Infant Jesus School, Awka Holds 16th Biennial Sports Competition

By Chioma Ndife

Handmaids Infant Jesus Nursery/Basic School, Awka, Awka South LGA of Anambra State, has held her 16th Biennial Inter House Sports Competition. The sports Competition was in line with the consistent efforts of the management to avail pupils the opportunity of discovering and developing skills in various sports activities to achieve holistic training.

The Inter-House Sports Competition held on Friday, March 16, 2019 at St. Patrick’s Cathedral field, saw active and healthy participation among the pupils who were allotted to various houses, namely: St. Albert’s, St. Ann’s, St. Simon’s, St. Theresa’s, Annunciation, Mother of Good Counsel and Sacred Heart houses, for active competition among themselves for the trophy.

Fides gathered that pupils during the preparation for the inter-house competition were engaged in various intensive sporting activities in a bid to develop their sporting skills in any sport of their choice within the scope mapped out by the school. They competed among themselves in scrabble, football, volleyball, handball, races, skipping, filling in the water bottle, as well as high and long jumps. The races by the pupils were categorized into 1500m, 200m, 400m, 800m, 4x100m and 50 meter dash. Other races which the pupils participated in were filling the basket, Obi’s big shoe, sack, egg and shuttle races.

Secondary and primary schools within the state were not left out as they participated in the various invitation races designed for them.

At the end of the various sports competitions, Mother of Good Counsel House emerged overall winners of the competition with 9 gold trophies, 6 silver and 4 bronze, while the second position went to St. Albert’s House with 8 gold trophies, 5 Silver and 2 bronze. St. Theresa’s House with 5 gold trophies, 3 silver and 4 bronze came third in the highly contested competition.

In the march past competition, St. Simon’s House topped other houses as Sacred Heart House came second, while Mother of Good Counsel House took the third position.

Speaking to Fides, the school’s headmistress, Sr. Rose Udoka Ukachukwu, described sports as one of the extra-curricular activities embedded in the school programme to enhance students’ emotional, physical and health wellbeing. He noted that the school sports programme offered a good foundation to some talented pupils to develop a future career in the area of sports.

The school inter-house sports, according to the headmistress, was designed to be an avenue for discovering and developing various sports skills in pupils. She pointed out that the discovery would facilitate the training of the students to be physically fit and healthy.

In her address of welcome, she described the school as a place where children acquired appropriate skills, both physically and mentally, in order to contribute to the development of society. She disclosed the various sporting activities which the pupils had participated in for the past three years, noting that the giant strides achieved in the various extra-curricular activities did not limit the school’s effort in the curricular activities which the school was known for.

She appreciated the contributions of the Diocesan Bishop and his auxiliary for their fatherly love, care and understanding, as well as the various individuals who had been contributing towards the progress of the school.

Also speaking, the chairman of the occasion, Chief Mike Ekwunife, commended the pupils for their marvelous participation in the different sporting events. He maintained that sports and academic development of students went hand in hand and that none should be allowed to suffer so as to achieve the ultimate goal of education.

On his part, the sponsor of Annunciation House, Dr. Ikechukwu Innocent Umeh, commended his house members for the excellent performance which they demonstrated at the various sporting activities. He encouraged them to improve in their performance to emerge overall best in the next inter-house sports competition.

The Headmistress of HIJNB School, Awka Sr. Rose Udoka Ukachukwu,HHCJ Leads the school staff in the March Past