Website
Website : loretoasansol.in

Address
Address: G T Road, West Asansol, West Bengal – 713301, India
Phone: 0341-2281099
E-mail: loretoschool.asn@rediffmail.com / contact@loretoasansol.in

SCHOOL CREST
This is the crest familiar to Loreto pupils worldwide. It is surmounted by the words ‘Maria Regina Angelorum’ which indicates the patronage of our Lady, Queen of Angels.
The emblem is rich in symbolism: The Cross – sign of Salvation; The Sacred Heart – Source of infinite love of Jesus for each one of us; The Heart of Mary – our human model of hope.
This symbolism is summed in the final scroll: “Cruci dum Spiro fido” “Throughout my life, I shall place my hope in the cross.”

Loreto Convent, Asansol is a Catholic Institution under the management of Asansol Loreto Educational Society – represented by the Sisters of the Institute of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Loreto Sisters). The school is recognised by the Education Department of the Government of West Bengal and is under the West Bengal Board of Secondary Education (Anglo-Indian Board of West Bengal) and affiliated to the Indian Council for Secondary Education (ICSE and ISC). Loreto Asansol has completed over 138 years in the educational service of the region.

Academic Session:
April – March

Weekly Holidays:
Saturdays & Sundays

The medium of instruction of this Institution is ENGLISH. Bengali and Hindi are taught as second Language from Classes 1 to 12. Third Language is compulsory from Classes 5 to 8.

The pupils are prepared for the ICSE (Class 10 Examination) and the ISC (Class 12 Examination).
School is affiliated to the Delhi Council for the ICSE and ISC.
It has opened the Science and Commerce sections from 2010.

In addition to the subjects prescribed in the Board and Council syllabus, the curriculum includes Religious Instruction (for Catholics) and Value Education (for Non-Christians) as compulsory subjects. Personal and communal prayers are facilitated through assemblies, prayer groups, liturgies and school retreats.

Although the primary purpose is the education of Catholic girls, students of other religious denominations, irrespective of caste, creed and community, are also accepted.

Our aim

To give the pupils a sound moral education while devoting special attention to their intellectual, social and physical development,
To impart education for the wholeness and dignity of each child,
Free to respond,
To value the student as a unique person – who is already gifted with a Past, Present and Future,
To strive for excellence at the level of her own potential,
Value of Integrity, Justice, Freedom and Love as essential in the educational thrust,
The special thrust of our school is to cherish the most deprived people and to enable them to take their place with dignity among others.
Therefore, parents who intend to have their children educated here would need to be convinced of the importance of these values and be prepared to make the necessary sacrifices to live by them.

Subjects Offered in Class 11 (2021-2022)

Arts
1.  English
2.  Economics
3.  History/Geography
4.  Political Science/ Mathematics
5.  Computer Science/ Hindi/Bengali

Science
Compulsory
1.  English
2.  Physics
3.  Chemistry
Any 2 or 3 from the following subjects:
4.  Biology
5.  Mathematics
6.  Computer Science/ Hindi/Bengali

Commerce
Compulsory
1.  English
2.  Commerce
3.  Accounts
4.  Economics
Any 1 or 2 from the following subjects:
5.  Maths/Business Studies
6.  Computer Science

School Hours
Nursery:      08:00 a.m. to 12 noon
Class KG:      07:40 a.m. to 12:40 p.m.
Class: 1 – 2:       07:40 a.m. to 01:20 p.m.
Class 3 – 12:       07:40 a.m. to 02:00 p.m.

Vacation
There are three major vacations during the year:
Summer Vacation in May/June
Puja Vacation in September/October
Christmas Vacation in December/January

Visionaries

Teresa Ball
Frances Ball was born in Ireland in 1794 and educated at St Mary’s Convent, a boarding school conducted by the members of the Institute of the Blessed Virgin Mary, in York, England.

She heard the unmistakable call of God “Seek first the Kingdom of God and His Justice and all these things will be added unto you.” At the age of twenty, Frances returned to York to enter the novitiate, preparing herself for the foundation of the Institute of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Ireland, and make her profession as Mother Teresa.

Delphine Hart
Loreto in India owes its origin to a visit by Dr Bakhaus to Loreto Abbey, Ireland, in 1840 to request Mother Teresa Ball to send Sisters to set up a school for Catholic children in Calcutta.

In 1841, Mother Teresa sent 7 Loreto Sisters and 5 Postulants, all in their twenties, to India, under the Leadership of Delphine Hart announcing that they would never see their homeland again. They were welcome to Calcutta by Bishop Carew and installed at Loreto House, 7 Middleton Row. They were the first congregation to come to North India.

Our history
In order to understand the story of Loreto Asansol, one must know a little about Mary Ward, Foundress of the Institute of the Blessed Virgin Mary, whose Sisters, popularly known as ‘Loreto’, manage the school.

Mary Ward
Mary Ward was born on January 23, 1585 in Elizabethan England, at a time of great religious intolerance. She was a victim of the persecution of Catholics. The Women of great faith that she was, she saw the need for a sound religious education for young women who would assume responsibilities in society and in the Church, for, as she said, ‘Women in time to come will do much’. Inspired at the tender age of 15 to renounce the world, she decided to dedicate her life to God, having refused many proposals of marriage.

In 1609, she left her homeland and with a small group of companions, she opened a school at St Omer, Flanders where girls were taught reading, writing and sewing, as well as the principles of Christian life.

She had a passionate love for Integrity, Justice and Freedom and she consistently endeavoured to live out these qualities. The new type of consecrated life which she began – free from enclosure, without religious habit and ruled by women - received much opposition. The vision of woman’s role in Church was unacceptable and suspect, and in 1631, Mary Ward’s Institution was suppressed and she herself was imprisoned as a heretic for a time.

Mary Ward described as ‘A woman beyond compare’ died at York on January 30, 1645. “Unless the grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone” (Jn 12:24). The serenity and confidence with which she accepted all kinds of sufferings, not the least physical ones, the fidelity to the Church despite multiple tribulations, made of her the “grain of wheat” sown by God which, after the rebirth of her institute, would bear fruit in all continents down to the present day. There are Loreto schools in 12 countries on 5 continents.

Mission statement
We are called as a Loreto School to promote the Glory of God, lovingly discerning God’s will for us in a growing freedom, sincerity and justice.

We endeavour to empower every child to develop to her best potential, and thus proclaim the Glory of God.

We make this empowerment the distinguishing feature of all our educational effort and are convinced that it takes place best in a school which is a dynamic entity involved continually in discerning the needs of our times and flexible enough to re-adjust its structures and activities to respond to them.

We create and sustain a school atmosphere where the values of love, freedom, sincerity and justice are experienced and lived out by all and where striving for excellence at a level of one’s potential is an essential element.

We create conditions and make decisions at administrative and staff levels so that it becomes a continuous process, affecting staff, students and parents and takes precedence over all other motivations.

We make our school a centre where preferential love of the poor is lived out both in attitudes and structures. In cherishing the most deprived people, and enabling them to take their place with dignity among the others our school becomes a place where truly the Glory of God is manifested.

Our goals
Accompaniment of Students
Sharing our IBVM Legacy
Social Sensitization
Staff Development
Team Work
Zero tolerance for failures
Implementing the above Six Points

Ten Commandments for Loretoites
Be positive in thoughts, feelings and action
Be good listeners and communicate correct information
Be regular, punctual and maintain discipline
Be respectful to all especially towards parents and teachers
Protect the property and good name of the school
Be non-violent in words and deeds
Appreciate and encourage one another genuinely
Learn at least one good hobby
Be sincere and avoid unfair means
Above all, pray always.

Infrastructures available
Airy classrooms
Library with most valued resources
Well equipped labs

Clubs
Classes 8 to 12 are given opportunities for development of personality and leadership skills through movements like YCS and JPIC. Students are taken on educational tours and occasional ‘live-ins’ when appropriate.

YCS
Young Christian Students (YCS) are given opportunities to become involved in liturgy including choir both at school and parish level.

JPIC
Justice, Peace and Integrity of Creation helps the students to reflect on situations of injustice, their causes and possible remedies and challenges them to think of others (children deprived of the advantages of education) and to work for them.

Co-curricular activities
Organised either House wise or Class wise
There are four Houses, which have their own colours and names. Each House is headed by an elected Captain and Vice-Captain.
• Art
• Dancing
• Debates
• Elocution
• Needlework and Craft
• Physical Training
• Quiz
• Singing
• Optional - Basketball and Yogasana before school hours on specific days

Sports activities
• Annual Sports Meet
• Athletics
• Drill display
• Games
• Outdoor exercise

Skill Development Programmes
• Creative Writing
• Debate
• Elocution
• Flower Decoration
• Quiz

Reach Out Programme

Ankur Vidyalaya – Reach Out Literacy Programme
The vision of our school is to reach out to the needy and the deprived. We have therefore kept our resources available to the poorest of the poor. Ankur Vidyalaya, which is an offshoot of Loreto Convent and an integral part of it, is our response to this vision. It all began with a street play on 14 May 1991, by the LTS girls designed to arouse the interest of the rest of the school in a Literacy Programme, which they hoped to begin. They felt that the benefits of being in a good regular school should be shared with their less fortunate sisters and brothers. This was followed by a survey in the slum area of Chelidanga by the Principal and some teachers.

On 10 July 1991, the first batch of pupils was admitted under the supervision of the SUPW Literacy Project Co-ordinator. Today Loreto Convent, with the help of staff and students, runs a flourishing and full-fledged Literacy Programme under the name of Ankur Vidyalaya, within the premises of our school building, with poor children on roll. The pupils aged 5 years upwards, girls, are admitted irrespective of their caste or creed. The medium of instruction is Hindi. Every student from Class 6 to 10 gets an opportunity to share their knowledge on a one-to-one basis with an Ankur Vidyalaya child, at least once a week, so that each child goes at his/her own pace, without pressure. These lessons, though conducted by the students, are supervised by three trained teachers and a co- ordinator from the regular school. Classes are held from 8:00 am to 12:15 pm.

Once a week a different class brings extra lunch and sits down together with the Ankur Vidyalaya children and share their food. Since 1997 a few candidates have been prepared for the Board examination of the National Open School. The expenditure to keep this worth-while programme running is very high as it includes maintenance of an old building, hiring three trained teachers, supplying a hot substantial meal daily to each child, sports uniform, gifts at Diwali and Christmas and other incidentals. All these expenses have to be met from the school funds, which are inadequate. Inspite of the problem of funds, service to these less fortunate children remains a priority and we want at all cost to keep Ankur Vidyalaya going as our contribution to serve the neighbourhood better.

Vocational training
Knitting and tailoring - part of our Reach out Programme

This project was started in 1995 and supervised by a co-ordinator. Now there are 22 students and 2 teachers who are on our payroll. We have bought a number of knitting machines and the wool, buttons, thread, needles etc are provided by us.

Orders are placed by teachers, students and often local schools for cardigans, shawls and scarves. The ladies attend these classes in our school premises from 12:30 pm to 3:30 pm. The young ladies, some of whom had lost all hope in life are now earning members for their families and can see a ray of sunshine in their lives.

THE BEGINNING
In 1877, Loreto Convent Asansol opened in a small three-roomed, thatched bungalow. The nuns came in response to a request from the Parish Priest Rev Fr Jacques sj. Asansol had become an important railway centre and had a large Catholic population and a bungalow was available at a low price. The Jesuit Fathers had built a fine Church and had moved their Scholastics into the property which is now St Patrick’s School, so the spiritual needs of the Sisters would be served, who would in turn serve the educational needs of the local Community. At this time Mother Delphine Hart was very worried about one of her community who suffered from persistence fever. A change of air was prescribed but the invalid was not able for the journey to the healthier climates of either Darjeeling or Hazaribagh where Convents were already established. It was winter when Mother Delphine set out to see the property, accompanied by the delicate sister. She was impressed and felt that it was an answer to her prayer and an opportunity not to be missed. Furthermore she was pleased to find that the climate seemed to be healthy, with its keen, dry, unpolluted air and expanses of green paddy fields.

Soon five sisters arrived and began to hold classes in the ground floor Presbytery on 7 Feb, 1877. It was a day-school with 35 children. Soon it was gathering pupils from farther afield. The zealous Pastor, Fr Jacques, saw the need for a boarding school so he set to work again. The railway company, which benefited most from the presence of a school, made land available, about a mile from the Church. Government gave a grant to help in the construction of a building. Fr Jacques who was architect and foreman of the work chose to build the school facing the great Railway Tank, below which sloped acres of woodland and in which nestled two natural reservoirs. He personally supervised the making of the bricks and saw to it that the building had the benefit of a south breeze and deep verandahs to shelter it from the sun, keeping in mind Asansol’s very high temperature in the summer months. By 1885 the convent was completed – a three storey building, imposing and massive, with walls four feet thick, spacious verandahs, numerous archways, doors and windows.

This was “The house that JACK BUILT” – to this day, a monument to the great architect, Fr Jacques sj. So healthy and above all so quiet did the place prove with its extensive grounds and facilities conducive to prayer and spiritual growth that in 1880, Mother Delphine transferred the Novitiate to the new Convent in Asansol where it remained until 1903, when it was transferred to Darjeeling. The Jesuit Scholasticate had already moved to St Mary’s, Kurseong and the Christian Brothers took over their property and began St Patrick’s School there. Thus a large section of the Catholic population was being served educationally. There was great joy in the surrounding districts in 1885 when the boarding school opened after a third storey had been added. However, the top storey was damaged after an earthquake and had to be demolished in 1897. In 1909, to accommodate the increased demand for boarding facilities an East Wing consisting of classrooms and dormitories was built at right angles to the main building. In 1928, a West Wing was added, containing a Concert Hall, Music Rooms, Children’s Dining Room, Dormitory and Dressing Room. It was now a full-fledged Boarding School. Unfortunately no records are available for these early years. Presumably they were lost or destroyed when the whole building and campus was taken over by the military towards the end of the Second World War from 1942 to 1946. Important items, we are told were stored in the Chapel when the Community and Boarders evacuated to Simla. They found everything in disarray on their return. Only a few School Log Books dating from 1930 could be found. Up to that time our only source of information is in the cemetery, where we get the names of the pioneering Sisters who laboured and died here R.I.P.

Mothers General who guided and inspired the Institute from 1861 to 1935 and under whose leadership Loreto Convent, Asansol came to birth in 1875 and was nurtured.