I would like to link the positive attitudes observed among my pupils to the theme that the Holy Catholic Church has launched for this year 2025: ‘A Year of Hope’. Pupils at Maryland Catholic Nursery and Primary School, Ogbomoso, Nigeria, have moved rapidly towards a higher moral standard since the beginning of this school year, and particularly this term. This has become evident in my daily meetings with them. The hope that these children have shown will not fail us!
One of the main values that the children have adopted is their awareness of protecting the property that belongs to the school, to the staff or to other pupils in the school. They have seriously imbibed the “Lost but found” culture: whenever they find an item, such as a book, pen, bag or money, they pick it up and immediately report it to a teacher for announcement.
On 2 June 2025, the first day of their half-term exam, it was a great surprise to see the different strategies developed by the children to improve their study habits. Many of the pupils had given up football and other forms of recreation to cope with their exams. Others had formed study groups and organised themselves for reading: observing them, I discovered their method, which consisted of asking imaginary questions based on the subject and taking it in turns to answer the questions asked. The cooperation I noticed between them was so amazing!
The children have also distinguished themselves by their active and full participation in the various clubs that have recently been relaunched, such as the science, press, drama and social clubs. Each child and member of staff was placed in a given club to carry out research and obtain material and information for the weekly presentations. Each group received appropriate training and guidance on the aims and objectives applicable to their group: the children participated with great interest and were always so enthusiastic when presentation time was announced!
For example, – the press club presentation enabled the children to find out about certain important events concerning the Catholic Church, Nigerian society, their state and the locality where their school is located. They were able to anticipate some news about the election of the new Pope, Leo XIV. – The children from the science club gave a presentation on an insect called the cockroach. After extensive research on the cockroach, they were able to talk to the whole school about the concept and history of the cockroach, its types, body parts and stages of development. The children also explained the harmful effects of this insect on human health, and suggested some measures that could be taken to prevent infestations. – The drama club presented a play on the theme ‘The measure you give to others is the measure you will surely receive in return’. Using the appropriate costumes, they re-enacted a scenario in which a child received exactly the reward for what he or she had done to the parents.
At the end of each presentation, the other children had the opportunity to say what they had learned from each one. This research club for presentations enabled the children to speak with confidence, facing the crowd without any shyness or fear.
Taking the time to reflect on the above events has helped to strengthen my confidence that, despite the alarming actions and the crisis in society, our children have become a source of hope for their families, the Church, the community and society thanks to the various values they have embraced wholeheartedly.
Indeed, our hope cannot fail!
Sister Patience EFFIONG, DHS. Published on 7 June 2025
