@TheRegentCollege Vol 3 Issue 1

@TheRegentCollege VOLUME 3, ISSUE FRIDAY, 31ST JANUARY, 2020 EDITORIAL FROM THE PRINCIPAL’S DESK It is with great pleasure indeed that we welcome everyone, es- Dear Parents/Guardians, pecially our dear students, to Greetings from the Regent College. This half-term has sped by so quickly and we are at the exact term two. This is a critically im- mid-point of the session. We have made a lot of progress so far, having sent in applications for UK portant term as it leads up to and US admissions which will be validated by St. Andrew’s College, Cambridge for our Foundation the most significant exams they students as well as Cambridge International Exams for our A Level students. (our students) will be taking lat- Foundation Programme er in the session. Our Foundation programme has been validated and recognised by the Royal College of Surgeons As a result, the January edition Ireland for Medicine. This we are immensely proud of because it means we can get admissions for of @TheRegentCollege is de- Medicine in Dublin, Ireland for deserving Foundation students. signed to echo the overall sup- Research has begun for Foundation students (by popular demand we are making the AS and A Lev- port being channeled towards el students take part too, to build their research skills). They are all expected to submit a three ensuring the students’ sound thousand (3000) word research paper in their given topics of each subject area. This accounts for a success, and thus embodies a portion of their final grade and must be given all the seriousness it deserves. special collection of inspirational Every student has had to sign a form stating that they would do the research themselves, and stories. These stories range from would not plagiarise any previous work in their topic area. Academic honesty is a very serious issue making a difference through in the countries our students are progressing to so we owe them the obligation of emphasising this. community service to giving a At the end of the research process, each student would be required to defend their submission. Our voice to vulnerable and voiceless foundation programme is very academic and rigorous. It is an AQA and Edexcel accelerated A-level young girls. It is our sincere programme, which ensures that at the end of the students’ year, they are fully prepared for univer- hope that turning the pages truly sity. This accounts for why Red Brick and Russell Group universities readily admit our foundation inspires everyone to achieve students. greatness. A-Level Programme Mr. Tim Hyua Our AS & A-Level students have been registered for Cambridge International Exams which will begin in earnest in the first week of May, 2020. All necessary plans have been put in place to en- IN THIS ISSUE: sure that the students complete their syllabuses in full preparation for the exam. Please, partner with us in encouraging them to aim for the very best. For all round preparation, they will be made From The Principal………………..…...1 to take part in the research process to build this required skill in them before they proceed to uni- Departmental Reports …...............2 versity. Community Development Boosters/Mentoring Service ……………………..……………..3 Our students who did not quite meet the mark last term are still attending booster classes and are It’s Never Your Fault: Inspiring being mentored, coached and encouraged by designated teachers. Each student is allocated a men- Positive Change………………....….....5 tor to help support and encourage them to aim high at all times. Everyone Wants It Yesterday…….. 7 Half-term Holiday Alumni……………………………………...9 This should be a working holiday especially for the given research topics which must be completed and submitted on the given deadline dates. Yours Sincerely, Best Regards, C.I. Ebiai (Principal) Respect Responsibility Resilience

Page 2 Page 2 DEPARTMENTAL REPORTS ADVANCED SUBSIDIARY/ADVANCED LEVEL PROGRAMME We are very happy to announce that the Cambridge Assessment International Examination (CAIE) reg- istration for June 2020 has commenced. A total of twenty-one (21) students are expected to be regis- tered for the examination. Meanwhile, all teachers are working round the clock preparing the students for the examination which is to commence in April 2020 and end in June 2020. As part of preparation for the examination, the examination timetable has also been distributed to students to closely study and keep the specific dates for their subjects in mind as they all march towards the big day. We kindly solicit the assistance of our esteemed parents and guardians in preparing the students for the examination, which is a highly important part of their academic journey. Mr Awonusi Babatunde HOD, A-Level Programme UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION Student Population The College Foundation programme has continued to witness an increase in student population. Our January starters have pushed the population of Foundation students further up to a total of sixty-two spread across various Foundation programmes in the College. Again, we heartily welcome all the January starters and assure them of our unreserved support and an invaluable experience at the College. The College still offers the following courses: Art, Architecture, Economics, Humanities, International Relations, Engineering, Science, Law, Business and Psychology Foundation respectively. 2020 Research The 2020 research project has commenced. The research is being carried out in International Rela- tions, Business, Law, Maths, Economics, and Psychology. Also in progress are the science practicals which are done by science students in place of the research project. Students are researching on various topics such as: BREXIT, employment law, mathematical computa- tions and leadership. Business students are required to research on and prepare a marketing plan for a new product to be launched in the United Kingdom. Finally, we humbly appeal to our dear parents/guardians, in view of the importance of the research project to students’ final result, to ensure that their children/wards get the needed home support to not just complete but also successfully turn out research work of the highest possible quality. Michael Monday HOD, University Foundation Programmes Respect Responsibility Resilience

Page 3 Page 3 COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT SERVICE Menstrual Health Awareness and Support for the Girls of LEA, Mabushi In furtherance of our community service mission and leadership development agenda, The Regent Col- lege female students were at LEA Primary School, Mabushi, to share knowledge and experiences on menstrual health. The students who were led by the College doctor, Dr. Sayo Chukwudile, also sup- ported the girls of LEA Mabushi with sanitary towels. Speaking on the importance of menstrual health, Dr. Sayo who led the awareness creation session not- ed that menarche is an important biological milestone in a girl’s life as it marks the onset of the repro- ductive phase of her life. According to her, the average age of menarche is mostly between 12 and 13 years of age but can be earlier. Unfortunately, due to lack of knowledge on menstruation, prepared- ness and management, or due to shyness and fear of embarrassment, the situation becomes worse for girls. Dr. Sayo also pointed out that menstruation and menstrual practices still face many social, cultural, and religious restrictions which are a big barrier on the path of menstrual hygiene management. In many parts of the country especially in rural areas, girls are neither aware nor prepared about men- struation so they face many challenges at home and in schools. Some have very little or no knowledge at all about reproductive tract infections caused due to ignorance about personal hygiene during men- struation. Some do not have access to sanitary products or know very little about the types and meth- od of using them or are altogether unable to afford such products due to high cost. Respect Responsibility Resilience

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Page 5 Page 5 IT’S NEVER YOUR FAULT: INSPIRING POSITIVE CHANGE It's Never Your Fault is a not- for-profit organization estab- lished by three teenage friends; Kudirat Abiola (of TRC), Susan Ubogu ([email protected]), ([email protected]), and Temi- tayo Asuni ([email protected]). The aim of our organization is to empower young women in society and try and put an end to the many injustices we witness on a daily basis in our community, such as rape and other forms of abuse. The name, ‘It’s Never Your Fault”, passes on a message to victims of these unfortunate events, that it is never their fault. We met at a career workshop, and during this workshop, we were taught so much, including how to build our portfolios and about the Sustainable Development Goals. To round off the workshop, there was an activity, during which we were divided into groups and told to choose one of the seventeen Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and find a way to work to- wards it. Due to the fact that we are teenage girls who are passion- ate about achieving gender equali- ty in our nation, we chose the fifth Sustainable Development Goal which is to achieve gender equality. We went on to look at an incredibly important issue related to gender inequality, and then decided to focus on one of the worst problems which is child marriage. According to UNICEF, Nigeria has the 11th highest rate of child marriage cases in the world, with about 44% of the female population being married off before their 18th birthday. This alone shows that the importance of stopping child marriage cannot be overemphasized. We started to think of ways we could solve this problem. We then decided that the first stage should be to raise awareness and inform the public about this issue. We created social media accounts, where we make different posters on the negative impacts of child marriage, and what the victims face. We went ahead to check what the constitution says about child marriage in Nigeria, and we found out that, Section 23 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria says, “a person under the age of 18 is incapable of contracting a valid marriage. If such a marriage does take place, it should be declared null and void and of no effect.” Countering that, is Section 29 (4b) that says, “this is by its provision that any woman who is married shall be deemed to be of full age.” This second law allows the culprits of child marriage to go free, as it means that any- one who is under 18, or even as young as an 11-year-old can get married, and would be deemed full of age. Respect Responsibility Resilience

Page 6 Page 6 DEBATE: Nigeria’s independence: a blessing? We strongly believe that in a democratic society, the constitution is of the people, by the people and for the people. Therefore, if we find anything in the constitution harmful, it is our duty and responsibil- ity as patriotic Nigerian citizens to have the law amended. We decided to fight for change and then created a petition on change.org to make a difference. Thus, our first project #raisetheage was born. #Raisetheage is our m andate to raise the age of consent in all 36 N igerian states to the age of 18 and ensure this law is enforced. Even though some states have already put the age of con- sent at 18, it is not being enforced. This could be attributed to the contradictory stance the Constitu- tion of the Federal Republic of Nigeria takes on the issue of child marriage. Another reason for the prevalence of this problem is the lack of knowledge the general community possesses on the issue. This is another matter #raisetheage is aiming to combat. Through social media, we are aiming to raise awareness on the issue and help bring an end to the huge injustice that is child marriage. Our plans for the future include to use our platform to help people who do not have a voice. We plan to do this through many ways such as mentoring for girls, rehabilitation and counselling programmes and creating a platform where we have successful women in our society come and talk to teenage girls about challenges they face on a daily basis and the importance of getting involved in the community and giving back to society among other things. You can support our organization by signing the petition at http://chng.it/ZdSWvJ9J Follow us on Instagram @neveryourfault and on Twitter @neveryourfault_ for more information and updates. We have been contacted by some media houses in order to raise awareness; CNN: https://cnn.it/2HDxKAt Arise Television news: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WnH7OHZqNeE&t=10s Cosmopolitan South Africa: https://www.cosmopolitan.co.za/politics/teenage-activists-fighting-raise- age-consent-nigeria/ Women’s media Center: http://www.womensmediacenter.com/fbomb/these-nigerian-teen-activists-are -organizing-to-end-child-marriage-in-their-country We have also done interviews with DW German media house radio, Kent University online magazine and WFM Our website is: www.itsnyf.com Respect Responsibility Resilience

Page 7 EVERYONE WANTS IT YESTERDAY Page 7 Do you love yourself? Imagine yourself in the future, five, ten or twenty years from now. What kind of person did you imagine? What do they have? What do they do for a living? Are they successful? Most likely right. I am 99% sure that you imagined material things and careers with the highest pay, right? Driving the best cars, having the latest phones, making six-figure salaries. All sorts of things. This is most people’s idea of “success”. But that isn’t success. That is some of the result of success. Who is this person you imagined, their identity? What do they value? Are they hard working or lazy? Do they understand the time and the process they used to get there? Do they do the work when it is time or procrastinate? And most importantly are you that person now? I am going to tell you the hard truth, most of you don’t currently have what it takes to reach ANY level of success! And if you think you are good now, you’re going nowhere. If you hate yourself now you are also going nowhere. Are you not tired of feeling like school is a burden? Or school is too hard for you? Don’t you feel undisciplined and lazy most times? When you can no longer tolerate where your mind is at now, that is when you GROW. And the only person you have to compete with is who you were yesterday! Respect Responsibility Resilience

Page 8 Page 8 EVERYONE WANTS IT YESTERDAY Can I tell you a few secrets to getting into this “process”? You have got to create a mindset that doesn’t allow you to give up, because when you do that is when you become a failure. You have got to fall in love with the process of becoming better. And the key to that is in the little things; like getting up early when you set the alarm and not hitting snooze. This is important for persistence to control your day, do not let it control you. Make your bed, it is the first task of the day to complete, clean environment = clear mind. There is a long list of this “little things” that build characters of suc- cessful people. Where you study, not only what you study. Associate a place with learning and study- ing like you associate your bed with sleep. This small things can lead to bigger things. Self-discipline and self-control are forms of self-love. We don’t love ourselves enough that’s why we only study for exams, are lazy and procrastinate. It is SIMPLE. Is it gonna be easy? Of course not. Discipline hurts but only for a little while, regret is FOREVER!!! Oyintare Koinyan AS Level Student Respect Responsibility Resilience

Page 9 PageT9ESTIMONIAL FROM ELIJAH NIMYEL, 2017/2018 ALUMNUS Good day students of The Regent College (TRC). For those who don’t know me, my name is Elijah Nimyel. I am an Alumnus of The Regent College and a student ma- joring in Computer Science at the Univer- sity of Houston-Victoria, or UHV for short. Most of what I have learned while being at TRC has come in handy in get- ting through my first year of University. The classes that are taught at TRC will already give you a leg up on the competi- tion and on the university. This means that when professors start teaching you things in university, it’s not going to be shocking or new. In my case, the teach- ings that I received from ‘Prof’. Bernard and ‘Prof’. Babatunde really made my first semester a breeze especially in the departments of Programming and Mathe- matics. Within a short time of being an undergraduate in the US, I have realized just how demanding studying in the university can be, and quite so in a number of ways. My advice would be that, for a start, you pay attention to your English Language classes. Intensify effort to perfect your grammar and your composition writing skills. If you are looking to studying in the US, you should know too that punctuation is used differently here and the way teachers expect you to write your papers is different as well. At a point in time, you are going to come into contact with what could be your greatest friend or your worst enemy; MLA format. You will definitely be using this format for your end of term papers, mid-term papers or any papers at all. I’d suggest that for those heading to the US for their undergrad- uate, you all familiarize yourselves with this structure of writing because it is going to be everywhere you go. In general, it will do everyone immense good to take very serious their research seminar at TRC as that is a fine foundation for research and seminar writing. Lastly, what I learned at TRC has really given me a smooth semester. I just thank God that I paid attention to what the teachers taught because, at the time, I didn’t even realize that what was being taught was going to be important in my future ventures. Elijah Nimyel 2017/2018 Alumnus Respect Responsibility Resilience