De Britto High School Yogyakarta

De Britto College High School Yogyakarta ("JB" after John de Britto, a 17th century Portuguese missionary to India) is a Jesuit, Catholic high school in the province of Yogyakarta, Special Region, Indonesia. Situated on an eight-acre campus, it is prominent for its achievements in academics, sports, and various activities.

Locations

The school is about 10 minutes by taxi from the airport, 13 minutes from the train station, and 7 hours 15 minutes from Id:giwangan by road.

College History

The College was established elsewhere by the Jesuits on 19 August 1948.

In the 1960s, under difficult economic conditions in Indonesia, the school administrators chose to free students from the dress code, even allowing a sarong and flip-flops, to encourage the poor to enroll; also long hair was allowed. This continued until the mid-80s when with pressure from the government a uniform became required once a week, later twice a week, and finally three times a week (in the early '90s). With political reforms government pressure weakened, and the wearing of a uniform was reduced to once week, on Mondays, just no more shades, flip-flops, or barefoot.

De Britto College drew up a joint Development Master Plan for 2003-2013, for building more school buildings beginning in 2006, with the first phase costing about 3.5 M. However this plan was delayed from shortage of funds, which would have diminished college reserves and negatively impacted the hiring of very good teachers.^[1]

Mission

The school's motto is that of the Jesuits, Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam, "For the greater glory of God." In de Britto, students are given freedom, as in the area of dress (on certain days) and long hair is permitted with no limit. But discipline is enforced in academics, where a high standard has been set. In the late '80s, Fr. Guido Word Uatama, S.J., introduced the slogan "No fear, no shame, and not lazy" to combat the public opinion that de Britto focused only on academics.^[2]

Education (student guidance) at de Britto pursues the following goals:

Faith that is lived, finding God in all aspects of life.

Optimization and balance, developing all the students' skills, talents, and areas of interest.

Discipline, hard work and dedication, using all means available to foster service of others and mature adulthood.

Independence: living out of personal conscience and principles, making one's own decisions perhaps against the current but in accord with what is right, moving beyond one's shortcomings to reach personal maturity.

Creativity: being able to find new avenues of innovation and to effectively resolve problems; always growing and looking for improvement.

Fighting for others: highly motivated to use all one's talents to serve others, fostering leadership to fight for each other for the sake of truth, justice, and goodness. This principle was actualized in all students through Command Post Solidarity, with volunteering at Yogyakarta, Bantul, and Klaten hospitals and in secluded spots like Bantul, Imogiri, and Brebah after the 28 May 2006 earthquake for nearly two weeks.^[3]

Education

De Britto College SMA (Sekolah Menengah Atas) is a public high school with a breadth of Catholic education. Management of de Britto is under the De Britto Foundation, managed by priests and brother of the Society of Jesus (S.J.).

De Britto believes in holistic education, in the sense that all the students are first human persons, requiring a humane atmosphere to grow toward maturity.

De Britto school song

Composer: Romo L. Moerabi, S.J.

I am the son of SMA de Britto, sing of my ideals

True pure soul, honest spirit of my heart

That's my plan, that's my purpose and intent

To be able to pour my energy for God and Nation.

C'mon son of de Britto High School strengthen your relationship

Always stay united with all of your friends

Although scattered in life some later time

Remember always in your heart De Britto is your ideal.^[4]

Facilities

There is 1680 m² of classroom space and 648 m² for laboratories. The enrollment in 10th year remains constant with 7 classes but in 11th and 12th years classes vary with the number of students and majors. For example, the class 12 of 2010 (entry 2007) had the most classes with nine, five in arts, three in science, and one in business.

The library occupies 324 m² and teachers' lounge 525 m², besides a 1000 m² hall. There are also two computer laboratories, two audiovisual rooms, laboratories for chemistry, physics, and biology, and two language laboratories.^[5] There are sports facilities for football, badminton, basketball, futsal, volleyball, and tennis. Also there are five gazebos, an open stage, canteen, and two meeting rooms.

About half of the 700 students reside in boarding houses, most coming from Central Java, West Java, Jabodetabek, and DIY, while the rest come from the remainder of Indonesia, Sumatra, Kalimantan, Sulawesi, and Papua.

As to religion, the majority of students are Catholic but some embrace other Christian churches, Islam, Hinduism, and Buddhism. Some are searching – young atheists and agnostics – and allowed freedom to find themselves, while not disturbing communal interests.

School hours

School hours are 7:00 am until about 1:00 or 1:50 pm on Monday through Saturday. with two 15-minute breaks. Each year, de Britto accepts about 250 students from about 600 applicants.

Extracurricular activities

In de Britto instead of a student council, students elect a Presidium to coordinate all student activities. Outside the formal learning process there are a variety of extracurricular activities which include:

Extracurricular activities are required of all students in classes X and XI. In XII students may get permission from the administration to continue on.

DeBritto basketball teams and debate teams have excelled. Other awarded extra-curriculars include photography (which holds exhibitions), theater, and the all-male cheerleading team.

School Fees

Extra-curriculars are included in the monthly and other fees which are adjusted according to a family's ability to pay, ascertained through interviews. This requires higher fees from those with greater means to pay. Performance can also figure into scholarships.

Prominent alumni

De Britto Alumni Association communicates with alumni worldwide through mailings (debritto-net@yahoogroups.com) and organization of activities in various cities, e.g., fishing trips in the Sunda Strait, the scholarship committee, conducting training and seminars, holding music concerts for charities, and routine banquets. It has elections every three years, and each December 27 holds a reunion called Manuk Round Cage. Its official Twitter address is @DeBrittoAlumni. The Association embodies the song lyrics: "Come on son of de Britto strengthen your relationship, always remain united with all of your friends, although scattered in future it is time ...." The 60-year Anniversary celebration of the College was held in 2008.

External links

• Official Website De Britto College High School
• Alumni Community
• IndoWiki

Jesuit college in Indonesia

References

Coordinates: 7°46′58.37″S 110°23′37.45″E / 7.7828806°S 110.3937361°E / -7.7828806; 110.3937361