“This is where the chapter ends, And new one now begins, Time has come for letting go,The hardest part is when you know; All of these years, When we were here Are ending, But we’ll always remember; We have had the time of our lives, And now the page is turned, The stories we will write, We have had the time of our lives, And we will not forget the faces left behind, It’s hard to walk away from the best of days; And we will not forget the faces left behind, But if it has to end, we are glad that we found friends, in the time of our lives; We say goodbye, we hold on tight, To these memories that never die, We say goodbye, we hold on tight, To these memories that never die”- song sung by the X std students at the Farewell Party
Mangaluru: Few tears of joy were shed by senior students of XII and X as they exited the doors of Mount Carmel Central School- Mary Hill here for the last time on 14 February 2015. Rather, smiles and hugs abounded. The juniors of VIII and IX std went out of their way to make the outgoing students feel special, by organizing a “Farewell Day” celebration at the newly built St Veronica auditorium. The seniors were offered roses and cards by the Juniors as a mark of respect, and also to convey a message that they will miss the company of the seniors.
Prior to the formal celebrations, there was a mass held at the sisters convent chapel celebrated by Fr Santhosh Kamath of Fatima Retreat House. In his homily he advised the seniors saying, “Always use your brain when you prepare and appear for your exams. Your brain is way much better than the computer. There will be no virus attacks on your brain. The more you use your brain, the more smart you become. And once you leave your school, always make sure you respect your Principal, and teachers who gave you good education and taught your manners and values of life. May God bless you when you look forward for a better educational career in your lives”.
The formal programme began with invoking God’s blessings by the members of School band, followed by the inauguration of the celebrations by lighting of the traditional lamp by Sr Carissima AC- the Administrator, Sr Melissa AC-the principal along with couple students and teachers. Sr Melissa AC in her address to the senior students said, “There is no substitute for hard work-if you have to keep moving, if you need to attain success, then you need to work hard. Let your life be a “Message” and not a Mess”. Glad to see that you all have grown to be good students and accomplished a lot in your academics and co-curricular activities. Thanks for bringing laurels and name to the school through your talents. Your success in your academics has also brought joy and pride in me. Wish you all luck and God’s blessings while you pursue your higher education”.
One junior student expressed his token of love for the seniors in his speech saying, “Being juniors we have learn a lot from the seniors. They have encouraged and motivated us at every difficult situation hopefully we will follow in order to maintain the discipline and decorum of the school. I pray for the better future for them and request them to share their precious experience with us for the sake of our better future. I must quote beautiful word of collien “these are not secrets to success these are the result of preparation, hard work and learning from failures. This farewell party is not to say good- bye but is a small celebration of beginning of your new journey of life. May God bless you in your future academic career.”
The juniors did put up one heckuva show comprising of Bollywood dances, songs and music. Mementos were handed over to the seniors by the Principal and teachers. The entire party was compered by Lorraine Miranda and Adline Princia D’Souza. I end this column with the lyrics from the song “Farewell” by Rhianna, sung by two junior students during the conclusion of the celebrations:
Wherever you’re going
I wanna go
Wherever you’re heading
Can you let me know
I don’t mind catching up
I’m on my way
Just can’t take the thought of you miles away
And I know you’re going somewhere to make a better life
I hope that you find it on the first try
And even though it kills me
That you have to go
I know it’ll be sadder
If you never hit the road
So farewell!
[Chorus]
Somebody is gonna miss you
Farewell
Somebody is gonna wish that you were here
That somebody is me
Very lengthy speech