On 16 December, Xavier Jesuit School (XJS) celebrated its first high school graduation as 28 of our students–16 from the Science class and 12 from the Social Science class–finished Grade 12. Soon, these students will be attending various universities and pursuing careers in agriculture, architecture, culinary, business, engineering, fashion, humanities, education, technology, and medicine.
It was only six years ago when XJS welcomed its first batch of Grade 7 students. At that time, we had only one class with 36 wonderful students and about 10 teachers. Since then, we have met different people — visitors, volunteers, and members of the Jesuit community, among others. In the past two years, we also had to endure the pandemic.
In 2022, our full-time teaching staff grew to 14, including four volunteers. This is the biggest number of full-time members we have ever had. In addition, we had 46 reliable and dedicated subject teachers. We gave priority to our teachers’ development through enhancement workshops to ensure that our students get the quality education they deserve.
One of the biggest challenges we faced was compensating for the lessons the students missed when they were studying online for almost two years of the pandemic. So when the students finally returned to the classroom, we reviewed previous lessons that remained unclear to them. XJS also offered interventions, such as remedial classes for weaker students, support classes, and mock exams for Grades 9 and 12 who would be taking the National Exams. We strengthened the Project-Based Learning classes by allowing students to apply what they had learned in Mathematics, Science, and Arts. We encouraged the students to create projects that benefit the community and the school.
Within the six years since we opened our doors, XJS has achieved a competitive differential rate of 37.5 per cent against the national assessment results published in 2021. This rate pertains to three subjects: Khmer, Mathematics, and Physics. In the recent Grade 9 National Exams, 43 per cent of our students achieved an above-average score. On top of that, our students have remained active in events and competitions outside the school, even as we continuously strengthen the Student Leadership Team, provide formation classes, and invite students to lead and implement activities for others.
The school makes a conscious effort to provide a conducive learning environment for our students. We are deeply thankful to have installed LCD projectors in each classroom. We are also grateful for the 40 desktop computers that make the computer classes more productive and time-efficient. We have continuously enriched our library programme by providing new and updated books, along with interesting activities. We also resumed school events, such as Environment Day, Khmer New Year celebrations, speech and talent contests, and STEM and art exhibitions. We were able to go on a school trip to see the architecture of Angkor Wat and Sambor Prei Kuk.
Throughout, XJS has maintained good relationships with other schools, ministry offices, benefactors, and the Jesuit community in Cambodia. These collaborations and partnerships enable us to create more opportunities for students and other members of the school community.
Our goal has always been to challenge our students to be the best versions of themselves. We still have a lot of work to do in order to feed, nurture, and inspire our community. XJS is just six years old. Indeed, it is still young. We need to keep an open mind about our school’s needs and goals, so we can continue to thrive and flourish well into the future.
Kristina Velez is the principal of the Middle-High School Department of Xavier Jesuit School, Cambodia.