Sports, Key Component of Integral Education
Sports, Key Component of Integral Education
The President’s Welcome Address
Fr. Udochukwu M. Ugorji, SJ
A warm welcome to our distinguished guests, our parents, our staff and our dear students, a.k.a. Our Precious Pearls or the Phoenixes. Warm greetings and welcome to our great host communities of Mbodo-Aluu and Elikpokwu-odu, our dear Loyola Academy pupils and visiting schools. Today is a joyful day when we celebrate our human growth and vitality through sports. Through sports we not only express our human agility, flexibility, speed, strength, endurance, and skills, we also showcase the best of our cultural civilization in terms of human interactions, cooperation, organization, orderliness, communication, costume, technology, technical abilities, health care, and communal dynamics.
When you look around today as we gather to celebrate our 2nd Annual JMC Inter-House Sports Competitions 2019, you will see that all aspects of the human communal dynamics have been fully activated. Our JMC Kitchen and the food/drink vendors are set to revitalize us when we get tired and hungry. The DJs and sound engineers are there to give us louder voices and to treat us to some vibrant music/songs. Our JMC Clinic staff and the Red Cross Society are ready and set to assist the weak and the injured. Our Facility and environment management department has been working round the clock to set up for this event. The JMC Sports Masters, the Inter-House Sports planning committee, the house masters and house mistresses and all JMC staff have given all their best to set the stage for the events today. The house prefects, the sports prefects, cheerleaders and all the competitors at the events today are ready to excite and entertain us with some exceptional performances. When you look around under the canopies, you will notice that this is the gathering of the “crème de la crème” of the human society in Port Harcourt, Nigeria – starting from the Chairman of this occasion, Mr. Eugene Akhere (Chairman Lagos PA), to Mr. Chigozie Dimgba the Chairman JMC PTA, the Federal and State Government officials, ecclesiastical officials, examination bodies, our host community leaders and our dear parents. You will not fail to notice the banks, business partners, other service industries and our dear sponsors. This is the place to be today. Our success today will not be judged based only on those who won the medals and trophies. It will mostly be based on how we treat and interact with each other and how we respect each other’s human dignity today.
The education JMC offers is an integral education with a concern for firm moral foundation, academic excellence and sincere respect for all that is good and true in others. We are committed to the formation of men and women for God and others, a people of conscience, competence, compassion, and commitment. Gathering at an inter-house sports event to celebrate human civilization is a means to demonstrate the kind of persons we are becoming as a community. Good sportsmanship in all forms of competition is an element of being committed to doing justice. So we encourage fair play, justice, and good sportsmanship throughout the events today. Orderliness and respect for the sports and protocol officials are highly expected of all persons who graced this occasion.
Above all, our desire and commitment to competence and excellence are practically impossible without adequate facilities. This has necessitated our fund-raising appeal for a befitting school Chapel (worship space) and Sports Complex. We appeal to you, our distinguished guests, our parents, our business partners, and our well-wishers to please assist us in every way you can to achieve our goal in record time. Our success is your success. JMC contributes to nation-building through our large employee body, huge investment in economic activities in Port Harcourt and Nigeria at large and the education of well-rounded citizens for our country Nigeria. Help us build our nation through JMC.
Once again, you are all welcome to the 2nd Annual JMC Inter-House Sports Competition 2019. Relax and enjoy the events.
Welcome address by presented by Fr Udochukwu M. Ugorji, SJ, the Acting President of Jesuit Memorial College, on the occasion of the 2nd annual inter-house sports competition on Saturday 16 November 2019.
