Eastern Province

St Vincent’s Convent School, Berhampur, Orissa has a glorious history. The Daughters of Charity of St Vincent de Paul founded it in 1954.  On May 10, 1979 the management was handed over to Bethany Sisters. Sr Miriam took over as Superior and Principal of St Vincent’s Convent School followed by Srs Olivetta, Rose Margaret, Alvina, Marceline and Benedicta Castelino.

The primary objective of the School is to blend education with a wide range of activities that would give students ample opportunities to grow to be the worthy citizens of our country. Training and guidance is provided to students of high school through exposure to seminars, camps, debates and workshops. The primary and middle school students are also groomed to channel all their energies and potentialities into balanced personalities.

Having obtained Government recognition in 1971 the School was affiliated to the ICSE on April 6 the following year. St Vincent’s Convent School, over the past two decades, has risen from a modest beginning to one of the most reputed schools of Berhampur. Due emphasis is laid on co-curricular activities through a house system, orientation programmes, study tours and the NCC. The total strength of the English medium school is 1730 with 64 teaching and non-teaching staff. Twenty-four batches that answered ICSE examination commencing from 1975 have passed creditably.

The School takes pride in announcing the distinguished feats of its students, who have brought laurels by their excellent performance in varied fields. Sukumar Mishra secured the 3rd rank in ICSE, in Orissa State in the Golden Jubilee year of the Bethany Educational Society. The Vincentians have been successfully participating in the district as well as state level competitions in co-curricular and extra-curricular activities. The NCC wing of the School has been honoured as one of the best-organized groups. Sunita Patnaik of Std IX has been declared the outstanding NCC cadet and awarded gold medal at the national level.

The indefatigable zeal for the poor led Sr Miriam to accredit St Vincent’s High School to the National Open School, New Delhi in 1981, to help the school dropouts. The School has always been in the forefront when it comes to helping the needy by providing them with possible help in the form of food, clothing, education and free medical treatment. Vocational training facilities are provided to the destitute women to make them self-reliant.

It is appropriate to say that in its 46thyear of its functioning, the School has successfully upheld the tradition of educating children, not just to open up opportunities for jobs in their future life, but to raise them to a level where actions are guided essentially by the basic ethics of life.

It is customary for Bethany Sisters to regard the education of the underprivileged as their sacred duty. It is this factor that motivated Sr Miriam to start Oriya Medium School for the poor students of the locality in 1981. Around 75% of the students who attend it belong to scheduled caste and scheduled tribes. Since they lack even basic facilities, they are provided with midday meals, clothes and stationery.

The School has attracted the attention of the public and the co-operation of the parents. It has received provisional recognition from the District Inspector of Schools. It is heartening to note that two of its old boys are studying for priesthood and two girls have joined religious congregations. Some others have specialized in animal husbandry and chartered accountancy. The School at present has 307 students on its rolls and six teachers on the staff.  It is indeed a boon to the marginalized section of the locality.

Sr Christine Noronha BS
Local Manager

Sr Monthie Albuquerque BS
Principal

Staff

 School Building