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By Maduka Nweke
St. Francis Catholic Secondary School, Idimu recently celebrated its 35th anniversary, with 76 staff members receiving awards for their dedication and steadfastness.
According to the Administrator of the School, Rev. Fr. Francis O. Koshoffa, the awards were given to staff who have spent between 10 and 14 years and those between 15 and 19 years. Others were those who have served between 20 and 24 years, as well as those who served for more than 25 years.
Speaking about the beginning of the school, he said: “Thirty-five years ago, a Jesuit priest with a vision larger than his circumstances dared to dream. To understand St. Francis is to understand Magis; a Latin word, simple in form but inexhaustible in demand. It means more not in the sense of excess but in the sense of holy content. It is the quiet insistence, rooted in Ignatian spirituality, that we are always being invited by God to do more, become more and give more. It is the refusal to be satisfied with the status quo when God is clearly beckoning us forward.”
He noted that a fire does not sustain itself, saying, “Behind every year of this school’s growth stands a cloud of witnesses: Jesuits, Daughters of the Holy Spirit, men and women, parents and students who gave themselves quietly and generously to the mission and vision of the school.”
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Dean, Faculty of Vocational Studies, Mr. Adefuye Akinpelu Soares, who has served the school for 29 years, said the school offers education according to Jesuit tradition. “I expect that by the time they leave here after six years, they will be people of competence, conscientiousness, compassion and commitment in doing things. That means following justice and fairness in the society and we thank God for how our students have turned out to be in the nation,” he said.
Speaking on the achievements of the school, Mr. Ajero Polycarp Ngozi, said: “If I talk about the school’s greatest achievement, then everything here is an achievement. I can call every little thing here an achievement because we started from a humble beginning. The school started in 1991 and all the structures that we have on ground were part of our achievements. What we had was just a few structures that the school started with, but over the years, the school has moved from the historical stage through the developmental stage to the present stage.
“We have every facility that is required to turn out students that are usually the best in the nation. For example, our record is there to show over the years. Now, our students are among the best in local and international school competitions. We’ve had students that were second and third best in the West African Examination Council (WAEC) and JAMB and also in other international academic competitions. The school is doing well,” he said.
On morality, Ngozi said the students live exemplary lives, hence the desire of every parent to aspire to put their wards in the school. “I will rate the students’ morality very high because each day they are exposed through the celebration of the Holy Mass. They are also being counseled. We have different activities and occasions in the school, where they are modelled towards being good persons in the society, having good conscience and being able to do what will give light to others,” he said.
