Convent of the Holy Infant Jesus
Encyclopedia
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圣婴女子学校
CHIJ / IJ
Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
1854
Roman Catholic
Simple in Virtue, Steadfast in Duty
The Convent of the Holy Infant Jesus (CHIJ) schools are a group of eleven all-girls Catholic
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
schools in Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
. The first CHIJ school in Singapore was established at Victoria Street
Victoria Street, Singapore
Victoria Street [Tamil]: விக்டோரியா ஸ்திரீட் is a street located in the Central Area of Singapore. The street starts at Victoria Bridge at the end of Kallang Road, after the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority building, in the north and continues as Hill Street at its junction with Stamford Road...
in 1854, by nuns of the Sisters of the Holy Infant Jesus. Today, the group includes six primary schools
Primary education
A primary school is an institution in which children receive the first stage of compulsory education known as primary or elementary education. Primary school is the preferred term in the United Kingdom and many Commonwealth Nations, and in most publications of the United Nations Educational,...
, four secondary schools
Secondary education
Secondary education is the stage of education following primary education. Secondary education includes the final stage of compulsory education and in many countries it is entirely compulsory. The next stage of education is usually college or university...
, and one full school at various locations around Singapore. The schools are often referred to as "IJ schools".
Primary Schools
- CHIJ (Katong) Primary 1
- CHIJ (Kellock) 2
- CHIJ Our Lady of Good Counsel 3
- CHIJ Our Lady of the Nativity – formerly CHIJ Ponggol 4
- CHIJ Our Lady Queen of Peace – formerly CHIJ Bukit Timah 5
- CHIJ Primary (Toa Payoh)CHIJ Primary (Toa Payoh)CHIJ Primary is an all-girls' Catholic primary school in Singapore. Founded in 1854, the school is the oldest of the 11 Convent of the Holy Infant Jesus schools in Singapore...
6
Secondary Schools
- CHIJ Katong ConventCHIJ Katong ConventCHIJ Katong Convent is an autonomous all-girls Catholic secondary school in Singapore. The school is one of 11 Convent of the Holy Infant Jesus schools in Singapore. Katong Convent is known for its niche area, speech and drama...
7 - CHIJ Secondary (Toa Payoh) 8
- CHIJ Saint Joseph's ConventCHIJ Saint Joseph's ConventCHIJ Saint Joseph's Convent is an all-girls Catholic secondary school in Sengkang, Singapore. The school is one of 11 Convent of the Holy Infant Jesus schools in Singapore.- History :...
9 - CHIJ Saint Theresa's ConventCHIJ Saint Theresa's ConventCHIJ Saint Theresa's Convent is an all-girls Catholic secondary school in Singapore. The school is one of 11 Convent of the Holy Infant Jesus schools in Singapore.-History:...
10
Full School
- CHIJ Saint Nicholas Girls' School 11
The CHIJ secondary schools & full school are affiliated to Catholic Junior College
Catholic Junior College
Catholic Junior College is a junior college in Singapore, offering a two-year course for pre-university students leading up to GCE 'A' Level examination. Founded in 1975, CJC was the third junior college established in Singapore...
.
History of the IJ schools
In EuropeIn the year 1662, a Minim
Minim (religious order)
The Minims are members of a Roman Catholic religious order of friars founded by Saint Francis of Paola in fifteenth-century Italy...
priest, Father Nicolas Barré saw the need for the education of the poor in France. He, therefore, recruited educated women to help set up his first school near Rouen. As the enrolment increased, more schools were established, and four years later, the ladies in charge of these schools began to live in a community under a Superior. This was the beginning of a religious congregation whose main work was the education of the poor. The year 1666, therefore saw the founding of the Congregation of the Sisters of the Infant Jesus.
The outbreak of the French Revolution brought about several social and political changes in France but the work of the congregation spread rapidly. Less than twenty-five years after the opening of the Mother-House in Paris, eighty schools for free education and forty boarding schools had been established in France. With the granting of official approval from Rome, the Sisters extended their work to America, England, Spain, Malaysia, Japan and Thailand.
In The East
In the year 1849, the Rev Jean Marie Beurel of St Brieuc (Brittany) suggested to Governor Butterworth that it might be worthwhile to found a charitable organisation for girls next to the Church in Victoria Street. In August 1852, Father Beurel bought the house at the corner of Victoria Street and Bras Basah Road. He paid $4000 of his own money for it. Father Beurel also appealed to the Superior General in France for sisters to run the Convent. Four Sisters were sent to the East. After a long and perilous voyage, three of them landed at Penang. One had died at sea. The three sisters established a convent in Penang.
In Singapore
In February 1854, three Sisters led by Rev Mother St Mathilde Raclot arrived in Singapore and set up the Convent in Singapore at Victoria Street. The sisters got to work and within ten days took in orphans, did needlework to support themselves and taught fourteen children. Soon the number of pupils increased and the school became well-known. In 1894, there were 167 pupils. Ten years later, the enrolment had increased to 300. Secondary education began in 1905. Under Mother Hombeline, the expansion programme continued.
[taken from CHIJ Primary website]
The convent
Convent
A convent is either a community of priests, religious brothers, religious sisters, or nuns, or the building used by the community, particularly in the Roman Catholic Church and in the Anglican Communion...
, which used to occupy a full street block bordered by Bras Basah Road
Bras Basah Road
Bras Basah Road is a one-way road in Singapore in the planning areas of Museum and Downtown Core. The road starts at the junction of Orchard Road and Handy Road, at the ERP gantry towards the Central Business District, and ends at the junction of Nicoll Highway and Raffles Boulevard which then...
, Stamford Road
Stamford Road
Stamford Road is a one-way road in Singapore within the planning areas of Downtown Core and Museum. The road continues after the traffic light junction of Nicoll Highway, Esplanade Drive and Raffles Avenue towards Orchard Road. It then ends at the junction of Fort Canning Road, Bencoolen Street...
, Victoria St and North Bridge Road
North Bridge Road
North Bridge Road is a road in Singapore north of Singapore River, that starts at the junction of Crawford Street and ends before Elgin Bridge, which the road becomes South Bridge Road. The road is one of the oldest roads in Singapore and was outlined in Raffles' 1822 Town Plan...
has since been redeveloped into a retail complex called CHIJmes
CHIJMES
CHIJMES is a historic building complex in Singapore, which began life as a Catholic convent known as the Convent of the Holy Infant Jesus and convent quarters known as Caldwell House...
and part of it has been demolished and converted into the offices of SMRT Corporation
SMRT Corporation
SMRT Corporation is a public transport operator incorporated on March 6, 2000, as a result of an industry overhaul to form multi-modal public-transport operators in Singapore. It is the second-largest public-transport company in Singapore after ComfortDelGro...
.
Uniform
All CHIJ schoolgirls wear a blue pinafore with a belt, and a white blouse with a Peter-Pan collar beneath the pinafore, as well as shorts, white socks and white-based track shoes. There are slight variations between the CHIJ schools in the form and design of the badges worn on the pinafore. Apart from the crest on the pinafore, students can be differentiated by the material their badge is made of and the initials on their school socks.Crest
In the centre of the Crest lies a red shield with a silver band edged in gold. Red conveys the message of love, God's love embracing the world.
The shield is surmounted by a gold Cross. This serves as a reminder that inspiration, dedication and fidelity come from Christ.
The shield is encircled by a garland of white marguerites. The garland of marguerites speaks of simplicity - the most charming trait in young girlhood.
On the right lies a Gospel with a silver rosary. The gospel is a guide for those who seek God's will for a life of godliness. Live by it and you will attain peace and happiness. The Rosary of the Virgin Mary symbolises communication with God. Cultivate it and you will grow in the Knowledge of God.
The Distaff and the Spindle are symbols of womanly labour, typical of an earlier period when the weaving of cloth was done by women at home. The symbol is typically French, pointing to the French origin of the Sisters of the Infant Jesus. It reminds the students of the satisfaction and fulfilment to be found in a task well-accomplished.
Emblazoned on the Crest is our motto: "Simple in Virtue, Steadfast in Duty"
Mission
The mission of CHIJ schools is the creation of a Christ-centred school community where all work together for the promotion of truth, justice, freedom and love, with special reference to the need of the pupils who are disadvantaged in any way.Motto
Simple in Virtue, Steadfast in DutyVirtue is a personal possession; no one can take it away from you against your will. An upright virtue goes out to one’s neighbour with spontaneous warmth. It judges oneself with humble honesty and it goes straight to God with childlike confidence.
"Steadfast in Duty" speaks for itself. Perseverance in what is one’s assigned vocation is not always easy but it yields that inner peace and freedom which no money can buy. It stresses the importance of a sense of personal responsibility - an essential trait for everyone preparing for adulthood.
The Straits Times incident
In September 2006, controversy was raised when The Straits TimesThe Straits Times
The Straits Times is an English language daily broadsheet newspaper based in Singapore currently owned by Singapore Press Holdings . It is the country's highest-selling paper, with a current daily circulation of nearly 400,000...
Sunday edition published an article entitled 'Singapore A-Z...once more with feeling', which claimed to be a "tongue-in-cheek
Tongue-in-cheek
Tongue-in-cheek is a phrase used as a figure of speech to imply that a statement or other production is humorously intended and it should not be taken at face value. The facial expression typically indicates that one is joking or making a mental effort. In the past, it may also have indicated...
" look at Singapore icons. The article referred to the term "IJ girls" as "a generalisation for girls who study in CHIJ schools and who like to hem their school uniforms real short, wear their belts real low on their hips, and are allegedly easy when it comes to the opposite sex."http://www.chijalumni.org/download/pdf/2009HNR003.pdf
In response, the Infant Jesus Board of Management sent a lawyer's letter to Singapore Press Holdings
Singapore Press Holdings
Singapore Press Holdings Limited is a media organisation in Singapore with businesses in print, Internet and new media, television and radio, outdoor media, and property. SPH has over 4,000 employees, including a team of approximately 1,000 journalists, including correspondents operating around...
demanding an apology and threatening legal action if one was not forthcoming. A separate letter written by the Board's Chairman, Donne Marie Aeria, was also pubilished in The Straits Times forum page, in which she said: "Was there a need to tarnish the image of thousands of students, past, present and future, including girls as young as six-plus years old in Primary One, with an image that they are 'allegedly easy when it comes to the opposite sex'?...The authorship and publication of such an article cannot, by any measure, be accepted as a 'tongue-in-cheek' article. It was an ill-conceived idea and done in bad taste. It has caused much distress, pain and embarrassment to women, of all ages, that hail from our CHIJ Schools. We do not condone your publication and take strong objection to the aspersions cast upon IJ Girls."http://www.chijalumni.org/news_lifestyle_letter1.htm
Several other letters from parents, students and alumni protesting the description were also published in the paper.http://www.chijalumni.org/news.htm
An apology was printed in the paper the following week, stating that: "We retract those remarks. No malice or disrespect was intended. We are sorry for the distress caused."http://www.chijalumni.org/download/pdf/2509HNR003.pdf