Don Bosco School, Park Circus
| Don Bosco School, Park Circus | |
|---|---|
 Virtue and Knowledge | |
| Address | |
|
23, Darga Road, Park Circus, Kolkata - 700017 West Bengal, India | |
| Information | |
| Type | Private Minority Educational Institution |
| Religious affiliation(s) | Roman Catholic |
| Established | 1958 |
| Rector | Rev. Fr. M.J. Jose, S.D.B. |
| Grades | KG to 12 |
| Gender | Boys |
| Number of students | 3500 |
| Education system | Council for the Indian School Certificate Examinations |
| Language | English |
| Colour(s) | White and Grey |
| Principal | Rev. Fr. Bikash Mondal, S.D.B. |
| Assistant Principal | Rev. Fr. Anil Toppo, S.D.B. |
| Administrator | Rev. Fr. Anil Toppo, S.D.B. |
| Website |
donboscoparkcircus |
Don Bosco School (Park Circus), located at 23, Darga Road, Kolkata, India, is an all-boys English medium school imparting education from first through twelfth grade. Established in 1958, it is run by the Salesians of Don Bosco, which is a minority institution within the Catholic Church. The school operates under the Indian Certificate of Secondary Education board.
The motto of the institution is Virtus et Scientia, meaning "Virtue and Knowledge". The school's patron saint is St. Dominic Savio.
History
The Catholic order of Salesians of Don Bosco first came to Calcutta in 1925. In early 1955, the order acquired two large plots of land in the Circus Park area of the city on which to build a school. In September of that year work began on constructing the new school. In November 1957, with the building's completion in sight, Rev. Fr. Charles Dyer was appointed the first Rector and Principal of Don Bosco Park Circus. The school officially opened on 15 January 1958 with an intake of 460 boys. The school now has an enrollment of 3000 students. It celebrated its golden jubilee in 2008, the culmination of a year of festivities which began in March 2007.[1][2]
Rectors
- Rev. Fr. Charles Dyer (1957–1959)
- Rev. Fr. Anthony Doro (1959–1965)
- Rev. Fr. Rozario Stroscio (1965–1966)
- Rev. Fr. Nicolas Flamel (1966–1968)
- Rev. Fr. Attilio Colussi (1968–1974)
- Rev. Fr. Patrick Sheehy (1974–1980)
- Rev. Fr. George Tharayil(1980–1986)
- Rev. Fr. P. P. Varkey (1986–1989)
- Rev. Fr. E. V. Chacko (1989–1992)
- Rev. Fr. T. Pulickal (1992–1995)
- Rev. Fr. M. A. Joseph (1995–2001)
- Rev. Fr. T. V. Jacob (2001–2007)
- Rev. Fr. Siby Joseph Vadakel (2007–2013)
- Rev. Fr. Joseph Pathickal (2013-2016)
- Rev. Fr. M.J Jose ( June, 2016 onward)
School traditions and houses
The school's patron saint is St. Dominic Savio, a pupil of St. John Bosco, who died at the age of fourteen and was made a saint on the basis of his having displayed "heroic virtue" in his everyday life.[3]
The school uniform is based on the school colours,. The navy blue school blazer (worn by boys from Class VI onwards) displays the school's crest on the pocket. The crest consists of a Christian cross superimposed with a lotus flower and an open book displaying the school motto, Virtus et Scientia (Virtue and Knowledge).
DBPC uses the house system to organise school activities with boys assigned to one of four houses: Savio (red), Bosco (blue), Francis (yellow), and Rua (green).
Academics
The school is a Christian Minority Institution recognized by the National Commission for Minority Educational Institutions, Government of India (vide F.No.1710 of 2006, dated 12/01/2007) and Department of Education of the Government of West Bengal, and is affiliated to the Council for the Indian School Certificate Examination, New Delhi (School Code WB013) for the Indian Certificate of Secondary Education Examinations (ICSE), the Indian School Certificate Examinations (ISC) and the National Council for Vocational Education and Training.
The method of education followed in the school is the Salesian Preventive System taught and practised by St. John Bosco. It is based on the three pillars of Reason, Religion and Loving Kindness. Classes in Christian Doctrine (Catechism) are compulsory for Christian students. All other students must attend classes of Moral Science/Value Education.
The ICSE Section (Classes KG to 10) prepares students for the Indian Certificate of Secondary Education Examination (ICSC) of the Council for the Indian School Certificate Examination in English, Hindi/Bengali, Mathematics, Science, History, Geography, and an elective option of Commercial Applications, Economic Applications or Computer Application. The ISC Section (Classes 11 and 12) accepts students who have passed ICSE or its equivalent, and prepares students for the Indian School Certificate Examination of the Council in two streams: Science and Commerce.
The school's Technical Section, established in 1965, offers a job-oriented training course in Machine-shop Engineering and prepares boys and girls for the following certificates: City and Guilds of London Institute, U.K., Industrial Training Institute (ITI) exam, Don Bosco Technical School Diploma and the Certificate of Vocational Education (CVE) of the Council for the Indian School Certificate Examination, New Delhi. There is also a non-formal section that gives short-term job oriented training.
The school also provides free evening classes for poor children in the area, as well as an adult literacy programme.
Campus
The campus is dominated by the H-shaped four-storey main school building which has an outer courtyard with the statue of Mary, Mother of Jesus Christ and an inner courtyard with a bust of St. John Bosco. In 2013 the school's new library block with further laboratories and classrooms was inaugurated.[4] The campus also includes a large playing field.
Events
In addition to its annual celebration of Rabindra Jayanti (the birthday of Rabindranath Tagore), Don Bosco, Park Circus hosts several interschool events in Kolkata, the most prominent of which is Bosco Fest. One of Kolkata's oldest inter-school festivals, it is held annually in late July or early August.[5] The fest initially began with just two events—Bosco Beat (an inter-school band event) and Jubilee Quiz (an Inter-school quizzing event).
Bosco Chriz is an inter-school fest organised by the Young Catholic Students in May each year for other Christian schools of the city. The event was initiated in 2001.
Bosco Empresarios is the inter-school business meet organised by the Commerce Department of the school in November each year. The event was initiated in 2011.
Twinning and exchange programmes
Since 2009, the school has established links with the Salesian School, Chertsey, close to London. Thereafter, students from the UK have been visiting Don Bosco School, Park Circus every year.[6] The school has also signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Goethe Institut for greater collaboration and the teaching of German in school. This has allowed students to visit Germany for Inter-cultural language programmes since 2010, under the Schulen: Partner der Zukunft (Schools: Partners for the Future) initiative of the Goethe Institut and the Federal Republic of Germany.[7]
Notable alumni
- Rakesh Gangwal,Former President, US Airways, co-founder, Indigo Airlines[8]
- Amitabha Ghosh, planetary geologist and only Asian scientist on NASA's Mars Rover mission[9]
- Samit Basu, author of the GameWorld trilogy which includes The Simoqin Prophecies, The Manticore's Secret and The Unwaba Revelations[10]
- Neel Mukherjee, UK-based critic and author of Past Continuous which won the Vodafone Crossword Book Award for Best Fiction of 2008.
- Aninda Sinha, Physicist.
References
- ↑ Calcutta Telegraph (21 March 2007). "Golden jubilee gala at school".
- ↑ Don Bosco School, Park Circus. History of Don Bosco
- ↑ Mousolfe, A. J. M. & J. K. (1986). Saint Companions For Each Day, pp. 163-164. St Pauls BYB
- ↑ BIS (information service of the Salesians of Don Bosco in South Asia) (1 February 2013). "New Library Block Inaugurated And Blessed At Don Bosco, Park Circus"
- ↑ Times of India (10 August 2009). "Fest celebrates spirit of youth"
- ↑ Don Bosco Today (Summer 2011). "Chertsey Goes to India", pp. 14-15
- ↑ The Indian Express (14 September 2009). "Kolkata students wake up with Guten Morgen"
- ↑ Zweigenhaft,Richard L. and Domhoff, G. William (2011). The New CEOs: Women, African American, Latino, and Asian American Leaders of Fortune 500 Companies, p. 149. Rowman & Littlefield
- ↑ Indias.com. Dr. Amitabha Ghosh
- ↑ Narayanan, Nandini (29 May 2009). "Calcutta Boys". India Today
External links
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Coordinates: 22°32′39″N 88°22′17″E / 22.544217°N 88.371500°E