An address by the Head of School, The 16 Plus School (Sixth Form) on the occasion of the inauguration of the new academic year 2019/2020, on this day, 27 August, 2019.
Distinguished staff and my dear students,
Greetings in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ!
I am glad to welcome you to this new academic year 2019/2020. Today, we begin a new academic year on a very fresh note. With a fresh administration and a fresh team, with an almost totally new set of students with new desires, new enthusiasm, fresh ideas and robust hope. I am hopeful that this freshness will incarnate into the already established structure and pedigree of excellence for which The 16 Plus School is known.
This first day in school is practically a day of orientation. We shall begin with the Holy Mass and proceed with a short presentation of our school, staff, students and daily programs. Some of the concepts we shall try to explain are how to use your weekly planners, the importance of reflections, inspirational videos, the frequency of CA tests, learning the school song, school logo and school motto.
My dearly beloved, The 16 Plus School is a Catholic School run by the Somascan Fathers Congregation, a group of Religious Priests founded by St. Jerome Emiliani, lovers of youths and humble servants of God. For this reason, the first principle of The 16Plus School is to submit all things to Christ. Christian morality and discipline are at the very foundation of all that we do and are. Tough love, strict compliance and passion for excellence fuel our daily activities. Just as we stated in the “boarding house rules”, The distance between your Dreams and Reality is called DISCIPLINE
Discipline is the bridge between goals and accomplishment. (Jim Rohn)
This strict discipline and tough love is for both staff and students beginning with the head of school, head pastoral to the youngest student and worker. Our aim is to bring out the best in everyone of us in academics, morals and discipline through a scientifically verifiable system of continuous assessment. Before explaining this novel system, I wish to announce that we have approved a new organogram which explains the chains of “commands” in the school and we have also a list of contacts and reference persons for all the services offered by our school.
It is the idea of the Management to introduce some measures to ensure strict discipline in the school to keep the students focused, in order to ensure that they imbibe the best value formation. For this therefore, management has devised means of checks and balances on the entire activities of the students; whereby the general conduct of the students are evaluated and reported in juxtaposition with their academic scores.
The students will be accessed on eight (8) spotlight covering their day to day activities in the school. From the beginning, Two Hundred (200) bonus points will be allotted to each student, with each spotlight having a twenty-five (25) bonus point. They are required to maintain these points throughout the session, but at the point of default on any of the spotlight rules, a minimum of five (5) points will be deducted from his bonus point. If a student continuously defaults to the extent of losing One hundred and fifty (150) points, it is a clear indication that the student is becoming a distraction to the progress of other students, and management will not hesitate to recommend for the student’s withdrawal from the school. At the end of the academic year, rewards will be given to students who are able to keep intact their bonus points.
These are the list of the spotlights and details of what is expected of the students to maintain their bonus points.
| S/N | SPOTLIGHT | EXPECTATIONS |
| 1 | General Conduct | Good manners is required of all students. Their comportment, decorum and disposition during the activities in the school and in the hostel should be remarkable. |
| 2 | Interpersonal Relationship | While interacting with others, students should always place before them the premium of respect and ideals of the golden rule. |
| 3 | General Cleanliness | Cleanliness is next to godliness. Students should at all times maintain personal hygiene as well as ensure a clean and neat school and hostel by not contributing to soiling environment. |
| 4 | Maintenance of School Properties | Students should price and value all school properties at their disposal with dignity. |
| 5 | Punctuality | Punctuality during common exercise is a respect accorded to others. Therefore, students are expected to be time conscious to all the common activities of the school. |
| 6 | Decency | Students are at all times expected to dress appropriately during school hour and in the hostel, to show their self worth and dignity of their personhood. |
| 7 | Use of Gadgets | We learn self discipline by controlling our use of things and not things controlling us. Students are expected to adhere strictly to the rules of the use of gadgets during the academic session. |
The above explanation on the conduct of students has been stated in the rules and regulations to be signed by all students. The new element here is that the staff are also going to be evaluated in the same way as the students on all the points by which the students are to be evaluated. Every staff will receive 200 points at the beginning of every academic year and through evaluations given by students, heads of departments and fellow staff in their weekly reports, reflections and feedbacks, points may be deducted or awarded according to merit. Each five points lost by a staff means that the said staff loses the possibility of getting a salary raise that year. When a staff loses up to 150 points, he or she has to be immediately disengaged.
We shall never insult or disrespect anybody no matter what happens. We shall love passionately but we shall be firm. So help us God.
Rev. Fr. Tobias C. Ihejirika, crs
Head of School
