True Expressions

In 1996, I think around 15 years ago, I was…too timid, uneducated, senseless, and rather short. Time didn’t take much time to change the situation. Now, whatever I am, is just an example of the care, and concern taken by NSM towards moulding kids, not knowing to spell their own name, to sturdy oaks, intelligent enough to hit the competitive world I seriously cried when we last saw our friends at school, the friendship which might have started as a silly quarrel many years ago. One can’t feel the importance of schooling when he is in it. Only when he passes out of it, he feels something missing every morning, right from the school bell, that rang in my ears all the years to the uniform that was a part of my body. In short, NSM is magnet. The longer the nails stick onto it, the more qualities they develop. I strongly believe that a school is a home away from home, I would always remain indebted to Rev.Bro.Pratap Reddy, my Principal, the icon who stood by me always.They say “Absence makes the heart grow fonder” and, the love for NSM simply grows stronger. No matter how successful a person’s journey was, you must always look at where he began. Before the CCE pattern, there was just the DO OR DIE situation at the final AISSE level- no lifelines, but here, with the involvement and strict implementation of CCE, I personally feel the student is at ease. It also guarantees that the student is as much attentive in the class as playful on the field and not forgetful of the curricular activities. No bird soars too high if it flies with its own wings, likewise, whatever pinnacles we have scaled today and the zeniths that our seniors have achieved was due to the one, the teacher, each one special in their own way. Giving us not only the usual lessons but only glimpses of life. We at NSM are not melted into men of success but rather moulded into men of value and honour. It doesn’t matter where you come from or who you are, the ability to triumph begins with you always, here we are made to believe this. My friends at college listen to me speak in awesome terms about NSM and now they are questioning themselves why they never could be at NSM themselves, infact they are jealous that I come from the best school in town. Even the lecturers and the people around town start giving you a sort of respect when they know that you belong to the NSM family, hence, I can proudly say I am a Montfortian.I like the environment of teaching at NSM, the healthy competition that we students have, the quality of education and the fact that the teachers are always ready to clear doubts even if they are not related to the subject or the syllabus has helped us in more ways than one. The teachers are open and they interacted with us in a friendly manner. We have lots of co-curricular activities and games and sports, both in the school and outside the school, apart from academics. Students have regular access to library and computer labs as well. The new CCE (Continuous and Comprehensive Evaluation) system has changed the way a student has to be assessed and has added fun to education, NSM is in tune, by hitting the right chord. Students at NSM are encouraged not only to concentrate on academics but also to take part in extra-curricular activities so that they can develop their all round personality. In short, when I look back at my schooling, it was full of fun judiciously mixed with, enjoyment and pleasure. I am grateful to NSM for giving me a wonderful school life. The priceless moments with friends and teachers will be cherished for life because they are not going to come back.The school and the people in there made such an influence (maybe I should call it an imprint) that right now the very thought of NSM itself sets me smiling. I feel lucky for having got to study there. There are loads of activities, competitions, projects, games and yes, exams too, which keep us busy most of the time and so not much time is really left to be simply wasted. At NSM, we are never forced to do anything but are always motivated to do everything. The projects boost up our confidence and we realize that even we have a creative bone in our body. It is really nice to dwell deep into the ocean of knowledge while working on our projects. The behaviour assessment made us more cautious. My school is my abode of knowledge. It is the place where I formed my friendships and met my mentors.I am proud to be an NSM student as it is one of the best school in India. Here we are not only taught the academics but also prepared to face life with positive attitude and deeply ingrained moral values. An NSM student by the time he leaves Class X experiences wholesome development. The New CCE pattern has made all of us winners. It has reduced stress and pressure as we are not assessed on one single day. The evaluation process goes on throughout the year. The CCE pattern made us learn to do our best and excel instead of comparing with others. The different evaluation tools used made learning more interesting, a welcome relief from the monotonous questions and answers! The descriptive indicators also made us learn about our innate values and also increased our responsibility to excel. The system also helped us develop a good rapport with our friends (group discussion, seminars) and build healthy bonds with teachers. Every time I talk and express my opinion people look with admiration and envy at my communication skills. And it is for this that I am grateful to my school and the board.The year 1999, so bad for me..then, but now, when I look back, it’s something for which I would be grateful to my parents throughout my life. A new place, away from home, meant to be a home, the first day I felt scary in LKG. I know it is the same for everyone. But then, there was no turning back. Every teacher who taught me, every friend I made, every mistake committed, every success I achieved will remain unique, so special, and so memorable in my subconscious mind. No one likes a school with teachers who teach. They like schools with mothers who care, friends who stand by us. This is what NSM is like, the perfect ensemble of love, nourishment, education, and more importantly, fun. I couldn’t have asked God for more. I hope that the school diversifies its approach, further and brings out more gold from the mine (its students). Achieving a 10 pointer is my greatest success. I am forced to end here, but in a sentence, I would describe NSM as the perfect “home away from home” and this is because of the concern and care of all my mentors and guides. The CCE is just an addition to what is already in process in our pattern of education.“Whatever you are today is a gift to you from your school, and whatever you become is your gift to your school”. If that is true, then I don’t think my gift can ever match up with my school’s gift. That’s because I am an ‘NSMite’. NSM is a school like none other. It does not concentrate only on academics or sports, but judiciously blends academics, sports and co curricular to adhere to needs of its pupil. NSM provides not just academic but also moral, social and emotional development to its children and ensures that they always stay ahead of the pack. The administration along with the wonderful staff make sure that the children grow and learn in a healthy, homely environment. People say schools are homes away from home. Well that stands totally true for NSM. In order to make its students worthy of competing at international level, NSM stays up-to-date with all the new changes or schemes by the CBSE, the CCE scheme being the latest. With the introduction of the CCE scheme the focus has been, furthermore shifted from writing tests to studying. The important thing now is not how many marks you score in an examination but the knowledge that you have gained at school . But that is the case with NSM, throughout. That is why NSM does not produce talking parrots or calculators but more importantly good; worthy human beings. And these are the reasons that make me say that I’m proud to be an NSMite!There is a very well known saying that “education begins at home”. But no one can deny that the seeds of education are nurtured at school because educational institutions are the true seeds of learning. A student can learn and develop healthy habits only in a good school, and NSM is one such school, which aims at developing a knowledge based society, committed to serve the humanity and to offer holistic education empowering the youth of today to be the leaders of tomorrow, with the motto “TOWARDS A BETTER WORLD”.A safe and successful voyage of a ship is destined by its captain. The captain of our ship, our ace, Rev. Bro. Pratap Reddy has guided us towards success. He is a strict disciplinarian and through his principles, empowers students with diligence, discipline and knowledge. An ideal teacher who is devoted to his noble profession and aware of his responsibilities will produce a nation of educated, disciplined sincere and hardworking people, and the teachers of NSM are true examples of an ideal teacher. They are the architects of our future who guide us on to the right path.From tiny tots to enthusiastic teens, our school has always stood by our side. George Eliot quoted that “We could never have loved the earth so well if we had no childhood in it” and our childhood was nurtured here. NSM provides the best “campo de capacitación”, training ground, for its students to know and recognize their talents and transform them to their full potential. Apart from academic excellence, and development through various extracurricular activities, NSM emphasizes at nourishment of life values in the child. And the new CCE pattern has added to the promotion of the school’s ideologies. The earlier pattern laid more stress on marks than knowledge.The radical change brought in the educational pattern by the CBSE led to transshipment of focus from learning for livelihood to learning for life. CCE helps in improving student’s performance by identifying his/her learning difficulties at regular time intervals right from the beginning of the academic session and employing suitable remedial measures for enhancing their learning performance. With CCE aiming at all round development of the child’s personality it is expected that a student will be able to take up any competitive examinations in right earnest. It may be clearly understood that introduction of CCE does not mean less emphasis on academic attainment. Students will still be required to do well in studies. However due to acquisition of additional life skills, like thinking and emotional skills, they are expected to meet different life situations with greater maturity.

If future citizens of the world realize their potential, analytical and scientific thinking, reasoning, for sure they would fulfill our institution’s motto: TOWARDS A BETTER WORLDNSM – this three letter word may mean an institution with all the good facilities & management for some, but for me it is more than that. I can confidently tell that it is only because of NSM that I am what I am today. Infact it has played a vital role in my life. Certainly institutions like this prove that schools are ‘temples of knowledge’. In my eight years long journey at NSM, I have not only acquired abundant knowledge, but also basic principles and moral values which are very much essential to succeed in life. Our school follows an excellent education pattern with wonderful teaching faculty. Along with this, co-curricular activities (both literary and cultural) are conducted to nurture the innate talents of the students. It also provides an eco-friendly environment with lot of greenery around. In short, NSM has inspired me to aspire.The CCE pattern followed here has helped the students in their personality development. The various activities that are to be performed under this system has helped the students to improve their creative & imaginative skills. It also provided an opportunity for slow learners to gain marks through the activities. By introducing the semester system, the burden on the students has reduced tremendously as they need to concentrate only on the limited portion. Whatever I am today I owe it to my school.My School, N.St.Mathew’s in Vijayawada is a school that cares more for the all round development of the students. The learning and teaching pattern in our school is unique. Understanding concepts, and applying them is always given predominance. Therefore most of us at school feel that only the lucky and the fortunate get to study in a school like this. Our twelve long years at school have taught us the true and exact meaning of phrases like ‘school the second home’ and ‘home away from home’.The CCE helps in improving students performance by identifying his / her learning difficulties at regular time intervals, right from the beginning of the academic session and also enhances remedial measures for enhancing their learning performances. Holistic education demands development of all aspects of individuals personality. It is fortunate that much attention and emphasis is given to the development of interests and passion of learners. Focusing on excellence of academics results in complete development of personality. Hence forth CCE has helped in improving the cultural and also literary skills of students. The ultimate boon of CCE is the uniform standardization of syllabus. It also broke the monotony of rote learning. CCE has paved way not only for the overall development but also for tension free living. We are indeed thankful to CBSE in general and our school in particular for establishing such a wonderful, scheme which will, for sure transform our nation ‘towards a better world’ and for following this pattern we shall be extremely grateful to our Alma mater.My School, NSM is the best school in Vijayawada. Today very few schools give importance to activities like literary, cultural, games and sports. Academic performance and extracurricular activities go hand in hand throughout the year. The teachers here do not stress on rote learning, understanding concepts is more important than scoring marks at our school. Thus we enjoy and cherish every moment spend at school. The whole school is one big family. The captions ‘Togetherness is Happiness and Progress’ found all over the campus has certainly made all of us more united and more caring. The New CCE pattern followed by our school is simply superb. We do not feel the stress at all. The biggest blessing being the division of the portions into SA-I and SA-II. The term wise divisions have indeed taken a huge load off our backs. The project works and the group activities were both enjoyable and informative. 60% as internals and 40% at the boards is a boon because it also means 60% less stress. This does not mean that seriousness is diluted because, we students do realize the importance of understanding concepts and application of the knowledge acquired. Surely the CCE is the best thing that has happened to school children today!The history of NSM had Rev. Bro. Yesu Prabhakaran as the Vice Principal during the academic years 2010-2012. The student community and the teaching fraternity have had many an inspiring and enriching experiences through their interactions and associations with him. The NSM family is highly grateful for his cherished service these two years. We hope and pray that he continues his good work in the service of the Lord.