By Sunita D'Souza
MUMBAI, AUG 1, 2016: Mumbai is a city blessed with several educational institutions that provide quality education. Some of these are a year old, some a decade old and a few - like St. Joseph's High School, Wadala – 
have nurtured the leaders of tomorrow for a century.
The Josephite family came together on July 5 for the Inauguration of the Centenary celebrations. The foundation of the institution was laid in 1917 under the guidance of Father Domingo D'Sa. The school began with a single room, 17 students and a single teacher. From its humble beginnings, the school is today a bustling ecosystem of young talent readying themselves to tackle the challenges of tomorrow.
Governor of Maharashtra, CH Vidyasagar Rao and the Salesian Provincial of Mumbai, Father Godfrey D'Souza, were present at the inauguration ceremony at the newly renovated stage in the Jos Menezes Auditorium – a Centre for Learning, Culture and Arts. Those present were treated to a celebration of dance, song, drama all centered around a theme that fostered peace, love and fellowship.
The function began with a traditional welcome by the synchronized Lezim dancers and an aarti, which was followed by a Guard of Honour to usher the Chief Guest and Guest of Honour 
to their seats. Tiny-tots then melodiously struck a chord in everyone's hearts with a welcome song, before the parents performed a graceful Prayer dance. The middle school boys enacted a short skit and poem recital on mother nature. They sent home the message loud and clear: Let's Go Green and Clean.
The seniors then portrayed the different activities implemented in the school - like in the avenues of academics, sports, Greenline - through their dances, enactment of real-life situations, posters and banners.
The audience was taken down memory lane, as they relived memories of the humble beginnings of the school, the Jubilees celebrated and the developments over the years. The South-Indian dance troupe 'Movers and Shakers' kept everyone entertained with their energetic and rhythmic dance moves!
At the felicitation ceremony, Father Godfrey D'Sa, the Principal, welcomed the Guests on the dais, and went on to express 'his dream' for the students of St. Joseph's, by seeking to empower them to become independent, confident learners, proactive citizens, charged with self-belief, able to face life-challenging situations with resilience!
The Governor commended the Josephites for the beautiful Opening Ceremony. He appealed to the youth to take this initiative forward as they are the future of India and need to make positive changes. He expressed his belief that education is the strongest weapon to change the world and spoke about Bhaskaracharya and Aryabhatta. Father D'Souza then expressed his thanks for all the good that was happening on campus.
As the school motto goes –' Ad Mayors Natus Sum' – 'I Am Born For Greater Things', the Josephites continue to scale to greater heights armed with the core values of respect, honesty and kindness instilled in their hearts and minds.