St. Anne's High School is located in Pali Hill area of Bandra, Mumbai, India, under the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Mumbai.
St. Anne's High School, was started on the 1st June 1960 with Fr Theophilus Lobo as Rector and Fr Joe D. Pereira as Principal. The number of pupils was 17 girls and 33 boys, which has now grown to 1450 students.
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"Valiant and Resolute, Strong and Determined".
The school building was inaugurated and blessed by his Eminence Valerian Cardinal Gracias on May 31, 1960. Some of the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians, Auxilium Convent, with Rev Sister Superior, Bertha, attended the function held in the evening. There was a speech by the Cardinal followed by a few items of song and dance performed by the parishioners. The parish priest, Rev. Fr Theophilus Lobo, due to whose labours the building owed its existence, gave the concluding speech.
The school started as a co-educational school, initially with Stds I-III and students, mostly parish children. With a view to establishing a convent school at Bandra, the superiors had appointed two sisters from Auxilium Convent, Sr Zita and Sr Regina, to teach in the parish school at Pali Hill.
The new school opened its first academic year on June 13, 1960 with classes, Std. I, II, III (and lower and upper kindergartens which began functioning later). Sister Regina was given charge of the kindergartens, Ms Dorothy D'Souza-Std.I, and Sister Zita- Stds. II and III. Sr Regina helped in Std.I till the lower and upper kindergartens commenced on June 20, 1961, initially in a small cottage. Half-day classes were held till the end of June, as the building was yet incomplete.
Mr A. Rasquinha was the office clerk and Mr A. Fernandes managed the canteen and the sale of text and exercise books.
In 1961 Fr Joe Pereira was transferred and Fr Trevor D'souza was appointed as principal. Mrs Greta Alvares was appointed the Headmistress. Fr Trevor began classes up to Std.VII taking in children from the surrounding areas up to Bandra East, Khar and Mahim. The Auxilium Convent nuns had set up house on Pali Hill and continued to help in the running of the school. Sr Alexander was the headmistress for some years.
Initially St Anne's High School was run as day school but when school admissions increased greatly, the school was run in shifts. Classes for the secondary section were held from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. and for the primary section from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. Ms Congita Fernandes was appointed supervisor of the primary and K.G. sections. Mrs A. Kurien was appointed as supervisor for the secondary section.
Following the inauguration of St. Anne's High School, every year new classes were added till the first batch of four SSC students appeared for the SSC Board Examination in 1966. The school secured cent percent results that year.
In Fr Trevor's initiatives included vocational guidance and counselling, the Scouts and Guides, and other extra curricular activities like field sports, elocution, dramatics, music and competitions, excursions and camps. American Peace Corp helpers who conducted classes in social values and ethics.
Fr Trevor D'Souza had the classroom door painted in red, blue, green and yellow corresponding to the four houses of the school.
There were activities galore; patrol leaders in full white uniforms with maroon berets, epaulettes, a maroon sash and a whistle kept vigil over everything that went on.
The Scouts and Guides movement with Ms Marie Peters at the helm had camps, bonfires and Khari Kamai (Work and Earn). Students went to homes in the parish, cleaning up brassware, dusting furniture, etc., and earning pocket money.
The newsletter was the The Lion's Roar. The colours of the newsletter changed each month according to the house colours. The students made field trips to the Basilica of Mount Mary's, Daughters of St Paul, St Pauls printing press, Mother Teresa's institutes, the home for the Aged in Andheri, Bethlehem house, and places of interest. Fr Trevor was principal for ten years and in 1970 he was transferred to St Elias High School, Chuim.
The next principal was Msgr Malcolm Mendonca, who was also the manager of the school.
During Msgr Malcolm Mendonca's period, the school building was raised, the present basement, the hall above, and the school office above the church extension, were built. Funds for the construction were collected by way of cultural programmes, fetes and raffles organised by the parish and the school. Msgr Malcolm Mendonca served until his transfer in 1982. Msgr Zachary D'souza took over as manager while Ms Greta Alvares continued as Headmistress. The school participated in inter-school competitions for elocution, science projects, teaching-aids exhibitions and sports events.
Fr Zachary D'souza retired and Fr Ubaldo Barretto was appointed parish priest, and was the manager of the school from 1984 till his transfer in 1990.
Ms Greta Alvares retired in October 1985. Fr Vernon Augiar was appointed the new principal and Ms Ninette Aranha was made the supervisor from 1984 till she retired in 1994.
During Fr Vernon's term the school completed 25 years and a Silver Jubilee celebration was organised with a cultural programme and a dinner celebration for ex-teachers and ex-students. Fr Vernon was with the school for a year and a half.
In 1987 Fr Diago Pereira was appointed principal. He was with St Anne's for six years till 1993. During his tenure with the help of parent-teacher association he organised fun-fairs and fetes. The structure above a section of the school hall was constructed to accommodate the computer class and for other activities.
After Fr Diago's transfer, Fr George Athaide was appointed the next principal in 1993. Ms Ninette Aranha too retired and Mr Louis Rodrigues was appointed the new supervisor of the secondary Section.
The school was made a center for S.S.C Maharashtra State Board Examinations and continues to be so to date. Fr George added a laboratory and library.
After Mr. Louis Rodrigues, Mr Jacob Thomas was appointed as supervisor and later the Headmaster after the transfer of Fr George Athaide in 1999. Mr Jacob Thomas served the school till he retired in 2003.
Ms Congita Fernandes retired in 2002 after serving St. Anne's for 40 years. In 2002 Dr Beatrix D'souza MP, Lok Sabha, New Delhi, donated nine computers and a printer to the school. Having a great devotion to the Infant Jesus of Prague she moved a fibre glass statue of the Infant to the school. This was installed formally on August 15, 2002, the feast of the Assumption of Our Lady
The school has a laboratory and an audio-visual room for the students. The computer section is managed by three teachers to instruct students from Std I to Std X.
The School has four houses: Red, Blue, Green and Yellow. Each house has a Captain and an assistant Captain. The school has a Head Boy and a Head Girl who are in charge of the Captains and the assistant Captains. There are two Sports Captains.
On 1st June 1966, the day the SSC examination was declared, the first batch of SSC students graduated with flying colours. The first SSC batch was in 1966 and they achieved a 100 per cent result. This was followed by 100 per cent in 1967 and 1968 too However St Anne's had to wait for a long time to achieve the same success that they had achieved in 1966 to 1968 the wait took them 35 years until 2003 when St Anne's again achieved a cent per cent result. The school again achieved a cent per cent result the following year in 2004.
The school remains closed on most Bank Holidays and on St. Anne's Feast Day which is on 26th July where there is a function organised by the school for the children. The summer vacation starts in April and ends in June,. There is also the Diwali and Christmas Vacations. The school has a function on Teacher's Day and Children's Day.
| Name | Years as Principal |
|---|---|
| Fr Joe D. Pereira | 1960–1961 |
| Fr Trevor D'souza | 1961–1970 |
| Mrs Greta Alvares | 1961–1985 |
| Msgr Malcolm Mendonca | 1970–1982 |
| Fr Vernon Aguiar | 1985–1987 |
| Fr Diago Pereira | 1987–1993 |
| Fr George Athaide | 1993–1999 |
| Mr Jacob Thomas | 1999–2003 |
| Sr Eliza Joseph, B.A.,B.Ed. | 2004- 2011 |
| Ms Maria Parmar | 2011 |