RJM collaborators in Timor-Leste
In February, the Jesuits in Timor-Leste welcomed their latest collaborators in their education mission – the Religious of Jesus and Mary (RJM).
Teacher turns builder to realise education dream
An academic in charge of a large-scale construction project? Australian Jesuit Fr Quyen Vu SJ doesn’t understand how it happened either. “Yes, I laugh about my new role sometimes. I am now immersed in building construction,” he says.
This eight-hectare site in the Kasait in Timor-Leste is being transformed into the new St Ignatius of Loyola Kasait under Fr Quyen’s watch as the vice-principal of the new Jesuit school.
Colégio Santo Inácio de Loiolá opens
Not all children look forward to the first day of school, but for the 74 first students of Colégio Santo Inácio de Loiolá, January 15 was a much-anticipated day. Nearly all of them arrived one hour before the school day began at 8.30am.
Timor Leste school on track to open in January
Colégio de Santo Inácio de Loiolá, the new Jesuit secondary school in Timor Leste, is on track to open as scheduled on January 15, with its first batch of students in Year 7.
On December 15, 79 boys and girls were informed they were successful in their application to the school. They had undergone a three-stage selection process that began in August.
Timor Leste immersion
Students and teachers from Jesuit and Partner Schools across Australia took part in a Timor Leste Immersion over the school holidays in July. A group of 16 students from eight schools, with three teachers, participated in the programme. Stella Korlaki, a teacher at Xavier Catholic College in Hervey Bay, describes their experience.
We arrived in Darwin in two different groups. Little did we know that we would develop close and supportive friendships through our shared encounters in East Timor.
Construction begins on Timor Leste education project
Construction has begun on the Instituto de Educação Jesuíta in Timor Leste.
Collaboration key to addressing the challenges facing Jesuit educators
For the first time in the history of the Society, Jesuit educators across of the world gathered for an International Colloquium on Jesuit Secondary Education. The intent of the Colloquium was to strengthen the network by providing a platform to share ideas, discuss common strengths and challenges, examine our Jesuit mission and identity, and focus on how Jesuit school educators can prepare students to become global leaders. Australian Jesuit Fr Quyen Vu, who has been missioned to work on the education project in Timor Leste, reflects on his experience.
Breaking ground
The Jesuits in Timor Leste marked a major milestone on July 14 when they broke ground for the educational institute they are building in Kasait, 18 km west of Dili.
Construction of phase 1 of Instituto de Educação Jesuíta is scheduled to begin at the end of July. The first phase consists of what is needed for the secondary school unit of the institute to open in time for the new school year in January 2013 – the road and entrance, some classrooms and other teaching facilities, and an administration block.
Land, water, and soon construction will begin
The Jesuit educational project in Timor Leste is well underway. The original plot of 7.1 hectares has been extended to 8.44 hectares with the purchase of an adjacent piece of land. A solid fence surrounds the property located in Kasait, in the village of Ulmera, 18 km from Dili. The time spent sourcing for water yielded excellent results that will ensure that Instituto de Educação Jesuíta has more than enough fresh water to meet its needs.
Education initiatives, opportunities and challenges
Education continues to be a priority for Jesuits in Asia Pacific, as the recent JCAP meeting of Province delegates for pre-secondary and secondary education revealed.
Several new initiatives in education are underway or proposed within the Conference.