St. Xavier's High School Loyola Hall
St. Xavier's High School, Loyola Hall is an English-Gujarati medium primary and secondary school located at Navrangpura in Ahmedabad, India.[1] The school is spread over a site of about 4 acres (16,000 m2).
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[edit] History
St. Xavier's is a school managed by the Society of Jesus and recognised by the Department of Education, Gujarat State. Though a Catholic Institution, it welcomes pupils from all sections of society and prepares them for the Secondary School Certificate (traditionally called 10th standard exams) and the Higher Secondary School Certificate (traditionally called 12th standard exams) examinations.
It comprises the K. G. and Std. 1 to 10 with parallel divisions having Gujarati and English medium of instruction. The school also runs standards 11 and 12 (Science and Commerce streams, the latter only in English medium) to which girls are also admitted.Since the academic year 2006-07 it has started admitting girls starting from K.G.
St. Xavier's School, Loyola Hall was initially only for standards 8th, 9th, 10th and 11th and the primary section was initiated in the year 1968.
Geet Sethi, former World Billiards Champion is an alumnus of the school. Other notable alumni include Mr. Bharat Desai, founder and owner of Syntel and Bimal Patel and Mr. Mervin D'Souza, geologist, who led the 20th Indian Antarctica Expedition and a recipient of the National Mineral Award.
[edit] School emblem
The motto is Teneris Impende Laborem (Latin), meaning Apply yourself to hardwork from an early age.
Three white bees are symbols of hard work and being busy always. The fruit of such labour is sweet.
IHS is written in the center of the sun. I means Iesu (Jesus), H is Hominem (mankind), and S is Salvatorous (Saviour). Jesus, saviour of mankind, is the symbol of the Society of Jesus (Jesuits) established by St. Ignatius of Loyola.
The moon is a symbol of the Society of Jesus
[edit] Principal
The principal is Fr. F. Durai S. J. (1998- )
[edit] Facilities
Academic
- Library (containing books regarding academics, fiction, humour, science fiction etc.)
- Laboratories of Physics, Chemistry, Biology and Computer Science.
- Range of academic and extracurriculur activities.
Sport
- Cricket ground
- Football ground
- Hockey ground
- Tennis courts
- Basketball courts
- Gymnasium
- Skating rinks
- Brother Bou Pavilion
- Swimming pool
- Paleta courts
- Table tennis facilities.
Others
- Book-store
- Canteen
- Audio-visual Rooms
- Diamond Jubilee Auditorium
[edit] School activities
- The Odyssey is an interschool cultural festival that has been part of the school's tradition for the past 20 years. The festival spans three days with more than 15 events. Five schools of Ahmedabad and Gandhinagar take part in the festival.
The festival is wholly organised by students of the 11th and 12th grade of the school. Participating schools have been: St. Xavier's High School, Loyola Hall, St. Xavier's Gandhinagar, Mt. Carmel Ahmedabad, Rachana Ahmedabad, St. Xavier's High School, Mirzapur , Little Flower School, Mahatma Gandhi International School and Tulip school.
Father Morondo (the founder of The Odyssey) called off the Odyssey in the year 2006. It has been replaced by The Chronos, again an initiative by Father Morondo.
- Sports Day is held in December every year and has been responsible for bringing out talent that has gone on to represent the school, the city, the state and the country. The students are divided among four 4 dens: Lions, Panthers, Bears and Tigers. There is an intense battle every year to see which den makes it to the top. The Den captains and the symbolic torch bearer (and accompanying flag bearers) are chosen from the best sportspersons of the school.
- Chronos: The festival runs for two days, has nine events and involves four schools.
- The Annual Play is usually staged by the students of the 11th under the direction of Father Morondo. Plays have staged by authors such as Oscar Wilde, Neil Simon and Agatha Christie. Recent plays include "The Matchmaker", "Lady Windermere's Fan", "The Apollo and Bellac" and "Red Carnations". Occasionally plays are put up by 9th standard and also alumni. "The Odd Couple" by Neil Simon was put up in April 2007 by past students.
- Annual Day is a highlight of the school's academic year with performances including singing, dance, humour, and skits, performed by all years.
- Intraschool events: Every alternate Saturday interclass events are held. These include: debate, elocution, extempore, solo signing, and group singing.
- Mini-sports day is held in the middle of the academic year it has fun events like slow cycling, and teacher's events.
- Teacher's Day is a day when the school in handed over to the students of 12th grade. A Principal and Vice Principal are selected by the staff every year. The best teacher's award is handed out at the end of the day.
- Leadership Camps are held for the students of the 6th, 7th, 8th and 9th. The camps are usually for 3–4 days. The students camp out either at school or at farmhouses and are given tasks to empower them as future leaders.
- The Mathematics and Science Exhibition is held by standards 7 and 11 to develop creativity and research skills.
[edit] Website
