@TheRegentCollege Vol 3 Issue 2

@TheRegentCollege VOLUME 3, ISSUE 2 FRIDAY, 13TH MARCH, 2020 FROM THE PRINCIPAL’S DESK EDITORIAL Dear Parents/Guardians, Compliments of the month. We are very pleased with how things are progressing in the “Long days”, “sleepless College and thank you for your backup role in ensuring that our students make the nights”, “self-deprivation”, best of their time here. “impactful”. These are some RESEARCH PROGRAMME & FOUNDATION EXAMS of the descriptions our Foun- Our Foundation students have completed their first set of projects which we have sent dation students have ascribed by DHL to St. Andrew’s College, Cambridge for assessment. This accounts for 40 marks to their research experience of the final graduation grades in the specified courses. Our December & June Founda- as they march towards the tion exams are also set and marked by our partner college. The research process and end of the term. these external exams are key aspects of our partnership with St. Andrew’s College, In continuation with the spe- which ensure the standardisation of the academic strength of our Foundation pro- cial edition, we bring you, in gramme. They also qualify us as an all-round university preparation institution. We are this issue, coverage of the proud to say that the strict validation processes that we have in place gives The Regent research being carried out by College Foundation programme a class of its own above all other UK foundation part- Foundation students as well nerships in the country. as science practicals. You will AS & A LEVEL EXAMS also not miss another special In preparation for the final Cambridge exams which will flag off on the 22nd of April, feature which marks our ef- 2020, the students are variously rounding off their syllabuses ahead of the mock exam- forts as a community in lend- inations, which will be conducted between the 24th and 31st of March, 2020. ing a hand towards protecting INTERNSHIP PROGRAMME the environment. We hope In order to positively build our students’ portfolios, we arrange internship programmes you find every turn of the for them for two weeks after the final exams in June before they proceed on long vaca- page worthwhile. tion. This enables them gain first-hand experience in their chosen areas of future prac- tice. Parents who have access to professionals who would be willing to have our stu- Mr. Tim Hyua dents undertake this programme in their establishments or companies should please assist by volunteering the names of such establishments. We supervise and monitor IN THIS ISSUE: our students during the period through structured visits for the inspection of log books which are submitted for scoring at the end of the internship. A separate letter request- From The Principal…………………….1 ing your support in providing internship possibilities in your place of work or wherever Recycling …………………………………2 you have influence will be sent into your mailboxes. Please assist us in this, if you can. Research …………………………..3 — 9 Thank you for your constant support. Science Practicals.……………………10 Yours truly, Peer Mentoring………………………..11 Health…………………………………….12 C.I. Ebiai Funfair …………………………………..13 (Principal) Respect Responsibility Resilience

Page 2 Page 2 RECYCLING: THE THREE RS Reduce, Reuse, Recycle! (RRR) Pink and blue – the two new favourite colours of the College. “Why?” you ask. Because they just might help us protect our environment and save the planet. If we considered how much we waste every day, we’d be blown away by the figures. From printed past pa- pers, to bottles of Miran- da, everything just gets dumped in the trash when it’s been used – but does it really have to be that way? Every item that’s been used once, can be used again – if we just figure out the right way. And that’s what’s happening at the College. Stationed at both the academic and recreational blocks of the school are the famed pink and blue boxes designed for us to reduce, reuse, and recycle! Just printed an English paper on both sides of an A4 sheet? Pop it into the pink box. And just finished a cold bottle of Coke on an impossibly hot day? Toss it into the sky-blue one. At the end of every week, these materials are carted off to be repurposed so they can serve us in other ways – and save the planet in the process. Because, let’s be real; why waste when you can save? Jochebed Airede Madam President Respect Responsibility Resilience

Page 3 PaNgeI3GHTMARISH, YET REWARDING: A RESEARCHER ‘S CONFESSION Computer, table, chair, bed, books; lots of books, deadlines … and then you have the monstrous twins called plagiarism check and defense! These underline students’ confessions of their research experience, which started at the beginning of the term. In this special coverage, we bring you some of their thoughts, starting with Ruby, a Hu- manities Foundation student. This was my research experience in three phrases: long days, sleepless nights and a sore brain. This research has gone on for about a month and honestly, this has been the most stressful month of my life. It started with our teachers briefing us on its significance. They made sure to emphasize that it constitutes up to forty percent of our final grade. This knowledge already had all of us panick- ing. We wondered how we were going to juggle this research project alongside daily tests, assignments and self-study. So I did my research paper everywhere and every time: in classes, in the lounge, in the car, in the early hours of the morning and in the dead of the night. Most days, we either slept really late or didn’t sleep at all. Our social lives suffered; what was left of them any- way? Honestly, as this is my first experience with actual research papers, I found lots of things super tough. For all of us, it was draining and difficult to find rele- vant references to analyse our research topics. Meeting deadlines proved to be a real nightmare. But overall, doing this research proved to be really useful. It’s taught me to be resilient; not every- thing I’m going to face here and in university is going to be convenient. It’s taught me to get used to inconvenient situations and make the most of them. It has also exposed me (and I’m sure others too) to re- search skills that will prove vital for my success in the university. Ogbuluijah Ruby Desiree Humanities Foundation Respect Responsibility Resilience

Page 4 Page 4 A RESEARCHER ‘S CONFESSION … Continued “Nightmarish, But Impactful!” - Moyo Research is a very challenging task that requires hard work, perseverance, sound time management and an adventurous disposition in order to obtain relevant information and in depth knowledge. Go- ing through the experience for the first time, I found it especially challenging in a number of ways, and yet, very rewarding. The first challenge I experienced appears to be the most common faced by students in the course of the re- search: finding accu- rate and relevant infor- mation from verified sources. As I was stud- ying about twenty (20) world leaders in Inter- national Relations, for instance, it was hard for me to distinguish factual information from ‘fake news’. The second issue I faced was meeting the dead- lines. I really struggled with this problem be- cause the time span for almost all the sub- mission dates was very limited and the deadline for most of my projects fell during the midterm, which made it even more difficult to meet them - the midterm was a break off school for relaxation! The third challenge I encountered was referencing my sources. This gave me a hard time because I had already forgotten most of the websites that I consulted for important information. Respect Responsibility Resilience

Page 5 Page 5 A RESEARCHER ‘S CONFESSION … CONTINUED Then there was modifying and paraphrasing information in a way that still conveyed the same ideas, without distortion, and in a manner that was appropriate for my analysis, while avoiding any form of plagiarism (you have to remember there is a special plagiarism checker that is used to validate the originality of every completed research work). This tool caught a lot of students off guard as it was a prevention against copying and pasting directly from the inter- net. Notwithstanding, the project also came with a lot of benefits that will certainly help me to thrive in my academic journey in the university, and, I guess, for life! Fagbenro-Byron Moyosoreoluwa Humanities Foundation Ploughing through in the quiet of the night ... … until nature took its course! Respect Responsibility Resilience

Page 6 Page 6 A RESEARCHER ‘S CONFESSION … CONTINUED “Many sleepless nights, sacrifices and self-deprivation” - Christabel As a Foundation student, I am expected, as part of requirements for the award of Foundation certifi- cate, to conduct research projects in all the subjects I do in the 2nd term of the session. These re- search projects greatly require a lot of self-sacrifice and resilience. A lack in any of these areas will increase the pressure of meeting deadlines and put further strain on actually conducting a proper research. Being a Humanities Foundation student, I had to work in the subject areas of Business, International Relations, Law and Economics. They were more taxing than they seemed and I learnt this the hard way. The best way to really prepare for the projects is to research on the referencing style required. Initial knowledge of this is really beneficial as you will start proper citation while you are research- ing. This makes the work a lot easier. This was all very new to me and it was a bit difficult to assimi- late at first but as I went along, things got clearer and I was finally able to understand what to do. Many sleepless nights, sacrifices and self- deprivation were required to meet all my dead- lines. Procrastination was a major influencing fac- tor for nearly missing some deadlines. The added stress and tiredness brought about laziness. It was hard pulling myself out of that, but I continu- ally reminded myself that it was not a temporary situation and that I would be through with it if I kept pushing. And there was help too; I was not left strand- ed to work by myself. My teachers were very supportive and I am truly appreciative of the effort they put into ensuring I went about the project the right way. Prior to the start of the research, seminars were also held which taught us how to properly reference the sources we would use in or- der to avoid plagiarism, a punishable offence, and to properly structure our work. Our teachers took the time to proof-read all our work and showed us areas needing more attention or correction. They worked their hardest to properly guide us so that we did not go off track. These efforts truly helped me personally to do what I hope is a very good. This research work may seem to some like a means of getting a good grade at the end of the session, but I believe that, in addition to the good grades, I have gained beneficial knowledge about how to properly conduct a research pro- ject which, I believe, will be very useful in uni- versity. I am very thankful for all the work my teachers did to help. It was a very interesting experience and has taught me how to persevere and be patient in whatever challenge I face. Christabel Benjamin Alison Law Foundation Respect Responsibility Resilience

Page 7 Page 7 A RESEARCHER ‘S CONFESSION … CONTINUED Truth be told, doing this research was not as easy as I thought it would be. I offer four subjects, and in each of these I am required to submit a research essay. Moving forward, I do feel it makes more sense to know what a research actually is. A research, according to the Oxford Advanced Learners’ Dictionary, is a careful study of something in order to discover new facts about it. Before the commencement of the research, I was always grumpy because I felt that it would not help me in anyway. But boyyy was I wrong! One subject that I didn’t like doing research in was International Relations because students had to study between 20 to 30 leaders, and then write out their research with a maximum of 3300 words. And I thought this was a waste of time, so the only thing going through my mind at that time was “How would I survive?” But looking at it now, I do feel that it helped me to know more about countries, people and leaders all round the world. It must be stressed that doing this research impacted me positively but not without challenges as outlined be- low. The positive aspects have to do with discover- ing, learning and sharing new things, meaning that it helps us increase our knowledge about particular things. Another aspect I consider to be positive is learning from the mistakes of pre- vious leaders. Take for instance Adolf Hitler, all he wanted was for his country, Germany, to be peaceful. Even though his intentions were pure, his approach was wrong. Knowing things like this helps us gain knowledge about how to manage particular problems. However, as there are positive aspects there are also negative ones. Gathering of the infor- mation was really stressful because I had to use about five different sites in order to double check my facts. Then there was also making sure my work was not plagiarized because if it was, I would have lost so many marks, or worse still, lost all marks with the possibility of additional punishment and I didn’t want that. The most annoying challenge of the research has to be that it was so time consuming that I didn’t even have time to sleep because of the deadlines that I had to meet. Over all, I did enjoy doing this project because it helped me so much in gaining knowledge of so many things I thought were irrelevant but which are vital in reality. Now I see where the saying “don’t judge a book by its cover” came from. Falil Akesode Humanities Foundation Respect Responsibility Resilience

Page 8 Page 8 A RESEARCHER ‘S CONFESSION … CONTINUED The International Relations research commenced on the 28th of January, 2020. As we all know, the world is becoming a global village, and the importance of having good knowledge of international relations cannot be overemphasized. The topic for IR was lead- ers and their context, while the specific task required us to research on 20 lead- ers from the 20th to 21st century; their personal at- tributes, leadership styles, and the impact they had on their various countries. It was very enlightening be- cause I learned so much about leaders I had never even heard about before, such as: Julius Nyerere, and Mobutu Sese Seko. The International Relations research was without a doubt the most challenging for me, because we had a huge number of leaders to research on. Obtaining in- formation from reliable sources was also taxing, just as ensuring my work was devoid of plagiarism was a nightmare. I will recommend that peo- ple read wide about leaders because leadership is a very powerful tool that can make or break a country, and in the course of my research, I learned from successful leaders such as Nelson Mandela who freed his country from the shackles of apartheid, and from the mistakes of unsuccessful leaders such as Adolf Hitler who caused the greatest massacre in the world. In conclusion, the research taught me a lot of ideologies, policies, and leadership styles that will help me improve my own leadership style and enable me to be a better leader in the nearest future. Kudirat Abiola Humanities Foundation Respect Responsibility Resilience

Page 9 APagReE9SEARCHER ‘S CONFESSION … THE PRESENTATION IN PICTURES Respect Responsibility Resilience

Page 10 Page 10 SCIENCE PRACTICALS IN PICTURES While research continues elsewhere, science students have busied themselves with various practi- cals in lieu of research. Here, they are pictured doing qualitative analysis for the determination of various cations and anions in some salts during a Chemistry class. Respect Responsibility Resilience

Page 11 Page 11 PEER MENTORING “… I needed to let them know.” - Jochebed (aka Madam President) Early in the month of February, President of SRC and second year A- Level student, Jochebed Airede, was at TRSS to speak to year 10s. When @TheRegentCollege sat down with her, she had this to say: “I’d like to say I’m a nice person, the one you call to drop honey-smooth words of encouragement. But when it came to speaking to the TRSS Year 10 students about getting their lives togeth- er, there was no room for that because IGCSEs can be a do-or-die affair – and I needed to let them know.” Respect Responsibility Resilience

Page 12 Page 12 HEALTH: CORONAVIRUS Travelling anytime soon? Undoubtedly, the notion has become a little scary with the Coronavirus now spreading like wildfire, with people wearing face masks as they go about their daily business. So what should you do to pro- tect yourself while travelling? The World Health Organization (WHO) has issued some recom- mendations to travellers during this Coronavirus outbreak. Firstly, general recommendations for personal hygiene, cough eti- quette and maintaining a distance of at least one metre from per- sons showing symptoms, remain particularly important for all trav- ellers. These include: Þ Perform hand hygiene fre- quently, particularly after contact with respiratory se- cretions (catarrh from colds, for example): Hand hygiene includes either washing hands with soap and water or cleaning with an al- cohol-based hand rub (like hand sanitizers). Alcohol-based hand rubs are preferred if hands are not visibly soiled; wash hands with soap and water when they are visibly soiled. Þ Cover your nose and mouth with an elbow or tissue paper when coughing or sneezing and disposing immediately of the tissue and performing hand hygiene. Þ Refrain from touching mouth and nose. Þ Wear a medical mask (optional): A medical mask is not required if exhibiting no symptoms, as there is no evidence that wearing a mask (of any type) protects non-sick people. However, in some cul- tures, masks may be commonly worn. If masks are to be worn, it is critical to follow best practices on how to wear, remove and dispose of them and on hand hygiene after removal. And some travel-specific tips: Þ Travellers who are sick should delay or avoid trips to affected areas, especially elderly travel- lers and people with chronic diseases or underlying health conditions. Þ Travellers returning from affected areas should self-monitor for symptoms for 14 days and follow national protocols of receiving countries: Some countries may require returning travellers to enter quarantine. If symptoms occur, such as fever, cough and/or difficulty breathing, travel- lers are advised to contact local health care providers, (preferably by phone) and inform them of their symptoms and travel history. Dr. Folusayo Chukwudile Head of Medical Team Respect Responsibility Resilience

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