Daijiworld Media Network – Udupi (KR)

Udupi, Nov 28: In the chronicles of the A.C. Symphony, ‘The History of the Apostolic Carmel’, the author notes the beginnings of St Cecily’s under the caption ‘Exploring New Vistas’.

With the success of the three schools- St Ann’s, St Agnes and Ladyhill at Dongerkeri for the students of Ladyhill in Mangaluru, it was time to move out into the suburbs. Right at the pertinent time, Mother Aloysia, the Superior General at the time, picked up a heavy envelope from that morning’s post presented by the residents of Udupi with a request to open a secondary school for their daughters in Udupi. 

Kannada Primary

High School

English Primary

Preparatory School

PUC

Campus Entry Gate

Sr Susheela, Superior General, AC

Several Hindu girls educated at Ladyhill Victoria Girls’ High School, Dongerkeri, Mangaluru, got settled down in Udupi in influential homes, most of them being the wives of Hindu leaders. The mothers clamored for convent-education for their children which they themselves had enjoyed in Mangaluru. At this juncture, a very enthusiastic Catholic gentleman, Piadade Alva, father of Joachim Alva, who served as an MP for three terms in independent India, a landlord and a merchant, also wanted good education for the Catholic girls of Udupi. After weighing the pros and cons, Mother Aloysia took the bold initiative. With the blessings of then bishop Paul Perini SJ, along with three Sisters, she arrived in Udupi on May 18, 1918 on a horse carriage. They took up lodging at a small house called Kadbet Bungalow which was later turned into ‘Modern School’. They received generous hospitality from Fr Casmir Menezes, the vicar, Sebastian Andrade, Adam Sahib and Marian Andrade on their arrival.

Sister M Agnes AC was appointed as the first superior. On May 20, 1918 they opened the first three classes with 9 students on roll. The strength rose to 85 during the following year. The appreciative comment by Vittal Kamath, a popular Hindu leader, gave a boost to the number. He said that his eldest daughter had improved in one year which otherwise would have taken three years. Fresh admissions poured in rapidly. On account of the arduous labour of love of M. P. Alva, who approached the Governor of Madras for the purpose, the Teaching and Building Grants were obtained. In 1922, a new plot was given to the convent by the bishop Paul Perini, S J for a new building and a boarding house was opened in order to cater to the education of girls from the surrounding villages.

The canonical erection of St Cecily’s convent took place on May 28, 1922.The sisters and boarders were accommodated and classes held in the same block temporarily. The building is partly demolished now to construct the Centenary Memorial Kannada Higher Primary School. In September 1925, the foundation stone was laid for a new convent block. Fr Casmir Menezes, with the help of the contractor, undertook the construction of the convent (including the chapel) and the school. Sebastian Andrade supervised the construction for a nominal fee. The new convent block was blessed by the bishop of Mangaluru in 1926. In 1932, the government gave the adjacent plot to the school as the playground.

St Cecily’s was a full-fledged high school in 1933. The school presented its first batch of SSLC for the public examination in March 1934. The present high school block was constructed in 1937. The strength increased from 209 to 485 in 1945. In 1946 Kannada was adopted as the medium of instruction. However, many parents desired that their children be educated in the English medium. In compliance with the request of the parents, a private school in English medium was started in January 1959 on the campus with 24 pupils on roll from Classes I to III.

The Ex-Cecilian Association was started in 1951. The members contributed a great deal towards the growth and development of the school and its projects. The parent-teacher association was formed in 1962 and the Presidents and the Executive Committee Members always cooperated with the school.

In 1965, Home Science was introduced as a subject in the High School. A parallel section was started in the English medium in 1969 and recognition was obtained for that. In 1984, the Golden Jubilee of St Cecily’s High School was celebrated. On this occasion the library block was put up. Later the foundation for a new English primary school block was laid and completed in 1991. In 1993 the convent extension block was built in order to provide better facilities for the aged and the ill sisters.

The kindergarten ‘Tiny Tots’ got a multipurpose school hall in 1998. Sandra A D’Souza brought laurels to the school and to the city of Udupi by winning the Ist place in Shot-Put and II place in Discus Throw at the National Level in 1999.

With the advancement in education, the plus two became the basic requirement for several courses. Hence, the parents requested persistently that the school be upgraded into a Composite PU College. The same was fulfilled in 2002, with all the three disciplines – Science, Commerce and Arts. In 2003 a three storeyed PUC Block was built and blessed. In 2004 the first batch of PUC moved out of the portals of St Cecily’s Composite P U College.

St Cecily’s hit the headlines in 2008 as the entire teaching faculty of the High School was honoured by the State Education Minister, Sri V H Kageri, for securing the highest marks in each of the subjects at the district level. The golden jubilee of the English higher primary was celebrated in 2009 and to mark this event, another block was built to house the second section of the school.

St Cecily’s hosted a Taluk Level 'Prathibha Karanji' – the cultural fest on a single day in 2009 which normally takes 2 to 3 days. The platinum jubilee of the High School was celebrated in 2010 and a spacious hall along with 8 classrooms was blessed to mark this occasion. The decennial jubilee of the PUC was celebrated when four more class rooms were added to the PU Block.

The year 2017 saw an elegant entrance to the institutions, the renovation of the Chapel and the hosting of the District Level Sports Meet by the PUC. The year 2018, the centenary year of the convent, provided additional rooms to the convent block and also a new parlour. A new spacious Kannada Higher Primary Block, with the provision of a hall, is under construction to mark this significant and historic event.

Under the leadership of 31 superiors and 44 heads of institutions, St Cecily’s has grown, spread its branches far and wide, and made a mark in the global village. In his message for the Platinum Jubilee, the bishop of Mangaluru wrote: “The school shines as one of the rarest jewels.”

To mark the centenary celebrations of the institution, a grand event will be held on Thursday, November 29, 2018. A thanksgiving mass will be offered by Dr Peter Paul Saldanha, bishop, Diocese of Mangaluru at 10 am.

The blessing of the new ‘Centenary Memorial Block’ will be held at 4.45 pm.

Dr Gerald Isaac Lobo, bishop, Diocese of Udupi will preside over the centenary celebrations while Sr Susheela, AC, superior general Apostolic Carmel, Dinkara Babu, president, Zilla Panchayat, Udupi, Oscar Fernandes, MP, Rajya Sabha, K Ragupathi Bhat, MLA, Udupi, Vinay Kumar Sorake, former minister, Pramod Madhwaraj, former minister, Nalini Pradeep Rao, president, Taluk Panchayat, Udupi, Rashmi C Bhat, corporator, Ajjarakad, Priyanka Mary Francis, DC, Udupi, Subramanaya Joshi, DDPU, Udupi, Sheshashayana K, DDPI, Udupi, Lokeshappa, BEO, Udupi, Dr G Shanker, founder, G Shanker Family Trust, Ambalpady, Sr Carmel Rita A C, provincial superior, Fr Valerian Mendonca, parish priest, Mother of Sorrows Church, Udupi, Sr Maisie, AC, superior and joint secretary, St Cecily’s Institutions will be present on the occasion.

Centenary Cecilian Meet will be held on Friday, November 30 at St Cecily’s High School, Hall at 5.00 pm.

Daijiworld.com will bring the live web streaming of the event on Thursday, November 29, 4.30 pm onwards.

Contact:

St. Cecily's Institutions
Udupi

Email : cecilcon@rediffmail.com