Saint Francis D'Assisi High School is a school in Borivali West, Mumbai, India. It is managed by the Franciscan Missionary Brothers, a Catholic religious society founded by Rev. Bro. Paulus Moritz, a German Missionary. The school is recognized by the State Government of Maharashtra. It was established in 1908 and had its centenary celebrations in 2008 with the former President of India, Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam as the chief guest. IN 1985 when the school had completed 75 years the Guest of Honour was Shri Giani Sail Singh, the then President of India.It is one of the biggest schools in Mumbai. The school's sports teams, particularly their football team, perform extremely well and win trophies in the inter-school sports competitions conducted in Mumbai. The high school has an average of 10000 students on its roster, from Standards V to X. The curriculum followed in the school was that of the SSC exams. Now the school has started a separate wing which follows the ICSE curriculum. It was started in 2009 in place of the senior college that was supposed to be opened offering B.Com, but instead the ICSE wing was opened. The SSC wing is a boys school whereas the ICSE wing offers co-education. The school is located on Mt. Poinsur, with a church located on the summit of this hill. Being a rather picturesque location, the school has featured in movies and television serials. It has two arena used for school assemblies, wedding ceremonies, cultural programs and movie shoots and a sprawling ground adjoining Our Lady of Immaculate Conception Church, Mt. Poinsur which are used for conducting sports or programmes like Annual Day. The management also has a child college offering engineering courses and an MBA course. There is a technical school offering vocational courses. The school features several extra curricular activities such as student council, RSP, Boys scouts and various sports. This institute also runs a Hotel Management wing affiliated to Yashwantrao Chavan Open University.
History
The history of St. Francis D'assissi School and Orphanage dates back to 1908. Sebastian Pereira, Archbishop of Daman, who had his see at Colaba, Bombay and knew the Franciscan Missionary Brothers- CMSF, visited Bro. Paulus Mortiz, Superior General of the CMSF to start an apostolic activity for the welfare of the poor and neglected children of the Diocese of Bombay. He selected the location at Mt. Poinsur in spite of it being a jungle. It was on this hillock, with the help of his brother companions that Bro. Mortiz took up residence in the rickety old balcony of the dilapidated church of the Immaculate Conception on 4 October 1908. It was no mean task to find a clearing in the forest and to set up a thatched hut that became a residence for the Brothers and the poor boys of the areas.
