“This top rank awarded to St. Mary’s, Mazgaon after I was appointed principal following 17 years service in rural areas of Maharashtra , gives me great joy and satisfaction. I am immensely grateful to the Lord that he has blessed our school with a great team of teachers and staff. This wouldn’t have been possible without their support and of parents and students working cooperatively, in harmony. The highest score that we have been awarded under the parameter of teacher competence and co-curricular education reflects the dedication of our teachers who willingly sign up for training and development programmes and walk the extra mile to provide remedial education to students. Our top score for co-curricular education is also well-deserved as our children from junior-most classes exhibit tremendous confidence when participating in performing arts programmes including elocution, debates, theatre and music. Shyness and diffidence has completely disappeared from this school. But although the highest score we have been awarded under several other parameters including academic reputation, curriculum and pedagogy and leadership — which is a tribute to the team — are highly satisfactory, I believe we should have been awarded a higher score under community service. We have a unique twinning programme with a rural school in a Adivasi dominated area under which we share curriculum and best practices with them and their class X students come and live with us for several days every year. This outreach programme has also sensitized our children to the problems of under-privileged rural schools and children” — Fr. Yohan Alphonso (centre), Director, St. Mary’s School, Mazgaon, Mumbai (estb. 1864) which has 1,348 students and 113 teachers and staff on its muster rolls.