Educating the Dragonfly way…Teachers’ Day in Aux- Benaulim!

Before we begin to mention about our Teachers’ Day celebrations let me tell you a story – the story of the dragonfly.  The dragon fly, dear friends, grows as a little egg in the water and then progresses to grow into a little beetle.  A major portion of its life is lived in the water.  As time passes the beetle grows more and more bored of the drab life it leads.  Now and then, the beetle gets a desire to see what lives above the water surface.  But the others discourage them saying that the world above is treacherous because many a beetle had dared to go out promising to come back to tell but has failed to return.  One little beetle one fine day ventures out into the unknown, promising to return to reveal the surprises of the outside world.  So it moves out and pauses as it waits at the surface of the water.  And then a very beautiful thing happens.  The sun’s rays beat on the back of the beetle, cracking open the hard shell and immediately pretty wings spring up and before the dragon fly knows it, it just skims through the water, leaving behind its world to discover the treasures of the unknown.  It wants to come back but cannot do so.  It only hopes that each beetle will one day pick up courage to dance the dance and dare to dream.   With this as the background knowledge, the theme and symbol for the Teachers day 2017 was settled.A triduum of prayers for every teacher helped to set the tone for the great day. With the Dragonfly as the symbol of the day and with the theme ‘With you dear Teacher, I dance the dance, dare to dream, I spread my wings and soar like the precious dragonfly’, the students of Auxilium Benaulim, rocked the Teachers’ Day. The Eucharistic celebration was the highlight of the day.  Selected students dressed in colourful attire escorted the Staff members to take part in the liturgy.  Each was handed over a skillfully made dragonfly of different hues which they carried in procession to the tune of ‘Jubilate everybody’. The offering of bread and wine was an offering with grateful sentiments for bringing about a transformation in their lives.  A small card with a quill dragonfly was handed over to the teacher and a thanksgiving prayer emphasizing their role in building up the children was prayed. Snacks, a well prepared entertainment programme marked the next phase of the day.  Sr. Agatha Dias, the animator gave a powerful message to the staff  – what a teacher writes on the blackboard of life can never be erased – boosting up the teachers to live their vocation to the fullest knowing the impact that their lives make on the students.   A delicious lunch with a gift to thank the staff for their relentless services completed the day.The dragon fly is a symbol of transformation of change – two things that every teacher, every educator has to bring about in his/her students.  Are we ready to dance the dance, dare to dream and spread our wings and soar (with our students) towards our precious Jesus, the ultimate teacher?  The dragon fly does it, shouldn’t we outdo it?