Girls and grandmothers come together at St. Lawrence’s Girls School’s 75th anniversary

Amid bomb scares and security threats, an all-girls school celebrates with nostalgic slideshows.

KARACHI: In a shift from the day’s academic pandemonium, St Lawrence’s Girls School’s courtyard was lit up with yellow lights on Tuesday evening as students, both current and old, came together to celebrate 75 years of teaching and learning.

The audience comprised mostly of women, their sequinned clothes glittering in the dim lighting. Founded in 1936 by the sisters of the Franciscan Missionaries of Mary, the school began with 115 male and female students. This year about 1,100 students are studying at the now all-girls school. The school prides itself in its quality of academics and the character of its students. Some of its venerated teachers have been with the school for over two decades. Sister Mary Duarte, Sister Esther Burns, Sister Doris D’Cruze, Sister Joyce Correa, Sister Bernadette Fernandes and Rita D’Souza are all well known names within its walls.

The evening progressed like any nostalgic but celebratory event. A slideshow, flashing images of field trips and activities, had the audience in the transports of delight. Seeing your face magnified on a projector screen is always a pleasure and a photo of students standing in an assembly line, wearing their trademark white uniforms with red sweaters, was met with a standing ovation. “The slideshows were my favourite part of the event,” said Christine Martin, principal of the school.

For the young students, the event also served as a look into their school’s history.

“That was truly amazing,” observed a pair of students that took to the stage shortly after the slideshow. “We never knew the history of our school before this.”

The next act was a theatrical portrayal of the plight of society. The children danced to songs by Shahzad Roy and Strings, dressed as different characters. The school choir got their 15 minutes of fame as they belted out two songs from ‘The Sound of Music’, in a bid to bring some cheer.

Probably the most thoroughly rehearsed act was a display of the traditional Katthak that had the audience at its feet, clapping to the music.

The event was almost cancelled amid security concerns but, as Martin explained, the students managed to pull it off. “Despite electricity shortages, interruption by holidays and other troubles in our society, the children still managed to do a good job,” she said with pride. Even as the music and revelry continued inside the school, a rally against a bomb-blast in Peshawar passed by outside.

“The moral of the story is to continue doing what one must do in order to move ahead, regardless of the surrounding troubles - [this is] a year that should be celebrated through thick and thin.”

Published in The Express Tribune, September 21^st,  2011.