Touring My Old School from the Dutch Era in East Java : Cor Jesu

Hello everyone! To all my friends in the community around the world, how are you doing today? Hopefully, you are all doing great! Are you grateful already today? Well, I have and that should always be done because we can be happy because we are grateful, isn't that right? All of us who do activities outside the home or just inside the house like me, remain enthusiastic in whatever we do. It is New Year, new spirit too, isn’t it?

Am I still fit to be a high school student? :D

My passion right now is to write in this community and express all the interesting feelings and experiences that I can share with all of you. I do not just write for my pleasure or just to fill my busy schedule. I want to share stories and happiness with you and I hope you can be happy and like my story which can be a positive encouragement for you, wherever you are.

Every day my husband and I take my child to school, yup that is my routine every day. The distance is quite far from my house, around 10 kilometers and takes around 40 minutes by car. If we ride a motorbike then the time will be faster of course because we can speed up and look for gaps to overtake, hahaha. This time I want to take you on a little tour of the school. For your information, that school is my child's school and my old school too. Let's go!!!

Sometimes when I drop my son off at school, I meet some of my teachers who still teach there. There are those who still remember me and there are those who no longer remember because they haven't seen each other for quite a long time, considering that they also have a lot of students every each year. If I can say, time flies so fast. I used to be a student at that school, now my son is a student there. In fact, surprisingly, my child's teacher was also my teacher when I was in kindergarten and her appearance has not changed that much either.

This is the appearance of my school and my child's school from the front / outside the main road. Very interesting, right? Want to come in?

I studied there from kindergarten to high school. It has really been a long time, right, and I still felt excited going to school there because maybe I already felt comfortable with the school environment. Therefore, I also send my children there because it is a good school and a comfortable environment. This school is called Cor Jesu. The location is on Jl. Jaksa Agung Suprapto 55 Malang, East Java. The name of the school is unique, isn’t it? of course, because it is not Indonesian but from the others which is Latin. Cor jesu means the sacred heart of Jesus.

A little history about this school, it was originally a convent and then a dormitory and kindergarten were established which were the work of the first Ursuline nuns in Malang. There was a nun who pioneered the establishment of Cor Jesu Malang, her name is Sister Angele Flecken, OSU. In every unit on the Cor Jesu campus, we will definitely find her photo. So Sr. Angela Flecken was originally based in Surabaya and then she had the idea to build a monastery, dormitory and school in Malang. the struggle is not easy. Thanks to the prayers and efforts made by the sisters, the dream of establishing a convent, dormitory and school in Malang can be realized. on February 6 1990, was a historic day for Cor Jesu Malang.

This is the hallway after entering the Ursuline monastery earlier. when we pass through this hallway, on the right and left side there are many framed photos of the nuns who head foundations and monasteries.

Sr. Angele Flecken, OSU who pioneered the establishment of Cor Jesu Malang

There are three sisters / nuns, namely Sr. Xavier Smeets, OSU, Sr. Aldegonde Flecken, OSU, and Sr. Marta Beirings, they departed from Surabaya to Malang by train. After arriving in Malang, not everyone was happy and welcomed the presence of the Ursuline Nuns in Malang. Some people are very opposed to their presence.

These are some pictures of very old Cor Jesu School when I pass through the hall.

There was a priest named Fr. Jonckbloet, mothers and children who welcomed the Nuns happily. Father Jonckbloet felt that he really appreciated the work of the Ursulin and was happy to support the establishment of a monastery in Malang. He said, "The group of Nuns are still small, but soon their numbers will definitely increase." He likened this small group of Nuns to a small tree that had just been planted and will grow into a big tree.

This is what I look like from behind when I was photographed in this hallway :p

Still in the same hallway, there is a statue of the Lord Jesus.

Here I took a photo, behind me there was church too. So, in this school there is also a church that outsiders can go to to pray or attend mass.

Let's take a look from the inside of the church.

Somebody help me to translate this writing, please? ^^

On March 1, 1900, the Nuns immediately opened a kindergarten with the first number of students being 9 people. In the early days of 1901, the Nuns experienced great economic difficulties. They asked for help to St. Josef and prayed the novena. Not long after, there was a rich man from Surabaya who was willing to donate a very large amount of money. God's blessings and mercy always accompany the efforts of these Nuns. Even though they faced many challenges, they always get help and a way out because they always surrender all their work and service to God.

This is what my school looks like. It is like a Dutch buildings. What a great!

Sorry, there will be a lot of "spam" about me because I am too excited taking pictures in my old school ^^

The first ten years were difficult times for them. Many serious diseases such as typhus, cholera, and plague attacked the nuns, boarding school children, and almost all of the 2 village residents died due to the plague outbreak. The school atmosphere became empty and parents came to take their children because they were afraid of getting sick.

The Nuns also experienced a period of war. In ancient times, Indonesia was colonized by the Dutch and then Japanese, therefore there are many historical remains in the form of Dutch buildings and schools, hospital buildings, big roads, post offices, and many more from Dutch colonial. At that time, the Japanese began to enter the city of Malang and the boarding house. Schools and monasteries also became one of the places targeted by the Japanese invaders. Sturdy buildings were hit by bombs, dormitories and schools burned. The Nuns and children entered the chapel and prayed. Once again, Thank God they were saved.

This is the Cor Jesu Kindergarten where my son currently goes to school and I usually drop him off and pick him up here

After the colonial period ended, the Nuns began to rebuild and Cor Jesu emerged today with its sturdy and majestic building. Their services in the field of education began to develop. Cor Jesu school is very open to accepting anyone who wants to send their children to school starting from kindergarten, elementary school, middle school and high school as well as vocational school. Cor Jesu is famous for its logo, named SERVIAM, which means the logo of all the Ursulines throughout the world. Serviam in Latin means "I serve" inspired by the teachings of Saint Angela Merici, founder of the order of Saint Ursula.

That is a little history about the founding of the Cor Jesu school until now. The students are not only from the city of Malang, bu also from all corners of Indonesia, such as East Nusa Tenggara, Flores, Kalimantan, and many more. I am very proud to be a Cor Jesu alumni and all the valuable lessons and learning experiences have become special memories for me.

This is the end of our tour at Cor Jesu's school, my school and my child's too. I hope you like the touring this time with me. Thank you for reading and thank you for always supporting me. See you in other writing! ^^

Have a great day!

CharinaKim