"Jewel of India" awarded to Sr. Pushpalatha

Loyola Primary School seems to be making a lot of news this year. Last time, the seventh std. boy won the second place in the national level kho-kho. But this time, it is the Headmistress of the school, Sr. Pushpalatha who has taken the fame of the school to the national level. She has been awarded the prestigious "Jewel of India" honour for her distinguished contribution in the field of education. She was one of the 150 outstanding people chosen for their unique contribution in different fields of activity. Sr. Pushpalatha, a tireless, hardworking, talented and committed person has given a new look to the school. Unfortunately, she is on transfer this year from the school. Though the school misses her, her loving service to the school will always remain in the memory of the students, staff and the management.

Retreat Directors' Course

The month-long Retreat Directors' Course began on the 12^th of April and concluded on the 13^th of May at Dhyanashrama, Mount St Joseph. A Heterogeneous group of 40 Religious (Priests, Scholastics and Sisters) and a lay person participated in this course. The group was a fine blend of men and women religious, both young and seniors.
The course focused on the Ignatian Spirituality. Various topics like the dynamics of the Spiritual Exercises, the Discernment of the Spirit etc were dealt with. Fr. Freddie D'Silva explained lucidly the dynamics of the Spiritual Exercises. Fr. Terence Farias gave the nuances of Ignatian discernment highlighting the importance of discernment in one's own life. Some inputs were also given in Counselling, Spiritual Direction and Retreat Direction. Soon after the theory classes, the practical classes enhanced the skills (i.e., in Counselling, Spiritual Direction & Retreat Direction) of the participants. These skills were drilled into us by Frs. William Sequeira, Hilario Fernandes, Dion Vaz, Joseph Rodrigues, Francis Menezes and Sr. Theresa.
The course included an 8-day Ignatian Retreat wherein the participants had to guide each other. Most of the participants said that the course was well planned, balanced both in theory and practical classes and aimed at "learning-by-doing". This was also a time to renew one's own spiritual life and to get enriched with the Ignatian Spirituality. All are participants are looking forward to direct retreats and put into practice what they have learnt in the past one month. Yes, it was surely a time of renewal and a wonderful experience to all the participants.

English Course organized by the JCSA

An intensive English Course for training the Jesuit English Language Teachers was organized by the JCSA at the Assistancy level. The course was conducted at Satyodayam Retreat House (Secunderabad) from the 14th of April till the 3rd of May, 2008.
This course was arranged for the Pre-Novitiate Teachers (dealing with post-SSC & post-Inter students) and the English Teachers of the Novitiate & the Juniorate. Prof. Mohanraj of the EFLU was the Co-ordinator of the English course and Fr Packiaraj, the Director of Satyodayam, made all the arrangements in an efficient way.
36 Jesuits working in India, Nepal, Bangladesh and Afghanistan participated in the course. Fr Sunil Fernandes, the Socius to the Novice Director of Karnataka Province, was one of the participants. The facilitators included a galaxy of reputed professors from the English and Foreign Language University (EFLU), Hyderabad. They dealt with topics like Communicative English, Spoken English, Grammar, Phonetics, Study Skills and Class-room Management. With the aid of audio-visuals, they taught different techniques/methods of how to make both i.e., learning and teaching English more effective and interesting.
The course concluded on the 3rd of May. Prof. Abhai Maurya, the Vice-Chancellor of EFLU delivered the valedictory address and gave away the certificates to the participants. A large number of EFLU officials and the Andhra Jesuits were present for the valedictory function. All the participants are grateful to their respective Superiors for arranging this course.

Work Camp in Sirnur, Gulbarga

The summer camp for the first year novices commenced on the 11th of April in Sirnur, Gulbarga. It is a new mission station of the Karnataka Jesuit Province which is a ray of hope in the Diocese of Gulbarga.

Fr Joseph Monteiro gave a red carpet welcome to the novices as they arrived at the railway station with a lot of expectations.

Our dynamic young men are working hard inspite of the weather conditions. The people of this place are taken up to see these young men working with a lot of enthusiasm in the scorching sun.

No doubt, the novices are steadfast and striving hard to accomplish the objectives set by themselves at the beginning of the camp. They have learnt to integrate prayer and work. They have also learnt to strike a balance between the different activities which they undertake daily. The novices are happy that they are contributing something for the betterment of the poor people in the new mission station.