STUDY AND ENJOY: Calasanctian Week in Kinshasa

‘Study and flourish’ is a motto that can sum up the Calasanctian week held from 25th to 30th November 2024, at the Saint Joseph Calasanz School Complex in Kinshasa. The Calasanctian week was marked by various events, all of them significant and fruitful in the lives of our students, teachers and families.

The week started with an awareness march on plastic management and its effects on our environment. This was followed by two days of Olympiads in which all our pupils, divided into eight families each named after an animal, had fun and took part in various competitive events. Wednesday 27th November was dedicated to praying with Calasanz during the continuous prayer. Thursday was a day of costumes and food fairs. Everyone, students, teachers and staff, dressed up according to their own style and taste. It was great fun to see our students and their teachers teaching in costume. On Friday, a guided tour of the Kinshasa Zoo added a special flavour to the festivities. Saturday was divided into two parts: the celebration of the Eucharist and the feast itself. One of the innovations of the festivities was that each class met with their teacher to decorate and celebrate their festivities. Seeing the whole school decorated in so many different ways confirmed that the children were very creative and organised the parties themselves in their classes. It was certainly a week that has already left its mark on the future – long live Calasanz in the hearts of all!

 

FROM DREAM TO REALITY

It’s often said that dreams become reality when a grand project finally comes to fruition. In fact, the Saint Joseph Calasanz School Complex, which includes nursery, primary and secondary (general, scientific and technical humanities) is now a reality within the Piarist Vicariate of R.D. Congo. Everyone – religious, lay people, benefactors and partners from all over the world, from the Congo to Spain and Italy – has worked in one way or another to make this school complex a reality. It was with great joy and enthusiasm that on Monday 2 September 2024 we welcomed the very first pupils who had come to make the start of classes at the Saint Joseph Calasanz School Complex in Congo for the 2024-2025 school year a reality.
It was a happy and joyful start to the new school year, with satisfaction, curiosity and surprise on everyone’s faces at the impressive structure of the complex’s building on the hillside of a poor, densely populated neighbourhood. As far as the structure and processes involved in preparing the school are concerned, it’s fair to say that, once said and done, the school is up and running! We can only hope that within this beautiful structure, students and teachers, families and staff will find a true ‘school for life’, according to the vision of our educational project. We would like to express our gratitude to the Order of Pious Schools, the Itaka-Escolapios Foundation, the Diputación Foral de Biskaia, the Calasancio College in Bilbao, the Kooperativa Peñascal and all the other bodies that are supporting us in this drive for social transformation.