Dear Students, Staff, Parents, Alumni and Friends of JMC,
New Year’s greetings from the Heights! I trust 2025 got off to a pleasant start for you and yours. 
It has been quite a good start for us with the safe return of the Phoenixes on resumption day and the commencement of classes on the 9th as scheduled. We thank God for the grace to begin anew and pray for the courage to collectively advance the mission of the college with renewed passion and unwavering hope.
As the penultimate term of the school year with fewer weeks than usual, it promises to be a very engaging and demanding term from start to finish hence, my invitation to all, especially Phoenixes of the examination classes, is to be diligent, disciplined, and dedicated. The trio are important qualities whose application is sure to yield desirable outcomes for staff and students alike. So as we set sail this new year and term, I implore the assistance of parents/guardians with charging our Phoenixes to be resolute, unyielding, and consistent in their pursuit of excellence in character and learning.
Since the commencement of learning activities, the Phoenixes have embarked on their studies with the openness and flexibility required of them. I applaud their commitment even as I demand more from them, in keeping with the Ignatian ideal of the magis. Meanwhile, to facilitate growth in mindfulness, thoughtfulness and attentiveness, the Phoenixes are required to quiet down immediately after their night-cap, subsequently observing silence as they retire for the day until grace before meal the next day. I reckon that this has been challenging for the Phoenixes many of whom take great delight in chit-chatting beyond their bed time. These challenges notwithstandig, the Phoenixes are making significant progress in the observance of grand silence at the end of the day, and I commend their effort in this regard.
As part of our efforts to adequately prepare the Class of 2025 and Class of 2028 for their respective certificate exams, both classes had an English clinic on the 24th and 25th with Mrs Elizabeth Okitikpi Iyare, who in addition to tutoring the students, highlighted errors students make during an exam that undermine their performance. The college is grateful to Mrs Okitikpi for her visit and invaluble assistance in preparing our Phoenixes for their upcoming certificate exams. We plan on having more of such interventions for the examination classes in the coming months.
Speaking of the examination classes, I am pleased to report that the college has duly registered all Phoenixes of the Class of 2025 for the West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) and will soon commence their registration for the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME). In the same vein, registration for the Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) will soon commence for our Class of 2028 Phoenixes. That said, I wish to urge the parents/guardians of our Class of 2028 to quickly send the National Identification Number (NIN) of their children/ward as it is needed for their BECE registration.
In celebration of consistency and recognition of its importance for enduring success, I am pleased to present to you fifteen Phoenixes whose percentage average in each of the three regimes of last term placed them on Honour Roll. Their consistency echoes the words of Denzel Hayes Washington Jr., an American actor, producer, director, and Jesuit alumnus, that “Without commitment, you’ll never start, but more importantly, without consistency, you’ll never finish.” These excellent Phoenixes are our Phoenixes of the Month and deservedly so.
As I write, the Phoenixes are gearing up for the First Continuous Assessment (CA 1) Test of the term, and I commend them to your fervent prayers for courage, health, and peace of mind.
To conclude, I hereby share with you the Scholastic Assessment Test (SAT) performance analyses of the Class of 2025 Phoenixes who took the test on November 2, 2024 and December 7, 2024, respectively (see accompanying chart). I applaud their brilliance and wish them the best in their future exams.
I wish you all an eventful and a fruitul 2025 as we labour lovingly and untirely to make the world a better place for all humankind.
With profound gratitude,
Fr. Alexander E. IRECHUKWU, S.J.