St. Joseph's Academy, Dehradun

St. Joseph's Academy, Dehradun (or SJA) is a co-educational Indian Certificate of Secondary Education school in Dehradun, the capital of the state of Uttarakhand in India. Founded in 1934, the school is governed by the Society of the Brothers of St. Patrick (Ireland). It is located in the heart of the city of Dehradun on the main thoroughfare Rajpur Road.

St. Joseph's Academy, Dehradun celebrated the bicentenary of the Patrician Society and the school's 75th anniversary in 2009. The school has good results in the 10th and 12th examinations ICSE.

St. Joseph’s Academy was formally opened and blessed on March 2 , 1934 by Rev. Fr. Antanasius. Rev. Bro. A.M. Keogh was the first principal of SJA. When it opened its doors the roll-call was 21; in 1959, over a thousand students were attending the school. At present, the school boasts of a student strength of 3400 and 120 teachers.

St. Joseph’s Academy has an auditorium, built in 1984 and inaugurated by Mother Teresa. The auditorium has a sitting capacity of nearly 1300 and has one of the best acoustic systems in the town.

In 2004 St. Joseph's completed 70 years, to commemorate the occasion, the play ‘Peter Pan’ was staged. The musical 'Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat' was staged in 2006 and on the 80th anniversary the musical 'Anandsagar' was staged.

The school motto (Latin) is "Laborare Est Orare", which means "Work is Worship".

How fair is the far spreading vale of the Doon
In clear sparkling sunshine or darkling monsoon,
But the spot we love best of the beauty spots there
Is St. Joseph’s the pride of the valley so fair?

She calls us to loyalty, honour and truth,
To wear Joseph’s lily in bright blameless youth,
And e’en to old age may her lessons remain,
To live our lives bravely and die without stain

Let our voices ring out o’er the Doon’s verdant vale,
In a jubilant shout, as we tell the proud tale
Of the name and the fame of the best school of all,
Of our dear Alma Mater and answer her call,

So Academicians in work and in play,
You’ll swiftly and happily pass each glad day,
Of the years bright and brief that will end all too soon
In St. Joseph’s the pearl of the vale of the Doon.

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Wikipedia