Convent of the Holy Infant Jesus

The Convent of the Holy Infant Jesus (CHIJ) schools are a group of eleven all-girls Catholic schools in Singapore. The first CHIJ school in Singapore was established at Victoria Street in 1854, by nuns of the Sisters of the Holy Infant Jesus‎. Today, the group includes six primary schools, four secondary schools, and one full school at various locations around Singapore. The schools are often referred to as "IJ schools".

CHIJ Schools in Singapore

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) 6

Secondary Schools

• CHIJ Katong Convent 7
• CHIJ Secondary (Toa Payoh) 8
• CHIJ Saint Joseph's Convent 9
• CHIJ Saint Theresa's Convent 10

Full School

• CHIJ Saint Nicholas Girls' School 11

The CHIJ secondary schools & full school are affiliated to Catholic Junior College.

History of the IJ schools

In Europe

In the year 1662, a Minim 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, which used to occupy a full street block bordered by Bras Basah Road, Stamford Road, Victoria St and North Bridge Road has since been redeveloped into a retail complex called CHIJmes and part of it has been demolished and converted into the offices of SMRT Corporation.

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

CHIJ Badge

The School Crest is one is shared by CHIJ schools all over the world.

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 Duty

Virtue 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 Times Sunday edition published an article entitled 'Singapore A-Z...once more with feeling', which claimed to be a "tongue-in-cheek" 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."[1]

In response, the Infant Jesus Board of Management sent a lawyer's letter to Singapore Press Holdings 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."[2]

Several other letters from parents, students and alumni protesting the description were also published in the paper.[3]

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."[4]

External links

• CHIJ Alumni website