Don Bosco High School, Imphal

infobox School
name= Don Bosco School, Imphal
type=Private
location= Chingmeirong, Imphal


imagesize = 144px
motto= For God & Country
established= 5 March 1957
affiliation= Salesians of Don Bosco
district=
grades= Kindergarten to 10th grade
president=
principal= Mr. Indi Bhusan
free_label= Vice Principal
free_text=
head of school= George Manamparampil C
dean=
faculty=
staff=
students= 1119
enrollment= all-boys, c. 200 annually through interview
athletics=
conference=
colors= White and Black
mascot=
information= Tel:
website= [http://donboscoimphal.pbwiki.com/ donboscoimphal.pbwiki.com]

Don Bosco School, Imphal, situated at "Chingmeirong, Imphal", is an all-boys, English medium school imparting education from Lower Kindergarten (LKG) through 10th grade.Established in 1957, it is run by the Salesians of Don Bosco, which is a minority institution within the Catholic Church. The school is affiliated to the Board of Secondary Education, Manipur. The motto of the institution is "For God & Country".

History

The school was established on 5 March 1957 by Father Peter Bianchi and Father A Ravilico . [cite news
title= Reaching Out : The Don Bosco way
publisher=Kangla Online
language=English
url=http://www.kanglaonline.com/index.php?template=kshow&kid=629
accessdate=2007-04-13] Fr Ravalico and Fr Bianchi resided first in a rented house in Thangmeiband, and then in the place that is now Nirmalabas School. In that year, a piece of land was bought in Chingmeirong, the place where the church and boarding stand now, and the school was started, originally named "Don Bosco Youth Centre". In 1958 the classes were held in the newly completed building. The land on which the present school building stands was bought in three pieces over the years. Three floors of this building were completed in 1975. A fourth floor was added in 1990.

This school pioneered education in the English medium in this state. As this school was meant to cater exclusively to boys, soon after it was started, a sister school was established for girls by its sister society, the Salesian Sisters of Don Bosco. This second school is the Little Flower School, Imphal, on the Airport road. Numerous other schools followed suit. Today there are some 50 high schools and higher secondary schools run by the Catholic Church in Manipur and a full fledged Don Bosco College at Maram.

Since its establishment in 1957, the first mission or catholic school of Manipur has been flourishing and its reputation has been on the rise. In the initial years, there was scepticism about the purpose and quality of the school. But, when the second batch of Matric students, who appeared in 1962, secured three positions in the entire North East India, the school became extremely popular. A second Don Bosco School was started in 1983 to ease the pressure for admissions. The performance of the school in the academic field in the three decades of the 70’s, 80’s and 90’s is probably unparalleled anywhere in the world, with students consistently taking the top positions in the Board examinations year after year, with the peak in 1986 when it secured six ranks within the first ten.

The school has not only popularised education in the English medium in the state, but also opened up a horizon of opportunities all over the world to the youth. It is the first school in the whole of North East India, and the second Don Bosco School in India to offer students the possibility to study computer science in School starting from 1986. In 2003, it also became the first school in the State to introduce counselling services for its students and today the school staff offer free counselling to 21 schools in their neighbourhoods.

Character formation, leadership skills and personality development were furthered through value education or moral science classes. In 2003, a series of value education books authored by the school rector was released and has become the most popular moral science series in the country. A variety of orientation programmes for the senior students and numerous in-service training for the staff is meant to ensure the all-round formation of the students. Sports and games and innumerable other activities are organised through the house system.

Despite some recent setbacks due to the political turmoil in the state and the consequent law and order situation, the school continues to pioneer in various fields. In 2003 it became the first school in the state to introduce counselling services for its students. Today the staff members offer free counselling to 21 schools in the neighbourhood. The school has an extensive reach-out programme taking education to the most marginalised youth of the city, through a literacy programme.

Right now, the school has 41 centres giving free classes a few hours a day to over 1100 children who have never attended school. After they have been introduced to literacy, these children are helped to get admitted into regular schools. The school has admitted nearly 3,000 of them into regular schools, and presently sponsors the poorest 600 children, paying one-third of their school fees.

The school recently celebrated 50 glorious years on 27 March 2007. [cite news
title= Don Bosco School touches golden jubilee milestone
publisher=E-Pao
date=27 March 2007
language=English
url=http://www.e-pao.net/GP.asp?src=5..270307.mar07
accessdate=2007-04-13] Over 2000 people participated in the celebration gathering.

Houses

The school uses the House system to foster a sense of competition and belonging. The four houses are
# Red
# Blue
# Yellow
# Green

All activities in the school are organized according to the houses. The house that wins the most points gets the Don Bosco title on top of the school building colored according to its color.

Administration

Academics

The students of Don Bosco, Imphal have done quite well in the 10th standard exams conducted by the Board of Secondary Education, Manipur in the past.

Athletics

Don Bosco has a large number of sports played in the school, with separate coaching classes for each of them. The coaching classes are free for the players on the school team. The different sports are :

Basketball: This is probably the most popular sport in Don Bosco. There are two basketball courts and the game plays an important role during the annual sports days.

Football: Football is very popular in the school. There are 2 football grounds inside the school, and another one outside, near the school church.

Volleyball: Volleyball is very popular in the school. There are 2 Volleyball courts inside the school.

Swimming: Swimming used to be a popular sport, but as of now, the pond inside the school has dried up.

Facilities

Clubs and Associations

*NCC & Scouts
*YCS (Young Christian Students)
*Table Tennis Club

References & Notes

External links

* [http://donboscoimphal.pbwiki.com/ Don Bosco School, Imphal Alumni Website]