View source for St. John's Diocesan Girls' Higher Secondary School

{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2017}}
{{Use Indian English|date=September 2017}}
{{Coord|22|32|15.00|N|88|21|15.23|E|region:IN_type:edu|display=title}}
{{Infobox school
| name                    = St. John's Diocesan Girls' Higher Secondary School
| nickname                = Diocenas
| native_name             =
| latin_name              =
| logo                    = Logo of St. John's Diocesan High School, Kolkata, India.jpg
| logo_size               = 190px
| seal_image              =
| image                   =
| alt                     =
| caption                 =
| motto                   = ''The Good Retain, The Better Follow''
| motto_translation       =
| location                = 17, Sarat Bose Road, Kolkata, West Bengal, India
| coordinates             =
| schooltype              =
| fundingtype             =
| type                    =
| religious_affiliation   = [[Church of North India]]
| religion                =
| denomination            =
| patron                  =
| established             =
| founded                 = {{Start date|1876}}
| founder                 = [[Angelina Margaret Hoare]]
| closed                  =
| principal               = Snigdha Gain
| grades                  = [[Lower Nursery School|Nursery I]], [[Upper Nursery School|Nursery II]] <br/>[[Kindergarten|Kindergarten or Transition School]] <br/>[[1st grade|I]] to [[Fourth grade|IV (Junior School)]] <br/>[[5th grade|V]] to [[7th grade|VII]] Middle school <br/>[[8th grade|VIII]] to [[10th Grade|X]] High School<br/>[[11th grade|XI]] to [[Twelfth grade|XII (Higher Secondary School)]]
| years                   =
| gender                  = Girls only
| avg_class_size          = 60 students in each of 4 sections of a class.
| ratio                   =
| language                = English, Bengali, Hindi
| houses                  = 4
| colours                 = {{color box|Green}} [[Green]] {{color box|Pink}} [[pink]] <br/>{{color box|Blue}} [[Blue (color)|blue]]   {{color box|Yellow}} [[Yellow (color)|yellow]]
| colors                  =
| sports                  = [[Athletics (sport)|Athletics]] and [[basketball]]
| publication             = Papyrus
| affiliations            = [[West Bengal Board of Secondary Education|WBBSE]] and [[West Bengal Council of Higher Secondary Education|WBCHSE]]
| website                 = {{URL|http://www.stjohndiocesan.in}}
}}
'''St. John's Diocesan Girls' H.S. School''' (informally known as '''Diocesan''' or '''Dio''') is a girls-only day school located in [[Kolkata]] (Calcutta), [[West Bengal]], [[India]]. It was established in 1876 by [[British people|British]] missionary [[Angelina Margaret Hoare]] from [[Kent]], [[England]] who devoted her life to the advancement of women's education in [[British India]]. It is a Christian school run by the Protestant [[Church of North India]] and its primary language of instruction is [[English language|English]]. The school's patron saint is [[Saint John the Baptist]]. Although previously a [[college]], the school was stripped of its college status by the British Government when freedom-fighter [[Bina Das]], a student of the school, attempted to assassinate the Governor of Bengal, [[Stanley Jackson (cricketer)|Stanley Jackson]].
Today, the school is often considered to be one of the most prestigious girls' schools in Bengal, and has a rich history of distinguished alumnae such as [[Abala Bose|Lady Abala Bose]], [[Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak]], and [[Maitreyi Devi]]. It is situated in the iconic Landsdowne Road (officially [[Sarat Bose Road]]) in South Kolkata and also runs a school for underprivileged children in Ripon Street.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2020-11-23 |title=About |url=https://stjohnsdiocesan.in/about/ |access-date=2023-12-13 |website=St. John’s Diocesan Girls' HS School |language=en-US}}</ref>
[[File:Johnthebaptist.jpg|thumb|Statue of St.John-the Baptist at School Campus]]
==History==
[[File:Dio gate.jpg|thumb|School gate]]
The school is one of the oldest [[girls' school]]s in Calcutta (present-day Kolkata). In 1894, the school was named [[St. John's Diocesan]] by the [[Community of St John Baptist|Clewer Sisters of John the Baptist]] from [[Windsor, Berkshire]]. The school was started in 1876 by [[Angelina Margaret Hoare|Sister Angelina Margaret Hoare]] (17 May 1843 – 10 January 1892), a British missionary from [[Kent]], [[England]] who devoted her life to the advancement of women's education in British India. From her diaries we know that the school started with 16 female students.{{citation needed|date=June 2016}}
From 1908 to 1931, St. John's Diocesan School remained the only Christian women's college of good repute in eastern India. Hoare wrote in a letters to her brother in [[England]]: ''"...my idea of the future of our Diocesan School is that it should be an institution not confined to any particular society or an elite group..."'' She died at age 48 in 1892. Upon her death, [[Anglican Diocese of Calcutta|Bishop of Calcutta]], [[Ralph Johnson (bishop)|Bishop Johnson]], praised her in the following words:{{blockquote|...be assured, all of you that her devoted life has not been lost, for the public of Calcutta. The work she has done can never be altogether lost sight of. Not to mention the seed she has sown in the hearts of her beloved children in the [[Diocesan School of Calcutta]] and other schools in the [[Sundarbans]], which will bear fruit in the generations to come...}}<ref>[http://www.stjohnsdiocesanschool.org St. John's Diocesan Girls' Higher Secondary School website] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141218090806/http://stjohnsdiocesanschool.org/ |date=18 December 2014 }}, stjohnsdiocesanschool.org; accessed 17 June 2016.</ref><ref>[http://cnicalcutta.org/bishops.html CNI Diocese of Calcutta – Bishops] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160301212504/http://cnicalcutta.org/bishops.html |date=1 March 2016 }}, cnicalcutta.org; accessed 17 June 2016.</ref><ref>[http://anglicanhistory.org/india/chatterton1924/27.html Chapter XXVII: The Mother Diocese of Calcutta, 1815] - A History of the Church of England in India, SPCK, 1924.</ref><ref>[http://www.cnisynod.org/diocesesch.htm#calcutta Diocese of Kolkata] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091226091016/http://www.cnisynod.org/diocesesch.htm#calcutta |date=26 December 2009 }}, cnisynod.org; accessed 17 June 2016.</ref>
On 7 April 1931, [[Beena Das]] who was a student of the school, shot the then [[Governor]], [[Stanley Jackson (cricketer)|Stanley Jackson]] for which the recognition of the [[college]] status was taken way thereafter by the [[United Kingdom|British]] Government. During its earlier days till the 1970s, it was a [[co-education]]al school. However, during the 1970s, the need for [[educational institutions]] for [[women]] in Kolkata was felt and since then the school has devoted itself to the betterment of female education only. It has more than 3,800 female students and is affiliated to the [[West Bengal Board of Secondary Education|WBBSE]] and [[West Bengal Council of Higher Secondary Education|WBCHSE]].{{citation needed|date=June 2016}}
[[File:St johns diocesan girls high school.jpg|thumb|Campus]]
==Principals==
{| class="toccolours" style="fix: right; margin-right: 1em; font-size: 100%; background:#ffffcc; color:black; width:20em; max-width: 75%;" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"
! style="background-color:#cccccc;" colspan=2 | List of Principals
|-
| style="text-align: left;" |
|-
| [[Sister Hilda Francis]]              ||{{center|  — }}
|-
| [[Charubala Das]]                     ||{{center|  — }}
|-
| [[Molina Mukherjee]]                  ||{{center|  — }}
|-
| [[Nilima Pyne]]                       ||{{center|  — }}
|-
| [[Joya Shome]]                        ||{{center|  — }}
|-
| [[T. Samuel Raj]]                     || 1985 - 1990
|-
| [[Rosita Chrestien]]                  || 1990 - 2012
|-
| [[Carolyn Lionel]]                    || 2012 - 2018
|-
| [[Snigdha Gain]]                      || 2019–present
|}
==Academic life==
{{unreferenced section|date=June 2016}}
The school admits only [[female]] [[students]] and is predominantly taught by female teachers. The school teaches from the [[Preschool]] level to the [[higher secondary]] (10 + 2) and is affiliated under the [[West Bengal Board of Secondary Education|WBBSE]] and [[West Bengal Council of Higher Secondary Education|WBCHSE]]. The medium of instruction is [[English language|English]] although [[Bengali language|Bengali]] and [[Hindi language|Hindi]] are also taught as first languages beside English. Pre-primary, Primary, Secondary and Higher Secondary section starts class at the same time in the morning, five days a week, with the first two sections having an earlier finish than the rest.
===Motto and emblem===
The school motto is <span style="color:blue">''The Good Retain The Better Follow'' </span>, as illustrated in the school's emblem.  This is printed on all school dresses, sweaters, blazers, Physical Education, and athletic uniforms as well as school diaries, bags, note book covers and other articles.
===Prayer and anthem===
Before starting classes students pray the [[Lord's Prayer]] in the assembly. The school anthem is ''Make Me a Channel of Your Peace'' which is the hymn version of "[[Make Me an Instrument of Your Peace]]", adapted by Sebastian Temple.
===Campus===
The campus of the school is a mixture of natural beauty along with old [[United Kingdom|British]] buildings and new buildings. It has separate playgrounds for students of [[wikt:nursery|nursery]] classes and other senior classes. Inside the campus there is a park, three play grounds, a basketball court and seven buildings in a lush green surrounding. The school has a small [[chapel]] inside one of the buildings.
===Facilities===
The school's facilities includes seven laboratories - Physics, Chemistry, Biology, Nutrition, Home Management and Home Nursing, Junior School Computer, Senior School Computer labs. The school has an LCD projector in the library for audio-visual aid to teaching as well as for showing films to the junior students. There is also the [[United Bank of India]] -St. John's Diocesan School branch, transport (23 buses), uniform and stationery, booth, tea and coffee booth, school canteen, and a Fulbright Scholar Exchange Programme.
===Library===
The school library called '''‘Dio Bibliothique’''' has a [[seating capacity]] of 200 students and has a collection of over 35,000 books and subscribes to periodicals and dailies.
===Music Room - Conference Hall===
The school Music and Audio-Visual room known as ''''La Sale Diphony’''' is also used for conference and seminars. Piano, organ, keyboard, Octapad, guitar and drums are the instruments which are taught in the school.
===Calendar===
The [[Summer vacation]], [[Durga Puja]], and [[Winter]] or [[Christmas]] [[vacations]] are given and the sessions usually starts for Lower Nursery to Class X - Feb through January and for Class XI and XII July through June.
===Celebrations===
[[Independence Day (India)|Independence day]] is celebrated every year on 15 August in the school premises and so is [[Christmas]], [[Teacher's Day]], [[Children's Day]], [[Nativity of St. John the Baptist|St. John's Day]], [[Panchishe Boishakh]] & [[Baishe Srabon]] – the birth & death anniversaries respectively of [[Rabindranath Tagore]], [[Diocesan Education Mission Fete]], [[World AIDS day]], [[Winter Carnival]], [[Diotornie]], Melior (Annual School Fest) and other special days of the school.{{citation needed|date=March 2016}}
===Uniform===
The school uniform contains the school emblem and is of two sets - one for daily use and another for physical education or sports days. There are separate uniforms for daily use for the students of pre-primary section, primary section, secondary section, and higher secondary section..
===Events===
The school organizes academic prize distribution ceremony, sports, exhibitions, educational excursions or trips, school fests, conferences, academic and artistic programmes, [[Christmas]] Party, Farewell Party (for the leaving batches of 12th grades) and publishes a school magazine every year .
===Magazine===
The annual magazine of the school known as <span style="color:brown">'[[Papyrus]]'</span> is published every year highlighting the literary talents and other achievements of the students and the school along with its events.
===Houses and colors===
The four houses were formally known as Lily (blue), Rose (pink), Lotus (green), and Pansy (yellow)
Currently the four [[houses]] and their colors are:
*[[Angelina Margaret Hoare]] - <span style="color:Pink">Pink </span>
*[[Sister Mary Victoria]] - <span style="color:blue">Blue</span>
*[[Sister Hilda Francis]] - <span style="color:Green">Green</span>
*[[Beena Das]] - <span style="color:gold">Yellow</span>
{{color box|Green}} Green House {{color box|Pink}} Pink House {{color box|Blue}} Blue House {{color box|Yellow}} Yellow House
==Social services==
The school is involved in social services, charities and community welfare. A tradition since 1990 has been donation of one onion and one potato on every Friday by each student from Lower Nursery to Class XII to the school which goes to the [[St. Joseph]]'s old age home run by the [[Little Sisters of the Poor]]. Visits to old age homes such as Mulvany House, Shanti Nivas and St Joseph's Old Age Home are made by students. Some of the reflections of the school's devotion for the welfare of the public at large include the 2004 [[Tsunami]] relief, 2009 [[Cyclone Aila|Aila]] relief programme, 2008 drinking water supply programme, slum rehabilitation activities, educational Tours for underprivileged children, and a free Seva Clinic at St Mary's Church, Kolkata.
==Awards==
Winner of 1999 [[Britannia Trophy]] for [[Better Calcutta Project]], winner of [[Best School Award]] by Pathfinder and [[Heritage Resources Pvt. Ltd]], [[Centennial Award]] from the [[Rotary Club of Victoria]], winner of [[The Best Maintained School Award by TTIS]] in three consecutive years 2006, 2007 and 2008,<ref name=Award>[https://web.archive.org/web/20090608083440/http://www.telegraphindia.com/1080909/jsp/calcutta/story_9800769.jsp The Telegraph Official Website]</ref> TTIS trophy for the school that cares, winner of The Best Maintained School Award by [[Indian Chambers of Commerce]], 2009 "Best School of the Year Award" -Mother Teresa International Award. The 2008 Golden Flame Award was given to one of its teacher, Mrs S.B. Nandi.{{citation needed|date=March 2016}}
==Notable alumni==
Notable alumni<ref name=Alumni>[http://www.stjohnsdiocesanschool.org/page_4_alumni.html School Alumni]</ref> include:
'''Armed Forces of India'''
* [[Joyanto Nath Chaudhuri]] – former [[Chief of the Army Staff (India)]]
* [[Subroto Mukherjee]], former [[Chief of Air Staff (India)|Air Marshal of the Indian Air Force]]
'''Noted Government Officials'''
* [[S. N. Roy]], ICS
'''Arts, culture and entertainment'''
* [[Goutam Ghose]], film director
* [[Maitreyi Devi]], literati
* [[Leela Majumdar]], author
* [[Sharmila Tagore]], actor
* [[Mala Sinha]], actor
* [[Shreyasi Chatterjee]], artist and art historian, [[Rabindra Bharati University]]
'''Academia and education'''
* Lady [[Abala Bose]], wife of Sir [[Jagadish Chandra Bose]], who later started [[Brahmo Samaj Girls' School]]
* [[Sarala Roy]], founder of [[Gokhale Memorial School]], Kolkata
* [[Tanika Sarkar]], Professor in the Department of History, [[St. Stephen's College, Delhi]]
* [[Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak]], Professor in English, [[Columbia University]]
* [[Vina Mazumdar]] [[feminist]], women studies academician
* [[Purabi Roy]], noted scholar, author and [[Subhas Chandra Bose|Netaji]] researcher
'''Field of Law'''
* [[Subimal Roy]] – former [[Justice (title)|Justice]], [[Supreme Court of India]]
'''Field of Medicine'''
* [[Dr Priyadarshini Bhattacharjee]] – Internal Medicine Specialist and Clinical Supervisor [[University of Cambridge]] and Founder-Director, [[South Asian Medical Students' Association]] an NGO based in Kolkata.
==References==
{{Reflist}}
==External links==
*{{official website|http://www.stjohnsdiocesanschool.org/}}
*[http://cnicalcutta.org/bishops.html CNI Diocese of Calcutta – Bishops] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160301212504/http://cnicalcutta.org/bishops.html |date=1 March 2016 }}
*[http://www.cnisynod.org/diocesesch.htm#calcutta Diocese of Kolkata] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091226091016/http://www.cnisynod.org/diocesesch.htm#calcutta |date=26 December 2009 }} - Church of North India
*[http://www.ndtv.com/micro/marksforsports/gallerylist.aspx?pagenum=3&ID=11197&#talk NDTV Fitness Campaign 2011]
{{Kolkata topics}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint John's Diocesan Girls' Higher Secondary School}}
[[Category:Church of North India schools]]
[[Category:Schools in Colonial India]]
[[Category:Christian schools in West Bengal]]
[[Category:Primary schools in West Bengal]]
[[Category:High schools and secondary schools in West Bengal]]
[[Category:Girls' schools in Kolkata]]
[[Category:Anglican organizations established in the 19th century]]
[[Category:Educational institutions established in 1876]]
[[Category:1876 establishments in India]]