By Aishwarya Sharma, CJM, Class 12
As we enter the classic and vintage  building of Convent of Jesus & Mary, a new and magnificent building stands before us that is named after St Claudine Thevenet, the visionary and spirited founder of Convent of Jesus & Mary. This school, which has a golden and shining history of 108 years and has been recognised as the premier institution, gives value based education to the fairer sex and is now witness to yet another feather in its cap, The St Claudine Block.
Expansion is the mantra of the hour and growth is the need of the school administration. As we boom towards a larger population and, thus, a greater percentage of children to educate, the CJM Fraternity is going out of its way to prepare for the gigantic expansion, thus ensuring greater progress for its students.
And the spirit of the Mother Foundress, St Claudine Thevenet, is alive in the sparkling eyes of Sister Anita, Sister Superior of this institution as she narrates her journey of growth and development amidst the thick and thin, in sync with Sr Janet, the former Principal of CJM, who spearheaded this initiative.
‘There was a lot of opposition faced from the people living in the surrounding areas, as the land where this building is constructed was being used as a dumping ground for garbage for all these residents. But, we had one thing in mind - ‘When the Lord is with us, we will steer through!’ She adds that with austerity and self-reliance, success was achieved.
Along with Sister Janet, she had seen this dream and done their bit to take it forward. Their vision was fulfilled perfectly by Sister Gracy Paul, the present Principal of the institution.
‘During the construction and the tribulations, the fraternity had one thing in mind, God Will Provide, and the Mother Foundress saw to it that the enterprise reached completion,’ remarks an ecstatic Sr Gracy.
The crest of Jesus and Mary adorns the top of the building, along with St Claudine’s name done in Brass. The building is splashed in red and white hues, thus bearing similarity with the school uniform which, too, is red and white.
This building is the quintessence of St Claudine Thevenet’s vision.
The building comprises an indoor sports complex including basketball, Table Tennis and badminton courts; as well as a spacious and huge library for the present and coming generations. The library contains books generously donated by a Colonel who had visited the school and had expressed his wish to donate books to this institution, especially for young children, who would be amply benefited by this wealth of literary information.
The block has two storeys, consisting of nine classrooms, four smaller rooms that would form the Maths area and Geography area, respectively. The Music Room, earlier located near the amiable junior school headmistress of St Teresa’s office, would be shifted to this block.
This block also includes a makeshift stage that was previously used at the inauguration of the building and could be utilised for the annual day celebrations, as it is incredibly spacious and can accommodate a large number of people. So, all the parents, who earlier missed the chances of admitting their wards here or plan to do so can have their dreams come true!!
Convent of Jesus & Mary has been involved in a lot of social uplift programmes in and around Chunabhatta slums and has stood apart in providing value based education to the fairer sex in the best way, thus producing gems of persons capable of taking their rightful place in society and helping it grow.
‘Our girls not just do well on the professional front, but also create good homes and families!’ say Sr Anita and Sr Gracy in unison.
This institution has given a ray of hope to the underprivileged and has always carried on with its vision of women empowerment, churning out pious, responsible, spirited, dignified and confident women, who stand out in society and speak their minds. Even the helpers' children are given opportunities and many of these families are coming up and proving their worth.
Truly! This is one majestic institution that has helped women break the glass ceiling and prove their mettle in this whole wide world. As St Claudine’s vision is fulfilled, and even God has extended His helping hand, the entire school echoes with her words, 'HOW GOOD GOD IS!'

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