St. Xavier's, Gandhinagar
St. Xavier's High School, Gandhinagar, Gujarat
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| Location | |
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Gandhinagar, Gujarat, India | |
| Coordinates | 23° 12' 41"N, 72° 38' 56"E |
| Information | |
| Type | Co-educational primary and secondary (1-10); co-educational higher secondary (11th and 12th Grade) |
| Motto |
A Teneris Impende Laborem ' Apply yourself to hard work from an early age' |
| Established | 1970 |
| Principal | Fr.Hector Pinto |
| Faculty | 100 |
| Grades | 1–12(Science and Commerce(only Gujarati Medium)) |
| Campus | 12 acres (49,000 m2) |
| Color(s) | Uniform color - white shirt; grey color pants for boys/ white blouse: cobalt blue skirts. (Refer school badge for emblem colors) |
| Affiliations | Roman Catholic, Jesuit |
| Website | http://www.xaviersgnr.com |
St. Xavier's School, Gandhinagar, began in the year 1970, at the invitation of the Government of Gujarat. It began as a joint venture with Mt. Carmel school, Gandhinagar and hence was aptly named Xavier's-Carmel. The school was situated in Sector 20 initially and then land was allotted to the management to develop an independent building in Sector 8. Rev. Fr. Charles Gomes, S.J. was the first Principal who had a vision to develop a good Catholic school in the new capital city of Gujarat. He was followed by other highly qualified educationists, Fr. Ignatius Pinto, S.J. and Fr. Freddy D'Souza, S.J. who shifted the school building to the new site in Sector 8. Hence in 1982, the school began with a few classes shifting to the new building in Sector 8 and in a couple of years it was a totally independent building named St. Xavier's School. Fr. Godfrey de Rozario, S.J. later on developed the campus and planted plenty of trees to give it a green environment friendly appearance. He was assisted by Br. Gomez, S.J. who helped maintain the campus.
Background
Xavier's stands for 'excellence'- that is excellence in academics, sports, co-curricular activities and so on. The all- round growth of a student is focused upon - intellectual growth, emotional growth, spiritual growth and physical growth.
A Xavierite is a person for others which is manifested in his/her contribution to society through social work and various outreach programmes. St. Xavier's School caters to the children of Gandhinagar who mostly comprise children of Government officials working in Sachivalaya. It follows the Gujarat State Board syllabus and has both the mediums running in the school - English and Gujarati.
In the year 1996/1997 the Vedruna Sisters(Carmelites of Charity) joined the school to look after the Primary and the Pre-Primary sections with Sr. Mary D'Cruz being the first Sister in charge of the Primary section.
The school has been doing academically well and has always secured more than 95% results at the Board examinations. The High point of the school is its strong focus on co-curricular activities with an annual athletic meet and an annual day programme together with various other tournaments in football, cricket, basketball and skating besides the annual Quest festival and other inter-class competitions run throughout the year. This helps to develop the personality of the student and prepares him/her to face the world with confidence.
The motto of the school in Latin is Ateneris Impende Laborem which when translated means that a child from an early age should apply himself/herself to hard work. Xavier's believes in hard work, but it also stresses that all work and no play is not the solution to a healthy upbringing. Hence work goes hand in hand with activities, be it on the play field or in the class room or in the street
History
St. Xavier's School, Gandhinagar, belongs to the International Xavier's family having institutions of learning, worldwide. It is run by the Society of Jesus, an order of religious Priests and Brothers whose main house is based in Rome. The Jesuits, as these Fathers and Brothers are known were the School Masters of Europe because of their educational institutions which stressed Excellence. They stressed Science and the liberal Arts. St. Francis Xavier whose uncorrupted body lies in Goa was the first Jesuit to come to India 450 years ago and he began the first Jesuit institutions in our country. Since then the number of Jesuit schools, colleges, management institutions have grown and are spread all over India.
The Jesuits used the Ratio Studiorium as their methodology to run educational institutions and it is still being followed in many institutions even today.
Since the government of Gujarat had planned to shift the new capital to Gandhinagar in the late 60s, they had to shift the bureaucrats to the new capital too. Most of the bureaucrats had their children in St. Xavier's Loyola Hall, Ahmedabad or in Mt. Carmel, Ahmedabad, Hence the Government invited the Fathers and the Sisters to start their respective institutions in the new capital and that is how St. Xavier's Gandhinagar came into existence. From a government building in Sector 20, it has shifted to a sprawling campus with football fields, a cricket ground, two basketball courts, a full sized skating rink, a canteen having all delicious foods liked by kids and a campus that is green and environment friendly, all in Sector 8.
The students come from all strata of society and the school is affiliated to the Gujarat Secondary Board of education running both Gujarati and English medium streams. The High school and the higher secondary receive a salary grant from the government and hence the fees are nominal making it possible to admit students from all possible economic backgrounds. The school also provides free-ships and scholarships to the students.
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External links
Coordinates: 23°12′37″N 72°39′00″E / 23.2104°N 72.650°E