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A Brief
History of MBVM School
On
October 1, 1860
a small group of nuns from the Congregation of Notre Dame
opened Maternity BVM Catholic grade school in
Bourbonnais
,
Illinois
. These nuns were missionary nuns who had traveled to this
French outpost to answer the needs of the settlers there. The first classes had
fifty pupils and were taught in French and in English. Classes were held in a small
house in the village.
In 1862 the convent built to house
the sisters of the Congregation of Notre Dame saw the arrival of ten boarding students
who also became pupils of the nuns. In later years a large addition to the convent
was able to increase the number of nuns and boarding students. There was also at
this time a school for the boys of the area. By the time the sisters had been in
Bourbonnais
eight years the promise of increased
enrollment at the school moved the Viatorian fathers to purchase a small two story
building from the school board. By 1870 courses in French, Latin, Philosophy, and
Mathematics had been added to the regular grade school studies.
1910 marked the last class to graduate
from the old convent, a new convent being completed at this time. The census at
the end of the 1911 school year was: 105 Boarding Students, 30 Day Students, and
73 District Students. In July of 1955 the voters of
Bourbonnais
approved the erection of a new public
school in the village. This meant the sisters of the Congregation of Notre Dame
were no longer required to provide teaching services in a public school setting.
In June of 1956 Maternity's parish bulletin carried the announcement that
Bourbonnais
could now have a Catholic parochial
school. When this school opened its doors at Notre Dame Convent the following September,
220 children were enrolled there.
In the next few years parishioners
discussed the possibility of remodeling the four story convent that housed the school.
It was decided that costs of remodeling would be too prohibitive, so a committee
was formed to raise $270,000 for the erection of a one story modern school building.
On October 23, 1961, 350 students moved into the present Maternity BVM school building.
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