A Loving Tribute to our Teacher and Mentor - Mrs Theresa Joseph

“The mediocre teacher tells... The good teacher explains... The superior teacher demonstrates... The great teacher inspires.” —William Arthur Ward

ANNOUNCEMENT
Our Ex-Hindi teacher (S.F.X. High School, Peddem, Mapusa) Mrs Theresa Joseph wife of the late Mr George Joseph expired on 30/03/2024. She leaves behind her beloved daughters Annette, Tessy and Tiana along with their families and her grandchildren.
Her funeral was held on the 1st of April 2024 at 10.30 am at St. Cajetan Church, Assagao
She will be truly missed!

OUR MEMORIES OF MRS. THERESA

It was not a subject that would make us scientists, doctors or astronauts...

It was a language that tethered to our heritage, anchoring us firmly to our roots

The teaching style wasn't about dazzling us with techniques, like in math or chemistry... It was about the love you infused into your lessons, the wisdom you imparted with every word.

There wasn't a meticulously crafted lesson plan that made it captivating... It was your genuine connection with us that held our attention.

Discipline didn't come from a stick or ruler; it came from your warm smile.

Your persona wasn't about airs and graces; it was about the quiet simplicity with which you conducted yourself. 

While the world might have overlooked it, we knew your true intentions— You wanted for us to thrive, to succeed, and at the very least, to navigate through life with confidence. - By Jacqueline Fernandes

In honouring your journey, we embrace the memories that shaped us and the lessons that continue to inspire us.

Jacqueline - "I write this with a heavy heart after hearing about the demise of our dear Mrs Theresa. I had the privilege of meeting her at the fete that was held in 2021 on the school grounds. I was unsure if she would remember but she did and she told me so while she warmly hugged me. She was happy to see all of us that day (pic above).

I remember two main things from the past - 

First was that she was so sporting. This was evident from a pic posted on our FB school group by Jennifer Dsouza. 

We once had a students vs teachers volleyball match. All our teachers participated. The moment all our teachers walked from the school to the volleyball court on the ground opposite the main gate, we were awestruck. That was the first time we saw Ms. Theresa in a sporty skirt. I think all of us had the same thought... we all loved the change from the sari to her sports attire. She looked so beautiful! I do not remember who won that match but she played alongside her beloved husband. Sirs Joseph and Jude and Mrs Clara did most of the playing and covering up for Mrs Theresa and Mrs Jeffrey... It didn't matter who we cheered for (us or our teachers), but we were all so happy that we had such wonderful teachers who stepped out of their comfort zones to make that moment memorable.

This is another thing I remember all too well. I was reading so many similar comments from others in the group. Yes... Hindi was never my favourite subject. Failing unit tests and always praying and hoping I would get passing marks of 7 or 35 marks for the 100-mark exams. I knew that's all I needed. Even today I am no good at Hindi. But back in the 80s (We passed out in 1989) when the internet, phones, Google Search, and Google Translate had not yet come into our world we had to depend on the good old books and by-hearting. For me, translations were key to memorising and understanding how to answer papers. Mrs Theresa knew I was very weak and would ensure that the textbook was translated. I wrote the meaning just above the line like most of us did. She even told me how to distribute my marks so I would ensure a good score. She advised me to learn the big answers (4 questions x 5 marks each = 20 marks) which would take care of a chunk and how to score the rest. All I was interested in was a passing score. 

This is just an example of how bad I was. My father kept every report card that was posted to him. That's how I found these.

This was my final report card from Std 6th - Mrs Theresa was our class teacher. 

Christina Braganza - I was in 5th Standard on the first day of Hindi at school. I did not know a single word of  Hindi. Ms Theresa was our Hindi teacher and I was sitting on the first bench. She requested all the girls to open their Hindi readers. Since she spoke in Hindi I did not understand her so I just sat there because I had not brought my Hindi textbook. Sitting on the first bench and not having a book she told me again in Hindi "Khade Raho." I did not understand so I asked my neighbour Rupali what is she saying. She told me that she is asking you to stand up. After I stood up she asked me again in Hindi "Tumara pustak kaham hai" I did not understand so I asked Rupali again. She replied that she was asking where is your book. She made me stand in front of the whole class in my place and say "Aaj se me in tumare saath Hindi mein hi bolungi air tum bhi mujhe jawab Hindi mein hi denghi. English mein baat karoge to mein tumhe jawab nahim doonghi.

This was the beginning of my journey to study Hindi. It was gradual, I struggled and I learned and by the time I was in 10th, I was fluent in Hindi and I could speak Marathi too. Ms Theresa motivated me and I was blessed to learn this language when I did. During my higher studies in Bombay, I was not lost and I coped with case presentations and health education talks incredibly well thanks to the Hindi I learnt from Mrs Theresa. I got a chance to visit our school and thanked her for the initiative taken by her which changed my life. I was able to help my colleagues also during my student period. What I appreciated was her patience which allowed me to make mistakes, talk and learn from my errors. I can truly say that I learnt to speak because of her. God bless her and may her soul rest in peace

I encourage you to write down your best memories of Mrs. Theresa in the comments. If you like you can send them to me and I will add them to this post. 

  

A Tribute to a Friend and Classmate - LAXMI S. NARAYAN (Class of 1989)

 

Time for me to go now, I won't say goodbye;

Look for me in rainbows, way up in the sky

In the morning sunrise when all the world is new,

Just look for me and remember me,

as you know I remember you.

Time for me to go now, I won't say goodbye;

Look for me in rainbows, high up in the sky

In the evening sunset,

when all the world is through,

Just look for me and remember me,

and I'll be near to you.

LAXMI S. NARAYAN  (Class of 1989)

Dr. Laxmi Shankaranarayan (Bicholim, Goa), born on 10th of May 1974, expired on the 30th of September 2021 and was cremated on the same day. We pray for her departed soul and join with her family in grief. Our thoughts and prayers go out especially to her beloved parents Mr. Shankaranarayan and Mrs Indira.

GOD looked around his garden

And he found an empty place

He then looked down upon this Earth,

and saw your tired face.

He put His arms around you and

Lifted you to rest.

God's garden must be beautiful,

He always takes the best.

He knew that you were suffering,

He knew you were in pain.

He knew that you would never

Get well on earth again.

He saw the road was getting rough,

And the hills were hard to climb,

So he closed your weary eyelids,

And whispered "Rest well my child, peace be thine."

It broke our hearts to know that you left

But you did not go alone,

For part of us went with you,

The day called you were called home.

Farewell dear Laxmi, you are finally with your Maker! 

In the words of...

Jacqueline - It is with deep sorrow and shock that I write this today. We heard about Laxmi's passing a few days ago when her obituary was posted on our group by our schoolmate. Most of us lost touch with Laxmi after school. However, I bumped into her once after school years ago. A few years ago, a friend and I decided to look up Laxmi and went to meet her. That was when the above pic was taken. I doubt she was one for social events, but she did find time to attend my mum's 75th birthday, which I truly appreciated. 

From school, I remember Laxmi as one of the smartest girls I knew. She always had neatly groomed, long, dark, braided hair.  She was a topper in everything. School was a breeze for her. She was always at our teacher's side or at their desks asking a million questions and clarifying doubts. She always had perfect scores and would want to know why she lost a mark or even half a mark here and there. She was the head girl during our final year at school. 

Another memory I have is when a group of us hungry boarders were let out of the boarding, we once went to Laxmi's place. She and her family were so welcoming even after the initial shock of having so many of us in her home at a time. Her mum graciously offered us snacks and tea. Well, of course, she was not the only one to have us over. We did visit some of our day scholar mates on several occasions.

Laxmi went on to become a successful doctor in the field of obstetrics & gynaecology with her own practice right here in Goa. 

Below are some pics of when Laxmi and her mum attended my mum's birthday. She is the tallest in the pic. She and I were opposite sides of the spectrum - I was the shortest and she was the tallest in class :-) 

Rocklyn - My memory of Laxmi was that she was a highly intelligent and a gifted girl.  Never hurt anyone and always striving to be better. My young mind didn’t understand it at that time but we had a genius in our midst. Rest In Peace Laxmi.

Typewriter - A trip down memory lane...

Today I got a WhatsApp message from my classmate telling me to watch a series called 'Typewriter' on Netflix for a very special reason. I remember we had a conversation on movies a while back and I mentioned that, like her, we too have an excellent plethora of choices right from Netflix, Amazon Prime, You Tube as well as DTH channels. And then we started comparing notes on Netflix movies since that was common to both of us. We spoke about what we had watched and highlighted to each other what should be on our lists of 'what to watch next'. So, after her message yesterday, I started to watch the series last evening and ended it last night before I went off to sleep.

The movie... It is available on Netflix. Not sure about Amazon Prime or anywhere else.

To give you an insight and opinion, if you like, the series surrounds the book written by a dead author. The book, 'The Ghost of Sultanpore' set mostly in Goa (I guess) spanning in parts from the early 50's and again the early 80's to the present day is created by Sujoy Ghosh who also is the director, executive producer and co-writer. It is a 5-part series and it has a bit of something for everyone. A lot of suspense and unfolding of events, a bit of family, kids and school (that's where you SFX girls might get a little interested). About the horror part, I would not rate it a 5 on 5; I would safely go with a 2 on 5, but that is just me. I have not found one movie 'horror noteworthy' till date at least in the Indian movie scene. But what you will see is bits of Goa with a lot of familiar names we often hear. The other good thing for people like me is the part-English dialogues and subtitles.

The story line is about 3 kids who are trying to get to the bottom of the book 'The Ghost of Sultanpore' each for his/her own reasons. So kids-style ghost-hunting is what you will get, with a bit of the Bollywood touch of course. The kids are keen to take their search to where a lot of scenes are centred around - an old house called the 'Bardez Villa'. I must admit that it does have its moments. So Bardez is a place like Porvorim or Panjim not a taluka like we know it. Common and familiar names like Maria, Fernandes, Peter an many more are thrown about as commonly as they appear in reality.

Seems like the move is shot fairly recently because of some of the recent structures I have seen around Panjim. But yes, I have taken a few screenshots from the series for the sole purpose of posting here. So please enjoy and remember your school days. I sure did.

This used to be the part outside our study room and our assembly area when it did not rain. Here is where we used to stand looking up for the flag hoisting. And the part of the verandah where Sir Jude used to park his bike :-)

Seems to be a new part of the school. During our time, we used the entrance to the left.

We did not have this new entrance to the school. I remember some trees and the basement below... a backdrop for some of our old photos.



I tried to capture this because of the school name that is up on the building. Has the name changed? Or is it the movie where they changed it?

I am sure we all (especially boarders) remember sitting on this prohibited corner parapet. Some used to watch the road from this vantage point for visitors, boyfriends zooming past a few times a day..    

Who remembers the Ashoka trees? I have a few pictures clicked around this area (below). 

 The same corner near the study room.

Pointing to the old parlour overlooking the ground where we used to create so many memories on a daily basis.


Outside the parlour... boarders will remember this location. The uniforms are part of the movie I guess. I was wondering if SFX changed their uniforms.

View from the gate...

Outside the gate...

Took this screenshot in remembrance of our dormitories (both of them)... At times we used to get awesome views from here. Up there is also the place we used to dry our delicate's.

This was inside the gate. There were these 2 small revolving gates on the side, I remember. Is it still there? Anyway, we never got to sit here for obvious reasons.

Pointing to the place where our hockey sticks were stored below and the way up to the dormitories and the entrance to the parlour.

This was the end of that hallway where there were restrooms. The refectories and the nuns dining room to the right. 

Aahhh!! The famous ground! There used to be a bench separated from the black screen. That house down below and the famous mango tree which for years we enjoyed its fruit. Hope it is still there. I remember sitting on the bench during play times and there were those special days where our 'in-house entertainers would share their experiences and who can forget Mandy telling us the stories from the movies she just watched. She was the queen of Bollywood movie stories, I tell you!

The junior dormitory! And the old chapel where we used to go before examinations especially.

The next 2 pics below is the study room. I remember I used to sit right there next to the door. Sr Maximillia was in charge of study time. And boy was she scary! My side partner was Bibiana at that time.

I think the study room was split because in the movie it seemed smaller and not as big as it used to be when Sr Maximillia was in charge.

I was curious if they restored our old piano. Kind of looks like 'the one', only polished.

Looks like Reis Magos fort. Not sure.

This seems to be the new Gera building in Patto, the building near to which I work. Opposite the ongoing construction is still in progress as it is today.

Finally Newtons

Please share your comments, memories or write ups about our school if you like.