Academics > Primary
Ecole Primaire Saint Ignace (EPSI)
The school ‘Ecole Primaire Saint Ignace’ takes its name from Saint Ignatius of Loyola, the founder of the Society of Jesus (Jesuits) in the 16 th century. The motto of the school is “Tous frères et sœurs, pour servir” roughly translated as ‘All brothers and sisters for service’. Ecole Primaire Saint Ignace opened its doors on the 4 th of February 2008 with 130 pupils (52 girls and 78 boys). The latter limited number corresponded to the opening of five classrooms: two classrooms for Primary one, two classrooms for Primary two, and one classroom for Primary three. The school started with 30 pupils by classroom. This structure of formation was organized in a pyramidal order to preserve the quality of teaching and to allow the selection of the best pupils. Gradually the school opened each year two new classrooms to complete the primary cycle. The primary cycle was completed in 2011. Some of those who finished Primary 6 at that moment were the founding students of Saint Ignatius High School. They finished high school in 2017.
The school which started with a limited number of pupils managed to build more classrooms due to a growing number of inscriptions. With the completion of a new building that houses 8 classrooms, 1 staff room, a library, sacristy for the chapel, and two offices (for the administrator and the accountant), without forgetting the male washrooms, all the planned classrooms are completed. We hope that by 2022, each level of primary school will have 4 classrooms. The school started with a slightly bigger number of boys. Gradually, the number of girls surpassed the number of boys. As of now, we are a community of 757pupils (357 boys and 400 girls). All these pupils are in 23classrooms. Each classroom can accommodate up to 34 pupils. Our main concerns now are the refurbishing of the dining hall for the kids, the playgrounds, the necessary equipment for the library, and the acquisition of enough
computers.
Programs
Ecole Primaire Saint Ignace follows the national curriculum. As a private school, EPSI is a bilingual school. This means pupils are able to speak and both French and English as international languages as well as their mother tongue –Kinyarwanda. From Primary 1 to Primary 2, the courses are taught in French. English is taught in these two levels as a second language. From Primary 3 to Primary 6, the courses are taught in English as French becomes a second language.
In all levels (P1-P6), Kinyarwanda is a core course.
Besides following the national curriculum, as a Jesuit school, EPSI follows the tradition of Jesuit education. Among some elements of this education, here are key illustrations:
* The Jesuit education that EPSI follows seeks to form men and women for others
* It manifests a particular concern for the poor
* It strives to be an apostolic instrument in the service of the Church as it serves society. Here we do accommodate pupils of different religions and Christian denominations. However, we do stick to our catholic identity and heritage.
* It prepares students for active participation in the Church and in the local community, all this for the service of others
* With the emphasis on the Magis, this education seeks to pursue both human and academic excellence.
Admission
AllWe welcome all pupils to our school except in P6. Here are the requirements for admission at EPSI (These requirements are in French and English). You will find here the registration form. For the admission in P1, this should be remembered: we admit a kid who has completed the age of 6 years or will have completed it at the beginning of the school year. The registration happens in the first week of the third term, and
the dates are usually communicated towards the end of the second term.
REQUIREMENTS FOR REGISTRATION
– Birth certificate and medical certificate
– A copy of health insurance for the kid
– Two passport photos
– A copy of the current school report
– Ten thousand of registration fees deposited in:
Bank of Kigali: Account n° 040-0445039-36
Account Name: CJR/Ecole Primaire Saint Ignace
or
COGEBANQUE: Account n° 04-01390060773-62
Account name: Ecole Primaire EPSI
– Copy of the parents’ or guardians’ ID.
– To be admitted to P1, the kid must have at least 6 years at the beginning of the new school year.
From P2 to P5, the kids pass the admission test which will be communicated by the school authorities at the end of the school year. End of year reports are brought to school administration as soon as possible. The entrance tests are scheduled in December after the completion of the school year.
Community
EPSI does not only focus on academics. We have various extracurricular activities. These include traditional dance, debate club, choir, creativity club and environment club. We do also organize sports, for the staff and students as well as for neighbouring schools.
