Primary Christmas Concert

Christmas is such a wonderful time to share the good news of Emmanuel; we held events at Amano to proclaim this great truth and we praise God that they were well attended. In addition to our ‘Carols by Candlelight’ we held a concert where the Primary School children sang, recited and performed a sketch with a clear message that Jesus came for everyone – bringing peace, acceptance and showing love; regardless of age, colour, race or social position.

The angles

Grades 4-7 choir

Who did Jesus come for?

Welcome at the manger

The Primary performers

Carols by Candlelight

....with the traditional nine lessons and carols.

Rather than just the readings, this year  we had some monologues from Isaiah himself - and Mary came too reciting her praise song to God. It was very moving  listening to our 16 year old student and realising that was about how old Mary was when God asked her to carry his son. We had some choral speaking and a beautiful rendition of 'Mary did you know' and other haunting songs as well as the classics. There were  relevant paintings on the screen and an interpretive dance at the end declaring 'Jesus is the way'. I have been to many nine lessons and carols in my time but I don't think my heart has ever worshiped as it did on Sunday. Why was that? Richard Miles and I were discussing it as he and many others felt the same. We wondered if it was because it was our first taste of Christmas for over a year; we weren't 'Christmassed out' like you are in the West at this time and the freshness and wonder of the incarnation simply hit us. Perhaps it was because there was no sermon, just God's powerful word read or recited in a variety of ways. Perhaps it was because so many of those taking part and others met for prayer and pleaded with God for His help and that He had the Glory; perhaps our hearts were in the right place, or perhaps it was  the fact that our desire was that it should be an act of worship and not a performance, either way it was a beautiful experience.

Reported by: Mrs Dodds

Pictures by: Mr Pflaum

Primary Inter-house Sports

Grade 1 to 3 had fun and made lots of noise competing in Benchball (see link below). This tested the students throwing and catching skill as well as their balance.
Results
3rd Place: Kasompe
2nd Place: Luano
1st Place: Musenga
http://www.urbanrec.ca/vancouver/userfiles/vancouver/file/Multi-Sport/Benchball_Rules.pdf

Grade 4 to 7 played Kwik Cricket where we saw some outstanding batting, bowling and catching throughout the games.

Musenga showed some great catching and fielding skills with Mwata Banda having to run a number of times forward from Cover position to catch balls. Xavier Zythow showed enthusiasm in field and caught a number of balls. Aryella Kaladias was wicket keeper and she caught a ball as her partner Mwayi Bath bowled it and the batter nicked the ball to then be caught.
Luano was captained by Joseph Kirk were we saw his great knowledge and understanding of the game (must come from his father, who is the secondary head at Amano). He captained his team to victory and had to help Ng'onga Chalwe (Grade 3) learn a new sport in a few days. This was proved as Ng'onga hit the most balls in a row then most then anyone else and he stopped a number of balls going passed him.

Kasompe showed power with Ross McCaffrey striking the ball for a number of sixes and scoring the heights number of runs. Kasompe did struggle a few times with their bowling but this was saved with Thoko Lungu getting 2 wickets and Inonge Chitambala getting 3 wickets.
This is only some of the examples of what we saw at this sports event, there is so much more to share with big hits and accurate bowling from all three teams and an excellent overall performance from Jonas Brunner with his batting and bowling skills.

Results:
3rd Place: Musenga 25 points
2nd Place: Kasompe 54 points
1st Place: Luano 55 points

Reported by: Mrs Miles

Baptism

Last term we finished off the course of baptism preparation classes. It was a great time getting to know these students in a smaller group setting.  This group had a different dynamic to it than last year’s group, but I believe they love the Lord and want to continue to grow closer to Him daily.
So on Sunday the 5th of October 2014 it was GREAT to witness 5 students get baptised and give credit to God for what he had and continues to do in their lives.

Mr Jarrett

The students with Mr Jarrett

Some of the worship group

Run-Walk-Cycle

“Fun” is the optimum word for the FUN RUN/ WALK/ CYCLE fundraiser organized by the Amano Christian School PTA held on a warm Saturday morning in September.  Sixty-seven participants including staff, students, and their families and friends made their way through designated paths through the bush by various means on foot, wheels, carried in a chair, or tied up together whilst sporting creative costumes and hair-dos.

Adding the word, “push,” to the list is what Mr. Kirk did to a wheelbarrow which carried his wife.  “It’s not the mode of transport I’d recommend,” said Mrs. Kirk after the 2.5 km trek attempting to sit upright for the duration with no back rest.  She offered to get out for walking a bit but in true valiant chauffeur-style, Mr. Kirk was determined to complete the route as it began…and he did!

A child in a pram finished last but not least on the 5 km route and two bikers finished 15 km around the one-hour mark.  If you want to learn how much money was raised, come to the annual general meeting but don’t forget to watch for other ACS events and activities along the way; there just may be some more PTA planned fund-raisers and we call it, “Fun!”

Mrs Belton

Badminton

On Friday 12th of September Lechwe and Simba brought teams to play badminton. This was the first ever badminton competition held in ISAZ schools. We played doubles matches and each school brought 3 teams. Seed 1-2, Seed 3-4 and Seed 5-6. Our first team was Samuel Kirk and Xavier Zytkow and we won 2 of our 6 games. Our second team was Joseph Kirk and Ross McCaffrey and they won 1 of their 6 games. Our third team was Natalie Grove and Stacy Fergusson and they won 1 of their 6 games. It was a very good afternoon and we all enjoyed it and special thanks should go to Mr and Mrs Grove for setting it all up so well.

By Samuel Kirk.

Stacey and Natalie

The secondary students faced Lechwe boys and girls in a singles and doubles tournament. Players were seeded according to ability and they were: Caleb Ronald, Daniel Weiandt and Edwin Dingwall, Joyce Muteb and Fiona McCaffrey. Caleb was able to convincingly win all three singles games 21-7, 21-8,21-13 and his doubles matches were close losses 21-16 and 21-19. Daniel also played good singles matches with 3 wins: 21-16, 21- 15 and 21-10. Partnering with Edwin they won one of their 2 doubles games 21-13. Edwin was new to the game but still managed 2 wins in singles with scores of 21-16, 20-22 and 21-16. He also enjoyed one success in doubles with Daniel.
The two girls faired better in the doubles matches against similarly balanced competition. Joyce won one and lost one singles: 15-21 and 21-18. Fiona lost twice 12-21 and 12-21 against both of here opponents but in the double match of three games the pair were able to win 2 -1 sets: 21-15, 21-15 and 18-21.
For a first attempt Amano competed very well given that the boys do not get taught the sport and the girls only got 6 lessons. Our opponents, Simba in particular, are club players and were noticeably better at primary level.
It will be good to expand the competition next year and get more competition for the students. Amano is the only ISAZ Copperbelt school that has four courts indoors so it is great to be able to offer something different to the independent schools community and share what we have.
Well done to the students and my thanks to Mrs Miles and some other students who helped the primaries to score.

By Mr Grove

Fiona and Joyce

Edwin and Daniel

Visiting staff

Amano in the community

Grade 9 & 10 have been out and about in our local community.

Incredibly needy people from different church backgrounds were identified by a respected local leader. After a preliminary visit from Mr, Kirk, Mr Pflaum and Mr Crispin our senior maintenance supervisor, the students were split into small groups. Under instruction from our workers team and a few teachers they went off to help some of these people. They repaired some broken/leaky roofs, filled in holes in walls and covered windows with mosquito wire to hopefully reduce the ability of the mosquitoes to enter these people’s homes. One lady had a washroom improved so it is now private, another older couple had a new toilet dug and made, another a new outside kitchen. All in all the students and workers made a massive impact in the lives of these 5 different families.

This project is just the starting point of what Amano hopes to do in the future as it encourages its students to look outside of the school grounds at the local people and see the need that they can so easily meet. Christ came to save and help everyone and gave his people a command to look after those in  desperate need. Perhaps you could help support this aspect of the school’s outreach?  Watch out for more info in the coming weeks.

Mr Kirk

Sports Day

The annual combined primary and secondary Sports Day went well and was expanded slightly from last year, with more races and categories being added for primary students. Juggling the unbalanced numbers of house participants (the result of a moving population in a small school) was tricky for Mrs Miles, but a fair scoring system was found. Some pupils ended up participating in six or more events. Though challenging, they thoroughly enjoyed it all. Skipping, jumping, shuttle relays, a new obstacle course, target throwing, distance throwing, sack race, 50m dash and 100m and 200m sprints meant the primary children (and staff) were kept busy. Musenga came out first, Kasompe second and Luano third.

Upper primary obstacle race

Secondary students compete in a more orthodox athletics programme and this year, for the first time, every age group and gender participated in every discipline. Most students relish the opportunity of trying to break school records, even ones set on rubber tracks, but the records are getting harder to beat now. Only five new school records were made this year: U19, U16, U14 boys and U19 girls high jump; U16 girls 400m,
although a lot of house records were broken.

Mwayi in Shuttle Relay

U14 boys High Jump

Andy and Jean 1500m

The Victor/Victrix Ludorum shields (highest scoring competitor in 5 events: sprint, middle distance, jumps, throws, plus one other) were awarded to:
U 14 Boys: 383pts Musonda Mwansa of Kasompe house
U14 girls: 279 pts Kathleen Kaufman of Luano House
U16 boys: 446pts Ethan Milner of Musenga house
U16 girls: 297 pts Diana Shakwelele of Kasompe house
U19 boys: 409 pts Msanivute Banda of Kasompe house
U19 girls: 309 pts Joyce Muteb of Luano house
Overall victory went to Musenga house (730 pts), who were just ahead of Kasompe (713 pts), so it was a good, tight competition. Luano were third (565 pts) and slightly down on numbers.

Many thanks to all the staff who helped on the day to make it successful, and to Mrs Miles who organised the primary events and Mrs J Grove the secondary.

Report by Mr Grove

Something given, but to whom?

Boarding school can have its tedious moments, but it is also a time that great memories can be made. Having experienced boarding life for 16 years, gr1 to degree, I understand that some things need to be done for the kids now to  enjoy school life.
  But what possessed Mrs Grove to suggest a 70's themed night out at our house for Gr11's, I'll never know, but that she did. Now Mr Grove isn't one for fashion, fancy dress or dancing so the prospect of a 70's night has been daunting for all the passed weeks since it was announced, last term, I think! When it comes to things like this I am lost and way out of my league, for starters, "What do I need to look like?"

Mrs Groves Tutor group

  Turns out Google's pictures of 70's clothes and Chingola High Street market clothing options aren't poles apart though they don't sell such clothes as '70's items' and sellers were very amused that such a "young man" would be looking for bell bottoms! Having obtained a white shirt with patches on the collar and cuffs, check jacket and trousers allowed me a sigh of relief: at least I could be unfashionable enough to be in the 70's.
  Then came my PE lesson, back to reality. Now someone once said, "There is nothing new under the sun" so I think I am safe in assuming that other teachers have been where I was Wednesday afternoon. I had to seriously question myself, "Have I taught these guys anything???" Our high jump lesson was an absolute disaster, so after an hour, 4 broken high jump lathes and a few near death experiences, I went home not a little depressed, but only for an hour because then it was 70's. Can a day get any worse?
  Having collected the students I dressed up feeling strangely at home in my unfashionable nature. I entered the living room in my very tight white shirt (note for next time is try clothes on before buying!) and the Beegees "staying alive" blaring and received rapturous applause for my efforts making me forget all the days woes. Thank you gr11 for giving us a very enjoyable evening and putting effort into your outfits, it made our day having you over!

Playing Dingbats

Contributed by: Mr Grove

Celebrating 10 years

 The 19th of July 2014 was the date chosen to mark the 10th anniversary of Amano Christian School. 10 years already! Having set the date a committee was formed with Mr Kirk, Miss Millard, Mr Pflaum and Mrs J. Grove to plan out a day's activity which would welcome former staff and students back, give opportunity to reflect on the past and think forwards with excitement and have a time of thanksgiving. After lots of ideas and plans the day of celebration came about all too quickly.
 The day began with fun volleyball games where existing students, past students, past and current staff and parents could get together and play. It was a great time to catch up with people chatting in between games and having an entertaining time watching the staff teams defeat all their opponents!

Volleyball games in the morning

 Former students that came were: Nambao soon to move to Finland! Luther who will be starting an engineering course in Ndola. Ivwananji and Tawonga who are still enjoying their gap year. Josh Kangamba, Jaymie, Dennis (with Caitlin his wife), Patience Mwale from studying in India, Chileshe, Lusa studying Law in Lusaka, Yone and Arthur. Given the number of students that have passed through already this isn't a lot but that is because most were unable to come.

Former student Nambao with current Head Mr Kirk

 Students who weren't able to be here physically sent a lot of testimonies in by email. It is remarkable to see how far apart everyone is. Many students are in the USA, and Europe. Brazil, Ukraine, Russia, China, India, Malaysia, Australia and South Africa are all countries that we know have former students and there are probably more. It is exciting to think that those who have left Amano as Christians have the opportunity to bring the Gospel to others and in some cases quite closed countries. Former staff who were able to make it back were Mr and Mrs Raymond who were a secondary headmaster and primary teacher, Ulfert Andresen secondary science and Marina our kitchen supervisor.
 In the hall there were a number of displays. Six computers ran slide shows on the development of buildings, sport, staff, testimonies of former pupils and events. So much has been accomplished since the beginning and God's provision was clearly displayed. The primary kids had placed prayers on a board at the entrance. Old picture books and trophies were also on display.
There was a lot to take in just for ten years.
 After a very good lunch we had a formal meeting in the big mulitpurpose hall to celebrate God's faithfulness. All five trustees were involved in the service. Mr Konstantinou opened and closed the meeting with prayer. Mr Pflaum chaired the meeting, Mr Samwata interviewed staff on their views of Amano. Dr Beene revisited the mission statement. Gwen Amborski led the singing with songs such as "Wisdom Seekers", "His love endures forever" and of course her own specials like "Oh happy day". Mr P. Grove gave the thought from 1 Samuel Ch 7 when Samuel raised up a stone and called it Ebenezer saying, "Thus far has the Lord helped us." What an excellent thought to leave with and remember for the future.

Gwen Amborski

There have been many volunteers and help from businesses and church groups like JCB, Chinese road builders, Brass Tacks, Help for the Brethren, Laing Trust and others. Looking at the progress of the school through the 10 years and seeing how our needs have always been supplied we cannot but remember, "not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit says the Lord." Zech 4 v 6.

Sports trips - a reflection

The rush of adrenaline; The fear of coming last; The slow motion of people around you; The heart’s untamed heartbeat, overruling all other sounds. The replayed thought of “just breathe” or “you can do it”. And then BANG! The run is hard. My lungs gasp for oxygen and my legs scream in pain, but my brain tells me to keep going…and then suddenly the finish line is behind me.
No-one who knew me in grade eight would have ever thought that I would be running and playing any sports for the ISAZ competitions. You see, I was fat, unfit and really had no skill in sports. In grade eight I went, though other students teased me about my weight, and soon I found myself running lap after lap each day after school…Soon my fat ‘turned’ into muscle and suddenly I passed the fitness test. A big shock for everyone. I realised that God had used my weakness and he had made me strong. With this in mind I started to work even harder. Not only running but working on skills too. I found that I enjoyed playing sports…and soon I found my-self going on sports trips first as a substitute but then as a main team player.

My first sports trip was nerve racking, and full of fears. But it was probably the most beneficial learning experience I went through. I learned that God is always there to help conquer fears. With each sports trip God gave me more confidence and my fears faded way.
The average sports trip became an event to look forward too. The bus trips are half the experience; sometimes starting our journey at 5:00am and travelling up to six/seven hours one way. On the way to our destination the bus is filled with laughter, jokes, loud music, sleep and lots of fun, but then nerves set in as we get closer to our destination. On the way back however all that is heard is snoring and the ever present smell of sweat fills the bus.

Because our school is small, one team plays all sports, which is good because we get the chance to gather more skills and our fitness and determination are tested. Not everything always went according to plan and we would get frustrated and argue with each other but that is all part of being a team and most times we were a good team and played well with each other. Usually we come back with bruises, twisted ankles and wrists, cuts or any other weird injury you could think of but even in the pain, the injuries are our trophies to show that we have done something, that we have given our best. Our netball team has come back with bronze medals and those fifteen minutes of fame are really worth it. Once again I thank God for his amazing strength. But the games and medals are only half the reason to go to sports trips. The new people that I meet or the old friendships that are strengthened are just like winning gold in a race. I am not as shy any more and more outgoing. The characters of others have both shown me what to do or what not to follow…even though sometimes I chose the wrong way and then had to learn the hard way.
One of my last sports trips was ISAZs Nationals Athletics. I came back with a smile, even if I did not get a medal. The thrill of running in a stadium and the laughs I shared with my friends made it a beautiful day. But if there is one thing that these sports trips have taught me it is that giving up is not an option. If you want to give God the Glory only your best is acceptable, and that is not only in sports, that goes for all areas in life.

Don’t forget that your weakness can be made a strength through God and He will help you through your hard times.

By: Elina Brunner (Grade 12)

Hockey at Chengelo

U14 Boys Hockey
On Saturday (12th July) we went to Chengelo, Mkushi to play hockey. It was a 4.5 hour bus ride with Mr Grove driving. When we reached we had 15 minutes to get ready for our matches.
Our first match was against Chengelo B on pitch 2. In my opinion their team looked like they were ten year olds, but I guess the coach was giving them experience. They took the lead in the first half but then I equalised with a deflection when Musonda crossed the ball. In the second half Yannick scored the winning goal. In the end we won, 2-1.
Our second match was against Simba on pitch 3. Their tactic was to be aggressive and I guessed it worked because they won 3-1. But the loss gave us an experience that would help us for our last game.
Our last game was against Chengelo A, who was said to be the best team. It was a tight game which we let slip away from us when they scored from a free hit. But everyone was convinced that it was a dangerous ball that they hit, everyone except for the referee.
Overall it was a good experience and we hope that we can come back with substitutes.
By Kurt Fernandes

Jean in attack with Tarisai in support

U19 Boys Hockey
On Saturday we left Amano at 5:00 in the morning and arrived at Chengelo at 9:30 to play hockey. Our first game was against Lechwe and as usual when you get off the bus you are still half asleep and so in our half asleep state we held Lechwe at 2:1 game to them.
 Our second game was against Chengelo and we played really well; to mention a few names Ben and Will defended well, Andy and Nkwali supplied good balls to Sani and me to finish off. In the end we played well and with Sani injured we lost 1:0 in last minute.
 Our last game was against Simba. We started with an early goal and the game seemed to be on going our way, but we lost focus and ended up losing 3:1.
 After that we still had some time so we played a rematch against Chengelo and played the best we had played the whole day with some good saves by the keeper Caleb and some good plays by the boys and won the game 1:0.
Special thanks to Mr Grove for driving, coaching and supporting and for Mrs Miles for organizing and making sure everyone was in the right place at right time.
Thank you.
By Seth Pondrun

U19 Girls Hockey

On Saturday we went to Chengelo to play hockey. The boys took teams for all three age groups, but the girls only took an U19 team with no subs. There were six or seven groups of games. There were four games going on at one time. There were only four schools there; Simba, Chengelo, Lechwe, and Amano. Our first game was against Chengelo. They were big girls, I think mainly A - level students. We had fun in that game. They scored one goal in the first half, and we scored a fluke in the second. Someone shot the ball towards the goal, and one of the Chengelo girls tapped it in. We were really happy we tied with Chengelo’s main team. We had a long rest after that, and played after, maybe, three rounds. 

Our last game was against Simba (Lechwe only brought an U16 team.) We scored two goals in the first half and none in the second. We won that game. We really enjoyed the trip and had lots of fun. 

Congrats to everyone.

By Joyce Muteb

U16 Boys Goal Keeper Mwansa Mwansa

The U16 boys had a hard time but didn't give up and were borrowing a player from the U14's, the goal keeper Mwansa Mwansa, who played very well.

U16 Boys: Amano vs Chengelo A 1:3; Amano vs Simba 0:2; Chengelo B vs Amano 3:0.

 With so few competitive matches in our hockey season we have to travel far to get games and the students found the competition challenging psychologically rather than skills wise. I am very happy with their efforts and the display of skills learned through the first half of this term. It is never easy getting off a bus and playing and in order to have four teams attend we had to sacrifice subs in all the teams so we could fit in the bus! 

Not ideal, especially for a hockey tournament but the Amano students rise well to the challenge.

We are grateful to Chengelo for hosting this event annually.

By Mr Grove

Aloe Farm

On Tuesday, the grades 2 and 3 visited Aloe Farm which is next door to Amano. Here are some of their reports:

When I went to Aloe Farm I saw some fruits and a lot of vegetables and the whole class saw vegetables in tents. They were in there because they are having too much sun. There were strawberries, oranges, carrots, lemons, butter nut squash, egg plants, onions, and lychees. They put manure to help it grow nicely and quickly. Tomatoes grow on sticks because the tomatoes should not fall down so the people who grow tomatoes tie them to sticks. The water pump pumps the water to the fruits and vegetables.
Natasha Chalwe, Grade 2.

We saw impwa and tomatoes, some butternut squash, well there was only one because the rest were harvested. There was an eggplant near the tomatoes and the vegetables were on furrows and we went to the dam too. They were building a bigger dam but they can’t build it now because they haven’t got permission from the government. There was a pump by the dam. At the end we got strawberries.
Kukenga Chitambala, Grade 3.