The first Piarist school in Argentina
Calasanz School. BUENOS AIRES. Argentina
F. Matías Pavón. Rector
I am Matías Pavón, a Piarist priest and currently Rector of our Calasanz School in Buenos Aires. I started the task in 2023, eager to begin this new challenge with the diversity of tasks that are carried out in the community. After more than a year, I discover with joy that being faithful to Calasanz in the different missions gives me a hundredfold. I live as a blessing to the religious community with which I share the task, and particularly the life of the juniorate. Assuming the rectorship of the school is a beautiful responsibility because, with its lights and crosses, the necessary changes are seen so that it grows in holiness and wisdom.
The school
The school was founded in 1891, with the arrival of the Piarists from Spain after two first foundations entrusted to Father Ramón Cabeza and Father Fermín Molina that did not prosper. It was on October 25, 1891, when three Piarists, Fathers Alfonso Tarazona and Juan García and Brother Félix Oses, arrived with the mission of founding a school in the city. The first times were of necessity. There was still no building in which to build the school. Thanks to the parish priest of the Socorro Church, José Apolinario de las Casas, they started in a house near the church, from which they moved due to space and rent prices. Then, they began to look for donors to be able to build their own building. They obtained donated land eight blocks away from Rivadavia Avenue in Caballito and started the construction there. The work did not take place in the beginning, but they got donations to make good progress, ending with the inauguration on August 27, 1896. From that moment on, an uninterrupted work of education began, promoting the integral growth of piety and letters among the children and youngsters of the Caballito neighborhood of the City of Buenos Aires.
The school currently has two independent buildings. The old building houses the Secondary School and the Teacher Training College, where future teachers are trained, while the newer building houses the Preschool and Primary School. The education it offers and distinguishes it from the rest of the educational centers is the care for the integral formation emphasizing the humanities. The Piarist curricular proposal presents to those who enter our institution diverse experiences that favor the integration of knowledge into their own life, uniting the life of faith with the fundamental learning to ensure “a happy course of their whole life.” The level of English integrated into our proposal, together with the quality of the sports, also makes something distinctive about our school.
Challenges
When thinking about challenges, we must unite educational innovation with the tradition of our school, by which families are united. Consequently, the current challenge is to take care of our identity as a Catholic humanist institution by entering into dialogue with current needs. This requires a unique accompaniment of families, the training of teachers in the new educational challenges, training in information technology and its proper use, and the personalized accompaniment of our students.
Pastoral Ministry
The pastoral ministry of our school runs through the curriculum and sustains it. The student of Calasanz School is guided from an early age in the processes of faith integrally in all areas, with particular emphasis on the various practices of piety such as daily prayers and weekly mass. We care particularly about catechesis, continuous prayer, retreats, and missions for the students. The experience of Iter Calasanz is highly valued, where from the age of six, they join the group process as an option to have diverse experiences that help them grow in faith, in community and in their own knowledge. We are twinned with Hogar Calasanz, which is a day home where children living in marginal urban contexts receive lunch, snacks, workshops, catechesis, and school support. The experience of unity and collaboration with Hogar Calasanz characterizes our school.
Creative fidelity
Without a doubt, when I look at the Order of the Pious Schools, I am passionate to see how the work of St. Joseph Calasanz has reached different realities, and in each one of them, it seeks to announce the good news of the Lord. Schools, in this sense, are a precious means to unite explicit proclamations with the excellent education of children. In this creative fidelity of the Pious Schools, I would like to highlight the proposal for the school missions carried out by the young people at the secondary level. In their penultimate year at school, the students prepare in catechesis and, from the service-learning project, a mission in the schools and chapels of our Cristo Rey Parish in Mar del Plata. Through various activities with children and their families, they seek to cooperate with the evangelizing mission while young people recognize the value of dedicating their time and gifts to the service of others.
CALASANZ SCHOOL
Preschool, primary, secondary level.
Address of the school: Senillosa 854, City of Buenos Aires
Official mail contact: info@colegiocalasanz.edu.ar
Date the school was founded: 1891
Number of students: 900
Number of teachers: 120
Non-formal education offer: Optional Complementary Day, English and Sports
Other activities complementary to the academic activities include the Calasanz Movement. Calasanz Home and links with the San José de Calasanz Parish.
