Chairman
Livingstone Foundation International
The great American poet Ralph Waldo Emerson’s famous quote reads:
“Sow a thought and you reap an action; sow an act and you reap a habit; sow a habit and you reap a character; sow a character and you reap a destiny.”
This quote succinctly describes our continuous effort to nurture our students so that they will grow into individuals with the strength of character.
The foundational education we provide here in LFHSS is what sets up our students for their future. Clearly not every student we meet here will be College bound but I submit that it should be our collective effort to provide the guidance and the motivation for them to be strongly considered for it. From the day they step
into our classrooms, I believe we owe it to our students to encourage a post – secondary education. In our new economy it literally could make a difference to whether they fnd a job or not. The economy of yesterday will not probably suit the economy of tomorrow and so on. As time changes, economy changes too! So we believe in upgrading our school every moment. As the years go by, I have a deep appreciation for the dedication and hard work required to be a successful mentor. I praise and applaud your efforts whereby you have sincerely sacrifced for the cause of the next generation. As we head to the new school year I want to thank you and also encourage and remind you how important you are to the students and the Stonites community. We aim to encourage our students to be high achievers in all round development. As such Stonites are encouraged to be positive thinkers and develop their critical thinking skills. Through the concerted efforts of our Staff, Parents, Guardians, Alumni & Well Wishers, we would like to gear up Stonites in being “Positive and Inquisitive”. We are proud that Stonites have risen to this challenge and heeded the call to be the gardeners of their own destiny. Stonites have sown the seeds of their aspiration, worked tirelessly to nurture them so that they can harvest the fruits of their dream and enjoy the flowers of their success.
‘Learn to Serve’ is the school’s motto that captures succinctly the inimitable Stonites spirit. It exhorts Stonites to do, and not just to talk. It challenges Stonites to seize new opportunities, take ownership and responsibility of their own lives, and to firmly believe that we shape our own destinies. It is thus a call to action, to make things happen and do things differently NOW so that the future would be something that we can look forward to. As the custodian of our students’ dreams and aspirations, Livingstone Foundation Hr. Sec. School is committed to providing the best nurturing environment for our students to learn, grow, strive towards and achieve their goals. Our Co-Curricular Programmes are designed to develop our students to be dynamic, futureready individuals who not only live up to the school values of Respect for Self and Others, Integrity, Our Way of Life, Passion for Learning and Excellence and Our Pursuit, but also have the competency and capacity to excel. We believe that these activities not only keep the body ft, they also help build character as students develop a sense of ruggedness, resilience and teamwork. We are indeed heartened to know that we are moving in the right direction towards the progress of our children. Our event file alone talks immensely about Stonites itself as they have the chance to demonstrate their talent in several forms such as Public Speaking, singing, dancing, playing musical instruments, martial arts, Skating, etc. In fact LFHSS tries to inculcate an all round development for every individual keeping in mind that every child is unique and are gifted with various multiple intelligences. The plethora of co-curricular programmes that the school has carried out is a testimony of our commitment to nurturing our students to be well-groomed and balanced individuals, equipped with skills and values to face the ever-changing demands of the 21st century.
Character development is also about developing the spirit of giving back to the community. Hence every Stonite is involved in the Values-in-Action Programme that will see them living out the values of respect, care and empathy, and contributing in various ways to the community at large. As a class, they take ownership of certain areas in the school and ensure the cleanliness of the areas under their charge. Job Charts assigned in each classroom helps to build collective responsibilities, dignity of labour, assessing individual strengths as well as weaknesses and aids in making them responsible citizens.
Aesthetically, Stonites are provided with numerous opportunities to showcase as well as develop their talents. The Art & Craft Elective Programme gives students the opportunities to experience new and different art & skill formation.
Good people are at the heart of everything we do in the school. The diverse programmes we have in school are made possible because of the joint and sincere effort of our staff – both teaching and non-teaching – in the planning, implementation and monitoring of the programmes. Like the scaffolds that protect and provide support to enable young saplings to grow, our staff guides our students in their development and act as a buttress to enable them to learn and grow. At Livingstone Foundation Hr. Sec. School, we are indeed blessed by the many wonderful people working enthusiastically for the students and the school, often going beyond the call of duty.
As an organization, we are aware that our strength lies in the capability, competency and commitment of our staff. For that reason, we have continued to benchmark our Human Resource practices and processes with that of the framework spelt out by NABET. I am very pleased to report that Livingstone Foundation Hr. Sec. School was felicitated with the Jury’s Choice Award as India’s “Best School for exemplary contribution in the feld of education” at the India’s School Merit Award
Ceremony 2016-17, held at the Grand Chancery Pavillion, Bengaluru on Dec 10th 2016. India’s School Merit Awards is an award programme organized by the Education Today Group in association with Gems Education to honour and felicitate Top Schools of India under CBSE, IB, ICSE & other State Boards in various felds. LFHSS was the only School from the entire State of Nagaland to be awarded at the Mega award event.
Our teachers recognize that as a team of professionals they have to fnd new learning for themselves and keep looking to improve their mettle and craftsmanship. Hence, in the past years, they have continuously upgraded themselves in both content knowledge and pedagogical skills so as to perform in a much higher and better level of discharging their responsibilities. Using the Professional Learning Community platform, our teachers collaborated regularly to sharpen their craft and to engage the students better. One such example is the Science Department who undertook Lesson Study to better understand the learning needs of the students. I strongly believe that the school and our pupils have much to gain from our staff’s continuous professional development. We will continue to support our staff learning because the teaching profession comes from the heart, as long as one is in a learning profession.
In driving our school’s instructional programme, we are guided by the belief that every pupil has the potential to be developed and that all pupils can learn and succeed. The world that we live in now is certainly fraught with many challenges and the world tomorrow is but anybody’s guess. What is certain however, is that – what we do today will determine the kind of lives that we are going to have in the future. Stonites must rise to the challenges and seize the opportunities provided by
the school to experience, learn and grow, and be guided by our School Motto “Learn to Serve”. In closing, I would like all Stonites to remember the following:
“This moment is yours and yours alone! Take charge, seize this moment and allow it to propel you to the higher levels of an empowered life. Allow upon this fertile moment to be planted the seeds of your happiness and success.”
