The St. Bridget’s Post
April 2015
Message from Our Chairman
From One Parent To Another
It is my pleasure to write you through this second edition of The St. Bridget’s Post. It was my intention to
focus my message this time on the amazing digital transition taking place in our school, and to discuss
our plans to set up a Parents’ Advisory Board. However, I have heard from several parents regarding
the recently announced increase in fees at the College. I thought it prudent to have an honest conversation about the recent increase in fees. I will address the digital transition and the Advisory Board in the
next edition of The St. Bridget’s Post. For now, let us talk about the increase in fees.
Let me start by saying that though the increase in fees is absolutely necessary (for reasons I will get into
presently), as a parent myself, I can understand how difficult it is for families to make ends meet with
rising costs all around. Feeding, transportation, health, entertainment, etc. ALL these costs are rising for
families. As a parent, I absolutely understand. It is particularly difficult when we, as most parents do,
want to provide a quality education for our children. I am with you; increases in fees are difficult to absorb given all the other demands on our family budgets. It becomes even more difficult when we have
multiple children who we are committed to educating. I completely understand.
Having said that, I would like to point out that the St. Bridget’s family is ALSO experiencing these very
same increases in cost.
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We have held fees steady for seven years. Seven years! Every day we prepare about 1200 meals at the
College (think about it, about 400 students three times a day); we pay for health services, transportation,
boarding facilities, building maintenance, staff, and ALL the things that ANY normal family would pay
for. I am certain NONE of us believes that ANY of these costs have been steady for seven years for
the school. Costs have continued to rise but we have held the line. Each year, we have absorbed increasing costs while holding fees steady. As a matter of principle, we have held off on increasing fees in
the belief that we have an OBLIGATION to provide HIGH QUALITY, AFFORDABLE education to
EVERY child that qualifies to attend our school. However, that commitment becomes meaningless if it
begins to erode our ability to provide the very quality of education for which parents entrust their children to us in the first place. We were beginning to run the risk of that erosion impacting our ability to
provide the kind of education we are committed to providing. By the end of the last academic year we
HAD to increase fees.
That was well before the devaluation of the naira……..
We have been driving a digital transition in the school. ALL the digital devices, tablets, computers, servers, learning aids, videos, books and the like which are transforming learning in the school are imported
and paid for in dollar-denominated transactions. Recall that we started this effort two years ago. In the
last five months the naira has been devalued by 40%. 40%! Yet we have continued to upgrade the facilities needed to deliver the kind of education we for our children. The school does not exist in a bubble.
The devaluation (which occurred well after we had started this process) makes it imperative that we increase fees sooner and more sharply than we may have wanted to. Even with the increase in school
fees, the school is STILL absorbing 81% of the added cost of the new services. The increase in fees
represents a 19% cost share by parents in the way of added school fees. The school is covering the rest.
I hope you would agree that this is fair……
Forget the fact that we have put a state-of-the-art digital network for our students to learn and use. Forget the fact that we are on our way to providing tablet devices for all the students in the College (and the
Primary School soon after that). Forget the fact that we have acquired a state-of-the-art video and radio
production facility to expose our students to what their counterparts are learning in other parts of the
world. Forget the fact that we are reinvesting in teacher education and improvement so ALL our teachers
stay up-to-date on the emerging trends in their fields of study. Forget our new digital platform for management of ALL school records including academic records, library books, health records and on and on.
We are renovating all our buildings and environs as everyone can see. We are putting up new structures to
provide more services to students. We are upgrading classrooms with new furniture. We have made significant progress in the revamping of our residential facilities. We have installed a state-of-the-art security
system in the school to keep our children safer. We are in the middle of a top-to-bottom upgrade of our
library facilities to make sure students have the material they need to learn. (You will see in our Human
Capital Section that we have appointed TWO librarians in the school to make sure our children get ahead
and stay ahead.) We are expanding the science facilities in the school. And on and on and on and on. I
wish the school could absorb ALL these costs but that is simply impractical (and is entirely sustainable).
Even with the increase in fees, our fees are still MUCH lower than those of any comparable institution...
That notwithstanding, as a parent, I know what it is to put multiple children through school. We all want
to help. To that end, I want to announce the following changes regarding the increase in fees. It only applies to students at the College. My goal is to make life somewhat easier for families with multiple children at the College. This is a concession which I hope will help families through this transition period. It
takes immediate effect. (By “multiple children” I mean “biological siblings” AND/OR legally adopted
siblings from the same parents living in the same household.)



The first child pays the full school fees at the new rate.
The second child gets a 10% reduction in the school fees
The third child gets a 20% reduction in school fees.
I hope this makes things a little easier for our parents with multiple children in the school. I wish we
could do more; this is the best we can do at this time. Thanks for your continued support of our school
and our effort at building a world-class institution to educate our children.
I promise to write you in due course to discuss the other matters I had raised earlier but could not cover
in this edition of The St. Bridget’s Post. In the meantime, let me extend a very personal thanks to all the parents who have written or called me to convey their thoughts and feelings (positive and otherwise) about
the increase in fees and the other developments in the school. Your kind words are very encouraging to
all of us at the school. I thank you; we are a better institution because you care enough to tell us when we
are doing well and where we can improve. My email address has not changed. Please email me personally
(emeka.nwankwo@st-bridgets.org) if you have any ideas or suggestions (or the occasional concern) on
how we can improve our institution. I will be in touch again very soon.
Warmest regards,
Emeka Nwankwo
Emeka Nwankwo, D.Eng. Sc.
Chair & Trustee
Re-naming of Campuses
Over the course of these past few years, we’ve embarked on an
aggressive and focused reposition of what used to be known as the
St. Bridget’s Primary School and the St. Bridget’s College. Such was
achieved by first ensuring the collapse of the erstwhile entities, this
ending the dichotomy, and bringing to birth what is known today as
THE ST. BRIDGET’S SCHOOLS. We further encapsulated a 20year old vision of the schools, founded on a 20-year strategic plan. A
year later in 2014, we realized several notable landmark achievements.
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We’ve completed the re-branding of the school by changing the
names of our campuses. The Primary school location is now known
as the Pioneer Campus (since this is
where the school
started), while the
College location is
now known as the
Brookside Campus
(named after the seasonal brook that
forms behind the
school because of flow-through from the Aba “Waterside”).
Along with the new campus names, we’ve constructed two giant, 17
feet wide concrete sign posts in both campuses with the bold inscription of THE ST. BRIDGET’S SCHOOLS. They mark the entrance
to the two campuses. We have also named all the buildings and facilities in the school as we transition to computer-based assignment of
rooms and facilities. Every building and managed open space now
has a prominent name plate. Join us in adopting the new names.
The Institute
As we previously announced, our application for the establishment
of The St. Bridget’s Institute has been approved by the Ministry of Education. The Institute will enable adult students to earn a degree or
diploma in relevant courses. Our objective is to start admitting the
first set of students by mid-September of 2015.
Unlike other tertiary institutions, we will focus on providing practical
and modern support to our students. Our goal is to provide graduates of the program with access to capital to begin their businesses
or expand their enterprises upon graduation.
The Institute shall consist of three different schools. The School of
Professional Development will be available to train mid-career professionals that are seeking to acquire those additional set of skills
that will propel them to new
heights in their career. Courses will be offered in a variety
of fields, namely: Computing
and Digital Technology, Business and Entrepreneurship,
and Teacher Education.
The School of Lifelong learning has a more personal approach; it is
geared towards those who are seeking personal development and life
improvement skills. The focus in this school is primarily to provide
on-going education to individuals, retirees and persons seeking personal development and lifelong learning opportunities.
The School of Technical Arts & Sciences will provide hands-on
training in the more technical professions. Technologists, fabricators,
automotive technologists, builders, chefs, and craftsmen are amongst
those that can enroll in this particular program.
The Institute (cont’d)
With the launch of the Institute, the St. Bridget’s Family will
only continue to grow as our student body becomes increasingly diverse in age. Parents of our students will be given the
opportunity to simultaneously attend the same school as their
children. Not only will these parents be investing in their children but also in themselves. The reason behind this idea is
quite simple; children are influenced by the behaviors of their
parents.
By the commencement of The Institute, we are championing
“lifecycle education” from pre-K
all the way through to retirement.
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A parent re-enrolling in school and maintaining an active interest in their studies can have a lasting positive impression on
their children. It is an approach that can boost a child’s morale
and their willingness to achieve academic success while directly benefiting the parent.
For these reasons, parents of current or former students (as
well as alumni) will be granted a special rebate on tuition fees.
Those who are not ICT literate in particular, will be given priority in this regard.
Similarly alumni as well as old students of the College and
Primary School will receive tuition rebates when they sign up
for courses or programs at The Institute.
Physical Plant
In our effort to maximize the learning experience here at St. Bridget’s, we will continue
to enhance our facilities. Here is what we’ve accomplished thus far:
1. We completed an architectural blueprint for the Brookside and Pioneer Campuses to
drive the new developments
of the Girls’ dormitory,
Cafeteria, Classroom and
Science complex, Culinary
Arts Buildings, and Clinic.
2. We’ve expanded the property at Pioneer Campus to
include Jaja Annex which
provides ample space for
parking (keeping cars away
from pupils/pedestrian
walkways in the Central Plaza area), the new Culinary
Arts Building (which will
support the Institute and
the College in home economics and hospitality/event management), an expanded playground for pupils at the
primary school, and a new bus stop for the comfort of pupils, students and staff at
Pioneer Campus. Construction has started on new buildings in line with the 20-year
strategic vision and architectural master plan. The construction of the new Culinary
Arts Building, resurfacing of the access road to the campus, construction of the new
parking facility and playground are all underway at the Pioneer Campus. We have also
expanded the power generating facilities at Pioneer Campus with the construction of
a new powerhouse and installation of larger power generating set to support the increasing activity on that campus.
3. We completed the construction of the new annex to the Hall of Fame (to enable the
expansion of the data services and student computing facilities) at Brookside Campus
in December 2014.
5. We upgraded furniture in some classrooms and lecture halls at Brookside Campus to
enhance the comfort of our students. (This upgrading effort, which is still ongoing,
will extend to Pioneer Campus once Brookside Campus is complete.)
6. We conducted a top-to-bottom refurbishment of the toilet facilities at Brookside
Campus to ensure the health and comfort of our students. (This effort is ongoing
school wide.)
7. High-performance servers have been installed to support learning and tutorial instruction within a closed environment at both campuses.
8. Remote-monitored security cameras have been installed to cover every significant facade of the two campuses.
Human Capital & Safety
Staff Platforms
We constituted teachers and some other non-tutorial staff into the following Platforms:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
Physical Plant
Human Capital
Alumni Relations
Residence Life
Instructional Technology
Competitiveness
Educational Attainment
The Platforms provide veritable opportunities for all our staff to be part of the Management by freely generating and conversing ideas that will help in positioning our school
on a continuous growth. Each Platform meets on a bi-weekly basis to help develop policies, guidelines and counsel for the line management.
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Identity Cards
The safety of our pupils and students is of paramount importance to us. We have started
issuing new digital and tamper-proof identity cards for all students. An important inclusion in the I.D card data is the blood group/genotype of all concerned. We seize this opportunity to thank all our parents and guardians who cooperated with us in this allimportant programme.
Prizes & Awards
2014: Our school came in third at the state level in
the Capital Market Competition organized by the Nigeria Security and Exchange Commission.
The following students: Uchenna Ihekaire, Nnamdi
Okechukwu, Christian Chikwendu, Chimamaka
Emeruem, Chioma Onyemenam, Ogechi Onyejiuwa
and Sophia Obialor won the third prize (state level) in
the National Quiz Competition on Capital Market for
Secondary Schools. The competition was organized
by the Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC)
Medlyn Ekwulonu won the second prize (state level)
in the Software Programming Competition organized
by Union Bank PLC.
Please join us in congratulating them on their accomplishments. We are very proud of all of them.
Alumni Relations
Our first biennial Homecoming & Reunion event, held in December 2014, was a
complete success. The extended St. Bridget’s Community came together for a
weekend of celebration and remembrance. Given the numerous
advancements that have taken
place since the inception of our
school, our graduated students
were able to rekindle old memories
and reminisce the great times
they've experienced at the St.
Bridget's Schools. It was a time of
celebration and reflection; a period
for the schools to embrace the progress that has resulted from the extensive improvements that have been made to
the infrastructure of our institution. We thank the alumni for attending the
event.
We’ve also debuted our Colloquium series. The St. Bridget’s Colloquium
Series in an event in which staff
and any other interested persons
give open presentations on subjects of interest. The topical and
sometimes controversial nature of
these events has made for a welcome addition to the experience
of our staff and associates. During the Homecoming event, a discussion was held on the topic
“Naija or Nigeria: Which one are
you?” This event was very well attended, and stimulated very lively debate. The
first public edition of the Colloquium will be held in April of 2015. We invite all
parents and associates to attend.
Beyond Learning!
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Athletics
As the saying goes, “a healthy mind is found in a healthy body.”
Physical activity is an essential component of a healthy lifestyle and
must begin at an early stage. In order to promote the good physical
health of our students, we established a standard, well-developed
sports centre for our students. The centre has a football pitch, a basketball court, a volleyball court, badminton, a table and lawn tennis
arena as well as provision for athletics. In addition, we have employed qualified PHE (Physical and Health Education) teachers to
instruct students on the proper use of our sports facilities. Our
sporting events have been exciting for both our students and staff
members. Those who prefer to spectate have been
highly supportive by coming out to watch and cheer
on their colleagues. The
events are always well attended as a form of entertainment and relaxation especially given the intense
academic program in the
school.
Indoor Games
Along with our athletics, we also offer students a variety of other activities that can be enjoyed within from the school compound. These
games (which include Scrabble, Chess, Monopoly, Sudoku, Whot,
Ludo, Nintendo Wii, Ncho etc.) are played on Fridays. We often host
friendly competitions where participating students can demonstrate
their skills against each other.
Beyond Learning! (cont’d)
Variety Night
Our Saturday nights are always filled with exciting events that both staff and
students look forward to. Every Saturday night our students and staff members come together in the Hall of Fame for a joyful night of relaxation and
amusement. The following activities are some of those enjoyed by the students and staff during Variety Nights:
Movie Night
Inter Hostel Debate/Jokes
Cultural Night – cultural dance, talk show, News
Art Show/ Exhibition
Drama Night
Music Show
Home Creativity
Tech Show
The Photography and Press Clubs of the College are in attendance every Variety Night documenting and capturing key moments. With the Photography
club recording and photographing, the Press club sampling students/staff
opinions and informing the College Community through their press board as
well as placing adverts of upcoming events. Variety Nights are always supervised by the resident staff to ensure the control and safety of all students.
Digital Infrastructure
For Parents
Parents have an important role in helping children appreciate their education and fulfill their
potential. In order to facilitate communication
and keep parents constantly informed, every
parent has been provided with a St. Bridget’s
email address (yourname@st-bridgets.net).
This way, parents can received periodic updates
and easily monitor their child’s progress by
simply checking their St. Bridget’s email account.
Parents can now directly email staff members
with any questions or concerns. End-of-term report cards are also sent via our secure
web portal. St. Bridget’s College no longer issues paper report cards. Our report cards
are sent digitally.
Revamped Website (www.stbridgets.org)
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With our new website, parents
and students are now able to logon to monitor academic activity
and access information remotely.
The website also expands our
online learning (e-learning) capabilities for registered students.
We have deployed, tested and
launched our online management
system (St. Bridget’s Online!)
that provides a platform for distance learning as well as closed learning for students
within all our schools.
Rollout of Tablet Devices
We’ve advanced our digital transition by
providing the first set of tablet devices to
30% of our students. Teachers and students
will now be able to use their new digital devices in class and outside class. (The rollout
is intended to be complete by the summer
of 2015.)
Digital Infrastructure (cont’d)
In order to increase our efficiency, we are gradually moving
towards a paper-free recordkeeping system. We’ve completed
the rollout of the electronic academic records management
system ensuring that ALL aspects of the academic and residential services provided to students are managed in a secure,
stable digital platform. This effort also involved the training
of all the staff members in the use of the digital platform.
(We no longer send out paper report cards at The St. Bridget's
Schools.)
We have moved all our recordkeeping in the College to our
electronic dashboard. The 40,000 books in our library can be
checked out online. Hostel assignments, bus movement and
all facets of College life are managed online. This has greatly
streamlined our records management process in the school.
We’ve also introduced an electronic medical records system to
ensure accurate maintenance of
health records for students and
staff. In the case of a medical
emergency, our records will be
easily accessible in our database. Electronic reporting will be
part of our commitment to safeguarding sensitive records and
ensuring they are readily available when needed.
Human Capital
New Appointments/Promotions
Mr. Jephthah Chikezie is the newly appointed Principal of St.
Bridget’s College. Jephthah studied Agricultural Engineering at the
Federal University of Technology, Owerri. He joined the school in
2009. Following a successful stint teaching science and heading the
Records Unit at the College, he was transferred to the newly
formed Office of Institutional Development (OID) to assist in
the digital transition in the school. He was subsequently promoted
to the position of Manager, Digital Infrastructure, before his elevation to the headship of the College. In addition to his teaching
and managerial experience, he is a Microsoft Certified System Engineer. His email address is jephthah.chikezie@st-bridgets.org.
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Mrs. Ngozi J. Ezurike is the newest member of the management
team having joined the school in September of 2014. She is currently the Vice Principal, Students’ Affairs, and teaches Literature-in-English. She has a Bachelor's degree in English and a
Master’s degree in Literature-in-English, both from the University of Jos. She obtained her Post Graduate Diploma in Education
from the National Teachers’ Institute, Kaduna, and has over ten
years’ experience in school administration and management. Her
email address is ngozi.ezurike@st-bridgets.org.
Dorothy Onumaku is the newly appointed Head of School at the Primary School. She oversees the activities of all the tutorial and nontutorial staff at the Primary School and the Pre-School. Prior to this,
she was teaching at the College and heading various initiatives for the
school. She is a graduate of the Enugu State University of Science and
Technology. Her email address is dorothy.onumaku@st-bridgets.org.
Mrs. Rita Inwalome was recently appointed Manager, Educational Enterprise Development in the Office of Institutional Development (OID). Prior to this she was the Vice
Principal (VP), Institutional Affairs, at the College. Mrs.
Inwalome joined the staff of the school in 2007 and has
distinguished herself both inside and outside the classroom. She is charged with the development and takeoff of
the Institute along with other members of the OID team.
Her email address is rita.inwalome@st-bridgets.org.
Human Capital (cont’d)
New Appointments and Promotions (Cont’d)
Ms. Josephine Alokalam is the new Vice Principal, Academic
Affairs at the College. She was transferred from her previous
portfolio of VP, Students’ Affairs to head academic affairs at
the College. She is responsible for tutorial and academic services at the college, in concert with the new Principal. She is
also directly responsible for the digital
transition at the College. Her email address is josephine.alokalam@st-bridgets.org.
Mr. Agwu Igwe is the new Business Services Manager of The St.
Bridget’s Schools. He joined the staff on 1st October 2014. He
holds a B.Sc. (Accounting) degree from the University of Nigeria
Nsukka and is currently undergoing his ICAN professional qualification training. His e-mail address is igwe.agwu@st-bridgets.org.
Mrs. Dorothy O. Emezuo is a certified Nurse and Midwife. She has several years of experience in the private and public sectors. She joined
the staff of SBS in mid- 2014.She is in residence at the Brookside Campus and dutifully provides medical support to students and staff of the
school. Her e-mail address is dorothy.emezuo@st-bridgets.org.
Mr. Adiele Victor Onyenaturuchi is a graduate of Abia State University Uturu with a Bachelor’s Degree in Library and information science. He is the new Librarian for the St. Bridget’s Schools. Victor
will be based at Pioneer Campus but will work across all the libraries
in the school. His e-mail address is adiele.onyenaturuchi@stbridgets.org.
Ms. Elizabeth Kalu was one of the two original staff who joined in
the formation of OID two years ago. In that time, Ms. Kalu has developed a new set of skills and capabilities that will serve her well in
her new role as the Librarian at Brookside Campus. Prior to joining
OID and her subsequent elevation to the position of librarian, Elizabeth was a teacher at the primary school. Her e-mail address is
elizabeth.kalu@st-bridgets.org.
www.st-bridgets.org
Useful Numbers:
Primary: +234 703 862 7195
College: +234 703 862 7179
Inquiries: + 234 803 911 8928
Emergency: +234 810 254 6822
Useful Email Addresses
admissions@st-bridgets.org
inquiries@st-bridgets.org
financialaid@st-bridgets.org
oldstudents@st-bridgets.org
http://twitter.com/StBridgetsAba
The St. Bridget’s Schools, Aba
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Beyond
Learning!
Physical Address:
St. Bridget’s College
College Road
OR
St. Bridget’s Primary School
St. Bridget’s Drive
Abayi, Aba.
Abia State. Nigeria
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