By Michael Nnebife and Wise Yakubu
Three students of Loretto Special Science School, Adazi-Nnukwu, in Anaocha Local Government Area, Anambra State, will represent Nigeria in an international Mathematics Competition coming up in Indonesia.
The Manager of the School, Rev Fr Felix Nwosu, disclosed this while presenting an academic report of the School during a reception ceremony concluding the Pastoral Visit of the Catholic Bishop of Awka Diocese, Most Rev Dr Paulinus Ezeokafor, to the School on Sunday, 8th December, 2024.
The Manager, who said their students excelled at the Mathematics Association of Nigeria (MAN) Competition,’ explained that three students of the school: Antoinette Onyekelie, Prisca Ezeugwu, and Jacinta Udeze, took first, second and fifth positions, respectively, in the competition, qualifying the school to represent Nigeria at the international level of the MAN Competition coming at the end of the year in Jakarta, Indonesia.
The excited Manager who thrilled the guests at the occasion with numerous academic achievements the school had recorded in recent time, thanked Bishop Ezeokafor, whom he described as an education-friendly Bishop, for his fatherly care and love for the school.
In a homily during the Holy Mass to mark the event, the Bishop advised the students of the school to take their studies seriously so as to have a brighter future.
Bishop Ezeokafor, who doubled as the Proprietor of the School, stressed the target of the school, which, he said, was to ensure that the students had not only academic excellence but also moral excellence.
‘Moral excellence, academic excellence, are the qualities we want of you.
‘If you combine the two, you become somebody,’ Bishop Ezeokafor told the students, advising them to be disciplined, passionate about their studies, and to avoid bad company.
Noting that the education of a child began from the home, the Prelate advised parents and guardians to prioritize proper upbringing of their children.
‘Do not be seen to be having no time for these children. There is no other asset you have that is greater than them.
‘If you stay close to them, you will find out what they are doing, thereby knowing how you can help them to be better,’ Ezeokafor urged.
He reminded parents of the need to make the right choice of schools for not only academic excellence, but also the moral excellence of their children, affirming that Loretto Special Science School, Adazi-Nnukwu, cared for the children’s spiritual and academic excellence.
He thanked the Management, as well as the staff of the school, for their service and advised them to always present themselves before the students as good role models.
The Chief Shepherd of Awka Catholic Diocese enjoined the graduating students of the school, to be good ambassadors of the school and solicited the support of the alumni for their alma mater.
Bishop Ezeokafor also appealed to the Anambra State Government to treat all schools in the state fairly for healthy competition among them.
Reflecting on the Advent season and the readings of the day, the Prelate charged Christians to straighten their relationship with God and their neighbours as they prepared for the second coming of Jesus Christ.
In an address of welcome during the second part of the event, the Principal of the School, Lady Eugenia Okafor, also thanked the Bishop, saying his wisdom, moral and financial support, had elevated the school to an enviable height.
The Principal, who expressed the School Management’s readiness to remain dedicated and committed to duty, also thanked the state Governor, Prof Chukwuma Soludo, for posting teachers to the school last year, even as she appealed to the Governor to do more to fill the existing vacancies in the school.
In her goodwill message presented by the Director, Post Primary School Service Commission, PPSSC, Awka Zone, Mrs Ngozi Chukwujekwu, the Chairman, PPSSC, Prof Nkechi Ikediugwu, congratulated the school Management, the graduating and new students, urging all education stakeholders to work together for the school to remain a beacon of excellence.
Mrs Ikediugwu, who also disclosed the state government’s plan to send more teachers to the school, pledged to convey the appeal of the School to the government.
The event, which was chaired by Barr Chika Okoye, and attended by numerous priests of Awka Diocese, as well as government functionaries, featured the Sacrament of Confirmation, investiture of new students, inauguration of the 2024/2025 Academic Year, commissioning of water and solar power projects: sending-off of two former Managers of the school, alongside their assistants, presentation of awards for academic and nonacademic excellence, among others.
