St. Mary's Convent High School, Nainital
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St.Mary's Convent College, often informally referred to simply as Ramnee is an all-girls boarding school located in Nainital, Uttarakhand that provides public school education to girls in grades prep to 12. The school was also, in discontinued usage, referred to as "Sonn". The girls are known as the "Ramneeites".
Overview
Established by Mother Salesia Reiner in 1878, St. Mary's Convent is a Roman Catholic institution superintended by Sisters belonging to the CJ(Congregation of Jesus) order founded as Institute of the Blessed Virgin Mary (until 2003), by Mother Mary Ward, an English lady, in the 17th century. The sisters of this Congregation started working in Patna in 1853. Mother Salesia Reiner, then Mother Superior of St. Joseph's Convent Patna, planned a foundation in Nainital to help the sisters whose health had suffered hazardously from the heat of the plains.
Nainital was the summer capital of the North Western Provinces and during the summer was frequented by tourists as well as civil and military officials. The presence of the sisters made education infinitely more convenient for both the local people and regular visitors. After overcoming the initial difficulties, a team of 8 sisters started a school with a few day-scholars in the month of May 1878. By the end of the year, the school had 40 boarders and a number of day-scholars. The sisters taught rigorous scholastic subjects while leading the pupils towards nobler pursuits such as the fine arts and foreign languages.
During the formative weeks, Mother Salesia realised the necessity of buying an estate where a convent and school could be built. Eventually her search led her to Ramsay Park, the property of Sir Henry Ramsay, the commissioner of Kumaon. She recognised the place as the one she thought fit, while still at Patna and immediately requested an interview with Sir Ramsay and concluded negotiations for its purchase. On 4 January 1879, the sisters moved into the newly acquired estate, following which, a chapel was set up, but it soon proved too small and on 2 February 1880, the foundation stone of the present church was laid.
The estate Ramsay Park is now known as Ramnee Park and the school is also popularly known as Ramnee. The name Ramnee is a corruption of Ramsay, as the servants working on the estate, unable to pronounce the name correctly, called Sir Ramsay, "Ramnee Sahib". This name was also attached to the estate, which continues to be called Ramnee Park to the present day. The bungalow and the cottage were far too small for the steadily increasing number of boarders and Mother Salesia was determined to build a school to house two hundred boarders. The project was aided by friends and benefactors, both in India and abroad. Eleven years after the sisters arrived in Nainital, on 12 May 1889 the vision was realised and the school was solemnly blessed by the Bishop of Allahabad, in the presence of the nuns, many priests and a great number of well wishers.
Today, the school educates about 1,100 pupils from all walks of life – irrespective of caste, creed and religion. St. Mary's Convent High School, Nainital belongs to the Delhi Province of the Congregation of Jesus (CJ).
School Construct
The school is situated at an altitude of 2,000 metres (6,600 ft) above mean sea level amidst the idyllic surroundings of the Kumaon Hills. The school is exclusively for girls between 4 to 18 years of age. The students are welcomed in the school by the church bells that ring from the Ramnee Church. It has 5 playing fields, the big field, the basketball court, the skating ring, the jumps field and the throws field. A park known as the Ramnee Park is maintained exclusively for grades 2 and under. The junior wing occupies a separate space commonly known as the Centenary building. The school provides for laboratories for students from 9-12. Other indoor extracurricular activities are held in the auditorium called the Mary Ward Hall where official morning assemblies and important school events, including the fest, take place. A Music hall, and Lunch hall of the Centenary building are important centres for preparing for formal occasions. In practice, the progression of each play and musical, all the way from their conception to their first rehearsal takes place in these halls.
The campus boasts of two dormitories and refectories for the boarders, a well-equipped infirmary, two study hall, a TV room and a projector room.
| The School Anthem: |
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| Verse1:
The bells of St.Mary's ring out far and wide Their echo resounds from the lake and hillside They welcome the young ones to work and to play They call us to duty, they call us to pray
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| Chorus:
Oh! Bells of St.Mary's we hear you repeating The dear song of gladness, of sweet memories They tell us of striving, of frank and fair dealing You sing to us of truth and love and victory
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| Verse 2:
In the school of St. Mary's, we spend happy times We learn the three R's and the arts and good rhymes In the church of St. Mary's, we find comfort and light To fight the good fight and to do what is right
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| Chorus (Repeated) |
Sports and activities
Basketball, volleyball and badminton are the principal games. A wide range of cultural and co-curricular activities are available like the martial art Muay Thai. Each student takes part in the annual sports event which generally takes place in May. Traditionally, the school has four houses:
| House Name | Colour | Motto |
|---|---|---|
| St.Anne | Green | Honour not honours |
| St.Agnes | Red | True to the End |
| St.Catherine | Yellow | Perseverance conquers All |
| St.Therese | Blue | Scale the Heights |
The office bearers are traditionally assigned the following positions:
- Head Girl (Year 12)
- Vice-Head Girl (Year 12)
- Games Captain (Year 12)
- Vice-Games Captain (Year 11)
- The Four House Captains (Year 12)
- The Four Vice-Captains (Year 11)
- Student English Editor-in-Chief (Year 12)
- Student Hindi Editor-in-Chief (Year 12)
Rivalries and Friendships
The girls have established themselves as fierce and worthy competitors, who in the school spirit, participate with and against various schools across the country in a range of activities. The rivalry with the neighbouring school, that budding eyesore, All-Saints College has been the talk of town for decades. Nonetheless, we must acknowledge the fact that All-Saints has won every basketball game in the past decade. And while that is true, there is also the fact that Ramnee has performed consistently and singularly well in the board examinations in the past decade. The annual fest, Sanskriti is held on the 8th of September also known as Ramnee day.