ALSOC Activities (at a glance)

ALSOCLINIC
Our free medical clinic has been functioning for over 32 years for catering medical help to the marginalized people residing in and around the locality. The clinic operates every Sunday morning. This medical clinic has become a role model to other Jesuit alumni institutions. Medicines have also been provided free of cost. We are looking to completely renovate the space and keep a provision for a couple of beds to improve our medical service.

ALSOC DAY
It was a day of remembrance of the guidance, inspiration and mentorship provided by the departed souls of various Rev. Fathers who had built, shaped and guided St. Xavier's and Alsoc. In the morning, on 10th November 2010 a group of 25 Alsoc members visited Dhyan Ashram to pay their homage to Fr. Bouche and other Jesuit Fathers. Fr. A. Bruylants conducted the prayer meeting. Dr. Ananda Chanda sang Rabindra Sangeet and sweets were distributed thereafter.

ALSOCCER
A Ballet of Brotherhood in motion, in the words of Babul Mitter. When the germinating mind of Kalyan Choudhuri sowed the first seeds of ALSOCCER. 18 teams were participating and the erstwhile Indian Captain Chuni Goswami presiding. By 1996, ALSOCCER had grown to be attractive enough with 32 teams participating and Sourav Ganguly playing for old times sake. 1997 added the School Teachers' Team and and then the Titli boys team. Then came 1998 and it was year of Cheema Okerie. An India Internationall team consisting of players like Pradip Chowdhury, Subrata Bhattacharya, Md. Farid showed their fitness and finesse. In the coming years this brought great pleasure to many young and old generations of players and spectators.

Alsoccer this year was held on 21st August, 2010 under the convenorship of Mr. Kaushik Kapoor. Rev. Fr. Jerome Francis, Principal of the school and President of Alsoc inaugurated the tournament by kicking the football. Rev. Fr. A. Bruylants was the Chief Guest and handed over the trophies. It was a 5-a-side tournament which was keenly contested and ended around 2 p.m. followed by lunch.

ALCRICKET
A nation which thrives on cricket and we don't have an event that celebrates it. Impossible!!!
First cricket match was played on 6th February, 1992 Sunday at SXCS grounds Fr Desbruslais team Vs fr Bruylants team - both the Jesuits took the field ceremoniously opening the game !!

Our ALSOC members seniors represented Fr Desbruslais Team and the young crows the batch of 1990's were Fr Bruylants Team . It was a full day event ending with sunset & bad lights made the umpires decide the day was over.
This year we had two Alcricket tournaments - the first was held on 10th April, 2010 under the convenorship of Mr. Pradhumna Kajaria and the second was held on 5th March, 2011 under the convenorship of Mr. Amish Raja. This years event was a 6-a-side tournament with a tennis ball, under floodlights. Members were served south Indian food and music was played all through the evening. Mr. Andrew Singh's running commentary was excellent. It was a superb tournament for friendship and brotherhood and reinforced the close bond between the teachers, students and members of Alsoc.

BOOKS AND PRIZES
Our Societas amongst its many charitable activities donated a sum of Rs. 50,000/- to the school towards the cost of Prizes and Books given to meritorious students at the Annual Prize Distribution ceremony, to ensure high enthusiasm amongst the SXCS students to excel in academics and sports

Debates, Lectures, Panel Discussions / Talks
1989 Russi Mody
1991 Satyen (Sam) Pitroda
1996 Salman Khurshed
1996 T N Seshan
2000 Dr Rafiq Dossani

ALSOC CHALLENGE DEBATE
The Alsoc Challenge Debate was held on 13th February 2010 at the School Ground below St. Francis Xavier's statue, on the occasion of the 150 years celebrations, under the convenorship of Dr. Sandip Chatterjee between Xaverians and Personalities. The topic was "In the opinion of the house, India today needs a benevolent dictatorship rather than this exploitative democracy". The participants were Dr. Kunal Sarkar, Dr. Sandip Chatterjee, Prof. Sugato Bose, Prof. Suman Mukherjee and Mr. Ashoke Viswanathan for Xaverians and Mr. Mani Shankar Aiyar , Mr. Abhisekh Manu Singhvi, Mr. Tathagata Roy, Mr. Gautam Mohan Chakraborty and Ms. Krishna Bose for Personalities. The Chairperson was Justice Chittatosh Mukherjee.

Quizzes, Interactive Sessions
1993 1st Alsoc Invitational Quiz
1994 2nd Alsoc Invitational Quiz
1995 3rd Alsoc Invitational Quiz
1999 Alsoc Quiz

ALSOC QUIZ
The All India Alsoc Open Quiz was held on 21st November 2010 at St. Xavier's Auditorium. More than 48 teams from different parts of India took part. The main Quiz Master was Mr. Gautam Ghosh while the guest quiz master was Mr. Ashoke Viswanathan. The hall was packed to capacity and our ALSOC team emerged worthy winners. Mr. Shankar Ramalingam was the convenor of the Quiz.

MEMBERS' MONTHLY MEETS
The member monthly meets are held on the 1st Sunday of every month at 11 am at the AV Room on the 1st Floor of the Senior School (some talk of changing this to Friday evening at 7 pm at the same venue).
These monthly meets are a way of the lay members to keep in touch with the various activities of the association. It is also a place where no ideas are germinated and then carried forward subsequently.

HOSTING EVENTS, WORLD CONGRESSES AND NATIONAL CONGRESSES
ALSOC has always been in the forefront of organizing events, functions of the school bringing much pride and joy to the school. These events include:

The 125 years of St. Xaviers School in which the President of India inaugurated the function and we had a commerative stamp issued. This event was one of the grandest events hosted until then.

This was soon followed by an event of international stature. The visit of the Pope to the school which was truly one of the most important international figures and the fountainhead of the Roman Catholic church visit our school.

We have also won the right to hold the 6th World Congress of Jesuit Alumni/ae where students from hundreds of Jesuit Alumni/ae from 5 continents will be in our school for a seminar. This seminar being held for the first time in India and it has come on our broad shoulders to take on this event.

Concluding of 150 years' celebration of SXCS
It is a matter of great pride for all Xaverians that St. Xavier's has completed 150 years on 16th January 2010. Our institution has survived the passing of imperialism, the struggle for independence and the tumultuous times that accompanied the birth of our country. Through the changing times the principles of our beloved Jesuit Priests have remained the same and have strengthened our solidarity, belief and attachment to our 'alma mater' and our resolve to give back to society at large. The yearlong celebration concluded on the 16th of January, 2010 with the presence of Dr. Manmohan Singh, the Honorable Prime Minister, which was the Hallmark of the celebration. The Governor Mr. Devanand Konwar and Chief Minister Mr. Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee were also present on this great occasion. A Special Portrait painted by eminent painter Mr. Paresh Maity depicting young Rabindranath Tagore in class with Fr. Pernanda was presented to the honorable Prime Minister by alumnus Mr. Aveek Sarkar.

The other functions were as under
16 January' 10 - The Prime Minister, Governor & Chief Minister had attended the program.
17 January' 10 - Mr. P. Chidambaram, Home Minister attended the program.
18 January' 10 - Multi Religious prayer meet co-ordinated by Mr. Dipanker Bose, School Teacher.
19 January' 10 - Mass with Cardinal Toppo from Ranchi.
20 January' 10 - Classical Music Performance by Aman & Ayan Ali Khan on Sarod in fusion with Geno Banks followed by Sandeep & Sanjeev Vyas in a Musical Soiree.
21 January' 10 - School & College Students' Cultural program followed by dinner with- Priests, Teachers, all Staff and Alumni accompanied with some light music.

PASSING OUT CEREMONY
The 11th Passing-out Ceremony for the Batch of 2011 was held at the School Ground below St. Francis Xavier's statue on 3rd February 2011. Rev. Fr. A. Bruylants, S.J. was the Chief Guest. Every year a student of Class XII is awarded the Complete Xaverian Award comprising of Rs. 11,001/- and a Gold Medal instituted by Mr. Dipen Datta in memory of his son Late. Debarya Datta. The function was well organised and attended by more than 400 people including parents, teachers and students.

RABINDRA JAYANTI
This year marks the 150 years of the institution as well as the birth sesquicentenary of an illustrious alumnus - Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore. Alsoc organized a cultural evening on 9th May, 2010 at the St. Xavier's auditorium to offer a humble tribute to the great poet. The highlight of the evening was the presence of personalities such as Mr. Soumitra Chatterjee, Mr. Dhritiman Chaterji and Mr. Arindam Seal performing along with school and college students. The students of St. Xavier's School and their teachers put up a brilliant and colourful dance & song performance which was very highly appreciated. There was active participation from the members of the College & School alumni and faculty who also performed. The programme ended with felicitations to all the performers and to the dignitaries present on the occasion and with dinner for the guests & artists.

REUNIONS
Reunions is the most important event organized by ALSOC for its members each year in the month of December/January to bring together ex students young and old. They come together in a spirit of bonhomie and goodwill and fellowship to relive the days of the past, to meet old friends, to walk on familiar school grounds, meet old teachers, fathers and generally have a great time. Besides the annual reunions, the batch reunions are popular where different years are brought together on any special occasion or sometimes no other reason than the wish to meet again.

STUDENT EXCHANGE PROGRAMME
The Student Exchange Programme was started in 1995. This year too, a group of 15 boys led by teachers Mr. Brian Gilhooly and Mr. Probir Kumar Mullick visited Belvedere College, Dublin in 7th May 2010. A farewell programme was organized at the school A.V. Room to wish 'Bon Voyage' to the group. Similarly, 15 students, 3 teachers from Belvedere College, Dublin visited Kolkata on 24th November, 2010. Alsoc had organized a sightseeing tour for the group and also arranged a farewell function, Mr. Shankar Ramalingam was the MC for the farewell function, which was attended by Jesuit Fathers, teachers and Alsoc members with their spouses.
There has been an exciting development subsequent to the financial year being reported on. A Student Exchange Programme with a school in Kunming, China has been successfully initiated in the month of May 2011 under the guidance of our Rev. Fr. K.K. Devasy and Rev. Fr. Sebastian James.

SIT & DRAW AND ESSAY COMPETITON
The Sit & Draw and Essay competition for the school boys was held at the St. Xavier's School premises on 20th November, 2010. Around 300 school boys took part in these competitions. Considering the tremendous success, it was decided that these competitions would be organized annually as a part of Alsoc Day celebration.

TITLI (St. Xavier's Evening School)
Titli is a School within a school project inspired by Rev Fathers. It is a school for the students belonging to the marginalized section of the society. There are 5 dedicated teachers. It holds classes for 5 days a week. Tiffin for all the boys had also been introduced and the attendance has improved. Alsoc decided that the three Titli Teachers would be reimbursed with Transport and Tiffin allowance in addition to their Salary and Provident Fund. Teaching of English had been made compulsory and we are looking to join Titli to the Night School for seamless progress of the education of Titli students. The program initiated has kept in mind the need for vocational training for a section of the underprivileged boys who are now too old to start formal education. This vocational program will also be offered to students of Titli/ Night School who finish at least Class 8.