| Schola Columbae St. Columba's School |
|
|---|---|
| Motto | Sapere aude sincere et constanter Dare to be wise, sincerely and constantly |
| Established | 1941 |
| Principal | Br. Leonard D. Lobo cfc |
| Students | 3250+ |
| Location | New Delhi, NCR, India |
| Colors | Indian green and canary yellow |
| Mascot | Scoogie |
St. Columba's School, Delhi, India, was established in 1942, and is one of twelve English Medium schools of its kind conducted by the Indian Province of the Congregation of Christian Brothers which was founded by Blessed Edmund Rice, a Roman Catholic missionary and educationalist. It follows the CBSE system of education since 1991. The campus of St. Columba's School is located in the heart of Delhi and extends over several acres. The school admits only boys.[1][2] Students are referred to as Columbans.
The school is named after the 6th century Gaelic Irish missionary monk St. Columba who was one of the Twelve Apostles of Ireland.
Officially opened on 29 April 1941, St. Columba's School began with 32 boys in New Delhi next to the Sacred Heart Cathedral, admitting till class 6. It was one of the first schools in India to introduce computer education. The Junior School was opened at the site of a rose garden in 1942. The School's Motto is 'Sapere Aude, Sincere Et Constanter' Latin for 'Dare to be wise always, Sincere and Constant we.'
Almost two and a half centuries ago, in 1762 Edmund Ignatius Rice was born into an affluent farming family in Callan, Ireland. At seventeen years of age, he showed so much promise in his uncle’s firm that soon the reins of the family business were handed over to him. Material success, however, did not go to young Edmund’s head, but was paralleled by his charitable activities and deep spiritual growth.
A severe testing of Rice’s faith arose with the death of his wife in childbirth. Faced with the responsibility of raising a motherless daughter, he clearly saw the plight of other destitute children living on the streets. He decided then and there, not only to raise his own child but to provide care for these street waifs.
He embarked upon the task of rehabilitating boys who had become accustomed to life in the streets, and found it difficult to conform to schooling. Often, Rice was abandoned by his helpers and left to cope alone with his work, but his spiritual tenacity and steadfastness slowly bore fruit and he saw his community of helpers increase and spread beyond the borders of Ireland. Today, the congregation of Christian Brothers owes its existence to the vision and faith of Edmund Rice.
A majestic and iconic red brick building, the senior school building stood alone and once housed the entire school. Today, the 11th and 12th classes are to be found here along with a library, science laboratories and the administration wing. On the first floor were the residences of the Christian Brothers, which were shifted to the Provincialate Wing in 2011.
The Edmund Rice Hall, or the ERH, has an indoor basketball cum badminton court. It has a stage at one end, seating space to accommodate more than 2000 people and stadium-like step seating at the far end. It hosts the annual Christmas Play that is a major attraction, being organised entirely by the students and the faculty.
The Columban Open Quiz, organised by St. Columba's School every August, is the biggest inter-school quiz in North India, featuring almost 250 teams of four members each.[3] Started in 1987, it was earlier organised in the Diocesan Community Centre close to St. Columba's School (SCS), but from 2001 onwards it was organised in the Edmund Rice Hall, a multipurpose hall located near the Middle School. Since 2007, the finals and semi-finals have been held in the Junior School Hall. It is organised by a team comprising Senior School teachers and current Quiz Society from the Senior School of SCS, while the Preliminary Rounds, which are written, and then the Quarter-Finals are set by the members of the last Quiz Society. In 2010, it was won by Amity School, Noida, and in 2011 by Mother's International School. For many years, the semi finals and final were conducted by the renowned quizmaster Francis Groser. Since 2006, this mantle has passed on to Adittya Nath Mubayi and Kunal Savarkar, alumni of St Columba's.
The Columban is an annual magazine made by the Editorial Board composed of students of class 11. The magazine has become a tradition and is eagerly looked forward to each year by faculty and students. The magazine features articles by students and interviews with notable alumni.
St. Columba's School is one of the few schools in New Delhi to have a debating society. The debates are held each year amongst the sections of class 11 and of class 12. A best speaker's debate is then held in which the best speakers of class 11 and class 12 go head to head in a heated debate, with the entire entire Senior School as audience.
The Christmas Pageant was an annual event organized by the students of the Middle School. The play was organized by Mrs. Ann Beddoe and has been stopped in favor of Columbix (the Columban sports day).
The Columban Fest is an annual event organized in the Senior School where the students showcase their talents. It includes kite making, poetry writing, poster making, slogan writing, crossword, logo designing, sketching, dance, music and The Columban. The Columban Fest is a two day event in which the first day bares witness to an intra-class competition while the second day features an inter school competition with prominent schools from New Delhi taking part.
SYMSCI is the science symposium organized for the students of class 10. Students give presentations before a panel of judges after which they are questioned. The event seeks to engage young minds and help them develop scientific thinking. The topics of the presentation range from Plasma to Plant hormones. "Effects of Technology on our Environment" was the topic of 2010.
The Socials are an annual event at St. Columba's School where the students of class 10 and class 12 interact with the girls from the other schools. The socials have been conducted with Convent of Jesus and Mary (Delhi), Carmel Convent, Mater Dei and Loreto Convent, Delhi. The socials were not held for class 10 in the year 2009. They took place on 26 November 2010 for class 10 with the students playing host to the girls from CJM.
The Music Society is under the guidance of Mr. Samuel McDonald.
The summer uniform is a white shirt, white trousers, belt striped in green and gold, white socks with green and gold stripes, and black shoes.
The winter uniform is a white shirt, dark grey trousers, bottle green blazer with the school emblem, a bottle green half sleeves sweater, a bottle green full sleeves sweater, a bottle green muffler with gold stripes, black shoes and dark grey socks with the tie (green and gold) made compulsory.
We sing praises of you St. Columba
Scholars of Columba's we
Dare to be wise always
Sincere and constant we.
This is our motto that guides us
Through life eternally
This truth we learn in our days of youth
Gives us strength in fraternity.
With glory glows the spirit of S.C.S.
Marking all our efforts with true success
And our alma mater seals us as a chosen band
We all work together
for the glory of our land.
We sing praises of you St. Columba
Scholars of Columba's we
Dare to be wise always
Sincere and constant we.
This is our motto that guides us
Through life eternally
This truth we learn in our days of youth
Gives us strength in fraternity.
Pride in carrying our banners of green and gold
Banners that will lead us towards all our goals
Service to others and our nations good
We all come together in godly brotherhood.
We sing praises of you St. Columba
Scholars of Columba's we
Dare to be wise always
Sincere and constant we.
This is our motto that guides us
Through life eternally
This truth we learn in our days of youth
Gives us strength in fraternity.
The 14th and current principal of the school is Br.Leonard D. Lobo.
The following is a list of all the principals :
The elegant red-brick Senior building and its large playing field has been featured in two television commercials - one of them featured Indian cricket captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni endorsing Sonata watches and the other marketed the Intel Centrino Core 2 Duo processor. The campus was featured in the 2003 Bollywood film Saaya starring John Abraham. The school's uniform was featured in an Airtel advertisement depicting the early life of alumnus Shah Rukh Khan.Also a Hindustan Times advertisement was shot at the Senior School Building.
The Old Columban Association (OCA) is an association for the alumni. Its mission is to promote St. Columba's School and its students, and to unite alumni and friends in support of each other and the school. The current president of the OCA is Rajeev Sabharwal of the 1981 batch. The OCA annually organizes the OCA Sports Carnival in which the OCA competes against the seniorr school students in cricket, football and basketball matches. Every year, the OCA organizes the Golden Jubilee and Silver Jubilee of batches which have graduated 50 years and 25 years ago respectively. In 2010, the Golden Jubilee of the 1960 batch, and the Silver Jubilee of the 1985 batch, was celebrated. In February 2011, The OCA organized "The Great Columban Desert Safari" in Dubai, UAE. It was attended by 65 people, including the OCA wives and children.