“Champions do not become champions when they win the event, but in the hours, weeks, months and years they spend preparing for it. The victorious performance itself is merely the demonstration of their championship character”- T. Alan Armstrong
“Champions aren’t made in the gyms. Champions are made from something they have deep inside them – a desire, a dream, a vision”-Boxer Muhammad Ali
Mangaluru: The Management, staff members and students of St Angela Pre-Primary School-Bejai celebrated their “Annual Sports Day”on Monday, 29 February with a colorful cultural march past, drills and dance performances, including Bollywood style. A galaxy of tiny tots unleashed their hidden talents by performing superbly to wow their teachers and parents- and they received thunderous applaud from the audience. Students who excelled in sports were honored during the occasion. Even the parents of the kids who had won in various games organized by the school were also presented with prizes. Just like the kids who were happyand overjoyed to receive the prizes, even the winning parents had the same kind of feelings – and they went home as a ” Happy Family”.
Quoting the words of famous US basket Ball player Michael Jordan, “I’ve missed more than 9,000 shots in my career. I’ve lost almost 300 games. 26 times, I’ve been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed”, before going further into my report, all I have to say to those tiny-tots who had participated in various Sports events, but didn’t win, don’t worry you have many more chances, you are still tiny and young, try, try and you will succeed-that’s the spirit of sportsmanship. Sports help improve both physical and mental strength. Our body remains fit and healthy. Life is also just like a game. Sometimes, you win, and sometimes you lose. Participating in various games and sports develop a feeling of sportsman spirit. In sports, the participating candidate may win or lose. The student learns to accept both victories and defeats with grace. Here’s a famous saying, “Winners win, winners lose, but winners play”.
The celebration began with a procession taken out from the event entrance gate led by Lourdes HS-Bejai school band, with dignitaries of the function also taking part in the procession. The formal programme began with a prayer song rendered by school kids, thereby invoking God’s blessings. The audience was predominantly of mixed citizens comprising of parents, teachers, nuns, adults and kids. The dignitaries for the occasion were Chief Guest-Rev Fr Stany Pinto-Asst. Parish Priest of St Francis Xavier Church-Bejai, and the function presided over by Very Rev Sr Rita Vas UFS ( Ursuline Franciscan Sisters}- Provincial Superior, Mangaluru Province. Guests of honour were-Florine D’souza-NRI/USA; Ravi Prakash, Canute Richard D’Cunha, both entrepreneurs; Sandhya Rani- House-wife of a entrepreneur, and Veera Lobo- Pharmaceutical Executive, also these guests of honor were grandma/parents of the school kids. Sr Matilda-Principal and Sr Ancilla Pinto-Correspondent of St Angela School respectively also graced the occasion.
Speaking to the kids, Rev Fr Stany Pinto stressing on the importance of sporting/physical activities said, ” Apart from daily routine studies, what keeps a child healthy are physical activities, which eventually helps the child grow strong. The physical activities teach us two things- one: to accept ones own defeat and win. Secondly: It keeps you healthy. According to a saying ” All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy “-so I guess that no one here wants to be a dull boy or a girl. I wish these tiny tots to be smart in their studies and also excel in sports/physical activities. Parents should encourage their kids to study well, play well and eat well”.
Provincial Superior of UFS-Rev Sr Rita Vas also delivered a very motivational and inspiring speech pertaining to education- her full speech is published at the end of this report. There is an end to everything, but we should believe that there is never an end but always a beginning- so before the start of the prize distribution and presenting mementos to the guests and well-wishers, Sr Joyline proposed the vote of thanks. No doubt the entire celebrations was simply amazing and awesome. Three cheers to the organizers and the teachers who had put all their efforts in arranging a fabulous extravaganza, and special kudos to Ronald Paul Pinto-Physical Director of Lourdes High School for training these tiny-tots to shine and expose their physical talents at their best- and they did extremely well. Bravo, St Angela Pre-Primary School kids-you simply rocked.
FOLLOWING IS THE VERY MOTIVATIONAL AND INSPIRING SPEECH DELIVERED TO THE KIDS AND THEIR PARENTS BY REV SR RITA VAS- PROVINCIAL SUPERIOR- URSULINE FRANCISCAN SISTERS :
“Respected dignitaries on the dais, guests, parents and my dear tiny tots of St Angela school- First and foremost I congratulate our little students for their performance not just today, but throughout the year, congrats and hats off to the organizers and particularly the principal, Staff and other members of the organizing team who have done a great job in putting together today’s program.
Sports and games have become an integral element of present-day education. Formerly teaching consisted of merely imparting the basic skills of 3R’s (Reading, Writing and Arithmetic). But true learning is much more than that. Today education is an all-round development of the child. In this respect games and sports play a significant role. It is in this backdrop that most schools organize their sports days. Sports can teach us much about life. It teaches us about teamwork, it teaches us how to get along with others, and it teaches us to work together to achieve a common goal. It’s also about trust and responsibility and about dealing with success and failure.
Sports also help the students to learn about coping with pressure and the need to stick with training in order to improve. As well as the benefits to individuals, sports and physical activity also bring great benefits to communities through such things as improved health and education, rehabilitation, crime prevention, and gender equality. I want to acknowledge all the good work done by Teachers and also parents. Everybody has a responsibility to work towards making communities safer. To achieve that goal parents and teachers need to work closely together. This sports day is an excellent way to bring people together in a relaxed environment that will build lasting networks and friendships across the sector.
My humble request with the parents to inculcate the genuine values in your children; today education has become a commodity that can be bought and sold, valueless, or just feeding the brain of the child. Teachers and parents need to understand that the child is not a machine to push the things into the brain. In this regard I want to request to instill in your children the basic values like honour for the Divine, human relationships, and respect for parents, teachers, elders and love for nature…
Education in its general sense is a form of learning in which the knowledge, skills, values, beliefs and habits of a group of people are transferred from one generation to the next through storytelling, discussion, teaching, training, and or research. Education may also include informal transmission of such information from one human being to another. Education frequently takes place under the guidance of others, but learners may also educate themselves . Any experience that has a formative effect on the way one thinks, feels, or acts may be considered educational. As teachers and parents you should play an important role in children’s lives by educating them the right way and also teach them good manners. Today’s children will be tomorrow’s leaders. may God bless these talented kids of St Angela Pre-Primary School, who are no doubt, active and energetic.
Before I conclude, I heartily congratulate the principal, staff and the students for your strenuous efforts to put up this fantastic programme. May all our tiny tots become the true and authentic citizens of our nation. Jai Hind, Jai Karnataka.”
