Goemkapronn desk
VASCO: In a rare of its kind initiative, the principal, teachers and students of St Andrews Higher Secondary School participated in the Sao Joao festival celebration at Vaddem in Vasco on Monday morning.
The people around the area were taken by a surprise to see a different level of bonding between the teachers and students as they danced and enjoyed together on the occasion of Sao Joao
Sao Joao celebrations, the feast of St John the Baptist, was celebrated with great traditional rituals and religious fervour amidst music and dance even as the principal, teachers, staff and students were seen with ” Koppels ” adorned with flowers and fruits on their heads.
The group danced to music in a line and circled the Vaddem lake just outside the school, amidst traditional Sao Joao Songs and chants of “Viva Re Sao Joao”.
The group even got together and posed for pics with the school in the background and sources claimed that an array of traditional Goan dishes were also made available on the occasion of Sao Joao celebrations.
Speaking to the media later, Dr Elvis Gonsalves, The Principal of the St Andrews HSS said that the school wanted to spread unity and communal harmony by celebrating all festivals
“The St Andrews Higher secondary school believe in celebrating festivals of all religions. We have students who are Hindus, Muslims and Christians and we celebrate all the festivals, whether it is Eid, Ganesh Chaturthi, Diwali or Christmas and even Sao Joao festival. Our aim is to bring about unity in the society and promote communal harmony. We want to teach our students to respect every religion and celebrate each other’s festivals,” said Gonsalves.
