Aya Nagar is situated in the outskirts of Delhi, close to the border of Haryana, and next to the Air Force station, Arjangarh. It was in the mid-nineties that people started settling in the village of Ayanagar. The primary reason for this exodus was the availability of land at a relatively affordable rate. The majority of the people of this place were engaged in farming and dairy farm. It took at' turn when they began to sell their land to non- Delhites, mainly people from Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh, majority of whom were government employees in Delhi. They purchased plots of land for constructing their own houses in the national capital after their retirement from government jobs. Thus, the place began to see another phase of growth and development which resulted in the mushrooming of buildings.
The next felt need was to start a school and this pressing need was brought to the notice of the priest in-charge Fr. Arthur Samuel who in turn approached the local ordinary who invited the Congregation of The Sisters of Charity of Jesus and Mary to go and help them out. Fr. Arthur purchased a plot of land in phase-1 block, in Aya Nagar. As he was transferred and Rev. Fr. Elias Dung Dung came as the first manager and continued his dedicated service. The long cherished dream of the people was materialized on 12th April 1994, when the school had its humble beginning under a tin roofed hall with 17 students. Sr. Monica was in-charge of the school as well as the class teacher. Since they had no furniture, the children sat on mats. Sr. Vinaya and Sr. Celestine as next principals tried their best to instil in the students moral and ethical values along with the academics. It was because of their efforts that many parents began to show faith in the school and the strength of the school increased. Mrs. Helen Francis was the first teacher to be appointed in the school in 1996 and Mrs. Pushpa as clerk in 1998.
It was during the tenure of Fr. Elias Dung Dung, the new school building was constructed and the classes continued. Initially for any school or organisation to come up with, it is a toil and struggle. There were difficulties as to purchase land since the area was not authorized. However, things were cleared and thousand square yards more land was purchased in the name of the school adjacent to the church land and work continued. The school purchased required furniture for the classrooms and seeing the progress and improvement in the children more parents began to realise the importance of education. The school saw a steady increase in the number of students.
On 10th Oct. 1998, the school had the first general Body meeting under the leadership of Bishop Vincent Concessao. He inspired the teachers and spoke about the aim and purpose of the school. He also encouraged the sisters and teachers to have a holistic approach. A successful person is the one who has lived well, laughed often and loved much who leaves this world better than he/she faced it, who has never lacked appreciation for Earth's beauty, who never fails to look for the best in others or give the best of them.
After Fr. Elias, Fr. Claude D'Souza took charge as Manager and Sr. Lincy Joseph as the Principal in 2001. To update with technology, a few computers were bought and a library room was setup to create a taste in the students to read books. It was in 2003, the name of St. John's School was changed to Sahoday Junior School and there was a tie up with the Senior Sahoday School at Hauz Khas.
The motto of Sahoday is "Rising Together". Despite the many differences in the social, economic and cultural backgrounds of our children, we stress on equality, dignity and respect for all. In the year 2015, Fr. Aires Furtado took charge as the manager and Sr. Mary George as the Principal of the school. Being systematic and organised person, Fr. Aires went ahead with his progressive plans, and set up a well-equipped computer lab and the present assembly hall. Sr. Mary George continued this good work in contributing to the strength and standard of the school by recruiting more staff and inviting more students to join. Sr. Martina, a very good disciplinarian she was known as, took charge of the school encouraged the students to involve themselves in extracurricular activities and personally guided and moulded their growth. Fr. Deepak Soreng joined the school as the manager and Sr. Cicily Lukose as the principal in the year 2010. Fr. Deepak with his simple and sober nature was loved and appreciated by all. Sr. Cicily with her pleasant nature stressed in the students the importance of communicating in English.
After Sr. Cicily, Sr. Celestine had her second innings in this school from 2012-14. It was at the time of Fr. Deepak and Sr. Celestine the school witnessed further improvement in the field of technology. Every classroom was equipped with smartboard and it made the learning interesting. Sr. Leela Joseph took up the charge as the next principal in 2014 and set up the school cabinet to instil leadership qualities in the students. She gave importance to extracurricular activities along with the academics.
Rev. Fr. Francis Swaminathan took over the reins of the school from Fr. Deepak in the year 2016. Sr. Vineetha Miranda the present principal took over the charge from Sr. Leela in July, 2018. Today, school has made tremendous progress in all the fields. With committed service and prayer and well wishes from all I am sure, the school will touch further heights.
A new staff room and music room was constructed and blessed by Fr. Swaminathan. Since it was being the Jubilee year in 2019, a spacious Jubilee hall was constructed. It is a multipurpose hall for various school activities. It was possible through the kindness of our dear Archbishop Anil Couto. Fr. Francis Swaminathan supervised the work and gave appropriate guidance at the site. Today, Sahoday Jr. School has the strength of 366 students, 13 teaching staff and 2 non-teaching staff and 3 auxiliary staff. Now, not only the parents request for a high school to make sure about the future of their children but also the management, staff and students wish and pray for it. May the Lord bless our school in the years ahead....