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.

Spiritual Emphasis Week

The week of June 30th-July 4th, 2014 Simon Banda and GLO came to help us with SEW.  This is a week where the goal is to challenge students to make a commitment to Christ, and to encourage those who have made a commitment to continue to grow.
 I am very thankful for the group from GLO because they stepped in at the last moment and did a wonderful job.  At the end of the week a student gave his life to Jesus Christ, Praise God!

Reported by: Mr Jarrett (Youth Pastor)

Primary Public Speaking

Tensions were high in Primary once again, as we held our Inter-house Public Speaking Competition.
Grades 1,2& 3 began the afternoon with their Poetry Recitals. Each child was scored on their fluency, accuracy, posture, expression and clarity. The house with the most points was Kasompe, 2nd place Luano with Musenga in 3rd.

Following this Grades 4,5,6,7 presented talks on a variety of topics. The children worked in groups of 3 to plan and present : introduction, main speaker and concluding speaker.

Positions for Grades 4&5 were
1st Musenga – Endangered Animals
2nd Kasompe -The history of chocolate
3nd Luano – Why electronic devices should be allowed in school

Positions for Grades 6 & 7
1st Luano – Home schooling
2nd Kasompe A  –Altering the animal kingdom
3rd Musenga – Moving into Secondary
4th Kasompe B - Mistakes are part of learning

These students were marked on their voice projection and fluency; posture and appearance; gestures and eye contact; language, speech content and timekeeping.

Reported by Mrs Kirk

Secondary Public Speaking

Amano held its Secondary Inter House Public Speaking Competition in the evening of Wednesday 16th July. This year comprised a new set of subjects and a completely different set of speakers, three from each house representing the three levels of competition: U14, U16 and U19.

House captains and their speaking teams

In the U14 category Samuel Kirk spoke with confidence on "the dangers of credit cards" and which the judging panel of Mr Towse, Mr Andresen and Mrs V. Grove deemed to be the best presentation. Representing Kasompe house was Taliesin Lund who ably educated us on the life of "Winston Churchill" and came in second place followed by Nisarg Patel who with somewhat accidental humour talked about "how to use a musket".
  In the U16 category Joshua Phiri spoke and sang on "African music" with good passion and understanding and faced a few challenging questions from the musically minded with good answers. Natalia Reed was the only girl this year and was very informative on the life of "Mahatma Ghandi", though don't ask me what his real name is. She won first place for Kasompe house.

Natalia

Then finishing off for Musenga house was Fungai Chanda with why "being young is over rated"! All the pressures of youth that adults don't need to worry about or something like that!
  Finally it was time for the U19's to begin and Luano's Jean Candy presented the pros and cons of "public vs private schools". A tricky talk to present to educators but done very well nonetheless. The Kasompe representative was Ben Ferguson, who came in first place, with his sermon on "the media determines how and what we think". As always with Ben a methodical and thoughtful presentation was well received and finished with the judges offering the speaking slot at church this weekend! Williamson Walker wound things up with his talk on "don't get married till you're 25!" As you can imagine this raised some emotions, but good thoughts too, on the need for maturity and God's guidance. He took second place.
  I am very grateful to Jean and Nisarg who stepped in on the final days preparation to represent their houses where you must stand on your own in the spotlight. This is not easy but it was not obvious to the audience.
  Thanks must go to the judges and also Mr Boatman who entertains us in between speeches and runs the evening excellently.

Mr Boatman

 It was clear on the night that the popularity of the subject is not what wins the event. The skill of the orator is their ability to use their mouth as a tool to best convey what is in their mind. To enthral the listener, even with a boring subject and win over your objectors with words.
Well done everyone.

Contributed by: Mr S Grove

Under the stars

Seventeen termly boarding boys spent the night of 7th June out under the stars.
Saturday was a busy day with primary ten steps being hosted at Amano so preparations started at 4pm. We got into pairs and began making "hobo stoves" out of empty 3kg tinned food cans. A competition was set and the best looking 'hobo stove' got a chocolate bar. Before supper at 6pm, we went out to the camping spot and collected firewood for a bonfire.
  Two teams were formed with the two tallest boys on opposite sides, team names were picked and they were 'Ghosts' and 'Rangers'.
  After supper at school we went back to camp and set up our sleeping bags and got ready for the night. Mr. Grove called us to the car and trailer that was the main meeting point. He had two tyres with hooks in them and he instructed us to make harnesses  to pull the tyre with two team members sitting on it, through the bush, to the 'power line road'.

Tyre sledding before

  As usually happens with such competitions in the dark, both teams took pretty much the longest way to get to the road [and there were a few accidents along the way] and in the end the Ghosts finished ahead. The next challenge was to pull the tyre back with one person on it, but every person on the team had to sit on at least once before the end. It was a closer finish but the Ghosts won again.

Tyre sledding after!

  The next challenge was to get your whole team up a 3m rock face before the other team [with out any aid except your team mates]. There is a certain amount of strategy involved, such as not leaving the heaviest person till last when there is no-one to push them up! The Ghosts won again both times.

Rock face challenge

  Next up was 'Capture the Flag' at night so we put coloured reflective tape on our hats [to show up team identity in torch lights]. I was a lot of fun and we played two rounds, one which Ghosts won and the other, Rangers won. After our fun we sat round the bonfire and talked [whilst vapourising marsh mellows]. Then we went to bed (sleeping bags).

Camp fire with marsh mellows

  Early next morning, things were a bit cold, but it was time to try out our 'hobo stoves'. We cooked [well, some attempted to!] eggs, bacon, sausages, American pancakes and toasted bread on them. This process took three hours by which time we were to clean up and go get ready for church.

Caleb and his hobo stove

Lots of thanks to Mr and Mrs Grove for organising the night.

Reported by: Caleb Ronald

Primary athletics

Last Saturday a Primary Athletics team competed against 5 other schools at Ndola Trust School. We fielded students in U9 U11 and U13 events.
Once again, an excellent team performance with some of the Amano students competing against children in an older age group.
Xavier Zythow achieved a personal best winning the U11 high jump; Inonge Chitambala came first in the U11 200m sprint.

Xavier Zyktow tied first place

Unable to field athletes in all the events, Amano finished well in 5th place out of the 6 schools.
Everyone’s performance showed enthusiasm, enjoyment and much effort. A special mention to Sunny Desai who helped a pupil from another school limp in after he had fallen in the relay - Amano’s caring attitude!

Joseph Kirk Long jump

Stacey Fergusson cricket ball throwing

Reported by Mrs Kirk