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Overzicht INFORMATIE
SCHOOLLEVEN
HISTORIEK
ARCHIEF
Handzamestraat 18
@mmikortemark.be Campus
Onze-Lieve-Vrouw van Troost
Campus Huilaert
Links
ANDERE LINKS
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Margareta-Maria-Instituut Kortemark English homepage
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Aangepast 2010-03-15 10:33
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Kortemark is situated in the centre of the Province of West-Flanders, on
equal distance (about 30 kilometres) from Bruges, Ostend, Kortrijk, Ypres
and Veurne. The present district combines the former districts of
Kortemark,
160 Years
MARGARETA-MARIA-INSTITUUT Previous history ... In 1838 the Sisters of Vincentius a Paulo of Kortemark founded a boarding school to provide general education to girls who had until then been deprived of it. In 1889 the boarding school was solemnly devoted to Saint Marguerite-Marie Alacocque. In 1894 a Technical School of Agricultural and Domestic Economy was founded.
The period of the two world wars ... In World War I Kortemark lay directly behind the German lines. The station was the junction of two railway lines: Ghent - de Panne and Ostend - Torhout - Ypres. The latter is now called "the Green 62" and has been transformed into a nature trail for recreational and educational purposes. In the First World War Kortemark was of crucial importance for the provisioning of the front troops. The allied forces heavily pounded our village, so that the Germans evacuated the inhabitants to safer places. Our school and convent came out of the war dilapidated. Thanks to the German indemnification and the support from the provincial authorities, the Sisters were able to erect new buildings. The so-called "Castle" was inaugurated in June 1924 by Mgr Waffelaert, Bishop of Bruges. This building accommodated the School of Agricultural and Domestic Economy (the predecessor of our present-day TSO courses) . The Boarding School (which was to become our ASO) was located in the building that is nowadays our library. An increase of the number of pupils (who were all boarding pupils in those days) resulted in a further expansion. Immediately before the Second World War our present-day BSO building was erected as an extension of the Boarding School, and the central building was the extension of the School of Agricultural and Domestic Economy. After 1945 ... In the beginning of the 1950s, under the impulse of the new bishop of Bruges, Mgr De Smedt, the schools for non-boarders opened their gates in the cities. Slowly the rural boarding schools were losing their pupils. At Kortemark, a revival took place in the 1960s. At that time, the lower cycle (=first three years of secondary education) of the option Modern Humanities, which had been phased out some years before, was being reopened and the domestic science education replaced by branches that were more compliant with modern needs: a department for Social and Technical studies, one for Ready-made Clothing and one for Sanitary Assistants. The buildings of the pre-war period were largely sufficient to shelter the 300 pupils, most of whom were, at that time, non-boarding. The Educational Renewal: a blessing for our institute... The Renewal of Secondary Education in Belgium, named "V.S.O." in the North of the country (the Flemish part) and introduced from 1970 onwards, provoked an overwhelming revival: new options were introduced; a fourth year was added to the lower cycle (= first three years) of General and Technical Education, so that the school offered both the Grade of Observation (first and second year) and of Orientation (third and fourth year); the school population doubled... The Congregation, still populous in that era, had two new wings built. (1975 and 1976). From 1980 onwards, the development of the third grade (Determinative Grade, comprising the fifth and sixth forms) took a start with the creation of two new options: Education of the handicapped Child (3rd grade of Technical Education) and Clothing - Selling - Retouches (3rd grade of Vocational Education). At the same time, mixed education was introduced. Little by little, the Margareta-Maria-Institute shed its image of a girls’ school. The shortage of classrooms became once more a pressing question.
The Congregation, confronted with a decline of their members (a widespread phenomenon at the time) was no longer in a position to finance the construction of new school buildings. Fortunately, Mr Daniel Coens, Minister of Education at the time, had founded the national Fund of Schoolbuildings, to which all free schools could appeal for interesting loans. In 1983, the first stone was laid of a new building that was to be inaugurated by the bishop of Bruges in October 1985.
In the second half of the eighties, the range of options still was extended. Were successively created : the options Kitchen and Group Restaurant (2nd and 3rd degree of vocational training) and Technical and Social Sciences (3rd degree of technical training in transition). From 1988 on, the 2nd degree of General Education was completed with a Latin branch. In recent years, the former options Sanitary and Home Aid and Child Care were converted into one single option: Personal Care. The initiative was taken by The Flemish Community. This is a common subject in the 5th and 6th form, but it diversifies in the additional 7 th form. Only then do the pupils have to make a choice between Child Care or Elderly Care . On the level of the 7th form, the school has six different branches. Two are situated on the level of technical training (which are Educator in Communal Living and Boarding Schools). The other four are vocational trainings: Elderly Care, Child Care, Kitchen and Group Restaurant, Ladies’ Clothing . This 7th form (vocational training) offers the pupils a chance to get their Certificate of Secondary Education. The branch Latin-Modern Languages (2nd grade general education) started on
September 1st 1998. In 1999, two new vocational branches took off: a hotel branch in the 2nd
grade and a branch ‘Assistant to Organisations and Communities’ in the
third grade. At the same time, our institute and those of the area of
Torhout, while retaining their administrative autonomy, have created an
interscolar organism named Houtland, meant to further the pedagogical
collaboration and the contacts between the different schools,and to
optimise the orientation of the student, facilitating their passage from
one school to another. Houtland counts about 5000 pupils. What
does the future hold? In september 2000 the construction of additional classrooms was finished. 60% of these were subsidised bij the Flemish Community. The works started in January 1999. This completely new Millennium building comprises classrooms, specially equipped rooms, including 3 didactic kitchens, on chemical lab, a drawing room, a room to practise sanitary care, etc. Today,
the Margareta-Maria-Instituut (MMI) has almost 1100 pupils (among whom
about 200 boys). 150 teachers and educators are employed at the MMI. The
institute is situated in a peaceful rural community, though easily
accessible by train or bus. Moreover, the school organizes a school bus
service in the surrounding area. There are about 170 boarders (boys and
girls). They stay in two boarding houses. The
school offers general, technical and vocational options. In the course of
the school year, a pupil can go from a general option to a technical one,
or from a technical option to a vocational one, without being obliged to
leave the school. The
institute comprises two administrative entities:
Since
1993, the Institute Onze-Lieve-Vrouw van Troost, Hospitaalstraat 22, which
organizes a second and third degree of Persons
Care and which admits only young girls, has been brought under the
same administration. Boarding is compulsory but free of charge. The
sisters of Charity - active in the sectors of care to elderly and
handicapped people - develop an educational project that distinguishes
itself from the rest of the institute. In
the course of the 160 years of its existence, school teaching in our
institute has adjusted itself to a world in evolution. And the renovation
goes on. During the years, the technical and vocational branches have
acquired a distinct profile in the areas of
These studies range from the first until the 7th form of technical and vocational classes. With these diplomas you can go to high school or find a job at the age of 18. But the Margareta-Mariz-Institute is, indeed, more than a school. By that we mean that we try to form the entire student, not just his "little grey cells". Here follows a range of activities: - religious life : reflection days, regular celebration of the Eucharist, a global day, Lent actions, a prayer group on voluntary basis during lunch break. - culture : a cultural day, film forum, visits to the theatre, study trips, school theatre, fashion show. - extra-curricular activities : students and teachers learn to get to know and appreciate each other better : bicycle tours and other excursions, a yearly school camp in the beginning of July, a trip to Paris for the 4th year of secondary school, a yearly international trip in the Easter holidays for the 3rd grade, ... - self-confidence programmes : through thematic days (e.g. drug prevention for the 3rd grade) we try to prepare our students for a society that requires more and more flexibility and personality. - students' participation: Through
students’ parliaments, also in
the
boarding house, students learn to use democratic ways of working. Each grade
has its own teacher-co-ordinator, responsible for the examination grid, the
functioning of the students’ parliaments, and so on.
- project education in all forms. For example : nature and geographical scouting in the second form of modern classes, language exchange with Wallonia in the fourth form of modern classes, study of the 'Zwin' (a nature reserve in Knokke) in all its aspects in the 3rd year of technical classes, ... - sports and relaxation : choreography, football, ping-pong on Wednesday afternoon, a yearly sports day, ... - School theatre: Each year in the course of February, our pupils-actors present their annual production. - excellent meals are extremely important to us : boarders and day-pupils can eat in our school’s self-service restaurant, which is run by four practice teachers. Personal problems? We make time to listen to the students. We also have an internal personal assistance service. During break at noon students with problems can always go to a teacher. The headmasters personally follow all the teachers’ councils where we regularly discuss each student’s results and attitudes. If you might not know us enough or if this website might not have convinced you, acquaintance our Institute on the annual open door weekend or make an appointment with us for a guided tour. For further information (available in Dutch only), return to :
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(051) 57 03 51
Handzame, Zarren and Werken and counts some 12,000 inhabitants.
The major activities are farming and market gardening. The main industrial
and commercial industry is made up by a brick firing concern,
a canning factory, the chair factory Hima, the real estate agency Hyboma, the joinery
workshop Bruynooghe, the cigar manufacturer Neos and the big department
store Vermeersch-Deconinck (formerly specialised in the disposal of the
surplus of the American army). The geriatric hospital Godtsvelde, the
elderly home Blygaarde, the sheltered workshop Sint-Jan de Deo and the
secondary school Margareta-Maria-Instituut are the major employers in the
service sector. The nearest towns and commercial centres are, in order of
importance: Roeselare, Torhout and Diksmuide.
From those first years
very few photographs or etchings have been preserved because the convent’s archives
were completely destroyed during World War I. An ex-student provided us with an etching
from 1909, which pictures the Boarding School of the Blessed Marguerite-Marie of Kortemark.
1988: the Institute celebrated its 150th anniversary with a series
of festivities and activities taking place throughout the year. On this occasion, Bernard
Deneckere, history teacher at our school, published
