Don Bosco School, Park Circus

Don Bosco School, Park Circus.
Address
23, Darga Road, Park Circus,
Kolkata - 700017
West Bengal, India
Information
Type Private
Motto Latin: Virtus et Scientia
(Virtue and Knowledge)
Religious affiliation(s) Roman Catholic
Established 1958 (1958)
Rector Rev. Fr. Joy Parapilly, 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.
Administrator Rev. Fr. Anand Raj
Best Literature Teacher Mr. Anupam Banerjee
Best Science Teacher Mr. Debarshi Chakraborty
Website www.donboscoparkcircus.org

Don Bosco School (Park Circus) is a private school for boys located in Kolkata, West Bengal. It was 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 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]

The school celebrated its Diamond Jubilee in January, 2018, having completed 60 years. The festivities were spread over three days. There was a carnival, an art gallery, performances by alumnus Arko Pravo Mukherjee, the band 'Distorted' (also formed by an alumnus) an all-faith prayer service, a panel discussion by eminent alumni and two shows.

School traditions and houses

St. Dominic Savio, the school's patron saint

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 has four houses into which each student is divided. They are named after Salesian Saints. The houses are as follows:

  • Bosco House (Blue), named after St. John Bosco, the founder of the Salesian Order
  • Rua House (Green), named after Blessed Michael Rua, the first Rector Major of the Salesian
  • Savio House (Red), named after St, Dominic Savio, the patron Saint of the School
  • Francis House (Yellow), named after Francis De Sales, the patron of the Salesians of Don Bosco, and the peron after whom the order has been named
Bust of St. John Bosco in the inner courtyard
View of the main building and outer courtyard
School playing field

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]

Events

Rabindra Jayanti celebration, 2012
Bosco Fest 2012 with the theme "Passion. Innovation. Exhilaration"

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). The fest has changed completely now. There are more than 16 events, which are organized by several action groups. Some of the events include Bosco Tango, Bosco Enigma, Bosco Jukebox and many more. The fest has got its own website and mobile app. Other events also keep taking place throughout the year. Which includes Bosco MUN(Model United Nations), BOsco Bit, Bosco Procenium, Bosco Polemic, etc. The four houses compete against each other for various intra-mural events like the patriotic song competition, choral recitation competition, carol singing competition.

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

References

  1. ↑ Calcutta Telegraph (21 March 2007). "Golden jubilee gala at school".
  2. ↑ Don Bosco School, Park Circus. History of Don Bosco
  3. ↑ Mousolfe, A. J. M. & J. K. (1986). Saint Companions For Each Day, pp. 163-164. St Pauls BYB
  4. ↑ 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"
  5. ↑ Times of India (10 August 2009). "Fest celebrates spirit of youth"
  6. ↑ Don Bosco Today (Summer 2011). "Chertsey Goes to India", pp. 14-15
  7. ↑ The Indian Express (14 September 2009). "Kolkata students wake up with Guten Morgen"
  8. ↑ 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
  9. ↑ Indias.com. Dr. Amitabha Ghosh
  10. ↑ Narayanan, Nandini (29 May 2009). "Calcutta Boys". India Today

Coordinates: 22°32′39″N 88°22′17″E / 22.544217°N 88.371500°E / 22.544217; 88.371500

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