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St. Mary's Seminary/Senior High School

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St. Mary's Seminary/Senior High School
Location
Lolobi, Ghana
Information
Other nameSMASCO
Former nameSt. Mary's Seminary/Secondary School
TypeGhana Education Trust Fund public high school for boys
MottoDomine Adsum
StatusBoarding and Day
Number of students1,500 - 1,700
LanguageEnglish, French, Latin
AffiliationsCatholic Church Ghana
Websitewww.smasco.edu.gh

St. Mary's Seminary/Senior High School (SMASCO), formerly St. Mary's Seminary Secondary School, is a boys-only second cycle institution in Lolobi, in the Oti Region of Ghana.[1][2]

History

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SMASCO was founded as a minor seminary at Lolobi on 29 September 1961 by the Roman Catholic Church under the leadership of Reverend Anthony Konings, a Dutch missionary who was the bishop of Keta-Akatsi Diocese.[3] The institution was intended to serve both as the minor seminary for the entire Keta Diocese and as a secondary school for the area. From its founding date, SMASCO opened admission to non-seminarians and students of all denominations.

The first headmaster of the institution was Fr. William Van Frankenhuijesen, SMA. From 1970 to 1972, Fr. Francis Lodonu who was then ordained to the priesthood at Gbi Atabu on 18 May 1964 by Bishop Anthony Konings, was appointed as the vice rector and later the rector of St. Mary's Minor Seminary. Between 1972 and 1973, he became both the rector and the headmaster of St. Mary's Seminary Secondary School. While in St. Mary's, Fr. Lodonu also taught Latin in Form I, Ewe Language, Bible Knowledge and Geography in Form IV and V. On 29 June 1973, Lodonu was ordained a bishop in Rome at St. Peters Basilica by Pope Paul VI.[4] Other headmasters of the school include Rev. Fr. Ephraim Mensah, Rev. Fr. Anthony Hwanompe, Rev. Fr. Edward Siffah,[5] and Rev. Fr. Pascal Afesi.[6] As of June 2020, the school was under the administration of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Ho. In 1977, the school became a government-assisted school, similar to most other Catholic schools in the region.

Administration

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SMASCO is headed by Catholic Priests and many of its teachers are also Catholic Priests. Rev. Fr. Felix Akpah is the headmaster as of June 2020.[7] As of June 2020, the Rector of St. Mary's Minor Seminary is Very Rev. Fr. Paul Afetor while the Chaplain for both the seminary and the senior high school is Rev. Fr. John Winfred Bosso.

Student body

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The student population of the school ranges between 1,500 and 1,700 each year with about 96% of the students being in the boarding house. The students are called SMASCANS and the alumni are known as CARDINALS. The school anthem and motto is "Domine Adsum", translated into English as "Lord here I am".[8] The alumni organisation is known as St. Mary's Old Boys Association (SMOBA). The mass choir in the school is called St. Mary's Seminary Choir. This choir leads the day-to-day Mass in the campus chapel and also performs at Our Lady of Lourdes Grotto at Kpando-Agbonoxoe in the Volta Region during pilgrimages. Extracurricular activities on campus include soccer, volleyball, basketball, athletics, handball and table tennis. A rivalry exists between SMASCO and other schools such as Hohoe EP Senior High School, Bishop Herman College, Mawuli School, and OLA Girls Senior High School academically and otherwise.[9]

Academic programmes

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  • General Arts
  • General Science
  • Business

Reputation

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St. Mary's Seminary/Secondary School has been known in the Volta and Oti Regions of Ghana, and is consistently ranked high in both the Volta and the Oti Regions. In recent past, SMASCO used to be among the top-five schools in the Volta Region and ranked highly on the national ranking. However, lack of facilities as a result of the Catholic Church looking at the government to take the primary responsibility of the school, academic performance has gone down considerably.[10][11][8] That not withstanding, in October 2015, at the 1st. National Best School Award Ceremony, the school received a certificate signed by the then Minister of Education, Professor Jane Naana Opoku Agyemang in recognition of the school as the Best Performing senior high school in Science from the Volta Region for the year 2015. The school participates in the National Science and Maths Quiz and inter-school Debate Competitions annually.[12][13][14][15]

Houses

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There are four houses on campus; all of which are named after Catholic Saints. Every student in SMASCO belongs to a house. Each house is made up of various dormitories.

Notable alumni

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See also

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[edit]
  • North Gate of SMASCO campus
    North Gate of SMASCO campus
  • Uniform
    Uniform
  • Lawn
    Lawn
  • Cadet
    Cadet

References

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  1. ^ "Educational Institutions". www.centralregion.gov.gh. Archived from the original on 1 August 2017. Retrieved 12 August 2011
  2. ^ "2nd Ministerial list out: Akufo-Addo creates new ministries, re-aligns old". myjoyonline.com. myjoyonline. Archived from the original on 31 July 2017. Retrieved 22 June 2017
  3. ^ "About The Diocese". hocatholicdiocese.
  4. ^ "Bishop Lodonu clocks 40 years as Bishop". Ghana News Agency. 24 June 2013. Retrieved 14 July 2015.
  5. ^ "Saint Mary's Seminary SHS appeals for transport". Modern Ghana.
  6. ^ "Be Truthful and Obedient – Catholic Bishop of Ho Diocese urges students – lorlornyofm | A Subsidiary of ViDoF Company Limited".
  7. ^ "St Mary's Past Students Launch Scholarship Scheme". DailyGuide Network. April 12, 2017.
  8. ^ a b "Saint Mary's Seminary Secondary School haunted by its name". Modern Ghana. Retrieved 2020-07-08.
  9. ^ "Lodonu suggests task forces on SHS challenges". MyJoyOnline.com. 2010-10-22. Retrieved 2020-07-08.
  10. ^ Tigo, Joshua (2018-08-29). "SMASCO: An example of a school needing intensive care". Adomonline. Retrieved 2020-07-08.
  11. ^ "Saint Mary's Seminary SHS cry for help". GhanaWeb. 2008-07-15. Retrieved 2020-07-08.
  12. ^ "Participating Schools". May 20, 2016.
  13. ^ "Will a girls' school break NSMQ's 26-yr jinx? – Today Newspaper".
  14. ^ "NSMQ: Anlo-Afiadenyigba SHS qualifies with lowest tally". March 26, 2019.
  15. ^ "2019 NSMQ: Contest begins today as 108 schools battle for coveted trophy". African Admissions Secretariat. 2019-06-17. Retrieved 2020-07-08.
  16. ^ Investment opportunities exist in Ghana," says energy minister". African Review (in Polish). Retrieved 2020-03-01
  17. ^ "Africa Oil Week - Hon Minister John-Peter Amewu". africa-oilweek.
  18. ^ "John Peter Amewu, Minister of Energy: Interview". Oxford Business Group. February 20, 2020.
  19. ^ "John Peter Amewu named as Minister-designate for Lands & Natural Resources | The Ghana Chamber of Mines". ghanachamberofmines.
  20. ^ "You won't prosper closing your borders – Franklin Cudjoe to Nigeria". The Ghana Report. 2019-11-04. Retrieved 2020-07-08.
  21. ^ "Ghana Gov't urged to suspend UNIPASS operations till end of 2020- Franklin Cudjoe". Ghana Talks Business. 2020-04-24. Retrieved 2020-07-08.
  22. ^ "Franklin Cudjoe, Mahama Set Our National Medical Stores Alight!". Modern Ghana. Retrieved 2020-07-08.
  23. ^ "'Mighty people' in govt trying to make Domelevo useless – Franklin Cudjoe". GhanaWeb. 2020-07-02. Retrieved 2020-07-08.
  24. ^ "Protect NPP's image – Patron to youth". Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always. 2016-12-20. Retrieved 2020-07-08.
  25. ^ "NPP patron donates office complex to party in Hohoe Constituency". Modern Ghana. Retrieved 2020-07-08.
  26. ^ Adjorlolo, Ruth Abla. "Alavanyo and Nkonya recommit to peace in 84 year land dispute". Gbc Ghana. Retrieved 2020-07-08.
  27. ^ Online, Peace FM. "Government Must Takeover Alavanyo/Nkonya Land". Mobile peace fm online. Retrieved 2020-07-08.
  28. ^ "Setting fuel stations outside cities not solution to explosions". GhanaWeb. 2017-10-11. Retrieved 2020-07-08.

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