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Ave Maria Convent School, Ipoh
The photograph shows the Primary School Block. It is captioned "St Maria" as this is a direct translation from the Chinese.
The school was founded in 1938 by Reverend Mother Pauline Legrix (1899-1988) a pioneer educationalist, as the 'Chinese Convent' and its first premises were in the Catholic Centre at Brewster Road, just one block away from the 'Convent of the Infant Jesus' (Main Convent) and offered girls an opportunity to gain a Chinese education.
During the Japanese Occupation the school was closed but in 1945, immediately after the war, Reverend Mother Pauline restarted it as 'Convent Teik Siew' (Convent for the Education of Ethics) which occupied part of the Convent of the Infant Jesus due to lack of suitable classrooms elsewhere.
However, by 1948 the number of students had increased to a level where new premises had to be found and the new school, named 'Ave Maria Convent' was born, on the corner of Jalan Chung Thye Phin and Jalan Lim Seng Chew. Initially there were 12 classrooms with pupils from Standard 1 to 6 under the new Principal Sister Thomas Foo.
In 1950, the Primary School was started with 16 students and in 1952 there was another landmark when the first batch of students sat for the Government examination - the Junior Middle Three - in Chinese.
Lower Secondary education was established in the school in 1950 with an initial enrollment of 16, who sat for the Junior Middle Three examinations two years later in Chinese. In 1957 the school status was changed from Missionary School to a fully funded Government school.
In the years that followed, Ave Maria Convent underwent several expansions. A swimming pool was built in 1962 from the proceeds of a funfair; in 1963 a 3-storey block was constructed encompassing 10 classrooms, a library, 2 science labs and a canteen. In 1965 the pre-existing building was renovated to include 2 more classrooms and a domestic science room above the canteen. A year later this was expanded with an art room and another domestic science room added. The third phase of the school’s expansion was launched in 1975 with the construction of a 2-storey block. A new library and two science laboratories were included in the new block. In 1983 the fourth phase on the school’s expansion commenced. The new 3-storey building built housed 11 classrooms, a teachers’ lounge, a prayer room, a counselling room, a science lab and 15 toilets. The offices in the school were also upgraded. The last major undertaking came in 1995 in the form of a new school hall, which upon completion was named in honour of Dato’ Chin Pek Soo. SMJK Ave Maria Convent has an illustrious academic and co-curricular track record that is among the best in the country. For further information regarding the school, please go to the following link:
http://www.smjk.edu.my/school/index.php?schid=23
To read more about The Main Convent School, click here.