A musical tribute to Saint Thyagaraja, the greatest of South India’s music composers and an all time musical prodigy, was held on 27 January 2013. For the third year Dr. Sundar from Chennai and his Musical Forum visited the School to perform Carnatic music
The songs of delicate divinity, melodic beauty and high artistic sense, mesmerised the audience.
We were proud to perform our dance “The National Integration Dance of India” on Republic Day in the Anna Stadium. The dance depicted various folk dances from different Indian states. The vibrant performance and the attractive, colourful costumes impressed the crowd and the District Collector who was in attendance. There was no doubt that amongst the many schools that performed, Jayendra stood out and many people expressed their appreciation.
On Saturday 19th January the II Standard pupils went on a tour to visit the Winter Beverage factory and Five Falls waterfall at Courtallam. The tour of the juice factory was a great success as the children were all given samples to drink and Mr. K. Alagusundaram, the Proprieter, generously gave each child a gift of a tiffin box and some stationary.
After a picnic lunch in the Courtallam Eco Park playgrounds there was plenty of time to play before cooling off in the Five Falls waterfall. Actually the poor monsoon meant there was only one fall which was sufficient for all the children to enjoy themselves but not enough to dowse their spirits: they sang continuously on the coach all the way home.
Five Falls
On Tuesday we held Samathuva Pongal at the School. This celebrates the apparent northern movement of the sun from the Tropic of Capricorn to the Tropic of Cancer which heralds the onset of summer and the harvest. We were honoured to host a celebration in collaboration with the International Association for Religious Freedom. The function was open to all irrespective of caste or creed and not only pupils and staff but many local villagers enjoyed the fun. Pongal was prepared (a rice dish) and consumed with relish. Pupils were amused to see their Principal and senior staff dancing with obvious delight.
To raise awareness of Diabetes locally, on World Diabetes Day on 16th November the interact club worked with Dr N S Balakrishnan from Sankar Hospital to organize a march. Over two hundred students from XI standard took part. The march was flagged off by Sumit Charan the DIG of Police Tirunelveli. A mobile diabetes camp was also organized using a School bus which toured round Sankarnagar Bazaar. Over 150 patients were tested and advice and, where necessary treatment, given. A number of people who had no idea they were at risk were found to need urgent treatment. This was a very worthwhile exercise.
On 6th November we were delighted to welcome Nigel Wray, one of our most generous benefactors to Sri Jayendra. He spent two nights with us and was able to see just how much has been achieved with the help he has given us.
He opened the first floor rooms in the Lucy Joe Studios which have been equipped as Technology Integrated classrooms. He watched a demonstration lesson and then toured the school showing great interest in everything he saw. His visit culminated in a spectacular show of music and dance in the Priory Theatre which was enjoyed by all.
It was a great pleasure for us to be able to express our gratitude to him for all he has done for us. The School would not be what it is today without his generosity which has made such an incredible difference to the lives of so many children in the area.
