By Ms Sandhya Jain for BISMumbai

The Primary Section at Don Bosco School, Borivli, organized a two-day Sports Festival on 15 and 16 December 2022. This festival was held keeping in mind, the importance Don Bosco gave to sports in the gamut of education.

The first day of the festival focused on the students of the Classes 3 and 4. The Chief Guest for this day was Mr Praveen Khara, the Regional Port Officer with Maharashtra Maritime Board. He is currently the Deputy Conservator for the seashore and inland water of three districts – Mumbai City, Mumbai Suburban and Palghar.

The ceremony begun with inviting the chief guest, and the lighting of the torch. The torchbearers were chosen from among those students who had made a mark in the field of sports at State and International levels in the previous academic year. The meet was then declared open.

The students of Class 3 presented the first event of the day – aerobics with the message ‘Save Trees’. In these times, we are called to save Mother Nature, and the little kids swayed with their Christmas tree headgears, championing this cause. Then, the students of Class 4 presented their aerobics with the Strenna as their theme – Do all with love, nothing with constraint.

On the second day of the Sports Festival, the focus was upon the students of Classes 1 and 2. The Rector, Fr Solomon Rapol, was the chief guest of the day. As he addressed the students, he spoke of Blessed Carlo Acutis. The students wished him a happy birthday as he celebrated his birthday on the following day.

The students were in Christmas mode as they dressed as little Santas and wore headgears with snowflakes, mistletoes and stars. The first event of the day was the aerobic display of the students the first standard. Focusing on the theme ‘save water, save lives’, the children put on a lively display with blue and silver pompoms in their tiny hands. This was followed by the aerobic display of the students of the second standard, with their theme – ‘save animals’. Each house represents an endangered animal, namely the elephant, the blue what, the gorilla and the tiger.

The students’ display of malkhamb exercises around and on the pole with the formations of a lotus, a saint meditating on a mountain, and the surya namaskar spoke volumes about their flexibility, agility and creativity.

The day also showcased talents in the areas of dance, music, drama, public speaking, drawing and colouring. During the prize distribution ceremony, all the winners of the day were awarded a certificate of excellence. Prizes were also distributed for the events like the football, cricket and basketball matches; athletic races, and shot put.

Proud of the great sportspersons the school has moulded in the past and present, the Principal, Fr Flovi D’Souza, addressed the gathering and quoted St John Bosco – “Run, jump, play, but do not sin”. As the event came to a close, the Head-teacher, Ms Grenita Machado expressed gratitude for the efforts of the teachers in organizing the event.