Good afternoon school. I am Hanishee Sancheti from Grade 8 and I welcome you all to today’s Afternoon Assembly on this beautiful Wednesday afternoon. As children of God, let us thank him for his blessing he constantly showers on us and praise him as we sing the hymn: Showers of Blessing
(Hymn)
The scripture will be read by Soham Maity, the story will be read out by Dhyana Jain. Manthan Sottany will lead us in prayer and Hanishee Sancheti will read the Pledge.
Today’s scripture is taken from the book of Revelation Chapter 4: Verse 11:
“You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will, they existed and were created.”
(PAUSE) This is the Word of the Lord.
Kindly be seated and listen to today’s story:
There was a naughty kid who was rude. His parents were tired of his bad habits. They decide to leave him with a wise old man for a week. The old man told the kid he will only be allowed to eat, play, and speak if he completes the daily tasks given to him. They went into a forest and the man asked the kid to pluck the grass as his first task. With an arrogant smile, he easily did it. The next day, the man asked him to uproot a sapling as a second task, and he did as told. The next day, the man asked him to uproot a shrub, and with much struggle, he was able to complete the task. The next day, the man wanted the kid to uproot a fully grown tree. The kid looked at the tree and said, “I can’t even try, it is so big. This is impossible.” The old man replied, “Exactly my dear, the same is true for your bad habits. If you let them grow, they become difficult to remove.”
The moral of the Story is to Stop your kids from doing wrong at a young age. Don’t let their bad habits turn into deep-rooted habits. This moral and this story are very apt for all of us today and this week as we celebrate the Swachhata Pakhwada. Nature teaches us a lot of lessons and we need to remember to take care of nature in whatever way we can. We, students, can change our bad habits of harming the environment and being unhygienic. Thus making our beacons of change. As students, let us take a pledge to take care of our surroundings by keeping them clean and also aim to conform to continue taking care of Mother Earth just as we take care of ourselves.
Kindly compose yourself for the prayer
God of the universe, we thank you for Your many good gifts For the beauty of Creation and its rich and varied fruits, For clean water and fresh air for food and shelter, animals and plants. Forgive us for the times we have taken the earth’s resources for granted. Transform our hearts and minds so that we would learn to care and share, To touch the earth with gentleness and with love, respecting all living things. We pray for all those who suffer as a result of our waste, greed and indifference. Help us to respect the rights of all people and all species. And help us to willingly share your gifts today and always. Amen. (Let us say the Lord’s prayer together.)
Swachh Pledge
The ‘Swachh Bharat Abhiyan’ is a massive mass movement that seeks to create a Clean India. As we celebrate the Swachata Pakhwada, the time has come to devote ourselves to the ‘Swachchhata’ (cleanliness) of our motherland. Kindly stand at attention as we take the Swacch Pledge:
Kindly repeat it after me:
Mahatma Gandhi dreamt of an India which was not only free but also clean and developed. Mahatma Gandhi secured freedom for Mother India. Now it is our duty to serve Mother India by keeping the country neat and clean. I take this pledge that I will remain committed towards cleanliness and devote time for this. I will devote 100 hours per year, that is two hours per week, to voluntarily work for cleanliness. I will neither litter nor let others litter. I will initiate the quest for cleanliness with myself, my family, my locality, my village and my work place. I believe that the countries of the world that appear clean are so because their citizens don’t indulge in littering nor do they allow it to happen. With this firm belief, I will propagate the message of Swachh Bharat Mission in villages and towns. I will encourage 100 other persons to take this pledge which I am taking today. I will endeavour to make them devote their 100 hours for cleanliness. I am confident that every step I take towards cleanliness will help in making my country clean.
Kindly stand at attention for the School Song.
(After the school song is sung) Thank-you and have a wonderful day!