Nguyễn Thị Minh Khai High School
Encyclopedia
Nguyễn Thị Minh Khai High school (also known as Gia Long all-girls school, Áo Tím all-girls school) is a public high school in Hồ Chí Minh City
, Vietnam
. The school was established in 1915 and is one of the most well known high schools in Vietnamese education.
In 1915, the construction of the school was completed and the first pupils were admitted. The Governor-General of French Indochina
at that time was Ernest Nestor Roume and he, together with Governor Courbeil, cut the inauguration tape and declared the beginning of a new school year. 42 schoolgirls were enrolled in the first year. Uniform
s at that time were violet áo dài, symbolising the purity of Vietnamese women. For this reason the school had also been called Áo Tím (Violet Dress) all-girls school. All pupils lived in Sài Gòn and nearby areas and only later were hostels provided for schoolgirls from further afield. The school was organised on several levels: Infants (Enfantin), Superior (Supérieur), Conference of Primary Education (CEP). Students had to pass the exam for the Certificate of Fundamental Education after graduating from senior classes. In 1918, because of the increase in student numbers, a new building parallel to the previous one was constructed. The new building was multifunctional with the lower floor being used as a hostel for students. At the rear was the infirmary, the wash-room and the kitchen. That was also the place where domestic science and embroidery
were taught.
In September 1922, governor-general Albert Sarraut
started the first year of High-school First Grade classes. A marble stone that was carved "COLLÈGE DES JEUNES FILLES INDIGÈNES" (College of indigenous girls) was erected in front of the school gate, though the school continued to be known primarily as Áo Tím all-girls school. The first headmistress was a French principal named Lagrange. In order to enter the school, students had to pass essential education exams and school entrance exams. French had been taught since the beginning, being the official language used for teaching in High-school First Grade classes. Schoolgirls were only allowed to communicate in French with Vietnamese being taught in two Vietnamese literature hours per week.
Despite the fact that the school was administrated by the French, a movement against colonialism
had been smouldering. In the 1920s, schoolgirls demonstrated at least twice. Once was in early 1920 when a French teacher asked Vietnamese students to give the top seats to French students and the other one was in 1924 at Phan Bội Châu
's funeral ceremony.
In the summer of 1940, the Japanese army took over the building and later the British army occupied it. The school was moved to the premises of Đồ Chiểu primary school in the Tân Ðịnh area. Also in the 1940s, the school changed name becoming Collège Gia Long then Lycée Gia Long. Before the August Revolution
in 1945, many schoolgirls directly participated in activities which were to encourage Việt Minh
such as Quốc ngữ (National Language) propagation, the north starvation assistance and passive defense. Among the students, sacrifices were made and some took on great responsibilities in the new government after the August Revolution. In 1947, after being returned by the British, the school was found to be so damaged that the provisional principal had to ask for financial help in order to repair the buildings. In 1949 the school was once again expanded and a two-storey building was constructed in Bà Huyện Thanh Quan Street in order to meet the increasing student numbers. Also in 1949, Trương Vĩnh Ký school students organised a student strike to commemorate Nam Kỳ Khởi Nghĩa Date which led to the school being closed. In 1950, after a protracted struggle contributed to by students from other schools all over Sài Gòn-Gia Định (among whom many made sacrifices, such as Trần Văn Ơn of Trương Vĩnh Ký school), the school re-opened and marked a significant event: it was the first time a Vietnamese had been chosen as principal of the school, perceptress Nguyễn Thị Châu. In 1952, Vietnamese education replaced French education little by little and schoolgirls had to study in both English and French. The entrance exams were very hard and comparable with Lycée Petrus Ký school's entrance exams, with contestants coming from all over the south of Việt Nam including Sài Gòn, Chợ Lớn
, Gia Định
, Biên Hòa
and Tân An
. In a high school entrance exam in about 1971, there were 8000 participants who registered and took the test but only 819 of them passed. In 1953, the uniforms were changed from violet Áo dài to white Áo dài with an emblem of a yellow apricot blossom stitched to the dresses. At the same time, the French education was changed into Vietnamese and the school was renamed Gia Long All-girls High School.
Throughout the following years, the school continued to develop. In 1964 it ceased to be a boarding-school and the residential rooms were turned into classrooms and in 1965 a new library was constructed. There were about 55 classes from 4th grade to 1st grade studying in the morning, and 45 classes from 7th grade to 5th grade studying in the afternoon with a total of 3000 students. At that time, many schoolgirls participated fervently in anti-war movements. For this reason, researcher Trần Bạch Đằng called many schoolgirl generations "Violet dresses throughout the country roads".
After a ceremony on April 30, 1975, the school was officially renamed Nguyễn Thị Minh Khai Junior-Senior High School. In the 1978 - 1979 school year, the Junior High School was dissolved and the school started to enroll both boys and girls.
In 2003, the school was included in a list of 55 buildings in Sài Gòn to be preserved because of their historical and architectural interest.
Currently, there is a special village built since 2000, about 20 km away from Hồ Chí Minh City called Gia Long (the old name of Nguyễn Thị Minh Khai HS). It is a retiral village for generations of former teachers and students of Áo Tím - Gia Long - Minh Khai to gather in their old age.
.
corporation continued to propose that we attend other study projects in the next years.
These projects were welcomed by students and teachers. Success was acknowledged by the visit on February 27, 2006, of Mr. Craig Barrett, the ex-chairman of Intel Corporation
corporation, the deputy Minister of Education and Training, Nguyễn Tấn Phát, and other superior officials. In 2008, VVOB corporation invited the physics group to record a lesson in order to provide teaching material for the other countries participating in the projects.
The school also links to famous universities in Thailand, Japan, Taiwan and Singapore. It also cooperates in education, allowing the National University of Singapore
and Nanyang Technological University
to hold teach-ins to introduce foreign study in Singapore.
Composer Phạm Duy
in the song Con đường tình ta đi mentioned his lovers who studied at Trưng Vương and Gia Long schools:
Violet dresses, or Gia Long's violet dresses inspired many artists to compose, like the poem Hoa Trắng Thôi Cài Trên Áo Tím by Hà Huy Hà:
Film:
Possessing an impressive and antique appearance, Nguyễn Thị Minh Khai High School has been chosen as the location for several films and series, such as:
Music:
Ho Chi Minh City
Ho Chi Minh City , formerly named Saigon is the largest city in Vietnam...
, Vietnam
Vietnam
Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
. The school was established in 1915 and is one of the most well known high schools in Vietnamese education.
History
In the early 20th century, traditional Confucian education in Viet Nam attached little importance to educating women. In 1908 some Vietnamese intellectuals proposed that the French colonial authority should construct a multi-level school for girls. The proposal was approved but owing to lack of funds, it wasn't until 1913 that the school began to be built on a large site in Legrand de la Liraye Street, Sài Gòn (now is Điện Biên Phủ street, Hồ Chí Minh City).In 1915, the construction of the school was completed and the first pupils were admitted. The Governor-General of French Indochina
Governor-General of French Indochina
-External links:*...
at that time was Ernest Nestor Roume and he, together with Governor Courbeil, cut the inauguration tape and declared the beginning of a new school year. 42 schoolgirls were enrolled in the first year. Uniform
Uniform
A uniform is a set of standard clothing worn by members of an organization while participating in that organization's activity. Modern uniforms are worn by armed forces and paramilitary organizations such as police, emergency services, security guards, in some workplaces and schools and by inmates...
s at that time were violet áo dài, symbolising the purity of Vietnamese women. For this reason the school had also been called Áo Tím (Violet Dress) all-girls school. All pupils lived in Sài Gòn and nearby areas and only later were hostels provided for schoolgirls from further afield. The school was organised on several levels: Infants (Enfantin), Superior (Supérieur), Conference of Primary Education (CEP). Students had to pass the exam for the Certificate of Fundamental Education after graduating from senior classes. In 1918, because of the increase in student numbers, a new building parallel to the previous one was constructed. The new building was multifunctional with the lower floor being used as a hostel for students. At the rear was the infirmary, the wash-room and the kitchen. That was also the place where domestic science and embroidery
Embroidery
Embroidery is the art or handicraft of decorating fabric or other materials with needle and thread or yarn. Embroidery may also incorporate other materials such as metal strips, pearls, beads, quills, and sequins....
were taught.
In September 1922, governor-general Albert Sarraut
Albert Sarraut
Albert-Pierre Sarraut was a French Radical politician, twice Prime Minister during the Third Republic.Sarraut was born in Bordeaux, Gironde, France.He was Governor-General of French Indochina, from 1912 to 1919....
started the first year of High-school First Grade classes. A marble stone that was carved "COLLÈGE DES JEUNES FILLES INDIGÈNES" (College of indigenous girls) was erected in front of the school gate, though the school continued to be known primarily as Áo Tím all-girls school. The first headmistress was a French principal named Lagrange. In order to enter the school, students had to pass essential education exams and school entrance exams. French had been taught since the beginning, being the official language used for teaching in High-school First Grade classes. Schoolgirls were only allowed to communicate in French with Vietnamese being taught in two Vietnamese literature hours per week.
Despite the fact that the school was administrated by the French, a movement against colonialism
Colonialism
Colonialism is the establishment, maintenance, acquisition and expansion of colonies in one territory by people from another territory. It is a process whereby the metropole claims sovereignty over the colony and the social structure, government, and economics of the colony are changed by...
had been smouldering. In the 1920s, schoolgirls demonstrated at least twice. Once was in early 1920 when a French teacher asked Vietnamese students to give the top seats to French students and the other one was in 1924 at Phan Bội Châu
Phan Boi Chau
Phan Bội Châu was a pioneer of Vietnamese 20th century nationalism. In 1903, he formed a revolutionary organization called the “Reformation Society” ....
's funeral ceremony.
In the summer of 1940, the Japanese army took over the building and later the British army occupied it. The school was moved to the premises of Đồ Chiểu primary school in the Tân Ðịnh area. Also in the 1940s, the school changed name becoming Collège Gia Long then Lycée Gia Long. Before the August Revolution
August Revolution
On August 19, 1945, the Việt Minh under Hồ Chí Minh began the August General Uprising Tổng Khởi Nghĩa, which was soon renamed the August Revolution . Whether or not this series of events should be called a "revolution" is disputable; what is clear is that, from August 19 onwards, demonstrations and...
in 1945, many schoolgirls directly participated in activities which were to encourage Việt Minh
Viet Minh
Việt Minh was a national independence coalition formed at Pac Bo on May 19, 1941. The Việt Minh initially formed to seek independence for Vietnam from the French Empire. When the Japanese occupation began, the Việt Minh opposed Japan with support from the United States and the Republic of China...
such as Quốc ngữ (National Language) propagation, the north starvation assistance and passive defense. Among the students, sacrifices were made and some took on great responsibilities in the new government after the August Revolution. In 1947, after being returned by the British, the school was found to be so damaged that the provisional principal had to ask for financial help in order to repair the buildings. In 1949 the school was once again expanded and a two-storey building was constructed in Bà Huyện Thanh Quan Street in order to meet the increasing student numbers. Also in 1949, Trương Vĩnh Ký school students organised a student strike to commemorate Nam Kỳ Khởi Nghĩa Date which led to the school being closed. In 1950, after a protracted struggle contributed to by students from other schools all over Sài Gòn-Gia Định (among whom many made sacrifices, such as Trần Văn Ơn of Trương Vĩnh Ký school), the school re-opened and marked a significant event: it was the first time a Vietnamese had been chosen as principal of the school, perceptress Nguyễn Thị Châu. In 1952, Vietnamese education replaced French education little by little and schoolgirls had to study in both English and French. The entrance exams were very hard and comparable with Lycée Petrus Ký school's entrance exams, with contestants coming from all over the south of Việt Nam including Sài Gòn, Chợ Lớn
Chợ Lớn Province
Chợ Lớn was former province of South Vietnam. It was established in December 1899 when Gia Định Province was split to four smaller provinces. In 1901 its population was 184151, 1916 census was 212536, and February 15, 1920 census was 205657....
, Gia Định
Gia Định Province
- History :Gia Định Province was created in 1832. In December 1889 it was split to 4 smaller provinces, Gia Định, Chợ Lớn, Tân An and Tây Ninh.In 1957 it contained 6 districts, Gò Vấp, Tân Bình, Hóc Môn, Thủ Đức, Nhà Bè and Bình Chánh...
, Biên Hòa
Biên Hòa Province
Biên Hòa is a former province of South Vietnam originally formed in 1832 containing areas of Dong Nai Province, Ba Ria–Vung Tau province and Binh Phuoc province with total area of over 17.000 km²....
and Tân An
Tân An Province
Tân An is former province of South Vietnam. It was established in December 1889 when Gia Dinh province was split to four smaller provinces. In October 1956 it was merged to Long An province....
. In a high school entrance exam in about 1971, there were 8000 participants who registered and took the test but only 819 of them passed. In 1953, the uniforms were changed from violet Áo dài to white Áo dài with an emblem of a yellow apricot blossom stitched to the dresses. At the same time, the French education was changed into Vietnamese and the school was renamed Gia Long All-girls High School.
Throughout the following years, the school continued to develop. In 1964 it ceased to be a boarding-school and the residential rooms were turned into classrooms and in 1965 a new library was constructed. There were about 55 classes from 4th grade to 1st grade studying in the morning, and 45 classes from 7th grade to 5th grade studying in the afternoon with a total of 3000 students. At that time, many schoolgirls participated fervently in anti-war movements. For this reason, researcher Trần Bạch Đằng called many schoolgirl generations "Violet dresses throughout the country roads".
After a ceremony on April 30, 1975, the school was officially renamed Nguyễn Thị Minh Khai Junior-Senior High School. In the 1978 - 1979 school year, the Junior High School was dissolved and the school started to enroll both boys and girls.
In 2003, the school was included in a list of 55 buildings in Sài Gòn to be preserved because of their historical and architectural interest.
Currently, there is a special village built since 2000, about 20 km away from Hồ Chí Minh City called Gia Long (the old name of Nguyễn Thị Minh Khai HS). It is a retiral village for generations of former teachers and students of Áo Tím - Gia Long - Minh Khai to gather in their old age.
Principal List
| School Year | Principal |
|---|---|
| 1914–1920 | Mrs Lagrange |
| 1920–1922 | Mrs Lorenzi |
| 1922–1926 | Mrs Pascalini |
| 1926–1942 | Mrs Saint Marty |
| 1942–1945 | Mrs Fourgeront |
| 1945–1947 | Mrs Malleret |
| 1950–1952 | Mrs Nguyễn Thị Châu |
| 1952–1963 | Mrs Huỳnh Hữu Hội |
| 1963–1964 | Mrs Nguyễn Thu Ba |
| 1964–1965 | Mrs Trần Thị Khuê |
| 1965–1969 | Mrs Trần Thị Tỵ |
| 1969–1975 | Mrs Phạm Văn Tất |
| 1975–1992 | Mrs Trần Thị Tỵ |
| 1992–1997 | Mrs Nguyễn Thị Thanh Tâm |
| 1997-now | Mrs Dương Thị Trúc Bạch |
Education
The school is organised by the managing board, comprising headmistress Dương Thị Trúc Bạch and assistant principals Nguyễn Thị Kim Hoa, Trần Văn Khánh. There are groups of teachers in charge of literature, history, geography, civics, foreign language, maths, physics, chemistry, biology, technology, IT and physical education. Besides this there are other functional offices, the Labour Union and the Youth Union. Students take the entrance exams based on the general regulations of the Ministry of Education and Training in Việt Nam. There are a total of 68 classrooms divided to 3 grades 10-11-12 along with functional rooms such as the library, laboratories, computer rooms, subject rooms, practice rooms, teaching tools rooms, the playground, the judo room and the aerobics room, school owned swimming pool and basket ball playground..
Innovations
Since the previous decade, Nguyễn Thị Minh Khai High School has been a pioneer in teaching methods with a whole series of innovations of which the significant is that optimal ways of teaching and the application of IT are used for designing lectures. Thanks to the development of IT at the school, in 2004, the school was invited by Intel corporation to attend new projects and ways of educating. Thereupon, VVOB and MicrosoftMicrosoft
Microsoft Corporation is an American public multinational corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington, USA that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of products and services predominantly related to computing through its various product divisions...
corporation continued to propose that we attend other study projects in the next years.
These projects were welcomed by students and teachers. Success was acknowledged by the visit on February 27, 2006, of Mr. Craig Barrett, the ex-chairman of Intel Corporation
Intel Corporation
Intel Corporation is an American multinational semiconductor chip maker corporation headquartered in Santa Clara, California, United States and the world's largest semiconductor chip maker, based on revenue. It is the inventor of the x86 series of microprocessors, the processors found in most...
corporation, the deputy Minister of Education and Training, Nguyễn Tấn Phát, and other superior officials. In 2008, VVOB corporation invited the physics group to record a lesson in order to provide teaching material for the other countries participating in the projects.
Exchanges and cooperation
The school welcomes 2 delegations of French schools every school year, and sends 2 groups to France for study exchanges.The school also links to famous universities in Thailand, Japan, Taiwan and Singapore. It also cooperates in education, allowing the National University of Singapore
National University of Singapore
The National University of Singapore is Singapore's oldest university. It is the largest university in the country in terms of student enrollment and curriculum offered....
and Nanyang Technological University
Nanyang Technological University
Nanyang Technological University is one of the two largest public universities in Singapore with the biggest campus in Singapore and the world's largest engineering college. Its lush 200-hectare Yunnan Garden campus was the Youth Olympic Village of the world's first 2010 Summer Youth Olympics in...
to hold teach-ins to introduce foreign study in Singapore.
Linked schools
Currently the school is twinned with about 20 French schools and 1 Australian school.Culture
Literature:Composer Phạm Duy
Pham Duy
Pham Duy is a prolific Vietnamese songwriter. He, along with Van Cao and Trinh Cong Son, is widely considered one of the three most salient figures of modern Vietnamese music. Pham Duy's musical career spans fifty years...
in the song Con đường tình ta đi mentioned his lovers who studied at Trưng Vương and Gia Long schools:
- Hỡi người tình Gia Long,
- Hỡi người trong cuộc sống
- Con đường này xin dâng
- Cho người bình thường
Violet dresses, or Gia Long's violet dresses inspired many artists to compose, like the poem Hoa Trắng Thôi Cài Trên Áo Tím by Hà Huy Hà:
- Mười năm trước em còn đi học
- Áo tím điểm tô đời nữ sinh
- Hoa trắng cài duyên trên áo tím
- Em là cô gái tuổi băng trinh.
Film:
Possessing an impressive and antique appearance, Nguyễn Thị Minh Khai High School has been chosen as the location for several films and series, such as:
- Mười: The Legend of a PortraitMuoi: The Legend of a PortraitMuoi: The Legend of a Portrait is a 2007 South Korean/Vietnamese horror film starring Jo An, Cha Ye-ryeon and Anh Thu. It became the first horror and also first rated film in Vietnam.- Plot summary :...
(released in 2007) - Kính vạn hoa (TV series, season 3)
Music:
- Ngồi lại bên nhau