The munificent De Crooses of Negombo have contributed immensely to the cause of education in Sri Lanka by their donations of land for the establishment of many schools in the area. It was in the last decade of the 19th century the philanthropist Gabriel De Croos donated a land to Rev. Sr. Solange to establish [...]

The Sundaytimes Sri Lanka

St. Joseph’s KV Negombo is determined to inculcate equality and generosity

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The Principal Mrs. W. P. Gamage

The munificent De Crooses of Negombo have contributed immensely to the cause of education in Sri Lanka by their donations of land for the establishment of many schools in the area. It was in the last decade of the 19th century the philanthropist Gabriel De Croos donated a land to Rev. Sr. Solange to establish a school for about fifteen underprivileged girls in the locality and eventually a school under the name of “Croos Convent” was inaugurated in 1896; until it was vested in the government in 1960, it continued to serve as a Catholic school for girls. After the takeover, the school was renamed St. Joseph Junior School and transformed into a co-education establishment. Later in 1975, the administration changed to the lay teachers for the first time in 79 years.

At present the school operates as a secondary junior school with classes up to grade 11 consisting

The Deputy Principal Mrs. D.T.M.N Perera

of around six-hundred students and an all-female staff of 25 committed teachers including the Principal Mrs. W. P Gamage. “It is somewhat challenging for me and my proficient lady teachers to cater to the needs of the students and school without a helping hand of male teachers; however, we are doing just great, “says Mrs. Gamage with an air of satisfaction. The school has undergone a tremendous improvement under the leadership of Mrs. Gamage in the past few years. She had to take the student body through a firm disciplinary training starting with the basic school etiquettes such as the school uniform, personal grooming, attendance and the like. “Attendance was irregular and it was imperative that we educate parents and students alike to raise the school attendance to a satisfactory level,” elaborates the Principal.

Getting Ready for a Home Science Lesson

“Given the social and economic background, assistance and guidance the students get from their parents and family is very minimal and it is we teachers who entirely takes the responsibility of educating and nurturing them to be sensible individuals,” adds the Vice Principal Mrs.D.T.M.N Perera. The teachers go the extra mile and conduct additional classes for grade 10 and 11 students after school hours on regular basis to enable them to face the ever increasing competition at the GCE Ordinary Level examination with confidence.

The school is focused on developing tri-lingual competency in

The School Entrance

children and each week five words in Sinhala, Tamil and English are displayed on a board for the entire school to write them down and study. In addition, two days a week the morning prayers are said in English. The students are also encouraged to read, and recently, a library was set up for the primary section as well. It is the students themselves who largely donate books to their meagre libraries.

Giving a treat to one’s classmates on birthdays is a common practice in schools. But at St. Joseph’s, they have added more depth and value to the treat where, if at all, it is only a book that they are allowed to bring for the school library as their birthday treat instead of confectionary; the birthday girl or boy then presents the book to the Principal during the morning assembly in the midst of the entire school wishing “Happy Birthday!” This practice gives the students a sense of pride for their small contribution to school while unburdening the not-so-affluent parents from incurring unwanted expenses in birthday treats.

Another unique feature is that the effort the school administration exert to maintain equality and to keep discrimination at bay through uniformity. For instance, they have single colour furniture in all classes; even their table cloths, flower vases and attendance registers are of similar appearance and quality making no single class stands out and feels more important than the rest.

The School Committee

The students also get hands-on learning on housekeeping through the responsibilities assigned to them to keep the school and class rooms clean and tidy. Further, all the boys in grade 10 and 11 are compelled to study Home Economic Science which imparts the invaluable life skills needed for quality living.

The staff including the Principal & Deputy Principal

Despite skimpy resources available, many features like a computer room, an Eastern Band for the boys and an Annual Prize Giving were added to the spectrum of activities during the last 3 years. A new three-storey building is in the offing, according to Mrs. Gamage who is extremely grateful to the dedicated staff for their unwavering assistance and also the brother school St. Mary’s College, Negombo for all their earnest support extended especially at the Annual Sports Meet.




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