(, 'Pichilemu School of the Precious Blood'), often shortened to , is a coeducational Roman Catholic private state-subsidized day school, serving students in preschool (Chile's ) through twelfth grade (), located in the commune of Pichilemu, Libertador General Bernardo O'Higgins Region, Chile.
It was founded in April 1947 by the Chilean Congregation of the Precious Blood as a girls' school under the name of . The school has been fully coeducational since March 1979, and was renamed to its current name in 1986. Cardenal Caro Province newspaper declared to be "the best school in Pichilemu" based on the results of 2011 standardized tests, while O'Higgins Region newspaper called the school "a regional icon". It is the largest school in Pichilemu, with 534 students in the 2015 school year.
The school offers students several extracurricular activities, in the sports, religious and humanistic areas. Cheer C.P.S., 's cheerleading squad, has won several national competitions, and has also participated in two international ones. The school's English debate team, informally called Kick-Ass, reached second position in a regional competition in 2011.
History
After the commune of Pichilemu was officially created in 1891, Agustín Ross Edwards, a wealthy Chilean writer, member of parliament, government minister and politician, wanted to turn the town into "a touristic place, an elite resort, collecting the most important characteristics of European places, which would make it unique." For this purpose, he constructed a hotel, a post office, a park, among other structures and buildings, which attracted wealthy families from Chile and Argentina. One of those families was that of Maria Luisa Lira Errázuriz, widow of Wenceslao Díaz Gallegos, a well-known physician; Lira, with her ten children, came from her estate near San Fernando, and stayed at Ross' facilities in Pichilemu in several occasions.
As years passed, Lira's family decided to visit other beach resorts; however, one of Lira's children, Eugenio, decided to continue visiting Pichilemu, and after he completed his medicine studies in 1904, he constructed a summer house near the center of the town. Eugenio Díaz Lira had a close relationship with several Catholic presbyters and bishops, whom he invited to his summer residence. During his summer stays in Pichilemu, Díaz Lira also created the first medical center in the town called . However, he fell ill, and died on 12 June 1945 in Santiago, at age 65.
After his death, Díaz Lira's wife and his daughters decided to donate his summer residence to the Chilean Congregation of the Precious Blood of Our Lord Jesus Christ. Under the request of the General Superioress of the Congregation Mother María Úrsula Montes Rojas, the house was turned into a free girls' school, which was founded in April 1947 under the name of (English: Doctor Eugenio Díaz Lira 16th Girls' Private School), in honour of the late physician. The school's main goal was to "educate girls in Catholic values," with the "necessary training for their insertion in the society as Christian mothers and workers with a solid Human Christian formation." The school's first principal was Mother María Teresa Corvalán Guzmán.
The school was recognized by the Ministry of Education of Chile by Decree 12,946, on 31 December 1954. It became a coeducational school in March 1979. During the commemoration of the centennial of the Chilean Congregation of the Precious Blood, the school was renamed to , a name which "represented better the school's founders", on 14 November 1986. The school was authorized to dictate secondary education classes on 30 January 1995, and started doing so that same year, with the first class graduating in 1998.
In 2012, Governor of Cardenal Caro Province Julio Ibarra Maldonado announced the Colegio de la Preciosa Sangre, in addition to several other high schools in the province, would host professional institute IPG (), which would let at least 300 people from Pichilemu obtain a technical degree. Also during that year, the school's oldest building, which hosted the preschool classes, was demolished because of the damage it suffered from the 2010 Chile earthquake, and was re-constructed; the new building was inaugurated on 10 September 2012.
Academics
As of 2012, 's class schedule varies with the student grade level, up to a maximum of 08:00 to 18:00 with ten periods for high school students. Students are not allowed to leave the school during school hours. aims to give students "integral development, academic excellence", with emphasis in religious values. The school has a Catholic religious orientation.
According to Cardenal Caro Province newspaper , the school is "the best in Pichilemu", considering the scores obtained in 2011 from the (PSU), a standardized test for university admissions in Chile. From the 2,945 high schools in Chile with students taking the PSU test, ranked 1328th nationally in 2009. It rose to the 849th position in 2010, and in 2011 it placed 738th.
Preciosa Sangre "ranks higher than similar schools" in the (in English: Education Quality Measurement System, SIMCE) standardized tests, taken to students from fourth, eighth, tenth, and eleventh grades. The tests include reading, mathematics, history and social sciences, natural sciences, and English language.
Test scores (PAA)/ (PSU) scores per yearSources for the PAA/PSU results: 1999: 2000: 2001: 2002: 2003:
2004:
2005: 2006: 2007: 2008: 2009: 2010: 2011: 2012: 2013: School Year Lang. & Math. Average Language Mathematics History Science # A H L NA # A H L # A H L # A H L # A H L 1999 21 446.7 611.5 356.5 — 21 — — — 21 — — — — — — — — — — — 2000 19 424.0 696.0 303.0 — 19 — — — 19 — — — — — — — — — — — 2001 24 423.0 703.5 302.0 — 24 — — — 24 — — — — — — — — — — — 2002 17 427.3 645.0 300.5 — 17 — — — 17 — — — — — — — — — — — 2003 21 467.6 672.5 300.5 513.7 21 — — — 21 — — — — — — — — — — — 2004 26 454.2 576.5 321.5 491.0 26 — — — 26 — — — — — — — — — — — 2005 30 458.9 630.0 333.0 498.6 30 447.3 631 282 30 470.6 629 310 25 457.2 705 360 19 395.8 552 223 2006 36 459.0 595.5 289.5 507.2 36 456.9 602 203 36 461.1 589 274 24 442.1 613 320 26 401.1 510 307 2007 39 473.8 720.5 313 507.4 39 470.2 648 193 39 477.4 806 285 23 505.8 769 327 21 441.2 679 250 2008 30 437.1 632.0 324.0 511.7 30 416.6 631 300 30 457.5 633 312 14 443.0 528 348 19 407.7 613 249 2009 26 465.6 616.0 356.5 513.3 26 450.3 592 309 26 481.0 640 336 9 483.5 564 331 19 424.2 548 319 2010 32 518.0 656.0 357.5 514.0 32 508.4 683 323 32 527.7 684 381 18 504.8 711 360 21 476.4 616 326 2011 32 529.2 741.5 408.5 511.9 32 522.2 766 351 32 536.2 717 418 23 460.3 681 286 24 475.3 605 362 2012 38 491.8 673.0 330.0 512.9 38 498.8 715 322 38 484.7 668 327 24 482.0 714 317 24 487.5 626 371 2013 35 515.3 695.0 341.5 511.5 35 513.8 705 274 35 516.8 685 374 25 488.3 646 359 26 487.9 650 261
(SIMCE) scores per yearSIMCE results per year: 2008–09: 2010: 2011: 2012: Fourth grade: Tenth grade: Eleventh grade:
Others: School Year Grade # Reading Comprehension Mathematics History, Geography and Social Sciences Natural Sciences English language A NA A NA A NA A NA LC RC A AS NA 2008 10th 43 264 — 262 — — — — — — — — — — 2009 4th 44 290 — 280 — — — 283 — — — — — — 8th 40 256 — 273 — 242 — 258 — — — — — —2010 10th — 264 — 262 — — — — — — — — — — 11th 36 — — — — — — — — 48 51 98 2 99 2011 8th — 279 255 284 258 271 261 278 263 — — — — — 2012 4th — 262 268 263 262 266 260 — — — — — — — 10th — 280 278 278 288 — — — — — — — — — 11th 35 — — — — — — — — 52 60 56 6 49
Students and faculty
Enrollment trends,2006–present Year Student body size 2006 501 2007 502 2008 508 2009 548 2010 575 2011 575 2012 558 2013 547 2014 536 2015 534 In the 2015 school year, the had an enrollment of 534 students from preschool (pre-kínder) to twelfth grade () with an average of 38 per grade. The school serves students aged between 4 and 19 years old. In 2012, 159 students were classified as "prioritary" under the SEP law (, Preferential Scholar Subsidy Law in English); "prioritary students" under the SEP law are those whose "homes' socioeconomic status decreases their chance to participate in the educational process." In 2012, 's faculty had 30 full-time teachers. By 2014, the faculty had 29 workers.
Admission begins each 1 November and ends on 9 December. Most people apply for entering the preschool (pre-kinder) class, which has a maximum of 35 students. Preference is given to siblings or brothers of current or former Sangre students. Applicants must be at least four years old, but in exceptional cases, students not meeting the prescribed age may take a test to be admitted. No payment is required for enrollment.
is governed by the Chilean Congregation of the Precious Blood of Our Lord Jesus Christ. The school's principal was, between 2006 and September 2012, Mother Loreto Fuentes Parra. Mother Loreto was also the school's director in the 1980s; in 1987, she was named by the Colegio Provincial de Profesores Cardenal Caro one of the best teachers in Cardenal Caro Province, in a ceremony held at the school's hall. Since 2013, Preciosa Sangre's principal is Mother Elizabeth Carmen Arriagada Sanzana. The Pedagogical Technical Unit (, UTP) is directed since 2011 by teacher Graciela Vargas Urzúa. The school has an administrative staff of 45 people. The parents' center () of is presided since 2012 by Mónica Cornejo Rojas.
The students' center () of the Colegio de la Preciosa Sangre describes itself as a "representation instance for the school's students, acting in different roles." Archived from the original (http://www.cpspichilemu.co.cc/?page_id=112) on 1 August 2012. Students' centers are student organizations, whose members (president, vice president, secretary, among others) are elected democratically by their peers.
Activities There are numerous extracurricular activities available to students. Excluding those from the sports area, the activities include choir, instrumental, dancing, scientific (), musical drama, handicrafts, folkloric dance (cueca), pastoral, catechesis, language, and mathematics workshops. Archived from the original (http://www.cpspichilemu.co.cc/?page_id=174) on 2 August 2012. The school also conducts a , which consists of special courses to prepare the students for the (PSU) test.
Additionally, an activity known as the (School for Parents) takes place every month, in which parents are given advice on how to educate their children.
Athletics
As of 2012, offers seven workshops related to sports. These sports are run by the (Colegio Preciosa Sangre Cultural-Athletic Club), and include football, tennis, volleyball, basketball, gymnastics, cheerleading, and cheerleading for newbies. 's athletic club also has hosted tournaments, including , a cheerleading competition which, in 2007, had fifteen participating teams. The club has also organized events such as the first family marathon in Cardenal Caro Province () in 2011.
's soccer and volleyball teams, or CPS Pichilemu, compete in the (Cardenal Caro Athletic League), a provincial-level league. The girls volleyball team placed second in the provincial league, in 2009.
In 2007, Trinidad Segura from the placed first in the Women category of the (Student Surf Championship), which took place in Matanzas beach, in Navidad, and in La Puntilla beach in Pichilemu. In the Primary Students (Men) category, Felipe Sierra and Washington Saldías placed second and third, respectively. The competition was organized by the Commerce Chambers of Navidad and Pichilemu.
Cheer C.P.S.
The cheerleading squad of , Cheer C.P.S., is coached by physical education teacher Claudio Rojas Covarrubias, who founded it in 2007. In 2009, it consisted of 27 students. The team has won several national competitions, two of them making them eligible to participate in competitions held in the United States of America.
2009 US trip