An exciting search by the Laren primary school De Binckhorst-Sint Jan: the school is looking for the head of Saint Aloysius that once adorned the facade of the school. The head has been missing for years, but there are rumors that the head can still be found somewhere in Laren. And that seems to be true.
The Laren school has become an institution in recent decades: many generations were taught at the now 110-year-old school.
To map out the history of the school, a major search is underway for relics. “That can really be anything, as long as it tells the story of our school,” explains Twannie de Ridder of the parent council.
“Many things have happened here. When the building was taken over by the Germans during the war, the students had lessons everywhere in the village, for example in the café of Hotel Hamdorff. Or here during the wedding of Claus and Beatrix in the There were two cats in the school who were also called that. These are special stories.”
Text continues below the photos.
The relics are not only intended to map the history of the school, but are also used to teach about it. “For example, telephone lessons were taught here. You can extend that to now with lessons about artificial intelligence. This way you can see what developments there have been,” is the explanation of school director Marline Schaaherder.
The school has installed a large red display cabinet, which already contains numerous items from the past. A marble game, a writing board and paper mache doll. “That looks like a Baby Born,” one enthusiastic fifth-grader notes.
Empty place
But there is a striking empty spot in the display case. A place of honor where the school would like to place the head of Saint Aloysius. There is still a lot of searching going on. That sounds like a lugubrious quest, but fortunately it is not so bad. This is the head of the statue that once adorned the facade of the building. That statue has even managed to survive bullets for years. “It is a book-worthy story,” says Twannie.
“During the Second World War, the Germans took over the school and out of frustration tried to shoot down the statue,” she says. Fortunately that didn’t work. But a new school board still decides to remove the statue from the facade, after which it ends up in pieces in the container. The story has been going around for decades that the head has been preserved and is somewhere with someone in Laren.
Found it
So the school put out a call to collect the head and other items. Two weeks later it seems to have happened. The school found out through the grapevine that it was a man named Clemens van der Werf who had fished the head out of the container and made it into a new statue on a pedestal. Contact has now been made with the owner.
As soon as the statue is back at school, it will get a prominent place in the school display cabinet, where there is still room for much more.
Big party all year long
The school building is now full of carnival decorations and that festive atmosphere will be continued this anniversary year. “It’s going to be a busy year,” he said.
“We have set aside the whole of 2024 to celebrate together. That fits well with this school and we want to give the children fun memories for life,” says Marline.
The list of party activities has now become quite long. “We started with a New Year’s toast with lemonade, during the King’s Games we do traditional Dutch games and sporting activities of today, in September we organize a big holiday for the children and parents with perhaps even a reunion, we are going to make a podcast with old students and we are brainstorming about a fox hunt through Laren,” the director sums up.
“And don’t forget June 3,” adds Twannie. That is the highlight of the anniversary year. The school was founded 110 years ago on that date and that should of course be a special school day. The day starts, as it should at a Catholic school, in the church for the opening. “The children come to school in traditional costumes and they receive an hour of old-fashioned lessons as they used to be.” For example, they are only allowed to write with their right hand and they have to deal with an old-fashioned bad luck card that is thrown at them. Of course without the corporal punishment that used to accompany it. “This way they get the most vivid lesson possible about what it was like in the past and don’t have to learn it from a book.”
Do you have objects that belong in the mini-museum of the Binckhorst-St. Jan? Then email to: [email protected].
Also read
Throw
