St. Joan Antide Primary School

in ways conductive to honour God and helping others. Our School Motto
At school we learn to love and we love to learn

Our History
St Joan Antide School was inaugurated in 1964 by Mons. At the beginning the school consisted of two classes and only catered for students who come from the same locality. Along the years more parents expressed their wish for their children to be enrolled and by time students started joining from all around the island. At the time the school also offered after school training in life skills such as sewing. By the time the school population progressed up to Year 6 it was not possible for all teachers to be Sisters of Charity so lay teachers started to be employed. The first Head of School was Sr Antonia Falzon. Due to the change of demands during the nineteen eighties the school administration feelt the need to enlarge the premises. Another floor was built to accommodate more classrooms and in 1996 all the primary section of Immaculate Conception School was transferred to Gudja. As time went by the primary school changed from a Co-Ed to a girls school. Following this transition the girls in the primary school had a reserved place in the secondary school in Tarxien. St Jeanne Antide Thouret
Immaculate Conception School is managed with care by the Sisters of Charity who always do their utmost to educate and support the students by following the steps of our school foundress St Jeanne Antide Thouret. She was born in France on the 27th November 1765. She was the daughter of a leather-worker and lived during the violent years of the French Revolution. At the age of 16 she lost her mother and took care of her brothers and sisters for several years. In her early twenties she joined the Sisters of Charity of St Vincent De Paul in Paris. Times were growing more difficult and in 1793 all religious orders and priests were forbidden to exercise their ministry and were sent home. In 1818 Jeanne Antide and her nuns were recognised by Pope Pius VII as a new order. She opened several schools and convents in France, Italy and Switzerland. Jeanne Antide died in Naples in 1826, having left for her sisters many examples of human kindness, love and very insightful practical ways of how education should be especially in favour of those who are most vulnerable. Vincent de Paul (24 April 1581 – 27 September 1660) was a French Roman Catholic priest who dedicated himself to serving the poor. He was canonized in 1737. He was renowned for his compassion, humility, and generosity and is known as the “Great Apostle of Charity”. In 1617, Vincent founded the “Ladies of Charity” from a group of women within his parish. He organized these wealthy women of Paris to collect funds for missionary projects, found hospitals, and gather relief funds for the victims of war and to ransom 1,200 galley slaves from North Africa. From these, with the help of St.Louise de Marillac, came the Daughters of Charity of Saint Vincent de Paul. He died in Paris on 27 September 1660.