Teachers Matter

Sargodha Catholic High School celebrated the Teachers? Day on 16th October. Due to the prevailing situation in the country and various other reasons we had to postpone the celebrations by almost two weeks. By the grace of God the celebrations were held in a joyful mood and in a peaceful manner.

From the 5th of October there was a lot of enthusiasm among the children and encouragement from the staff to hold this day in a fitting manner to appreciate the teachers and to say ?Thank you? for the invaluable services they render to their students with commitment and dedication.

The notice Boards in front of every class, and the bulletin boards in the classes displayed articles and drawings which spoke about the vital contribution that teachers make to education and development.

At the start of the programme the teachers were taken in procession to the assembly place by the School Prefects. At the entrance a group of students lined up and threw rose petals on the teachers while their fellow students gave a big round of applause to their beloved teachers..

After the recitation from the Holy Quran and reading from the Holy Bible, one of the teachers sang a song composed by her, invoking blessings on the staff and students. Then the Principal and the Head Mistress of the Primary were invited to hoist the National flag and the School flag. On this occasion one felt that the students sang the national Anthem with a lot of fervour, loyalty and devotion to their motherland.

This was followed by an introduction given by the Head Prefect about the purpose of holding this celebration. He explained to the audience the importance of appreciating and supporting the teachers who have devoted their lives to the very worthy cause of educating children all over the world.

Then another student took the podium to deliver a speech presenting the Teachers? Day theme for year 2008 ?Teachers Matter?. He said that every day in millions of classrooms around the world, both teaching and learning was taking place. It was the task of teachers to pass on the gift of literacy from one generation to the next. While committed and competent teachers help their students to achieve literacy there are many children especially in countries such as Pakistan who do not receive this gift due to the shortage of teachers. He offered his heartfelt gratitude to the staff at Sargodha Catholic High school, on behalf of his fellow students, for the part they played as their teachers and second parents.

The theme of the year was further highlighted through a skit by the primary students. The first part was to show how children could wander about not knowing the directions they should take when there was no teacher. In the second episode they illustrated how a teacher could help children to dream dreams which will enable them to become great people one day.

Apart from the songs, poems and dances the senior students performed an interesting and an inspiring drama. The message they brought out was how a devoted teacher could guide students in the right path while another who uses teaching as a business could misguide his students.

The main event of the celebration was the presentation of awards to the teachers. Every teacher on the staff was presented with a ?Thank you Teacher? card, a flower bouquet and a shield of appreciation by the prefects along with a group of primary students.

Then it was the turn for a senior teacher of the staff to say thank you to the students for their love and friendship. She told them the efforts the teachers make in helping the children to become God fearing and worthy citizens of their country.

The ceremony was concluded with a vote of thanks given by the Principal. He thanked the teachers for their dedication and appreciated the meaningful celebration organized by the school prefects.

The day?s proceedings ended with a delicious lunch. It was indeed a happy day for the students and the teachers.

I have been struggling with this for a few days due to load shedding. But I thought it is worth sharing our joys with our friends rather than worries all the time. Please pray for us and be in touch.

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Br. Shanthi.