Dear Parents and Old Sanawarians, 

Another term came to an end, another year is nearing its end and yet another batch of Sanawarians walked out of the School Chapel for the last time as the proud students of “The Best School of All”. 

The year 2018 was full of activities and achievements where all the students and staff worked hard to chip in with their own bit to ensure that glorious traditions of the School are maintained while we march on to achieve greater heights. 

Talking of the traditions, while it is important to safeguard and hold on to some traditions, some ‘so called traditions’ need to be re-looked/modified/changed with the changing time. To give you an example, traditionally we had the UVI girls positioned as Troop – 4 in the Founder’s parade and the two ‘pilots’ who escort the Chief Guest were always boys. Last year we moved the UVI girls as Troop – 2 and this year the two pilots were both girls. These are small steps towards ensuring parity between the boys and girls in Sanawar.

 Another thing which often saddens me is when I hear from many new students joining School who have / had siblings in School or had their parents having studied here saying that it is ‘ok’ to accept favours / little bit of bullying as it is an acceptable norm in the School. My response to this is a clear and firm ‘not acceptable in any form’. I always encourage my students to say no to all forms of harassment and bullying and stand firm. I urge all the parents and Old Sanawarians to support the School in uprooting this scourge from the minds of our children. Let us join hands to ensure that every child studying in Sanawar is a happy and contended child, free from any form of harassment and bullying. 

This brings me to another important issue, the value system. We expect our children to be honest, law abiding, caring, polite, tolerant and committed. While the School is committed to impregnate and nurture such qualities in its students, the parents play a very important role in ensuring that the efforts are successful.

 I have been addressing the parents time and again on the issue of honouring School‟s codes and polices. I regret some of the parents grossly ignore such requests and openly flaunt School rules and regulations. How do you explain students found in possession of cell phones, parents / relatives bringing huge amounts of tuck / fresh food and smuggling them into the dormitories, obtaining leave / getting leave extended based on frivolous and sometimes fake reasons, being rude and impolite to School staff in front of their children or not supporting the School in their effort to correct the shortcomings of their children.

 I know a large majority of the parents are a strong supporter of the School’s efforts to make things better for the children. However, a handful of the defaulting parents are responsible for not only having a negative impact on their own child’s mind but also for creating an atmosphere which send negative vibes all around. They force the law abiding parents and students to think if their legitimate ways are worthy of continuation or should they too fall prey to unethical dirty tricks. I earnestly request all defaulting parents to help us in moulding our children into honest, law abiding, caring, polite, tolerant and committed citizens of this country and above all to be good human beings. 

Together we can make a difference 

Sanawar is proud to have six of its L VI students summiting Mt. Everest in 2013, a feat rare for that age group. Now with our equally capable and enthusiastic girls, we aim to summit Africa’s highest mountain Mt. Kilimanjaro. As shared with you all earlier, the entire expedition will be split into three phases: 

Phase – 

I Adventure training at Snow Leopard Camp at Rishikesh from February 24 to March 01, 2019 

Phase – 

II Acclimatization training in Ladakh from July 11 to July 18, 2019 

Phase – III 

Summiting Mt. Kilimanjaro between August 2 and August 11, 2019 

The expedition will be led by the well known mountaineer and adventurer Mr. Ajeet Bajaj (Old Sanawarian Batch of 1983). Mr. Bajaj is currently heading towards Antarctica with his daughter Deeya for yet another tough and demanding climb. Mr. Bajaj and his experienced team will ensure that safety and security is not compromised at any stage. One lady teacher from the School will also be a part of this expedition. 

The School is committed to supporting our UV and UVI students taking Board examinations in March 2019. We will be sending two sets of practice papers (covering all subjects of UV and UVI) to them during the vacation period. The first set of practice papers will be sent on Jan 5, 2019 followed by the marking schemes of each paper a week later. The second set of practice papers will be sent on Feb 5, 2019 followed by the marking schemes of each of those papers a week later. These practice papers will be sent to all the students through their parents’ email registered with us. We expect the students to use these papers after thoroughly revising their entire syllabi. We will also be sharing the email IDs of the concerned subject teachers for any guidance / clarification the students may need during the vacation period. The School was earlier honoring the teaching staff on the completion of 25 years of service to the School. We have now extended this honour to administrative and support staff as well. Further, we will also be honoring the staff completing 30, 35 and 40 years of service to the School. This is a small gesture on part of the School to acknowledge and appreciates the hard work and dedication of its staff. Every member of staff, including administrative and support staff who are retiring from the School are now given a formal School farewell at the School assembly. We feel it is important for the students to know about and acknowledge the contribution of these staff in their lives, here at School, especially the administrative and support staff who work behind the scene and do not come in direct contact with the students. As informed earlier, the School has initiated a new fund called ‘The Lawrence School Sanawar Staff Medical Emergency Fund’ to meet any medical emergency of the School staff. The Board of Governors has already given its approval for the creation of this fund. Apart from the contributions / donations from its alumni, this fund will also receive 5% of the total contribution of each year’s silver and golden jubilee batches. I strongly urge the OS fraternity to contribute towards this fund. The contributions should be on the name of ‘The Headmaster, The Lawrence School, Sanawar’ and the bank details are as follows: Name of beneficiary: The Headmaster, The Lawrence School, Sanawar 

A/C Number: 65004200377 

Bank name: State Bank of India 

Branch: Sanawar Branch code: 50199 

IFSC Code: SBIN0050199 

All contributors are requested to indicate clearly the purpose of the remittance (Sanawar Staff Medical Emergency Fund). 

I would also like to share a few administrative changes that will be effective from the Spring term 2019. Mrs. Binita Rishi, Senior Mistress (PD) has decided to move on and wishes to spend more time with her family. We are very grateful to Mrs. Rishi for her service and contribution and for effectively managing the Prep Department for over two years. Dr. Anurag Pandey, who was teaching Physics in the senior school, has also decided to move on. We thank him for his contribution to the School. We wish both Mrs. Rishi and Dr. Pandey and their families good health, happiness and prosperity. I am happy to inform you that Mrs. Meena Bhalla, who teaches Computer Science and is Housemistress (PD Girls), will take over as Senior Mistress (PD) w.e.f. Spring term 2019. The following changes will also be effective from Spring term 2019: 

(a) Mrs. Sindhu Bahuguna will take over as Housemistress (PD Girls) 

(b) Mr. Ravinder Singh Kanwar will take over as Housemaster (PD Boys H&N) 

(c) Mrs. Samita Mukherjee will take over as Housemistress (Nilagiri GD) 

(d) Maj. Priya Jhingan will take over as Housemistress (Holding House GD H&N) 

We wish all of them a long and fruitful tenure in their new appointments. 

Wishing all of you and your families a ‘Happy and Prosperous New Year’. 

Warm regards, 

Vinay Pande December 26, 2018