy”, organized by the children of Std. V., Bro. Arokiaswamy, Principal Montfort Matriculation School, Perungundi, graced the occasion. He explained to the children the ideals of a true leader and how inspiring the Mahatma was as a leader. At Montfort, Gandhiji Jayanthi is an occasion that inspires children to be individuals of simplicity, modesty, truth and courage.
105th Birthday of Perunthanthai Kamaraj
The 105th Birth Anniversary of Perunthanthai Kamaraj was celebrated on July 15th. Children prayed for God’s blessings on all the leaders of the country. The life of Kamaraj and his contributions to the children of the lower strata of the society in the field of education were recollected on this day.
Republic Day
This year’s Republic Day was celebrated keeping the words of Dr. Abdul Kalam “Believe, Begin and Become” as the theme. Through this programme children were motivated to believe in themselves, to begin to put into action their beliefs and to finally achieve what they wished to become. The National Flag was hoisted by the Chief Guest and children saluted the Tri-colour and renewed their pledge with utmost reverence for the country. Prayer, dance, poetry recitation and a patriotic song in Tamil all proved to be very inspirational. The Chief Guest, Mr. Elango, Advocate and Ex-Montfortian in his speech read a poem that he had written especially for the students further stirred their spirit of patriotism and reverence
for the country.Rev. Bro. John Kalarakkal appreciated the principal for his good work, the staff for their dedication and the students for their participation in the programmes.