New Year 2012

XAVEX

WISHES ALL

EX-XAVERIANS

A   VERY  HAPPY  & PROSPEROUS

 

NEW  YEAR  2012

Reunion Registration

Dear All,

As you are perhaps aware from the previous posts that the annual Reunion will be held on the 7th of January2012 7.30 p.m at Pritika Hotel Durgapur 12 and on 8th of January 2012 at School. On both the days there shall be contributory meals. Our rates are Rs200/- per head [ children between 5-10 yrs Rs100 and children below 5 free].
To help us arrange better, we request you to confirm your participation by email at xavex.dgp@gmail.com, or getting in touch with Subir at 9474532879 or Sandip 9732024444 or send an SMS at these numbers. You can also get your  meal coupons in advance.
Kindly circulate.
Thanks.

Alumni Body.

Kolkata Chapter Half Yearly Report, Dec 2011

The formal launch of the Kolkata Chapter of the Alumni Association of the St. Xavier’s School, Durgapur was done at a meeting held within premises of St. Xavier’s College in Kolkata on 29^th May ’11. The expressed goal was initiation of the spread of the school’s alumni movement. Primary goal of the Kolkata Chapter consequently was to increase the alumni base in the city with an eye on the immediate need for raising funds for the ensuing golden jubilee celebrations of the school. A small core team, comprising Convener, Secretary, Treasurer and other office bearers, was unanimously selected from amongst the attending ex-students to take the mission forward.

The Calcutta chapter of St. Xavier’s School (Durgapur) Alumni Association held its first meeting on 11^th June ’11 within the Kolkata college premises. Thereafter the Chapter has held more than a dozen meetings with enthusiastic participation from members. The chapter now meets on 4^th Saturday of every month and all are welcome to attend.

Chapter members, in the meanwhile and with great enthusiasm, have

1.    attended the JAAI (Jesuit Alumni Association of India) meet at Patna

2.    participated in an orientation camp for Jesuit-Lay collaboration at Kolkata on 21^st Aug. ‘11

3.    attended a few other events organized by the St.Xavier’s Alumni Association 

4.    actively participated & brilliantly performed in Kolkata’s very prestigious  ALSOC Quiz held on 27^th Nov. ‘11

In all these events it was maiden representation of the school’s Alumni and the sincere efforts by all alumni members to imprint the school’s identity firmly into the Jesuit circuit and power the brand value of the school, have started bearing fruit.

Right at the outset, the Kolkata chapter pledged to function as and within a robust and transparent organization! It was unanimously decided that the set objectives would be pursued only under the ambit of a basic and proper legal structure. The establishment of an adequate, transparent, accountable & effective Constitution and administrative structure; necessary registration of alumni body in similar format; opening of an official bank account; annual audit & publication of accounts; creation of updated membership database register; setting of proper checks & balances in raising, maintaining & utilizing funds for the association; setting up a competent body for strategic long term plans,  annual budget approvals etc.; all being considered primary requirements to establish and maintain credibility of the society and instill in and enjoy faith of alumni members.

All discussions, proposals and decisions made during the Kolkata Chapter meets are completely transparent. All deliberations are duly recorded and circulated to the maximum extent possible, with signed scanned copies marked to The Durgapur St.Xavier’s School Alumni Association as well as present and ex-headmasters of the School. The minutes are also uploaded in the yahoo group for wider information sharing.

Alsoc Quiz

Dear All,

It gives me immense pleasure to congratulate each of you for a wonderful showing in the Alsoc Quiz on the 27th of November 2011.On our maiden effort, one of the two teams put up not only reached the final 8 stage, but managed to score enough to be ranked 6th at  final bell. To have done so brilliantly well against the cream of professional & amateur quizzers of this city in one of Kolkata's most prestigious open quizzes, is quite astounding. And to have been the only team to carry the St.Xavier's tag on the dias, made it doubly sweet for & of immense pride to all of us.

The greatest credit for the showing surely goes to the senior members of the team, Kaushik & Soumyarup. We are so proud to have them as our alumni!! And for that we owe sincere thanks to Souvik for helping bring home the stalwarts!! One cannot overlook the enthusiastic contribution of the young guns from Durgapur - who spent almost 9 hours on travelling back & forth for just 3 hours on quizzing in one day!! And that was amply rewarded by the most gracious words of praise and encouragement received from the dignitaries from the podium, including past headmaster Fr.Devasy. 

This, of course, followed from the Alumni Association at Durgapur informing us about the quiz and ably coordinating the student participation. Sincere thanks to them, specifically Mr.Sandip Guha Roy, for that. And to Fr.Arockiasamy for giving the kids a chance to learn from the best in the field.

We also like to thank Mr. Dey, father of Arunabha Dey, who volunteered to escort the Durgapur team in his own vehicle. Leaving Kolkata, after the function, he reached Durgapur little before midnight and ensured dropping all the kids to their respective destination.

But a huge chunk of the kudos must go the Kolkata chapter of the alumni association for both the individual efforts of each of the core committee members (not only were they there to support the teams, but also participated to ensure that all the kids from the school got a first hand shot the quiz) and the brilliant teamwork in making all this possible. Fantastic showing, guys. Although it means more responsibility on us to retain the tempo and do even better in the days ahead.

With warm regards.

Suman       

Letter from an Ex-Student

One of our ex-students has written this mail. We are copying it verbatim on the blog. All alumni who read this post are requested to respond to this.

Dear Sir,

Firstly, I do not who I am writing this mail to. Just writing blindly to the id mentioned on the blog. Writing to the mail id given on the school website is TOTALLY USELESS! No one even acknowledges those mails, let alone reply to them. There also no one is quite sure as to whom one should address the mail to. 

Secondly, in the report on last year's alumni meet, read about some fancy plans for celebration of 50 years. Any updates on those? What's the status of registration of our alumni body? Has it been done? If so, why hasn't it been updated anywhere and alumni been invited to become members?

If the alumni body is not yet registered, then may we know why it has not been registered? Surely it does not take 10 months to register an alumni association. Who is in charge of registering this? Is there any specific person who has been entrusted with this? Who runs the alumni association? Why is there so no transparency or clarity in the way the alumni is run?

Thirdly, saw that the reunion dates for next year are 7-8 January. Who decides on that date and on what basis? If you need to have it January, why not have it on the 21-22-23 Jan weekend (an extended weekend) or 28-29 Jan weekend (with 26th Jan holiday just before it)? More people could have come in from outside. Seems that the people in Durgapur do not want people from outside to attend the meet. Otherwise what's the point of keeping it at a time when it's difficult for people to come. As it is Durgapur is not New Delhi or Mumbai which are well connected by trains and flights from across the country. And, if its a fixed date for every year, then why is such a thing not communicated to all? Also, before deciding this current date, why didn't we have a poll on the blog and/or school website with 2-3 alternate dates for the reunion before zeroing in on one? (We could have at least tried checking out the response once)

Fourthly, what's the status about chapter meets? Read about the meet of Kolkata once but nothing seems to have happened there after. What about other cities?

Looking heaven-ward and hoping for a reply.

Regards,
xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
xxxx Batch

The blog moderator has withheld the identity and batch of the student at this moment, while thanking him sincerely for the letter.

INVITATION TO THE SCHOOL SPORTS

The Headmaster of St.Xavier's School Durgapur has cordially invited all ex-students of the school and all Alumni Members to attend the School Sports on 3rd of December 2011, Saturday, beginning at 8.30am. Your august presence shall indeed add much colour and life to the Annual Event.

Back to Gouri Miss

As the Secretary Subir switched off the dull panting of the diesel engine, the thumping inside my heart suddenly assumed a resonating loudness ---- for we had arrived at the Badsha Briddhashram on our rendezvous with Time ---- to talk with our beloved exteacher, Miss Gouri Dasgupta.
We were very warmly welcomed by an exhilarated Miss and her friends in the Old Age Home, and the next forty minutes or so flew past happily delving into reminiscences of her good old days of yore, moulding children into their career---- like a goldsmith!! I noticed the great attachment with which she preserved a laminated citation that was given to all exteachers in one of our reunions in the past. She could not attended then, but had asked for her copy through Mr.C.C.Ghosh. For once I felt that the words comprising the citation had really come alive, have achieved true fulfilment ---- for I had composed those words myself trying to reach out with fond gratitude to the heart of our dear teachers!!
The bright Sunday morning seemed all the more bright as she happily exchanged news. Strangely enough, she was fully aware of all recent happenings at school in spite of being away from there for so many years. She showed us around her  "classroom" where she catered to a few children of the locality who belonged to the BPL category. She was all praise for them and even extended us a warm welcome to attend Children's Day function with them.
We snapped a couple of shots with her. As she saw us off at the gate waving to us, we felt once again the deep motherly love and affection with which our teachers love us. I felt proud to belong to such a family called Xaverians who flourish and thrive under the watchful care of such great goldsmiths ---- who mould minds like gold in a furnace.
Thank you dear Gouri Miss!!! 

Sports Day

The Annual Sports Day in school shall be held on the 3rd of December 2011, Saturday. All exstudents of the school are requested to attend to add fun and colour to the School Sports. In the Sports this year the Alumni Members shall have a small representation in the School House March Past. If you happen to be an Alumni Member please turn up in black trousers, white full sleeved shirt and black shoes positively by 8.15 am on the day. You may ring up Subir +919474532879 for more information and to book your slot in the march past.

SCHOOL NEWS

CHILDREN’S  DAY  IN  SCHOOL

Children’s Day was celebrated in school with great enthusiasm on 12^th November in the Primary Section and 14^th November in the Secondary Section. The staff of the school put up scintillating performances much to the ecstasy of the colourfully attired children. On the 14^th, after distribution of gifts in the respective classrooms, the children assembled in the Gymnasium for the function. The morning was rather foggy but that did not in the least deter the enthusiasm of the teachers who performed on the stage. The colourful programme included vibrant dance items like Dil Se Kahe All [in which Fr.Headmaster also joined the dance on the stage much to the uproarious delight of all!!], A medley on Tagore’s song, Fagunero Mohonay and Made in India. There were thrilling skits like Hansel and Gretel, and Juto Abishkar. There was also a Hindi Parody song --- Bacche Man Ke Sachhey. The staff choir put up a moving Prayer song at the beginning and “We wish You a Happy Children’s Day” at the end. The Children’s Day Message was delivered very beautifully by two teachers. Father Headmaster also spoke on the occasion. The entire programme was wonderfully conducted by the M.C.

After the programme on the 14^th there was a volley ball match played in the school ground. Both staff and students participated and enjoyed the games heartily.    

                                          A   SCENE   FROM   HANSEL  AND   GRETEL

                                                    MEDLEY    ON  TAGORE'S  SONG

                                                                        

                                                                          PRAYER

                                        FR.HEADMASTER  DANCING WITH  TEACHERS 

                                                                 JUTO  ABISHKAR

                                                                        FR.PREFECT

                                                                   JUTO  ABISHKAR

                                               FR.HEADMASTER WISHING STUDENTS
                                                     A  VERY  HAPPY  CHILDREN'S   DAY

Reunoin 2012

The Annual Reunion and AGM 2012 will be held on 7th and 8th of January 2012. The programme on the 7th will be at Pritika Hotel Durgapur 12, late evening. The official gathering on the 8th January, Sunday shall be at school 10am. Hotel Bookings in advance available. Make sure you are a part of the fun.

Golden Jubilee

The School shall celebrate its Golden Jubilee Year from 1st May 2012 to 1st May 2013. Details awaited. Make sure that you do not miss out on it. Keep visiting the official school website :   www.stxaviersdgp.com

New Website

Hello Everybody, Just in case you are keen on what is going on at our beloved alma mater, you can visit the school all new website ---- www.stxaviersdgp.com. Updates on activities in school shall be available there. Do keep in touch and send in your comments.

New look of the School Website

The school website has recently undergone a make-over. Please check out the new look website at http://www.stxaviersdgp.co.in/  

Kindly mail your comments and suggestions about the website to xavalum@gmail.com

Suvojit's Impression of the 1st Kolkata Chapter Meet

It was Sunday 29th May, 2011 I entered St. Xaviers Kolkata when I truly felt re-juvinated seeing the huge play ground , instantly the words of Shanti Sir ran once again through my blood " Ball ta soja goal e mar ".

Precisely this was the reason I was there with my football ( read my son's football who now is a student of Xaviers, Kolkata class - 8 ) to relive my past .

For the past 8 years I have entered so many times at Kol Xaviers but this one was special. This one was for my alma mater and no words of appreciation for our xaviers Dgp alumni Asso. is enough to thank them for such a commendable effort for giving us an oppurtunity to run down our memory lanes of SXS Dgp.The first gathering was impressive. Our good luck to have Fr K K Devasy at Kol SXS who has been a part and parcel of this effort along with the present prefect.

It was just a core committee formed but I believe we are all an integral core part of our school by default being an ex- student. After all it is all for our ALMA MATER, whichever way we be there and whoever be there , the final conclusion we are all there.

Time ran out so fast that even when we came out we were still dazzled with the euphoria and we talked about everything till night within our family and had called up another 30 odd friends informing all the majic.

Whatever decided shall be done in due course of time by our Alumni Assoc. and we look forward again to meet probably on 11 June , 11 same place same time to carry onnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn.

Till we meet again .

Suvojit Rai Choudhury - 87 batch

FIRST KOLKATA CHAPTER MEET

MINUTES OF THE KOLKATA CHAPTER MEET AT SXC KOLKATA STAFF ROOM 29.05.2011

The inaugural meet of the Kolkata Chapter of the Durgapur St.Xavier’s School Alumni Association was held at 3.30 p.m. at the Staff Room of St.Xavier’s College Kolkata with about 35 ex-students of the school attending. Dignitaries present included among others Rev.Fr. K.K.Devasy, Rev.Fr.M.S.Arockiasamy, Mr.Naresh Gupta, Mr.Snehasis Sur, Mr. Santosh Agarwal, Mr.Firdausul Hassan, Mr.G.P.Gupta, and Mr.Ravin Roy. There were ex-teachers Ms Snigdha Ghosh, Ms.Haimanty Duttagupta and Ms.Chobi Bose along with teacher Mr.Santimoy Biswas who graced the occasion.

The delegation from Durgapur included Mr.Sandip Guha Roy, Mr.Subir Dubey, Mr.Suranjan Kar, Dr.Arindam Mitra, Dr.Kalyan Chakraborty, Mr.Basudev Bhattacharjee, Mr.Suman Kumar and Mr.Pratap Sarkar.

The welcome address was delivered by Mr.Suranjan Kar. Mr.Sandip Guha Roy introduced the relevance and theme of the gathering and presented a brief history of the association thanking the help and support of the ex- headmaster and President Fr.Devasy towards giving the Alumni Association its present shape.

Fr.M.S.Arockiasamy then spoke on the need of the Kolkata Chapter and the efforts of the Alumni Association to get set on an even keel. He reiterated the need of a tie-up between the Alumni Association of Durgapur and the ones in Kolkata towards fulfilling objectives more meaningfully. Father brought out the great importance of the Alumni and the Chapters keeping in mind the oncoming Golden Jubilee Celebrations of St.Xavier’s School Durgapur starting in May 2012.

Fr.K.K.Devasy  warmly welcomed all present and also welcomed the idea of setting up a Kolkata Chapter of the Association.

The President of JAAI Mr.Naresh Gupta supported the need of opening chapters at different places for the benefit of all ex-students and to elicit a more meaningful contribution of ex-students towards their alma mater. He advised on points like systematic maintenance of accounts, timely submission of I.T.Returns, and a very meticulous paper work for the smooth running of the Association.

 Mr.Snehasis Sur, the Secretary of SXCCAA , was indebted to Rev.Fr.Felix Raj in absentia for his support in organizing the meet. He welcomed all fraternal alumni associations together to share multifarious advantages offered by the individual associations. He stressed on the need for a consolidated effort and sharing of ideas. He suggested regular meetings of the newly formed

Kolkata chapter members offering all possible help and suggestion towards space requirement and infrastructural development. Mr.Sur felt the need to organize philanthropic projects and orientation programmes, and to broaden the ambit of activities.

Ms.Haimanty Duttagupta and Ms.Chobi Bose, ex-teachers based in Kolkata present, spoke on their nostalgia and were happy with the formation of the Chapter which would give them an opportunity to keep in touch with the spirit of the School and feel the pulse of St.Xavier’s in Kolkata.

Mr.Sandip Guha Roy then asked the ex-students present to voice their opinion to clarify why they felt a Kolkata Chapter should be established. Different interesting ideas came up. All agreed that it would provide the old boys in Kolkata an urge to meet more often and systematically. They felt that it would provide a better opportunity to generate funds and to reach out to more people. A chapter would undoubtedly help in coordinating activities better keeping in mind the Golden Jubilee. The Chapter, some felt, would be missing link between the Mother body in Durgapur and the Old boys in Kolkata.

For the administration and efficient running of the Kolkata Chapter, a core body was formed. The members include:  Mr.Suman Bhowmik[1978 batch]—Convener, Mr.Subhojit Roychoudhury{1987 batch], Mr.Partha Basu[1988 batch], Mr.Kallol Mitra[1980 batch], Mr.Sourav Ghose[1982 batch],Mr.Arnab Guha[1980 batch], and Mr.Shaon Majumdar[2000 batch].

Mr.Suman Bhowmik was unanimously chosen as the Convener by all members of the Core committee. It was also decided that Mr.Suman Bhowmik ,the Convener, would coordinate all activities and would communicate with Durgapur based Mr.Suranjan Kar.

Mr.Subir Dubey played the tune of the School Anthem on the Harmonica much to the delight of all. He also played a number from the hindi Classic film Sholay ---“ye dosti hum nahi torenge…….” to honour the solidarity amongst the Alumni of different Jesuit institutions present.

The meeting ended with a vote of thanks by the Secretary of the Durgapur St.Xavier’s School Alumni Association Mr.Subir Dubey followed by complimentary snacks offered by the hosts SXCCAA.

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