SACKOBA – General Secretary’s Annual Report for The Year 2017/18

His Lordship the Bishop of Kandy, Rev. Fr. Prior, Rev. Fathers and my dear distinguished old boys;

It is with a sense of pride that I present the Annual report for the year 2017/18 to this esteemed gathering.  At the very start let me state that we had a very eventful year and we have done and or started a number of projects to uplift the standard of our beloved Alma Mater. I would like to place on record our sincere appreciation of all the help given to us by His Lordship the Bishop of Kandy and Very Rev. Fr. Prior; their doors were always open to us and even last moment requests were obliged whenever possible. I would elaborate on these points later in the report. 

The Central Council under the guidance of Mr. Nath Weerakoon had 12 council meetings which were very well attended and productive.

During the past year the College has taken some positive steps towards regaining its past glory. Appointment of very capable Rev. Fr. Araliya Jayasundara as the deputy principal of administration brought about new vibe to the College. Gentlemen, I am pleased to announce that College has promised to add an additional class starting from 2019 intake. This addition would mean more opportunities for your children to enter St. Anthony’s College and may be more importantly, more students to take part in sports and other activities. As of now the College has the required classrooms to house them till grade 5 and within the next 5years we will have to develop the required infrastructure in the upper school. I am sure with all your support we will be able to do the required developments in time. Furthermore, the College is also looking into the possibility of starting Technology Stream for AL students which would mean more options for AL students. Rev. Fr. Principal thank you very much for these positive moves and as it has always been the case, you may count on our support for activities that would uplift the College.

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Condolences:  

Last year Mrs. Amarasinghe; a teacher who served St. Anthony’s for a long while left us. The OBA Parent Body express their heartfelt condolences to her loved ones.

While apologizing for possible omissions, with sorrow I report the demise of the following Antonians during the course of the year: M/S. Tony Vandercone, Sunil Sahabandu, Hughbert Fernando, Willi Fernando, Nishan Senevirathna, Thusith Ranasinghe and  Desmond L.White.

Enrollments:  

Over the course of the year, 34 new members joined our ranks. They are: M/s Mohamed Nayeem Ejas Ahamed, Raja Lutharshan, T.M.S.S.B Malagamuwa, Sanoj Kumarasiri Jayawardana, Mohamed Shameer Munas, Herath Mudiyanselage Nadike Ariyaratne, D.T.M.S Kodithuwakku, G.R.D.S.I. Radalage, R.N. Wijesooriya, E.D. Berenger, M. K. B. Munasinghe, T. N Sooriyabandara, M. H. Anisdeen, K.A.C. Nishantha Dissnayake, Asitha A. Devasurendra, S.D.P. Aravinda Premarathne, C.T. Danushke Waidyarathne, D.M.M. Chandima Kumara Dissanayake, S.M.C.S De Alwis, R.M.D. Rathnayake, D.N.S.S. Goonawardhana, A.J.M. Irshan, E.M.J.B. Ekanayake, L.M.D.T.L.M Hettige, R.M. Rimsan, M.A.R.M Ashkar, S.A.R.D. De Silva, M.G.M.D Gunawardhana, V. Pathirana, Nevil E.D. Edirisuriya, A. Mohamed Teshan, Prasad R. B. Jayawardhana, W.M. Samantha Wijesundara, R.B.W.M.R.E.H. Senevirathna, Uditha Gayan Wickramasinghe. Thameez Ahamed Nazeer, Neville Edirisooriya, Abousalih Irshad, Prasad Jayawardhana, Samantha Wijesndara, Hasthika Senevirathna.

CDC activities: 

The CDC or the College Development Committee has grown from strength to strength. As you may recall, the CDC was formed with the intention of forming a forum which consists of all stakeholders of the College; OSB Congregation, OBA, College authorities and School Development Committee (SDC). The SDC is the apex body when it comes to activities of a government school represented by  parents, school’s academic staff and the alumni. As on would note, the CDC consists of all major stakeholders of the College and is proving to be a tower of strength in supporting the College. 

One of the major activities that the CDC completed last year was the renovation of the College hall. The idea was first proposed by the OBA and the CDC approved the project. Within a short period of time the Hall was renovated and now anyone entering the College via the main gate is mesmerized by the majestic building standing tall in front of you. I would like to thank Mr. Srilal Mendis for his untiring efforts to make this project a success. 

It was a long held dream of the OBA to upgrade its headquarters. The current premises in the banks of Mahaweli just near the main gate is insufficient for all the activities. With the formation of the CDC and with the blessings of Very. Rev. Fr. Prior the OBA entered into a MoU with the OSB congregation to develop the premises. The proposed building and its features will be discussed later tonight. At this point I would like to express our sincere gratitude towards Rev. Fr. Shamindra Jayawardhan the Conventual Prior Major of OSB Congregation for entering into this MoU with us and Mr. Srilal Mendis for doing the necessary ground work to make this a reality. 

St. Anthony’s College campus is well equipped with all the amenities to make a well-rounded citizen.  The swimming pool, college hall, hostel, cricket ground, gymnasium etc. all within a single campus is something that most others schools envy. The newest addition to this illustrious list would be a Rugby ground thanks to the initiative taken by the CDC and a generous old boy who prefers to remain anonymous. The initial work for developing the new ground is nearing its completion and with the blessings of St. Anthony, our Patron Saint budding Antonians will have a Rugby ground as well. 

Success Drive 2023: 

As the old saying goes “a goal without a plan is just a wish”. Our collective goal of making St. Anthony’s the most sought-after school will be just a wish if we do not have a proper plan. During the course of last year; via the CDC all stakeholders of St. Anthony’s got together to develop a comprehensive plan for the development of the College. My dear gentlemen, for the first time in the recorded history of the college we had representatives from the OSB congregation, OBA, teachers, College administration, parents and students in one forum discussing a way-forward plan. We were very well aided by Mr. Ranjan De Silva – another quality product of our Alma Mater; who is a well recognized success coach and  leadership specialist. We had two sessions with Mr. De Silva; the first session was held in Hotel Earl’s Regency and the second was at Mahaweli Reach. Currently under the leadership of Rev. Fr. Araliya Jayasundara we are developing an action plan for execution. At this point I would like to thank the Colombo Branch for shouldering the bulk of work in organizing the sessions and sharing the cost with Parent Body.   

Colombo Branch: 

As always, the Colombo branch is a pillar of strength to the Parent Body. The close rapport we have with our colleagues in Colombo continues to blossom. Their presence in the CDC meetings which were held every month until recently is note worthy. Making a trip from Colombo to Kandy every month warrants a special thanking. The activities carried out by the Colombo Branch is annexed to this report. 

Junior Committee: 

At the 106^th AGM, a resolution was passed to form a Junior Committee (JC) of the Parent Body. The objective of JC headed by the Senior Vice President of the Parent Body is to groom the next leadership for the SACKOBA Parent Body and its membership is opened for the old boys who left college within the last 15 years. 

I am happy to report that JC has attracted a set of very capable young old boys who are keen to give something back to their College. As their first project the JC is launching a job bank for the school leavers. Thereby attract more young old boys towards the OBA while helping them shape their careers. 

OBA Projects: 

Over the cause of last year the Parent Body completed or started number of projects to uplift the college and the general wellbeing of the members. One of the main projects that we started last year is the development of the OBA headquarters. We did the groundwork for this project last year by entering into an MoU with the OSB Congregation. More details of our plans for the headquarters will be presented later. 

Some of you who are seated here today may recall the good times at the old OBA club house which was located at the College grounds. The old club house was a sanctuary to meet old friends while enjoying a cricket match played at the College grounds. However, when the ground was expanded we gave up a part of the club house for the betterment of the College and with that lost the one place where old boys gathered to watch matches. Last year we discussed the matter with the College authorities and with the blessings of Rev. Fr. Principal developed a viewing gallery in the 3 story building which occupies the old club house premises. The development was done using removable partitioning in such a way that the premises can be used as classrooms when needed and during matches it will be used by the old boys. I invite all of you to come join us in the viewing gallery during a match. I would like to thank Rev. Fr. Principal for the support given to us with regards to this endeavor. I will fail in my duties if I do not note the efforts of Mr. Arunda Ransinghe and Mr. Amodha Galgamuwa during this project. 

The “Touch of life” is another project which the OBA started last year to beautify the entrance of the College. We managed to gain the support of number of OBA groups for this project. In particular group 83, 95 and 99 made monitory contributions towards the project while few other groups have pledge their support. As a start, we widened the main gate and created a separate entrance for pedestrians so that the traffic jam near the gate will be lessened and students will have a safer entrance to the College. Further, with the help of the government and the college authorities we managed to tarpet the entire road network within the College. A special thank goes to Mr. Aruna Amunugama for coordinating the efforts with the Ministry. 

The annual family get together was organized under the capable guidance of Mr. Chandra Mahawattage and was held at Hotel Thilanka. As always the event was well attended and organized. I should thank Mr. Mahawattage and Mr. Paldano of Hotel Thilanka for putting up a nice show. 

Affiliated groups: 

We have managed to build a very close relationship with the OBA affiliated groups. Most of these groups are represented within the OBA Central Committee and are highly involved in activities. Further, the Junior Committee has served as a catalyst to attract younger groups towards the activities of the Parent Body. Most groups have found their flagship projects; for example group 95 is sponsoring the Colours Night and group 96 is sponsoring the Idu Abhiman a cultural show done by the College. Since the reports of these groups are in the annex I take the liberty not to narrate their activities, but thank them for all the hard work. 

Concluding remark: 

Let me thank all the members who assisted me in many ways  to compile this Annual report by sending necessary information in time. Also, I wish to thank Mr. Amodha Galgamuwa and Mr. Dimuthu Bandara for all the support given to me to compile and print this report. Note of thanks goes to M/s JS Creations for printing this report within a very short period of time.

This marks the end of an eventful year. An year in which we have started a number of activities that would bring glory to this hallowed institute. Let us be united, let us understand each other without prejudice and walk towards our end goal of making St. Anthony’s, the most preferred school in Kandy. 

Long live St. Anthony’s College!
Thank you,
Dhammika Elkaduwe
Hony. General Secretary
2017/2018