SACHS CELEBRATES 2023 VALEDICTORY SERVICE
 The year 2023 valedictory service of St. Anthony’s Catholic High School, Ilesa was held on 21st September 2023.  The graduation ceremony was filled with pomp and ceremoniousness.  The celebration began with a Holy Mass celebrated by His Lordship, Most Rev. John Akin Oyejola, the Bishop of Osogbo Diocese.  It was concelebrated by Rev Fr. Patrick Kunle Ajayi, the Dean, Ilesa Deanery, Rev. Fr. Cyril Oni, the school Principal, Rev. Fr. Anthony Omodunbi, the school Chaplain and Rev. Fr. Williams Opeyemi.  The following sisters were also present at the occasion – Sr. Elizabeth Adekunle D.H.S, Sr. Hope Shado D.H.S, Sr. Hannah Okoliko D.H.S, all from Imo, Ilesa and Sr. Lilian Njoku OSF, in charge of SACHS hostel.  
The Bible Readings of the day were as follows:
First Reading – Eph. 4:1 – 7, 11 – 13
The Responsorial Psalm – Psalm 18 : 2 – 5 
Gospel Reading – Mt. 9 : 9 – 13 
 The chief celebrant and homilist of the day, Bishop John Akin Oyejola gave the following points in his homily:
i.   God loves everyone and there is no discrimination.  This was evident as Jesus called Matthew, a tax collector whom people saw as a sinner. 
ii.  Imbibing the virtue of humility is very important.  The Bishop encouraged the graduands to be humble and avoid every form of short cut to easy life.  He emphasized the importance of education because it is the basis of the growth of any nation.
iii. He admonished the students, especially, the graduands to be disciplined and avoid joining bad groups such as cultists, druggists, prostitutes etc.
iv. He encouraged the students to live by the truth and they would never regret it. 
v. He also advised the parents to be up and doing with their responsibility on their children.  He advised them to co-operate with the teachers to bring the best out of the students. 
vi. He prayed for brighter future for the graduands and admonished them to take the words of advice as a springboard. 
After the communion, the management and staff of SACHS renewed their commitment to duty.
At this juncture, the school Principal, Rev. Fr. Cyril Oni admonished the graduands to make the blessing they received in the Holy Mass permanent in their lives.  His Lordship thanked the school management, the staff and parents for forming the graduands and for their efforts in keeping the school going. 
After the Mass, the second part of the programme began with procession by the graduands, staff and management of SACHS.  
Some of the special guests include: Olori Adeyinka Idowu, Onilerin of Ilerin Ijesa, Royal Mother of the Day, Oba Emmanuel Oluwagbemiga Olowe (Lojugolu) Asaobi of Isaobi Ijesa, Royal Father of the Day and his wife, Rev Fr. Michael Olawuni, the Guest speaker, Mr. Ajayi (Remlux), Deacon and Deaconess Fadipe.
 The Vice Principal, Dr. Anthony Adeyeye presented the graduating students to the Principal, Rev. Fr. Cyril Oni for approval and the graduation declaration was done.  Shortly after that, Rev. Fr. Anthony Omodunbi, the school Chaplain prayed for God’s blessing upon the graduands. 
 At this juncture, the school Principal, Rev. Fr. Cyril Oni gave his welcome address titled “Unlocking the Future.” In his address, he thanked God for the lives of the graduands.  He admonished the graduands to think about how they can build on their achievements in this great citadel of learning.  He encouraged them to do so with a kind heart, a stout work ethics and a positive outlook as these would allow them to struggle on, thrive and succeed in this world.  In his address he mentioned the SACHS graduating class of 2023 best ten students in this order:
1) jekayinoluwa Adedamola
2) Okojie Vivian
3) Balogun Heritage
4) Akilapa Nifemi
5) Ajayi Abisola
6) Ifeanyi Emeka
7) Adebiyi Marvelous
8) Anjorin Victory 
9) Adetayo Adeyinka 
10) Opaleye Ife
 The Principal’s awards of ten thousand naira each (in memory of Late Pa & Ma Stephen A. Oni, and Pa Francis Badmus)  were given to students who excelled in Mathematics and they were: Olayemi Mimololuwa, Akinloade Temitope, Adeyeye Emmanuel, Onilemo Favour, Oni Enoch and Jekayinoluwa Adedamola.  The most well behaved student of the year, Aluko Precious and the most dedicated student on SACHS radio channel Mba Vivian were also honoured in this category.   The guest speaker, Rev. Fr. Michael Olawuni gave the valedictory message on the topic: “Conscious Parenting.” According to him, conscious parenting means moving away from just giving rules to children but holistic formation. According to him parenting in recent time is an active relationship with the child.   Parents should maintain connection with their children by giving them attention, respecting them and practicing active listening when their children are talking to them.  Parents should learn how to model their children to do their work.  He also emphasized that parents should take time to explore with their children to find out what they are facing and how to correct them.  In summary, the guest speaker gave the following tips to parents on how to go about conscious parenting:
i) Engage in holistic formation 
ii) Guide the children appropriately
iii) Create relationship and connection with them 
iv) Set boundary 
v) Don’t feel bad when your children don’t accept your decision 
vi) Spend quality time with your children 
vii) Teach them to be happy 
 After this, the valedictorian of the year, Ajayi Abisola gave a short speech.  In her speech she thanked God for their success.  She equally thanked the entire staff, her parents and guardian for their efforts and admonished the juniors to work hard to be successful. 
 There were presentations such as cultural dance, choreography etc that made the occasion interesting.  
 Finally, there was presentation of gifts to the best student in each subject, the neatest and best behaved students, and the best teacher of the year, Mrs. Adedeji A.O.  Indeed the 2023 Valedictory Service was an interesting one. 

Compiled by:
Angela Okeke