News

5 th June was declared as World Environment Day in the year 1972 by the United Nations General Assembly. This year the theme called for global reflection on ‘Land Restoration, Desertification and Drought Resilience.’ Jesuit ethos, advocated at SJBHS, promotes ‘Care for Mother Earth’ which resonates strongly with the global objectives and goes beyond celebration of the day – it includes actual care for the Earth daily, through the year. The ‘Green ambassadors’ of the school as well as the ‘Avani Programme’ are testimony to the responsibility of the young students to a restored world that they can inherit!

The special assembly on 5 th of June, 2024 commenced with the hoisting of the school flag, singing of the school song and the prayer. The focus, however, was on the restoration of the five elements of nature – earth, water, fire, air, and space. The dances representing the five elements and the importance of the synthesis of all these elements was vividly displayed. The Principal, Fr Sunil Fernandes SJ, in his address, re-iterated to the students their role as the stewards of Mother Earth and their four-fold relationship to God, Oneself, Others and Nature.

The Chief Guest for the occasion, Dr Manu V Mathai, Head of Research for Data and Innovation at the World Resources Institute of India, is a renowned environmentalist. Dr Manu, in his address asked the students to rebuild relationship with nature by re-thinking our choices, re-orienting our lives and by doing whatever we can with persistence, patience and humility.

The programme was a poignant reminder of our roles as eco-warriors of a world that has inundated nature of its resources and left climate change, global warming, and a heap of microplastics as a legacy for the next generation!