Article 2019 - 2020

Karate for the First Time

For the first time in Sophia Opportunity School, Karate classes were introduced for the students. Willing students, both boys and girls, above 10 years of age were short listed and the classes began in full vigour. The classes were outsourced by Mr. Joseph and his team.

Visit by the I R C (Information Research Centre and Team)

Ms.Vidya from I R C approached our school and gave a brief explanation about a four month certificate course in Down’s syndrome. She also briefed us the importance and procedure of making the Unique Disability ID (UDID) card for our students.

Parent/Sibling Orientation Programme

A one of a kind meet in Sophia Opportunity School, where all the parents and siblings above 10 years of age, sat together. The meet started at 8:30 am and went on up to 11:30 am.

The programme commenced with a meaningful prayer service, led by our Principal Sr. Madhuja. This was followed by the speeches by Mrs. Anitha Dominic, a Representative of Parent Teachers Association (PTA) who spoke about the traffic rules and regulations, Mr. Neel from Enfaktor spoke about My Loc software and Mr. Ramesh from Information Resource Centre (IRC) tendered information regarding Unique Disability ID (UDID) card.

Then the Resource Persons for the day Mrs. ShobaSundar and Dr. NaliniMenon, addressed the gathering where they explained about the role of a parent and a sibling in the life of a special child, the use of technology and how it affects ones life. The meet came to a successful end with the Vote of thanks.

Bethany School Sports Day

Students from Opportunity school took part in the Inter-Special School Mixed Relay for juniors and seniors. Juniors won the I prize and seniors won II prize. Thanks to Mr. Bellarmine who trained the students for the relay.

The interschool relay was held on Bethany High School grounds. Five Special Schools participated and we bagged a gold medal in 4 x 50 m shuttle relay and a silver medal in 4 x 150 m shuttle relay and a silver medal in 4 x 150 m regular relay. May God continue to bless our staff, students and their parents.

Staff Picnic

The teachers were taken on a picnic to ‘The Radiant Resort, Bannerghetta Road’. It was quite a relaxing trip and it enabled the teachers to laugh out loud and ventilate their stress. The food was delicious and the day was systematically organized by the staff council with lot of fun filled games. The trip came to an end with lot of fond memories to be carried home.

Principal's Day Celebration

Every year at Sophia, a day is set aside to acknowledge the dedicated services of our three dear Principals Sr. Alpana, Sr. Chethana and Sr. Madhuja. The celebration began with a prayer service followed by a power packed entertainment by all the buildings. Our children performed a beautiful choreo with sarees. The day came to an end with a fellowship lunch in the Duchene hall.

Sr. Manisha’s visit

Sr. Manisha the Education Co-ordinator visited our school again to observe our daily schedule and classroom observation. She observed the Speech Therapist Ms. Tejwal, the Physio Therapist Ms. Hermin and Ms. Mahua, a Special Educator. Sr. Manisha’s feedback to our staff has always helped in their progress in school.

Visitors Day

Sophia always cherished her cross-continental relationships. In regard to this an Asia Oceania Immersion Programme was held in our school auditorium. The sisters for the Immersion Programme were Sr. Marie Johanna, Sr. Noella Marie and Sr. Maria Hee-Sun from South Korea and Sr. Barbra Marie from Papua New Guniea (PNG) respectively. They were welcomed in a traditional Indian style. The programme began with a prayer service followed by a power padded entertainment from all the buildings. Later in the early afternoon the sisters visited our classrooms.

Annual Senior Sports Meet:

Sports meet at Sophia always aimed at imparting lessons on sportsman spirit, apart from commemorating victories. The meet was held in our school grounds upholding all the aspects of sporting events. Mrs. Tara Munniappa, the past teacher of Primary Section was the chief guest of the ceremony. Our Special Children gave a colourful drill display, “Wave With The Wind” and an energetic Karate performance.Due to space constraints less sporting activities were conducted and only a few parents were invited. The day ended with a cheerful note filled with promises for all the young sports enthusiasts.

A ‘Sit and Draw’ Competition:

Concern India Foundation, organized a ‘Sit and Draw’ competition called Splash. Our students were short listed and taken to Cubbon Park along with two of our staff. The event began with a prayer service and the participants proceeded towards the activity area for the drawing competition.Gameswere also conducted and the children were provided with lots of gifts, goodies and lunch. We are thankful to God, that our school bagged a first prize, two second prizes and a third prize.

Quizabled (Semifinals/Finals):

The eight winners of the semi-finals were taken to BMS Engineering College for the final round of Quizabled. A Quiz competition organized by Seva-in-Action. Four of our students got selected for the finals We are glad and thankful to God that two of them bagged the 2nd runner up, and won a cash award of Rs. 6000/- .

Boccia Tournament:

Boccia, a game played exclusively by Special Needs Persons in Special Olympics. Five of our students participated in the tournament, which was conducted in Kempegowda Playgrounds, Jayanagar. It was organized by Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Electric Vehicles in India (F.A.M.E. India). Five Special schools participated and our school lost the match by one point since it was a new game. It was a different experience for our children.

World Disability Day

International Day of Persons with Disabilities is observed every year on 3rd of December. At Sophia this day is observed in varied ways. This year the children were honouredwith a one day picnic to Lake Front Resort. Excitement built up in the air as our children gathered in Leans Court and we started our journey in three buses towards Lake Front Resort. The day was filled with pleasant surprises like games for students and staff as well, rain dance, frontal view of the lake and so forth. A good spread of delicious breakfast, lunch and tea was provided. The day ended on a positive note as our Principal, Staff and Students thanked the manager and team for their hospitality. After the group photo we started our journey towards school.

Inter Special School Sports Meet (F.A.M.E. India)

In honour of International Day Persons with Disabilities F.A.M.E. India conducted an Inter Special School Sports Meet every year and our school has always been a part of it. The meet was held in Kittur Rani Chennamma Stadium, Jayanagar.

Three of our staff accompanied twenty of our children. It was indeed a good platform to celebrate the sport abilities of our Special Children. Our children won laurels in almost all the events they participated. It was an enriching experience for all over students and the staff as well.

Christmas at Arch Bishop’s House

The commission for differently abled organized a Christmas celebration at the residence of the Arch Bishop, at Benson Town. The celebration began with lunch around 1:00 p.m. A short prayer service was followed by Christmas cultural events staged by various Special Schools across Bangalore. Arch Bishop Peter Machado armed around 4:00 p.m. and greeted the children with gifts and goodies.

Eleven students, three teachers and a few parents from our school were part of the above event.

Christmas Wishing/ Retirement/ Lamp Exchange

Glad Tidings! The King is Come!

The students of Leans building portrayed an unique Christmas play, embracing the words of Prophet Isiaha. The hidden emotions of every character in the nativity play was well brought out.

The Retirement Programme with a prayer service and Mrs. Saroj Joshua and Mrs. ShobaKrishnamoorthy were felicitated on the stage. This was followed by the felicitation of Sr. Mary Sandhya and Sr. Mary Chetana. The felicitation ended with the speeches by the retiring teachers and the sisters. The next part of the agenda was lamp exchange of duties. A short entertainment programme in honour of the retiring teachers was staged by all the buildings. The day ended on positive note with lunch and exchange of gifts in the Duchene Hall for the staff.

Annual Day Celebration

Sophia Opportunity School celebrated Annual Day with great zeal and gusto. The event was graced by the presence of our Chief Guest Rev. Sr. Mary Chetana, the Provincial Superior of the Visitation Province and the Guest of Honour, Sr. Mary Manisha, the Education Co-ordinator of the Visitation Province.

The spectacular morning began with the lighting of the ceremonial lamp by the distinguished guests. The Principal Sr. Madhuja welcomed the august gathering and presented the school report accentuating the progress of the school throughout the year, followed by a video presentation highlighting the same.

An extract from the Arabian Nights- Disney’s Aladdin- A Musical Journey took the audience to a world of magic. The show concluded with the grand finale and the highlight was the set and the props.

The Chief Guest Rev. Sr. Mary Chetana addressed the gathering. This was followed by the Vote of Thanks and the day ended on a happy note.

Rightly concluding, “If you keep on believing… The dream that you wish will come true.”