Amano School

Ndubaluba Outdoor Adventure Race

2011-12-15T00:06:00.000-08:00

An edited report by Andrew Sukhacheva

This year’s race took place on the 21st of November, 2011. Two teams had the privilege to compete. Team A: Arthur Mukanga, Yone Kibombwe, Michele Valenza and Viktoria Sukhacheva. Team B: Chigomezyo Kawonga, Tim Ferguson, Andrew Sukhacheva and Jenny Boatman. In every team there had to be at least one female. Three schools competed, Lechwe, Chengelo and Amano, each with two teams. Lechwe participated for the first time and they did their best.

The race consisted of very basic orienteering and problem solving, kayaking, raft building, running, climbing and cycling for 35km. Each of the teams were given a map, compass, whistle and first aid kit. Teams had to design a flag based on their chosen team name and a war cry to go with it. The war cry is used to generate team spirit and is repeated at each check point.

The race began at 8am with all teams meeting at the office where we had to start with war cries and start the first challenge – a free standing structure made of old tent poles and rubber strips found around the campus. When the instructor inspected the integrity and height and passed it we were off to get our team kayak which we had to carry a kilometre as we ran to the dam.

At the dam two members had to kayak to a point in the lake and back whilst the others started building a raft. Materials available were two drums, two bamboos, an inner tube and 5 pieces of rope. Then with one in the kayak and the rest on the raft the team rowed to the dead tree and back. After disassembling the raft and doing our war cry it was time to carry the kayak back to base and climb on our bikes. At this stage Team A were last and Team B were third.

The first two kilometres were good road and then came the bush track. [At some point here Jenny’s bike got so seriously damaged it couldn’t move so then Tim chose to drop out so that the team could still qualify for a finishing place. A team can finish with three as long as one is a girl. Difficulties with slow punctures slowed down our progress.]

10 km later came the toughest part following a compulsory water stop. An 1.5km uphill stretch where some slopes to the cell phone tower were extremely steep with loose material requiring stages of walking. The team had to report the shape made of stones to an instructor lower down the slopes. By now team A had caught up having struggled at the dam stage. As they met the time constraints they were able to go onto the school primary climbing wall whereas we had to go straight back to campus suffering a 40 minute time penalty.

Team A had Arthur and Yone taking the challenge of assailing the climbing wall whilst Michele and Viktoria worked the safety ropes. Then it was a straight race to finish in the quickest time possible. The road to Ndubaluba was wide, straight and open to the sun. Back at camp the two that didn’t climb now had to go up the bigger climbing tower and raise their flags at the top, but they always had a rope harness so they had nothing to fear.

That is the end of the race. Next, when all the teams had met up, the certificates were given and the winner, Chengelo A, were proclaimed. Everything ended up with a prayer and then all schools left.

Our pictures show:

Team A - Arthur, Yone, Michele and Viktoria

Team B - Chigo, Tim, Andrew and Jenny

starting a 1km run with the kayak

Kayak and raft building challenge

Team on descent

Scenery on descent

Wall climb at Chengelo

Team B mid war cry

What a busy half-term we've just had . . . . !

2011-11-08T02:14:00.000-08:00

Firstly Congratulations to Mr & Mrs Cole with the safe arrival of Emily their first daughter.

ISAZ Sport was very much at the front of the senior’s minds with qualifiers and finals of Basketball and Volleyball to play in. The girls qualified for both events at the Olympic Youth Development Centre in Lusaka, the boys managed to get through to the volleyball finals. Christina, Womba and Manasseh were talent spotted and hopefully will be called to take part in the Zambian National Youth Basketball Development squad later this year – well done!

Unfortunately the competition was stiff and none of the teams managed to get beyond the group stages so we journeyed back to Chingola a few hours earlier than we had hoped. However a night in a Lusaka guesthouse and pizza from a restaurant made the weekends exertions worth the while even if the sporting outcome wasn’t what we wanted. A BIG thank you to Steve Studd for stepping in at the last minute to drive us down there – Mission Support at work!!

Primary and Secondary have also been involved in Swimming. Amano competed against Mpelembe, Ndola Trust and Lechwe School in 3 age categories. Jenny was our only race winner but we managed many 2nds and 3rds so we ended up finishing 3rd overall and not too many points behind the others. The other schools all have their own pool to train in and we only use a small one so hats off to our guys and girls for competing so hard and achieving so much. Our own swimming pool fund is slowly building up but we are still a few thousand dollars short of being at a stage when we can start digging the hole! Donations are gladly received.

It is exam time for our senior students; AS levels and IGCSE’s are currently taking place. In the run up to their exams our fantastic PTA organised a Quiz Night along with the Grade 12’s. They were raising money for a night out at a local restaurant to say “well done” for all the hard work that they have been putting in. The PTA cooked the food and the Grade 12’s served on the tables of the guests and ‘entertained’ them with a quiz of general knowledge during the evening. Between 60-70 people came and lots of fun was had, a few minds boggled and everyone’s stomachs were filled with great food! Womba was an excellent quiz master with Henry’s charm not going unnoticed as he waited on tables. Thanks to Josh for providing some ‘lounge music’ in between courses.

We’ve had our usual Family Services during the term too. It has to be noted that the number of visitors is increasing so much that next time we will be going into our new multi-function hall. The students take a real active part too, planning the services and then being involved in various ways on the day as well. They put their musical (Womba, Womba, Hope, Nkumbu, Mannaseh, Dennis, Chigo, Jenny, Charrisse & Chipe) dramatic (Chipe, Chileshe, Christina, Henry & Chigo) and practical (Alex, Andy & Edwin) skills to very effective use as they minister to the congregation each time. We praise our God for the way these young people use their talents to serve Him in this way.

Finally some new people have arrived at Amano.

A new set of volunteers have come from Germany; we now have Tanya, Miriam, Jonathan and Mark in the dorms and Jonas on the building site. These people are a great help to us especially as they commit themselves to us for the whole year.

Jonathan & Kerry Raas are here from the UK – Jonathan to teach in the science department and Kerry to work in the girls dorm. Jarrett Furnish comes to us from the USA and he will be involved with the pastoral side of the school as well as helping out in class every now and again.

With Mrs Cole absent on maternity leave we have Sarah Walls with us for a short time covering Grade 6 & 7 and along with her we have Rachel Deering teaching maths throughout the secondary school. Both of these new friends come from Northern Ireland. Mrs Ilona Lumpa also joined us this term. She is teaching in primary school along with another new teacher Simon Thorogood. We hope that both these two will become long term assets for the school.

With these extra people in place we seem well staffed but some are only here for a few months so please consider coming and helping out, ideally for a year or more. We’d dearly love to expand each primary class to 16 students if only we could find enough long term primary teachers to do that. With the school expanding and becoming more popular we desperately need to do this soon if we are not to disappoint too many parents who are seeking a very strong Christian education for the children. Our waiting list is well over 60!

2011-07-21T03:51:00.000-07:00

Primary 10 step athletics

For the second year, Amano hosted the ISAZ Copperbelt 10 step Primary Athletic Event.
Six schools competed this year meaning we had over 100 visitors to the school! Ten events covering a variety of athletic skills ran concurrently. We just about manage to staff all the events calling on those serving in the dorms, visiting volunteers, teachers and secondary students. It really is one of those opportunities where we all need to work together for a successful event. Many thanks to everyone who worked so hard!
The Amano girls’ team was victorious but the overall event was won by Ndola Trust School. A high jump mat, generously purchased by a local company, was a real hit while the scores were being added up with secondary students and parents discovering untapped talents!

Agricultural Show
Art displays, snakes, candy floss, ice-cream and the President!

On 3rd June, Primary students and teachers went on their annual trip to the Kitwe Agricultural Show.
One of the highlights is the visit to the Art exhibition shed and scanning the exhibits to find if Amano had any prize winners … 16 in total this year 10 individual and 6 group entry winners. Students have been working on art projects during the term.
Several of our students shook hands with Mr Rupiah Banda (Zambia’s President) who also visited the show and they proudly told him the name of their school!
Another highlight is the visit to the reptile shed – none of our students were brave enough this year to have the python draped over their shoulders – we all watched at a distance.
And the trip wouldn’t be complete without visiting the numerous candy floss and ice cream sellers.

Experiments, explanations, excitement and excellence!

During the past half term, Primary students in Grades 4, 5, 6 and 7 have been working on science projects of their own choosing, and producing informative displays and explanations. One morning, parents, students and teachers from other classes were invited to view the projects on display in the school hall. Two of our Secondary Science teachers Mr Andresen and Mr Kirk diligently graded and assessed the projects. The winning students took their work to the ISAZ Primary Science Fair held at Lechwe School in Kitwe.
Amano came out with several winners this year. Mwansa Mwansa was awarded a gold award for his project ‘Salty eggs’; Daniel Breuninger and Kurt Fernandes achieved silver awards for their projects Hot air rising and Tyres and wheels; and Francesca Valenza and Janki Desai achieved a bronze award for Flame Survival. Amano students Kurt Fernandes, Samuel Kirk and Thokozani Lungu also received awards in the Science Quiz. All good experiences, challenges and prospects for the future!

End of term

2011-04-19T09:16:00.000-07:00

Another term is done. For some of us, this meant a goodbye. For others, a needed break to rest and refresh for the coming term. For all, a time of meaning.
During the final week of the term, we enjoyed a number of significant events: there were
One event that will be a fitting one to highlight for you all, in that it was an appropriate finale of sorts to the term, was the Music Recital. This event was also held on April 1st [ once again, we are not kidding!] and it brought together the musical talents of a great number of our gifted students--and staff! Thanks go, as they have so often lately, to our dedicated Parent Teacher Organization members, who coordinated this event and provided a lavish reception afterwards.
During the recital, we enjoyed the MC'ing talents of our Form 6 class: David, Patience, and Dennis provided well-rounded and humorous introductions and transitions. The recital itself showcased a broad range of performances, illustrating how varied our students are in their talents:
Grades 1-3, for instance, sang and danced their way into the audience hearts with their rendition of "Sunshine in my heart." Grades 4-7 followed with "From Heaven you came Helpless Babe," complete with a harmonic descant. Individuals sang fine solos and duets, such as Samuel's "You are my Strength when I am weak" and Womba's "Great is the Lord." Others provided instrumental pieces, with Eunice, Kathleen, Arushi, and Thoko demonstrating skill on the recorder, while Mwansa and Illunga treated us to an African drumming duet. And how could we neglect the delight of the Boatman family with their accordion ensemble?
Yes, it was a fine performance by all--and one that we hope to continue as a bit of an Amano tradition!

Metal work on a grand scale!

2011-04-02T12:15:00.000-07:00

On April 1st [no fooling!] our grade 10, 11, and 12 students had the privilege of spending the morning at Chambishi Metals. I was pleased to see how well-prepared they were for the outing, coming with lists of questions they intended to ask if they were not addressed. But there needn't have been a fear: the metallurgists who guided us along the way truly provided a wealth of information, reinforcing and adding to all the chemistry, geography, and other subject lessons they've been involved in. From outlining the process, step by step, from raw material to refined copper and cobalt, to guiding us through the maze of factory equipment and pools of the metals in various stages of their refining, we truly got a full, and fascinating, picture of it all! Judging from the attentive reaction our Amano attendees displayed, we wouldn't be surprised in the slightest if some of these smart students carried on to become metallurgists themselves!

And cooking as well!

2011-03-26T08:05:00.001-07:00

Thinking back a bit, across recent posts here, I realized that we may be giving the impression that life here at Amano is all about sporting and outdoor adventures. So I thought perhaps I should give you a brief update about our studies. This past Friday, the 26th of March, saw our Grade 2 and 3 students hard at work with a practical lesson based upon their recent science lessons. As they are learning about the different forms that matter takes [solids, liquids, and gas], and about the transitions between those forms [condensation and vaporization], they put their new knowledge to good use in the kitchen. Miss Bosch opened her home to the students for a morning of cooking, each pitching in on the creation of some melted and mixed chocolate treats. And while some helped with the cooking, others has some volunteers help with their school assignments. As you might expect, the after-the-lesson consumption of these goodies was pretty high on the priority list of most in the group! Here are some shots of the class as they mix, melt, and more . . . hmm, now that we think about it, maybe this isn't such a great example of classroom studies after all?

Survival and more at Ndubaluba!

2011-03-19T07:45:00.000-07:00

So we survived. Four nights out in the wilderness of Ndubaluba. thirty young Amano scholars--all our Grade 10, 11, and 12 students, plus three Amano teachers. Perhaps it would be more accurate to say that the adults survived???
Anyhow, we were so privileged to get to share this experience for the past week and I think we all can agree that it was truly a great time of adventure, teamwork, and bonding through the difficulties.
This camp is a Christian Center focused on teaching group cooperation skills plus practical life skills to teens. So we spent the days doing fun activities like a climbing wall, canoeing, challenge courses, and races. We also got to have a "survival day," learning how to build fires, cook out in the bush, eat "unusual" foods [live worms, anyone?], dig a working well for our water, and set up camp for a night out under the stars.
One thing I was particularly happy about was being able to help introduce these experiences to so many youth who had never known of, never mind been able to participate in, such experiences. At the closing campfire we asked each one to make something that represented the meaning of the week to them. They whittled branches, wove leaves, and tied vines to make their objects. One young man came to me once he was done, asking for help. He had made a stunning sculpture—a replica of the climbing wall, but he was stuck when if came to putting words to his work. I spoke with him for a few moments and he seemed happier. Later that night, as we went round to share, I think he did just fine. “This is what I made,” he said, holding it up for us all to see. “And I think it gives me confidence. When I know I can try something new and can do it, that helps me in my life . . .”
It was also a real privilege to get to see sides of the students that did not come out so much in daily school and dorm life. One came in the midst of a miserable afternoon. The rains had come as soon as we started to set up camp, so our belongings, and selves, were getting drenched as we tried to put up our shelters. I noticed one girl wearing a very large, dress of a raincoat, after initially being unprepared, as some of the students were. Then I saw a very tall young man who had been showing impressive selflessness [the word I wrote on his final completion certificate], and I realized what had happened. He was dripping, sopping wet, and was engrossed in his work of hammering a homemade stake into the ground to hold up a tarp. He had given away his raincoat when he saw that she did not have one of her own. That was just one of a great many examples of the ways our students displayed their growth and character building over the week.
Yes, we survived; I think, in fact, we thrived!

Amano v. Sophie's Academy!

2011-03-12T06:05:00.000-08:00

It was definitely some Friday Fun here at Amano this past week: March 11 marked a Primary School friendly tournament against Sophie's Academy. Making good use of our fine campus facilities, we held both girls' and boys' football matches, plus girls' netball. Considering how new our girls are to the sport of Netball, we were thrilled with how skillfully they played, winning in both the Under 11 and Under 13 games, with 8:0 and 5:0 end scores, respectively. Special congratulations go to our scoring girls: Johanna, Arushi, Diana, and Janki . . . but of course, most importantly for the game was how well the team worked together!
In football we were proud of the girls' first competitive effort, for sure! And as usual, our boys showed their football prowess, winning with a 4:1 end score.
Hearty congratulations to all our young athletes!

An 'obstructathon' in the mud

2011-03-07T02:30:00.000-08:00

It has been one more great success of an event, thanks to our dedicated PTA members: this past Friday, the 4th of March, was the day of the first-ever Amano Obstructathon. What is an “obstructathon,” you ask? Part race, part obstacle course, part mud-bath . . . all FUN! Yes, Amano students got to display their muddy prowess, diving into pools of murky waters, climbing steep cliffs, traversing the “fearful forest,” squeezing through tight spaces, balancing across slippery beams . . . well, you get the idea
Suffice it to say, a good time was had by all. And yes, young and old alike participated in the fun, with good fund-raising success. Our student participants accumulated sponsors for the event, some of them one-time and some for each round they completed. Considering we had completion numbers as high as one young man’s 28 rounds, we think it was definitely a successful venture. Afterwards, as each participant recovered, they were treated to cups of fine chicken soup and hot chocolate, prepared by hardworking parent hands.
Yes, we couldn’t have said it better than one proud parent, as we wound down, who noted that it had been “good, dirty fun—clean, dirty fun, that is!”

The Science Fair

2011-03-02T07:51:00.000-08:00

Amano Christian school had the privilege of participating in the annual ISAZ Copperbelt Science Fair. This event was held at Lechwe School, in Kitwe, on the 5th of Febuary 2011. The Science Fair participants came from various ISAZ schools int the Copperbelt. The participating schools were Lechwe School, Amano Christian School, Nsansa School and Mpelembe Secondary School.
The Amano School science club prepared a project for this event. The science project constituted of a research on the aerodynamics of wings and the experimentation of various wing shapes to see which one produced the most lift. After extensive research, the science club made four designs of various wing shapes. The wings were made out of Styrofoam. A known fact about styrofoam is that it flakes off when it is cut. The Science club came up with a very ingenuitive way of cutting stryofoam. They used a konstantin wire with an electric current flowing through it to cut it. The theory behind it is that the wire would get hot enough to simply melt the styrofoam. This proved to be quite handy as it enabled the club members to cut the styrofoam with no problems and it created a nice smooth surface on the wings. The science club performed different experiments to see which wing produced the most lift and which wing was best for high speeds. The science club put their findings together and went to Lechwe to showcase their findings.
The Science Fair housed many fascinating and very informative science projects that were made by the other participants. The judges finally came round to inspect the different projects that were displayed before them. The judges were fair and just in their decisions on whose project were the best. Amano Christian School did quite well with their project and they were commended for their project by the judges. Also taking place at the science fair was the annual ISAZ Copperbelt Science Quiz. Three Amano students took part. They did quite well with Daniel Vedder attaining second place in the senior category quiz. The science fair went very well and the Amano Science Club and Amano Christian School were very pleased with the attained performance.

Chigomezyo Kawonga

Friday Afternoon Sports

2011-02-15T09:07:00.000-08:00

Just a brief update today, as we enjoyed another athletic event this past weekend.
For this Friday afternoon outing, both the women’s and men’s secondary teams were involved, but attending different tournaments. As I got to join the women on this outing, I will begin with them:
We were scheduled to play Volleyball and Football at Ndola Trust school, around one and ½ hours away from us. School schedules and “real time” being what they are, we were actually 1 hour late. No matter, though: the other team simply waited for us and enjoyed the games once we arrived; in good sportsmanship, I suppose, we even split the winnings equally, with us winning the football match 2:1 and them winning the Volleyball 2:1. Amano’s women played extremely well, and we were quite proud. Another highlight from the day was a surprise reunion with a former classmate—one of last term’s Grade 12 graduates. Coming to see her sister—a student there at Ndola Trust, she discovered her former schoolmates out on the field at the time. This led to an amusing round of mid-game smiles, shouts, and waves . . . and then a flurry of hugs once the game was done [thankfully the ladies were able to refrain until then for the hugs].
While the ladies played in Ndola, the gentleman were at Mpelembe school in Kitwe, in the midst of their first ever Rugby tournament. Many of the Amano men had never played the game before this term, so we were thrilled with their eagerness to play, and their fine sportsmanship displays. They played a solid three games, lasting a good hour longer than expected, so we were happy [and tired!] voyagers back to the school that night.

An Exciting Weekend!

2011-02-07T06:11:00.000-08:00

Sport

We have just had a rather exciting weekend here at Amano, combining two crucial aspects of extra-curricular life: sport and science. Friday was the annual ISAZ Copperbelt Cross Country tournament, held here at the school. Last year we also hosted the event, but this was the first time for it to be open to both Primary and Secondary runners. With teams here from Ndola Trust, Lechwe [in Kitwe], and Simba [in Ndola], we had plenty of talented young athletes running around campus [pun intended!]. And when all was said and done, we couldn’t have been more pleased with our Amano team: not only did all our runners finish well, but we actually swept the competition, with our Secondary men and women, and our Primary girls, all getting first place! And they deserved that placement for sure, braving the woods of our property, traversing rivers, and arriving at the finish line mud-splattered and sweat-soaked. I can attest to this, as the number-remover for the runners, being the proud recipient of many sweaty, muddy hugs.

Science

As for the science: On Saturday morning Mr. Andresen took a group of our Science Club students to the annual Secondary Science Fair at Lechwe school. This event allows the students to showcase their trivia skills in a science quiz, as well as to explore scientific possibilities with other schools. Our students are this year focusing on the intricacies of aircraft wing shape, insofar as what shapes allow for the best aerodynamics. No doubt some of our students will carry on to become fine and accomplished scientists and engineers!

Another Week

2011-01-30T23:48:00.000-08:00

Another week in the life—in the life of a school. The life of Amano.

Worship

This past Sunday we held our first Family Worship Service of the New Year. It seemed fitting that we would begin the year with a focus on the love of God, for what could be more of a starting point than this most central aspect of the Christian faith?
During the service, Mr. Philip Grove spoke of how love is “only experienced as love is returned,” and of how God is grieved when His people reject the love He extends to us. Our goal here at Amano is to receive the love of God, and to return that love by demonstrating our obedience to God, living in a way that pleases Him.
In this Family Worship Service, I am quite certain that God was looking down upon us with pleasure. For in addition to the message from Mr. Grove, we had our first appearance of the Secondary School Choir, to lead us in the songs: “Beautiful One,” “The Love of God,” “O the Deep Deep Love of Jesus,” and other congregational hymns. We also had the delight of hearing the ladies of the choir performing a lovely acappela version of “I Sing a Simple Song of Love,” displaying their clear gift of melodies, and of harmonies.

Great results!

In other news, this past week brought the returned results from last year’s grade 12 IGCSE exams. It is no exaggeration to say that we have much to be proud of here—a straight A-star performance from one young man, for example! Yes, we are proud of, and we congratulate, these hard-working young men and women.

New Staff

We are also enjoying the new staff members who have joined us this term: Miss Ruth, from Canada, and Mr. Simon, from Germany. Both are here to work in the dorms, Miss Ruth with the girls’ and Mr. Simon with the boys’. We heartily welcome them, and we are already grateful for all their hard work and their helpful spirits.
Once more, thank you all for joining us in our Amano walk of life.

2011-01-20T09:18:00.001-08:00

And so it has begun again. With the amount of time I have now spent in the boarding school environment, it really should not surprise me; yet still I find myself amazed at the whirlwind that life is during this start-of-term period. Yes, the term has begun—and not just that, but the new year has begun . . . has begun with gusto!
In the midst of the bustle, I think the challenge for us staff-teachers, dorm workers, and support staff alike—is to pay attention to the moments, and not to let the significance of the small things pass us by because of the urgency of the things needing to be done.
For some of us, these moments come in the classroom . . .
Perhaps the first day of lectures, with all our professionalism rallied up. We plan our lessons, rehearse our scripts, take our notes, and begin as planned—on schedule—with the intended learning of the term. But then a student walks in, sees you there, and with the surprise recognition of one who did not expect you as his teacher, greets you with a quietly proper, “Good morning Miss . . .”
And you stop, take aback by the flood of emotions that comes when you do not realize how much you’ve missed these children until you see a smiling face. The script for introductions in that class is forgotten as you stop to reply. But no matter, for you know that the things of importance have just overtaken the things of urgency . . .
We each have these reminders, suited to whatever our particular school roles may be. And we pray for the wisdom to pay attention to them, and to take them to heart as the nudges from God that they are!
That said, classes have begun! Along with them, we have already gotten fully involved in the athletics and the school. This past weekend we had our first football match here, as it was a home game. What fun it was to get to cheer on both our womens’ and our mens’ teams as they both soundly defeated the opponents from Lechwe! (Pictures here are from these matches)
In the sermon this past Sunday, our local pastor spoke of God as a “promise keeper.” He talked of how He is a faithful God, who will be there is we seek Him. Here at Amano we long to be truly seeking after our God, and encouraging the students to do the same, or lifting them up as they do. So we welcome prayers as we begin this year’s adventures, and we welcome you to join with us, and to follow the adventures alongside us!

2011-01-13T22:41:00.000-08:00

AMANO CHRISTMAS CONCERT 3rd December 2010
The end of the school year at Amano was marked by a new beginning. This was the moment when the new multi-purpose hall made its debut as a venue for the Christmas concert which took place on the last day of term, enabling both primary and secondary students to join together with families and friends to celebrate this point in the life of the school.
It has to be said that the hall is not yet finished, which we were reminded of when the dress rehearsal was taking place on the previous day and the rain came through the open windows. However, it was a significant moment to see the hall filling up with so many people and to realise what has been achieved over the last year or two as this hall has gradually taken shape. There were a lot of technical difficulties to sort out along the way, which is inevitable when something like this is used for the very first time, but these were all overcome by the time the concert began.
The first part of the concert included a performance by the lower primary classes of a musical play called ‘Tinsel and Teatowels’. It told the story of a school which was preparing a Christmas nativity play while the school inspectors were in to check on how the school was getting on (something I have often experienced when teaching at schools in England). The grade 4 & 5 students took on the roles of the inspectors, teachers, and even headmaster, as they organised the younger students ready for their performance for Christmas. As the title suggests, there was a lot of time given to the ‘wrapping paper’ of Christmas which many get caught up in at this time of year, but the play in the end pointed clearly towards the more important part of Christmas, the birth of Jesus.
The older primary students performed a musical play called ‘Papa Panov’, which some of you might know as ‘Martin the Shoe Maker’. Papa Panov, in the story, is a shoe maker who had his own shop. On Christmas Eve, Papa Panov read some of the Christmas story from the Bible and then dreamt that night that Jesus would come to visit him in his shop on Christmas Day. We then saw how his Christmas day unfolded as Papa Panov tried to get ready for the visit of Jesus but kept on being interrupted by various visitors who were coming past his shop that day. So we saw the gentle woman and her two children, one of whom had no shoes to wear. Well, Papa felt he had to do something to help them and gave the child a pair of shoes which he had made earlier and which he had had in mind to give to Jesus, when he arrived. He also gave them a room to sleep in rather than send them back onto the street on such a cold day. Then a group of street children came visiting, glad of Papa Panov’s welcome and even more excited when he offered them some sweets and cakes. He made them work, though, as they struggled to pronounce his name and he played a game with them (in the form of a funny song) to help them learn how to say it. I don’t think they ever managed it, but they still got their sweets anyway! Once they had gone, a group of three road sweepers knocked on his door hoping for some warm refreshments. They also did their best to cheer up a rather disappointed Papa Panov, performing a lively dance complete with brooms to attempt to lighten his mood.
All of which led up to the final scene in which Papa Panov first of all expressed his great sadness that Jesus had not visited him on Christmas Day, as he had promised, and then the voice of Jesus explains that he had visited after all, in the form of the visitors which he had welcomed into his shop. ‘Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did it for me’.
The last performance came from the secondary drama group. This looked at the overall Bible message and challenged some of the arguments people have for rejecting the Gospel. It also included a performance of a song made famous by Casting Crowns, called ‘While you are sleeping’ which highlights the world’s tendency to become complacent even though time is running out.
As well as these pieces of drama, the flautists played several pieces, some of the secondary students performed ‘Mary, did you know?’ and the audience were encouraged to join in with a number of Christmas carols. Everyone was also invited to sing along to the new school song, ‘Wisdom Seekers’.
With that concert and its clear reminder of what Christmas should really be about, the school year for 2010 came to an end. There were a number of primary students for whom it was their last day at Amano, as they are transferring to other schools in South Africa, so I would like to think that the concert and the preparations for it have left them with some happy memories of their last days at Amano. It has done so for me, as I also take my leave after two years of teaching there.
As I write my final entry for the Amano blog, I would like to encourage you to keep on praying for the school, its staffing and financial needs, the clarity of vision that is so vital if the school is to achieve its purpose, and that the students may welcome the opportunity they have there to both hear about Jesus and to get to know Him for themselves. One of my happiest memories of the last week of term is when the primary students in assembly sang a rousing version of ‘The greatest day in history’ by Tim Hughes. It is one which we have often sung together and there is something quite uplifting when we join together on the chorus:
‘Oh, happy day, happy day, you washed my sins away!
Oh, happy day, happy day, I’ll never be the same-
Forever I am changed!’

Have a joyful Christmas and a blessed New Year!
Written by Martin Smith

BAPTISMS AT AMANO 14TH NOVEMBER 2010

2010-11-19T00:44:00.000-08:00

Sunday 14th November was special this year both because it saw the last Family Worship of the school year and particularly because this service included the baptisms of four secondary students from the school.
It was decided to place the ‘baptistery’ outside in preparation for the service, despite the fact that the rainy season has started and every day sees at least one heavy rain shower if not a more eventful storm. We were challenged to trust in God for fine weather, and that is just what we got: warm, sunny with good cloud cover and a gentle breeze. As you will see from the pictures, it proved to be a lovely setting and once all the technical details were sorted out the service began on time at 11 hours. There was a large crowd to witness this event, including students and staff, family members of those being baptised, and quite a number of visitors.
The service began with ‘To God be the glory’ as a recognition of the priority we should have when worshipping God. Most of the songs had been chosen by the young people being baptised and each focused on the theme of commitment to Jesus, placing their lives into God’s hands, and seeking to allow God to change them to become the people He wants them to be. They included: ‘Be thou my vision’; ‘God will make a way’; ‘You are my all in all’; ‘In Christ Alone’ and ‘Amazing Grace’. They were sung to the accompaniment of a small group of musicians, including keyboard, guitar, flutes and brass, and a number of female secondary students who used their voices to give us a strong lead.
A special moment in the service was when each of the four baptism candidates stepped forward to the microphone to share their testimony. For each of them they were able to reflect on the journey they had been on to bring them to this point, a journey which in all cases involved recognition of their own sin before God and their need to be forgiven. They were able to stand up and proclaim their faith in Jesus and their relationship with God, whilst also acknowledging that the process of God’s work in their lives has only just begun. The fact that they were brave enough to speak in this way in front of such a large crowd was, in itself, testimony to what God has been doing in these young lives.
Mr. Philip Grove spoke, in the sermon, about the passage in Acts 8 which gives an account of Philip meeting the Ethiopian ‘minister of finance’, and how this God-appointed meeting allowed Philip the opportunity to explain what the passage of scripture this important man was reading really meant. Mr. Grove challenged us to be those who will speak when God gives us the opportunity, as Philip did, and also to be open to God’s guidance; if He should lead us to a place that is unexpected and perhaps seems to be with little purpose, will we be obedient and open to what God wants to do through us? Mr. Grove highlighted the importance of baptism for those who are committed to following Jesus, but he also emphasised that the baptisms taking place in this service were not an end but a beginning of something new. Those baptised today should remember that God wants to take hold of their lives and use them in a powerful and effective way in the future. ‘It is not time to sit back and relax but time to get active for God!’ They should also make the effort to get to know the Bible better.
All that I have mentioned thus far was the build-up to the main event, the baptisms of Elina, Womba, Chigo and Daniel. Mr. Michael Pflaum called each of them in turn into the large blue tank which was serving the purpose of the baptistery, and spoke a few words from the Bible. He highlighted that those who are baptised should have committed themselves to Jesus and he asked each student whether they had done this. He then pushed them under the water and brought them up again as an illustration of how they have died to their old lives and are now alive in Jesus. It was great to see some of the children who are linked to A.C.S. standing close to the baptism tank and seeing for themselves close up what these young people were doing; who knows what impact that image might have on their young lives? After each baptism a verse from the song ‘I have decided to follow Jesus’ was sung, as a celebration of what these young people were saying by going through the waters of baptism, and they were prayed for individually. The service was concluded by singing ‘Amazing Grace’.
I hope that this account, along with the photos, captures something of the atmosphere and significance of this service at Amano Christian School.
Martin Smith

End of term review

2010-08-07T09:27:00.000-07:00

August, for me as a teacher, has always been the chance to relax and unwind; in the UK, of course, it marks the end of the school year and the summer holidays, but even here in Zambia the holidays came as a relief for everyone at the end of quite a hectic but successful term at Amano.
One of the features of the whole school assemblies since May has been the focus on Paul’s teaching in Ephesians about putting on the spiritual armour. Different speakers have looked in some detail at the different items of armour and their spiritual significance and this has been taught against the backdrop of an encouragement for God’s people to read the Bible and so to become equipped to serve God faithfully. This was highlighted towards the end of term when Dr. Fernandes visited the school on behalf of the Gideons and kindly gave copies of the New Testament to all of the students from grade 4 upwards. Hopefully the students will make good use of them during their holidays, both for their own benefit and that of those around them.
Mentioning the Bible reminds me of an activity the grade 12 students did in one of their Christian Foundations lessons while revising the Gospel of Luke. Each group of students was challenged to make a tableau of one of the miracles which Luke wrote about, almost as if they were presenting a photo to go alongside a newspaper story. So we had the blind beggar by the side of the road who was given his sight by Jesus; Jairus’ daughter who died and who Jesus brought back to life; and the crippled man who was made better. I thought you might enjoy seeing an example of their work - the two photos that head this post will give you a flavour!
The primary students were kept very busy towards the end of term. Two main events dominated their final week of term: performing a musical and preparing for their sports’ day.
I am pleased to write that both of these events went well. Mr. Smith, who has been teaching Music to grade 4 to 7 students this term, had taught songs from a musical called ‘Cruising with Noah’ which the students learnt off by heart and were keen to perform to their parents. These songs were linked together by a series of short mimes which featured a number of different animals, as you will see on the photos, along with Noah. While based on the story of the Ark, the mimes and songs presented various issues which affect the developing world; these ranged from poverty, injustice, famine and war, and each mime concluded with Noah giving the animals some words of wisdom to help them think about what the world should be like. So it seemed fitting to conclude the musical with a performance of the school song ‘Wisdom Seekers’.
Sports’ Morning for the primary students was held on the last day of term this year. It provided am enjoyable way to mark the end of term, especially as many parents arrived in time to watch their children in action before taking them home for the holidays. Amanda Kirk organised the morning, while staff along with secondary students helped to run the different events. The participants were divided into four teams and enjoyed wearing the new team strips, as provided by our visitors from Judson University, for the first time. Events included long jump, the shuttle relay, distance throwing, skipping races, and a sprint relay. The final event was a fun race which involved a lot of water, much of which went over the teams rather than into the container they were supposed to be pouring it into!
Well done grey team who were the ‘champions’, but most of all well done students for taking part with a competitive attitude while also helping and encouraging each other along the way- even if they were on a different team! It meant that even those who didn’t win went home happy!
So, the students and staff have a month off. Please think of the grade 12 students who will be revising hard during the holidays as they prepare for their final exams and pray for more Primary staff to apply to teach at Amano next year. Also remember the Kirks as they continue to recover from their car accident, remembering particularly Amanda as she returns to South Africa for more important treatment on her hand, back and head. She’s doing well, and is grateful to all who have been praying for her.

Term draws to a close - sport, goodbyes and music!

2010-07-30T03:51:00.000-07:00

Ten Steps Primary Sports Event
On Saturday 10th July the Copperbelt ISAZ ‘Ten Steps’ event took place at Amano. This was the first time we had organised this event which had previously taken place in Lusaka for schools in that area.
The idea behind it is that each school brings ten students, representing boys & girls of five different age-groups, and they have the challenge of representing their schools in ten different sporting activities. This ranged from the shuttle relay- running 10m x 6- and high jump; skipping races, long jump, and throwing a size 4 football while sitting down and standing up.
The event was well-organised, and the secondary students did a great job at helping both with the activities and accompanying the teams around the circuit. Unfortunately not as many schools sent teams as we would have liked, and one of the teams was late in turning up, but there was still a good, friendly sense of competition between the students and I think it was enjoyed by all. I also know that staff and students from the visiting schools were quite impressed by what they saw of A.C.S. that day.

Auf Wiedersehen, volunteers!
As this term draws to a close there are a number of goodbyes which the Amano community must say. Last Friday was a time for some of these.
In the evening the girls’ dormitory was the venue for the boarding students, and a lot of staff, to gather in order to wish goodbye and to say thanks to the German volunteers who have spent the last year working in the dormitories. Miss Rachel and Mr Philip were leaving Amano the following day, while Miss Tamara remains here for the last couple of weeks of term.
The students showed their appreciation both in what they said and in the effort they put into the evening’s entertainment. This was a mixture of song, both solos and groups, dance, and some comedy which mainly came from the M.C.’s for the evening, Davido and Wila. It was also good to see Mr. Matt back in the dorm, helping to run the show and also reminding us of his skill on the guitar.
The evening was concluded with a number of speeches, firstly from matron who also presented the volunteers with a gift which she hoped would remind them of their time at Amano. Mr. Phil Grove amused us with a fictional letter from one of the volunteer’s parents- which included the news that it was so windy back home that the chicken laid the same egg 4 times!- but also gave a much more serious goodbye to them in which he recognised their significant contribution towards the life of Amano during the past ten months. The students are sad to say goodbye to them, and wish them well for their futures.

Musical Recital
Earlier in the day there was the first ever Amano School Music Recital. This had been organised by Mrs. Gwen Amborski who has taught music here for the last two years. As she and her family will be returning to the United States of America in August she wanted to give the individual students she has been teaching the opportunity to perform in front of their families and other guests. There were also a number of extra items added on which helped to entertain the packed audience in the school hall for about one and a half hours.
The recital was divided into two main sections- primary and secondary- and the whole event was linked together by Davido and Wila (yes, they had a busy day on Friday!) The primaries included a number of students who have been learning either keyboard or guitar with Gwen, but the highlight was probably the Indian dance which a number of the Indian students (and guests) performed while Arushi accompanied them on the keyboard. This was followed by an amusing song called ‘Bumpy Roads’ which reflected on daily life at Amano.
The secondary section also included a number of students Gwen has been teaching, along with performances from the three flautists who have been trained by Mrs. Jo Grove. They each performed a solo piece and then joined together as a trio. We were then entertained by a visit to ‘Cafe D’Amour’ in which Gwen and other guitarists provided the cabaret, and Mr. Matt & Louise, along with Mr. and Mrs. Kirk gave us a glimpse of romance in action, or not. I am sure Mr. Matt and Louise told us they were already engaged before they arrived at Amano, but he proposed to her nonetheless! Yes (that was the answer). I don’t think Mr. Kirk was caught up in this mood of romance, however, as he kept looking at his watch and asking his wife if it was time to go home yet...
Gwen said thanks to all of the parents present who had helped their children to learn the instruments by giving them encouragement and time to practice. She also reminded all of the students that, what was important was not so much which talent they had- musical or otherwise- but that they committed themselves to using that gift for God and His glory. Mr. Phil Grove spoke at the end, adding his own thanks and those of the Board for all the hard work Gwen has put in during her time at Amano. He concluded the recital by leading us in a prayer for her and her family.

The Amano term finishes on July 30th 2010. The final event of the term will be the Primary Sports’ morning which the Secondaries will be watching and also, no doubt, helping with. Then the students leave for a month of relaxation- unless they are in Grade 12 in which case they have important I.G.C.S.E. exams to prepare for.

Busy and action packed!

2010-07-08T03:28:00.000-07:00

This term has continued to be very busy, with a lot going on both inside and outside the classroom. As I write, all is quiet and relaxed because of the two days of national holidays here in Zambia this week (Heroes & Unity days) which make it a long weekend. All of the students have gone away for the break, either to their homes or to other places which have welcomed them in.

Secondary Sports’ Morning
A contrast to the fun and excitement that was going on only a couple of days ago.......The secondary students were busy with their sports’ morning and putting a lot of effort into doing their best, and into keeping warm since it was probably the coolest morning we have had so far this winter. The sun, for a change, went into hiding-where do clouds appear from in the middle of the dry season, I wondered- but at least this meant that there was no fear of sunstroke as the students ran, jumped, and threw in the various events. This year we had a number of visitors here who assisted with the running of the programme, including Americans from Judson University in Illinois (more of them later) and our old friend Mr. Matt who has just arrived for a visit from the U.K. after a year at university. Gabi Pflaum, Bupe Siwale, David Ng’ambi, Christina Chipemba, Luther Mukanga and Womba Musamba all received medals at the end of the morning for collecting the most individual points, while many other students received certificates for the events which they had won.

Visitors from the U.S.A.
So who are these Judson people? Well, they are from the university in the United States where two of the Pflaum daughters have recently been studying. They have spent one week here, working with the primary and secondary students separately and also giving some training to the staff. I can speak from my own point of view, since I am a primary teacher who is heavily involved in teaching P.E. at the moment. Each morning the primary students went out onto the sports field for an hour with some members of the Judson team, starting off with some warm up games and followed by a variety of activities to encourage the students to develop their skills. For example, they learnt ‘cues’ to help them improve their throwing and catching and, later in the week, had a couple of sessions which focused on field hockey. After each morning session the primary staff sat down with the Judson team to review the activities and to discuss what we had seen and listen to other helpful advice about teaching sports that they were able to give us. They often emphasised the need to make P.E. fun and I could see from the reaction of my students that they had really enjoyed themselves! We are also grateful for the variety of sports equipment which Judson brought with them in order to donate to Amano (including shirts for primary sports teams to wear) and it is hoped that this link with the university will be maintained and developed in the months ahead. Good job, Judson!

Primary Hockey
While on the subject of sport, the primary students recently took part in a hockey tournament at Simba International School- the first time the primary school has done this- and they tried hard and did quite well considering their lack of experience.

New arrivals at Amano
We have been able to welcome three new members of staff into the secondary school over recent weeks. They are Miss Debbie Scott from England, who will be teaching home economics, P.S.H.E., and biology, and Mr. Frank Wittman and Mrs. Julia Wittman from Germany. Frank will be teaching some of the Christian Foundations classes and a lot of the I.C.T. It is good to have another computer expert here who will be able to further develop our use of I.C.T. We hope all of these staff will settle in well as they enjoy the relatively cool weather in Zambia at this time of year.

Grade 12 P.S.H.E.
One of the first things Debbie Scott did was to talk to the grade 12 students about the responsibilities of parenting and then gave them a practical task for a week to help them understand this more fully. They were each given an egg to look after and were challenged to make it through the week without it getting lost or broken. They certainly took it seriously, at least to begin with, and it was fun to see them carrying these eggs into the dorm during lunchtime. As you can imagine, the primary students were fascinated by what was going on! Some of the students designed their eggs in their own style- there was even a ‘designer baby’ egg with all the latest gear, for a while!- and a number came up with carrying cots to give them added protection and warmth. Debbie reminded them about their responsibilities when she spotted them without their eggs so I am sure a number of lessons were learned during the week. The photo which Debbie took shows those ‘proud parents’ (grade 12 students) who managed to keep their egg for the whole week.
The secondary students had their mid-year exams in the week before half term. They worked very hard to revise for them, and the grade 12 class had a particular challenging time as they had the most subjects to study for and also knew that most of their exams were the ‘mock’ I.G.C.S.E. exams as they prepare for the real thing in October/November.

Inter-school debate
One other event which the secondary students took part in towards the end of June was an inter-school debate, arranged by Miss Lukundo Siwale. A team of four students practised hard to prepare for this as they considered the motion about capital punishment. The Amano students were to speak against the use of capital punishment, while the visiting school, Nchanga Trust, were to speak for it. As you can imagine, the debate got quite heated at times as both sides presented their arguments and then challenged the statements which the other school had made. It was commented on by Mr. Kirk that the debate itself highlighted how difficult this issue is. Christina Chipemba was congratulated for being the best overall speaker, as far as the judges were concerned. Nchanga Trust won the debate, as far as the presentation of their arguments was concerned, but all did very well and provided some very stimulating discussion points for the audience to ponder.

Fire fighting for Amano students
The dry season has been with us for about two months now, so incidents of bush fires in the area are quite common. However, the smoke pouring into the sky from the farm attached to Amano on one Saturday lunchtime was a bit more than the usual! The alarm went out and staff and students set off from Amano, complete with buckets, to see just how bad the fire really was and to attempt to put it out before it caused damage to the farm buildings which are now the responsibility of Amano. As you can see from the pictures, the fire was fierce and it took a combined effort to get it under control. For the students, it provided a rather different experience than the usual Saturday morning prep and they did a great job as they worked together in quite difficult conditions.

World Cup excitement
That fire will no doubt go down in Amano history. Another event to be included will be the first African World Cup! Vuvuzellas have even reached here- especially when Germany are playing- and it is just a pity that the African teams did not do better than they have. Z.N.B.C. has provided coverage, along with the satellite channel D.S.T.V., so it has been possible to keep up to date and see many of the matches live. Now we look forward to the World Cup final and to enjoying what we hope will be an exciting match. What I do know is that the World Cup has helped to focus people’s attention around the world on Africa perhaps more than any event before, and it is to be hoped that this will help people both to understand Africa better and to be more able to assist with the continent’s many needs.

Primary school staff needs
I should mention the staffing difficulties the primary department have experienced during this term so far. With Mrs. Amanda Kirk still recovering from her accident and Miss Kaye Thomas back at home in the States for a few weeks to deal with a family situation, it has been quite a task to cover all of the classes. We are grateful to Mrs. Carolyn Belton who has done a lot of teaching recently in order to help out, and Miss Hilary Millard has taught in nearly every primary class at some stage this term and is currently teaching grade One. Please pray for the staff and students, and particularly that more primary teachers may soon apply.

Wisdom Seekers school song
I reported in May that a new song had been recorded called ‘Wisdom Seekers’. Since then it has been agreed that this song will be adopted as the Amano C.S. school song and we will soon be able to make it available for you to download from the school website. More news on this to follow!

Sun, Swimming and Science!

2010-05-29T00:13:00.000-07:00

Solar power at Amano
The sunshine always shines in Africa, or that’s what many think. At the moment, with the start of the dry season in Zambia, that is generally true with nothing but the occasional white cloud floating by to hinder this impression.
How good it was, therefore, to hear that Amano was to get its own solar panels from a German company, Solar World, who would also come to the school to install them. We were encouraged to imagine what it would be like when another power cut occurred and all we would have to do is switch over to solar power. Electricity at school all day...............
Recently a team from Solar World spent a week here with the task of fastening about 30 solar panels onto the roofs of the primary classrooms. This position was chosen, it seems, because the sun is on these particular roofs more than in any other part of the school, thus collecting the maximum energy. We have still to see the full benefits of this solar power, and there is still some solar lighting to be installed when it arrives from England, but it certainly looks impressive with a number of batteries fastened above the primary classroom containers that will be charged up from the panels. I am sure they will be a valuable addition to Amano in the future and we are grateful to those who donated and installed them.

24-hour Sponsored Swim
Recently Amano School left its site behind and headed off to Mindola Dam near Kitwe in order to participate in a sponsored swim which had been organised by the P.T.A. to raise funds for building a swimming pool at the school. The plan was for a number of teams to begin swimming in the pool there at 11:00 and to keep the swimming going for the next 24 hours. All of the teams managed to achieve this, with some students, staff and parents swimming for a short time and others for an hour or more. Even the youngest primaries did their bit by swimming with the aid of floats and arm bands.

Of course the greatest challenge was faced by those who had to keep the swimming going through the night, since it does get quite cold at this time of year, and some of the older students had to cope with being woken up at about 3 o’clock in the morning in order for them to dive into the floodlit pool!

It should also be said that the event was a social event and the Amano family enjoyed being together away from school where they could relax doing a variety of activities, other than swimming, and where some good food was also provided. Those who stayed overnight were able to make use of the facilities there, including a large hall where most of them slept.
Z.N.B.C., the Zambian national T.V. broadcaster, visited for a short time during the early part of the event and a short piece was broadcast on T.V. during the following week which let people know a bit more about Amano. A number of local companies have also provided some assistance for this event and some sponsorship towards the swimming pool project. At this time we don’t know exactly how much money has been raised but it should be enough to provide a good start towards the funds required.

Primary Science Fair
Science is an important subject on the school curriculum and at its best it is also a very practical subject which challenges students to ask the questions ‘why’ and ‘what it....’ Perhaps that is why the primary students have enjoyed preparing for this year’s science fair as they have used their knowledge and imagination to produce a whole variety of projects and experiments. Many of the projects were in some way linked to the science topics they have been studying within their grades recently, so they had some background knowledge to get them started, but many of the ideas have come from the students themselves.
So, after several weeks of preparation, the primaries were ready to set up their projects in the school hall. There was a lot of display work to be fastened to the walls or stood on tables and a whole range of experiments and interactive tasks which filled up every available space in the hall. Areas of science covered included friction- making use of toy vehicles to see how far they would go- and the effects of cola on eggs to illustrate what could happen to your teeth. Another group had tasks to do with the human body, such as food and the digestive system, while the older primaries had a number of projects to do with materials. One of these involved the use of ice as part of the experiment, although I did notice that a spin-off of this was for students to see how long they could put their hands into the ice-filled water for! Others were using electrical circuits, microscopes and a variety of liquids to illustrate the properties of materials.
It was a packed hall for a number of hours as first of all the secondary students and later the parents of the primaries came to see the projects and try out these activities. The primary students, standing by their projects, did a great job of demonstrating the activities and answering people’s questions. They also faced the additional challenge of showing their projects to three judges, all of them experienced science teachers from the secondary school, and answering their probing questions in order to try to win a place in the Copperbelt science fair which takes place soon. The students seem to enjoy the event and certainly worked hard to produce such a high standard of work.

After a long break, a long post!

2010-04-09T02:59:00.000-07:00

Amano Christian School has just completed the first term of a new school year and it has been an eventful and quite satisfying term. I cannot mention everything that has happened during the last few months but I will include a number of highlights. Of course, the focus of the school has continued to be on providing a good quality education for the more than ninety students who attend the school, along with Bible teaching and Christian worship. We were encouraged, in January, to receive news of the generally very good results which the students had achieved following last November’s I.G.C.S.E. exams. This term has also been the first with Mr. Andrew Kirk as the Secondary head, much to the relief of Miss Hilary Millard who had been acting Secondary head for a number of years. She has found it a great help to be able to share the workload with him as she focuses on her role as Primary head.
PRIMARY HIGHLIGHTS
There have been a number of sporting events which both the secondary and primary departments have taken part in. The primary football team has participated in two tournaments, at Kalalushi and Simba, with other schools from the Copperbelt province, and they really enjoyed these despite being up against players often much bigger than themselves. An U-13 team could include eight players who are twelve or thirteen; at Amano, because of the current size of the school, many of our players are two or three years younger than this! One of the primary highlights was when Lechwe school brought players to Amano for what was the football team’s first ever home matches. We enjoyed welcoming another school to Amano and also managed to win!
The netball team has also played in the tournaments and have made good progress, coming second at Simba. We also took a team earlier in the term to a swimming gala at Simba, again with a number of other schools. We currently have a number of excellent swimmers in the Primary school and they put in a great effort to win many of the races they took part in, sometimes swimming against students older than themselves in order to attempt to collect as many points for Amano as possible. The event was also well-organised and enjoyable.
One Friday afternoon, just after half term, most of the students and many parents, staff and visitors gathered together in the dorm for the Miss Valentine & Captain Pirate competition in which some of the primary students demonstrated their talents and dressed up in a variety of costumes. There were three judges watching their every move, while some of the secondary students did a great job of organising and hosting the event. Everyone enjoyed themselves and the event came to a thrilling conclusion with the announcement of Choolwe as Captain Pirate and Arushi as Miss Valentine.
SECONDARY HIGHLIGHTS
The Secondary students have participated in a number of sporting events which they have enjoyed, although perhaps not with the same success as in previous years. Girls and boys teams represented Amano at the ISAZ tournament at Chengelo, playing football, volleyball and basketball and managing somehow to switch quickly between the different sports. They have also played hockey during the term and competed in a swimming gala.
One of the recent sporting highlights was when Amano hosted our first cross-country race which a number of other schools attended. It went very well and the Amano team put up a very strong performance. We have also hosted a chess match, taking on a team from Kalalushi, so it really has been a term where other schools have been welcomed to Amano and have been given a glimpse of what this school is about. I am sure there will be further such occasions in the near future.
Trip to Lusaka
March 16th saw Grades 11 and 12 make a midday start for Lusaka, with teachers Rod Boatman, Lukundo Siwale and Ulfert Andresen. The purpose was to give students some insight into the different career opportunities available in Zambia. The visit included time with the Zambian Development Agency where we heard about different opportunities the country has to improve the economic situation. At the headquarters of the Evangelical Fellowship of Zambia we learned about their projects. From the Business Studies point of view the visit at the management of Arcades shopping centre gave interesting insights where the students could ask a lot of questions. Looking behind the scenes at the cinema and at Rhapsody's (a restaurant) an enjoyable addition. The most impressive visit was the Cure International Hospital, a private hospital which has its focus on disabled children. The students not only listened to presentations about that place but also had the opportunity to interact with the patients and with their parents. For many students this visit was an eye opener. One student wrote: This experience made me realise that it is truly God who is calling me into the medical field“
One morning we had the opportunity to follow the debate at the National Assembly. The students listened with interest to the discussions between the MP’s and the ministers as well as the Vice President. In the afternoon we visited the Ministry of Finance and National Planning. Our trip ended at Kabwata Baptist Church where we took part in a career talk and some church members gave presentations about different occupations.

Science Fair
It was the first time that our secondary students took part at the science fair at Lechwe School in Kitwe. In January we founded a Physics club. Most of the students are from grade 9. We have built a generator which can be driven by a water wheel. We spent a lot of time in constructing this device and the students have shown a lot of endurance when we spent a whole Saturday assembling the generator. But finally it worked and at least a LED was lit. At the fair Chigo from grade 9 won a science quiz for the lower secondary students and Daniel from grade 10 became second of the upper secondaries.
The Performing Arts continue to be very important to many of the students and staff at Amano. The primary department were able to work with two of the visitors to the school during the term on both dance and drama, which they very much enjoyed and which will also have helped them to develop their skills. They have also been encouraged in their singing by Mrs. Gwen Amborski who has taught them music during the last couple of years.
Last Christmas a group of secondary students learnt and performed a new song called ‘Wisdom Seekers’. This term they have taken it one stage further, with the assistance of Mrs. Amborski, and after weeks of rehearsals they went into a high-quality recording studio in Kitwe for a four hour recording session. It was quite an experience for them, as the different tracks were recorded separately, and they produced a good quality track of this song. Hopefully one day you will get to hear it!
Bullying is not something which often happens at Amano, so it was an unusual sight when a number of grade 9 students could be seen picking on one of the other students near the school car-park, in one of the classrooms, and later on the playground. Thankfully it was not the real thing- although it looked like it could have been- but they were acting out a play about bullying as part of their P.S.H.E. studies. Their performance was filmed and they were able to view their efforts, along with a number of primary students, just before the end of term.
EASTER SERVICE
The school term finished the day before Good Friday, so we were keen to celebrate Easter with the students and their families and visitors before they left for a month’s holiday. The focus of the service was on worshipping the God who has sent His Son to die for us, while also celebrating Christ’s victory over death. The songs chosen reflected this theme, as did the variety of presentations which both secondary and primary students took part in. There was a lively African song presented by the younger students, a drama recounting the events of the Last Supper, and the song ‘Above All Powers’ made all the more meaningful by the sign language which one of the primary classes performed very effectively. Some of the secondary students assisted Mr. Rod Boatman with a meditation on one of the characters at the scene of the cross, sung several reflective songs on the meaning of Easter, and then presented a powerful mime which illustrated the message of the Bible up to Jesus’ death and resurrection. Mr. Mark Crawford, a visitor from the U.K., brought the service to an interesting conclusion with a short talk about what Jesus achieved by dying on the Cross, illustrated with the smashing of a cup much to everyone’s surprise. We concluded by singing a song of celebration for the victory won on Easter Sunday, ‘Thine Be The Glory!’
Progress has continued on the buildings. The grade 12 class have been able to use one of the classrooms in the brand new teaching block, and two members of Brass Tacks have been here at different times to assist with the new dining hall/kitchen/sports hall which is rapidly taking shape. We have also welcomed Mr and Mrs Kamanga to the staff as dorm parents which means that next term the boys will finally have a dormitory of their own!
Our photographs show two scenes from the Cross Country event, the Easter service, the Grade 9 'actors,' a scene form the Lusaka visit and the Lusaka students and teachers, the primary dance group and award winners from the Simba festival, a scene from the Valentine event and finally the Wisdom Seekers recording group.

2010-02-09T02:51:00.000-08:00

It is a great blessing to begin this years blog entries with news of the Lord's gracious provision for the school in terms of staff. Our pictures show the staff in the order in which they are referred to in the notes below.
Mr. Royed Siwale
Mr. Siwale comes with a long experience of teaching. He has taught in Zambia and Botswana in both government and private schools. He enjoys teaching Geography and English which he is teaching here, as well as Computer Studies and Christian Foundations. His daughter, Lukundo has been on the staff for a few years so obviously has not put her Dad off joining the team! This week the Grade 8 students may be getting wet when they measure the stream on the local golf course as part of their Geography lesson with Mr. Siwale. Watch this space for the pictures of the trip!
Mr. and Mrs. Kamanga
Mr. and Mrs. Kamanga have joined us to work in the dormitory. Mrs. Simfukwe, the present Matron, is very pleased to have this extra help because it enables her to care more for the girls while the Kamangas care for the boys. They have been involved in many Christian activities before they came here including Pastoring Baptist church, working with Scripture Union and latterly as Missions Co-ordinator for Kabwata Baptist Church in Lusaka.
Mr. Andrew Kirk
We would like to congratulate Mr. Andrew Kirk on his appointment as Secondary Head Teacher. Mr and Mrs. Kirk joined the staff in April 2009 and have settled in well, taking on various responsibilities. Mrs. Kirk is teaching Grades 4 and 5 as well as Maths to Grade 8 and getting the Primary netball team up to scratch. Mr. Kirk is now trying to understand how the school administration has worked since the school started 6 years ago as well as teaching Chemistry and Biology in the Secondary School. Miss Millard is very pleased Mr. Kirk has taken this load from her and now she can concentrate on the Primary School.
Miss Renate Kögel
Miss Kögel is coming to work in the office so she will also lighten Miss Millard's load and relieve her of a lot of routine administration which always needs to be done in a school. Miss Kögel is an experienced nurse from Germany who also worked in a school office before coming to Zambia. She worked in northern Zambia for several years and is fluent in Bemba so she will give an added dimension to the school office and our work in the local area.

Gud at spellingz?

2009-12-01T23:23:00.000-08:00

Primary Assembly on Tuesday this week was special for a number of reasons. First of all it was held at 0930 instead of the usual 0730, and the reason for that was that there were visitors from the PTA, Mrs Hudson and Mrs Bousfield. The Assembly was led by teacher Lisa Frick who is coming toward the end of her time at Amano as replacement for Kaye Thomas who is on furlough.

The cause of all this was that the PTA had agreed to hold a 'Spellathon,' a sponsored spelling test for the Primary Students. Between twenty and sixty words were allocated, depending on the age of the children and the event was held on 6th November. Mrs Hudson spoke on behalf of the PTA to announce the great result: over 6 million Kwacha (about 850 euros, £770, US$1250) had been collected for the PTA project to construct a new playground. Mrs Hudson also announced that cakes had been prepared to celebrate the occasion, to the great delight of the students!

Our thanks go to Primary teacher Deborah Cole who serves on the PTA and undertook the organisation of the Spellathon. We are of course grateful to the Lord for the blessing - without his watching care Amano could not exist.

Our photographs show the students during the assembly, Lisa leading, Mrs Hudson announcing the results and finally the joy of some of the Primary as they view the cakes!

Web site update!

2009-11-27T21:16:00.000-08:00

Just a brief post to let everyone know that the Amano Christian School web site has now been updated with a completely new design and refreshed content. You can now visit the web site to read this blog by clicking on the 'Amano News' tab. It is quite likely that some sharp-eyed readers will spot mistakes or have comments that will be helpful about the site. Please use the contact form on the site to let us know; it is a great help to have feedback.

The picture shows the new 'front page.' Why not go now to www.amanocs.org?

With sadness, but with faith

2009-11-24T05:23:00.001-08:00

Last week was a special one in the life of Amano. The Grade 12 and Sixth Form students finally completed their examinations at IGCSE and above, the last examination of all being taken by Jedidah Kalala on Thursday 19th November. Our head teacher, Hilary Millard, drove Jedidah to Lechwe School in Kitwe for the exam and as Hilary later noted it was significant because some years earlier she had had the pleasure of welcoming a very young Jedidah into Grade 1 at Sakeji school. Along with the rest of the Sixth Form with the exception of Gabi Pflaum and all the Grade 12 students, Jedidah had completed her education at Amano Christian School and was about to leave.

On that Thursday evening there was a dinner at the local Protea Hotel for the leaving students and those staff members who had taught them in the past year. It was a most enjoyable occasion, with the students taking the opportunity to dress in their best. We draw a veil over the amount of time the ladies spent choosing clothes and shoes and having their hair done! The results were spectacular, however.

During the day there were textbooks to be returned and data to be recovered from computers, but there was also much preparation for the dormitory 'Hollywood Night' arranged by the Grade 11 students as a farewell to the leaving students. Compered by Wila, Andrea and Mwenya, the evening went very well with excellent talent on display and a good deal of humour.

On Saturday morning a formal 'Farewell Service' was held in the hall of the new dormitory, the first school event to be held there. We hope that next year the new school hall will be available.

The service was attended by a good number of parents and day students as well as the boarders. Andrew Kirk led the service and Amano Christian School chairman Phil Grove preached from the life of Abraham to encourage the leaving students to remain faithfully on the path that the Lord laid out for them. Nambao Mutemwa spoke on behalf of Grade 12 and Jedidah and Martin Pflaum spoke jointly on behalf of the Sixth Form. Hilary Millard reminded us of the history of some of the students and Ulfert Andresen, the Sixth Form tutor, compared the life of the Sixth Form students to mountaineering. There were various items in the service but the 'Amano Singers,' consisting of students, teaching staff and Zambian site staff were very special. The music for the service was for the most part the work of Gwen Amborski. Michael Pflaum closed the meeting with prayer and asked the Lord's blessing on the meal which followed.

Finally the sad time arrived and there were many tears and hugs as the leaving students said farewell to dear friends, colleagues and staff.

All the students were memorable in their own particular way and while we are glad to see them moving on to higher things they will all be missed in the life of Amano. However, we know that they have enjoyed a tremendous opportunity to learn in a Christian environment and we believe that the Lord will take care of them as they put their trust in him. The glorious sovereignty and omnipresence of God mean that our friends will never be out of his sight or beyond his care. Please pray for them and their new opportunities and also for the students remaining at Amano who will miss them so much.

Our pictures show the leaving students on their 'night out,' Jedidah Kalala, Gabi Pflaum who remains at Amano, Rabecca Mwale 'enduring' Wila watched by Andrea, sixth formers Benji Mutti and Martin Pflaum with Jedidah, Matthew Raymond (a former headmaster at Amano) with wife Alison at the leaver's service, Hilary Millard speaking at the service, Neema Kashimoto playing keyboards, the 'Amano Singers,' Phil Grove preaching and finally Ulfert Andresen caught in the moment the stress of tutoring the sixth form finally made him snap!

Building for the future

2009-11-11T03:49:00.000-08:00

Our title might serve as the motto for Amano Christian School if we didn't already have such a good one (For the Lord gives wisdom - Proverbs 2:6), but in any case it covers what we are doing. The young lives the Lord has entrusted to us are the future of Zambia and other countries and the great desire of those who founded the school is that a godly influence be implanted in them. It is no easy task. First of all, the influences of this world are not at all godly and so there is a battle for 'hearts and minds' that takes place every day at one level or another. For that reason we need and greatly appreciate people who pray regularly for us in their personal prayer time and in prayer meetings and appropriate occasions among the people of God. Please be encouraged to think much of this aspect of supporting Amano.

Secondly, teaching consumes a great deal of resources in terms of equipment, buildings and people, so we are also very grateful to the Lord for those who give in other ways. The Amano staff consists of expatriates and Zambians who are willingly giving time to serving the Lord very practically but we understand that not everyone is called to do that. Some are called to give gifts of money to the work and it is their faithfulness in knowing the leading of the Lord and responding to it that allows so much of the practical work to be done. Many are giving from very limited resources and we value and appreciate that sacrifice. What a wonderful thing it is that our Lord rewards faithfulness without regard to measure! The gospel story of the widow's mite will have been found to have been repeated many times over when the books of heaven are opened.

Our first picture shows 'Hydraform' blocks lined up waiting for use in the construction of the new kitchen, dining hall and general purpose hall located opposite the school admin block. Over 42,000 blocks have been manufactured on the Amano site to build this and the new sixth form block. As can be seen construction of the walls of the new building has begun. This is a much-needed project in many ways - the present kitchen and dining area are certainly inadequate and the hall in use at the school now (manufactured from shipping containers like the classrooms) is too small. Everyone is looking forward to the completion next year.

Also 'building for the future' is Prudence Mambwe, employed in the office at the school under Shany Grimes, our accountant. Prudence as we have generally seen her is shown above, then standing by her husband David at their wedding on Saturday 7th November. Prudence (now Mrs Muchimba) and David (who is a teacher elsewhere) are both committed Christians and a number of Amano staff celebrated with them on their special day. May the Lord build their future for his glory.

Half term on the horizon

2009-10-10T08:32:00.000-07:00

A very busy half term is coming toward a close - the week commencing Monday 12th October will be the last before a brief break. For the students at Amano the break will seem short as they revise for examinations which take place immediately after their return on Monday 19th. Most teachers will also have a shorter than usual break as Saturday 17th and the following Monday and Tuesday are largely taken up by an in-service training course organised by our friends from NorthStar UK.

NorthStar have played a major part so far this term. The company teaches our Business Studies Course and plays a major part in our sixth form tutoring. For the biggest part of the time work with them is done via the Internet but Amano benefits from visits from NorthStar tutors from time to time. IGCSE and AS level examinations commence on the 15th October; they are held at Lechwe School in nearby Kitwe. This is therefore a key time for our Grade 12 and Sixth Form students and we have benefited from visits by Martin Warburton from NorthStar who tutors ICT to the Sixth Form and currently from Rob and Angela Mallett. Rob covers Business Studies which is supervised at Amano by our own Lukundo Siwale. Angela also works with NorthStar and is helping out as well as being the best possible company for Rob!

We also have Laura Ferguson from Scotland with us. Laura came just after term started and will be here until the end of term in December. She is assisting in the Primary School and also doing great work in the dorm, adding a Celtic touch to the German volunteers we featured previously in the blog, who assist our Matron, Mrs Simfukwe.

Our pictures show Martin Warburton, Rob Mallett in conversation with Lukundo and Martin and Angela together. Laura Ferguson is seen enjoying assisting in the computer room as well as in the usual more formal portrait. Finally, while students obviously normally join the school at the beginning of the year this term saw two exceptions: Sani and Tayla-Rae both joined Amano this term come under Martin Smith's care in Grade 6 and 7.

We are grateful to the Lord for all his goodness to us seen in so many ways and we ask you to join with us in thanking him and praising his glorious name. Praise him for the volunteers we have in the dormitory and the NorthStar visitors who contribute so much to the school, not least their determined Christian stance as a company and as individuals. We would also ask you to pray for some particular needs: there has been an unusual amount of illness among students and staff this term; please pray for the students in Grade 12 and Sixth Form sitting examinations commencing 15th October. Finances at the school are by no means immune from the effects of the world economic crisis: reduced giving and increasing prices are a poor combination, but we know that the Lord is able to deal with all these things and that he will do all to his glory.

Thank you for taking time to read the blog and for your prayerful support.

The final term of 2009 begins

2009-09-13T03:14:00.000-07:00

School started on Tuesday 8th September after the August holiday, with two new students joining the roll and extensive staff changes. Our group photo shows (left to right) Tamara and Rahel (both in the dormitory), Mattheus (working for Markus Breuninger on the site), Jonathan and Philip (dormitory) and at the front Lisa Frick. Lisa is the replacement primary teacher for Kaye Thomas who is on furlough in the USA, returning to Amano in January.

Wendy Kerr from Co. Tyrone, Ulster, is on a short visit of just three weeks, helping in the dormitory and the school.

The building is the new sixth form block, seen next to the secondary block, being built from Hydraform blocks produced on the Amano site. At the time of writing the corrugated sheets for the roof have already been fitted and the interior finishing will begin soon. This new building is a taste of things to come: all the class rooms to date have been built from converted shipping containers. Hydraform blocks are also being produced for the new kitchen/dining room/multi-purpose hall.

Finally the first Amano Family Service of the new term took place on 13th September. Our photo shows students in the choir and Andrew Kirk preaching on the Ten Commandments.

We particularly ask your prayers for Amano at this time. There has been quite a lot of sickness among staff recently and in addition the global economic crisis coupled with rapidly increasing prices in Zambia has an inevitable effect on the school. Our God is well able to deal with all these things - please join us in prayer for his name to be glorified at Amano this term.

Primary Sports Day

2009-07-25T01:42:00.000-07:00

A couple of weeks ago we reported on the Secondary Sports Day. This year, for the first time, the Primary department had its own Sports Day and that took place on Friday 24th July.
There was a good turnout of parents and by 0900 the events were under way. Secondary students were present as spectators and helpers, a good turnout of parents were there to encourage as well as to provide catering services and both Primary and Secondary teachers were involved. Andrew Kirk did an excellent and amusing job with the commentary - he's seen in our picture taking a break with a slice of PTA cake! Lukundo Siwale manned (womanned?) the desk and David Chunsu and others kept scores.
The activities of the teachers were supplemented by the sixth form students as well as members of Grades 11 & 12. Gianni found that his score keeping abilities were assisted by a large funny hat, Benji is seen nobly and single-handedly demolishing a hot dog. Wila, David, Josh and other pupils were active, but perhaps none so much as Mwape who is seen here expertly wielding a broom for the long jump event.
The real honours of a very happy and pleasant morning have to be awarded to the students. They entered the events with enthusiasm and charm and the photographs here could have been twice or three times the number. Delight, determination and just plain happiness were all in evidence. Mwila competes with bandaged leg, Sunny, Inosa, Warren and Joseph take a flying leap, Akshata shows that even a Grade One girl knows how to handle a football. The skipping races were hotly contested and Quintin did well, the 'fun' event (involving water, of course) provided a final opportunity to get a team place. The very last event of all was a 'scratch race' of underschool age children who were there as spectators with their parents.
This report would be utterly incomplete without acknowledgement of the superb work the Primary teachers had done in preparing for the day and supervising the actual events. Kaye Thomas, who headed the team, is seen here announcing the formal end of the events, but Martin Smith and Amanda Kirk had done a great deal. With Debbie Cole away on furlough Amano Head Teacher Hilary Millard has also been doing excellent work in Primary. Summing up, the Lord blessed us with wonderful weather and a great spirit for the day, and the Primary department showed us all how things should be done!

'Anything I can send you?'

2009-07-15T12:07:00.000-07:00

'Anything I can send you?' is a fairly familiar question to people on the mission field. Friends and family back home, colleagues going on furlough, anyone at any time might ask that or a similar question. Perhaps you have thought about asking the question if you have not asked it before. Well, here's an answer - Send us another one like Matt MacDiarmid, please!
To understand that, you would have to know a little about Matt. Matt was eighteen when he came to Amano in August last year as a volunteer. He finally left to return to his family in the UK today, Wednesday 15th July, planning to attend Loughbrough University in the near future. What could one young man - so young that we have 6th form students of similar age - possibly do at Amano?
Ask the students in the dormitory! From the youngest to the oldest student, everyone would have something to say. Go through the dormitory many morning at about 0630 and Matt would be reading to some of the Primary students, dealing with their early-morning energy and their questions about the Bible story of the day. On the boys side, where Matt's energies were naturally concentrated, students would be able to tell about times of great fun, plenty of laughs, but also the discipleship Bible studies that Matt started and encouraged, along with a deeper commitment to morning quiet time.
Ask Hilary Millard, Amano's Head Teacher. Matt freely offered to help in the school and led ICT classes for some of the Primary school and most of the Secondary with energy and enthusiasm. He didn't stop at that - whatever he was asked to do was done with a smile.
Ask anyone who attended an Amano Family Service or most school assemblies. Matt's guitar playing and planning in leading the music side was a vital part of Amano during his stay.
Ask . . . well, ask anyone. Matt made friends and was universally appreciated. Nobody who was at the farewell evening in the dormitory on Tuesday could have doubted that, even if they were visitors. The pictures are a selection from the evening, recording the admonition and encouragement in Phil Grove's fitting message, the heartfelt thanks of Hilary Millard, the warm words of appreciation from Matron, the students of every age taking part in sketches, dances and hilarious performances to say 'thank you' to Matt and the audience with included David and Pauline Foster from Matt's church in the UK.
After all that, you might feel Matt must be some kind of superhero! Not at all; Matt is in many ways an ordinary young man of his generation. The one thing that distinguishes him from 'the crowd' is his very sincere and serious love for the Lord Jesus Christ. That love delivers commitment in Matt's life, which is how he came to volunteer for almost a year of service at Amano and to deliver that service in such an excellent way. It was not all plain sailing in the sense that Matt certainly missed home and the young lady waiting for him and Matt himself would say there were learning and growing experiences at Amano along with the fun. But in it all, Matt's trust and love for the Saviour shone clearly. Matt's time at Amano was a blessing for the school and Matt would want to say for him as well.
So that's how we come to say 'Send us another one like Matt, please!' By that we don't mean a clone, we mean another young person who loves the Lord Jesus Christ deeply and is willing to let that love overflow in service toward young people in Zambia. Matt's age or older, male or female, different talents to those Matt had or more of the same - all of that is irrelevant, as long as the love for the Saviour and the willingness to serve is there. What about you? Or if not you, maybe there is someone you know you should tell about this blog - email them a link, now, while it's on your mind! Amano has room, indeed more than room, a great need. Oh that the Lord would work by his Spirit to draw the words 'Here am I, send me!' from young people like Matt, young people who love the Lord.

Secondary Sports Day

2009-07-12T00:37:00.000-07:00

Friday 3rd July dawned bright and clear, if a little cool (this is Zambia's dry season and it is also winter) but a good day for sport. Amano's Secondary School Sports Day began at 0830 and provided an excellent morning of competition prior to a long weekend break with two public holidays to enjoy! As usual Steve and Jo Grove, our sports teachers, had planned and prepared well for the big day. Steve and Jo's contribution is easily overlooked but without them the students would not be trained and the planning for the big day would not be done! They were ably assisted by various people, but special thanks to Matt MacDiarmid who set up a PA system and kept up a steady stream of announcements and comments, Rod Boatman and Andrew and Amanda Kirk who assisted Steve and Jo in many ways and visitor David Foster who presented the certificates.
The day was marked by many improved 'personal bests' and a great deal of enthusiasm and determination by the participants. An added 'edge' was a new points scoring system which allowed competitors to attain the title 'Victor (or Victrix!) Ludorum.' To qualify students needed to compete in five different events and accumulate a score for the certificate. The effect of the system is to encourage competitors to try hard even in events they may not personally win because they can still gain points for the aggregate score.
The school records were broken in a number of categories. Here is the 'roll of honour:'

Under 14 Girls Elisabeth Breuninger 1500m
Under 14 Girls Womba Musamba Shot Put, Discus and Victrix Ludorum
Under 14 Boys Daniel Vedder Clean sweep and Victor Ludorum
Under 16 Girls Christina Chipemba Javelin
Under 16 Girls Womba Mufundi Shot Put and Victrix Ludorum
Under 16 Boys David Ng'ambi 100m, Shot, Discus and Victor Ludorum
Under 16 Boys Wankunda Silengo Javelin and Triple Jump
Under 19 Girls Gabi Pflaum Long Jump and Javelin
Under 19 Girls Rabecca Mwale 200m, Discus, Triple Jump and Victrix Ludorum
Under 19 Girls Esther Kampamba 1500m
Under 19 Boys Benji Mutti 100m
Under 19 Boys Bupe Siwale Long Jump, Triple Jump and Victor Ludorum
Under 19 Boys Wila Musamba Shot and Javelin

Primary students provided part of the audience, with other secondary students encouraging their colleagues when not participating. The PTA provided refreshments. If a disappointment has to be recorded, it must be the lack of support from parents - their presence would be much appreciated in future!

Amano's Revolving Door!

2009-06-28T08:07:00.000-07:00

There isn't a revolving door anywhere on the site of Amano School, it just feels that way some times! Take this Sunday, 28th June. The Amano Family Service, held approximately monthly, was held in the Dormitory and we had a special guest speaker, David Foster. David and his wife Pauline arrived at Amano just a couple of days before for a visit but they were already well known to many people. They served in Zambia for twenty-nine years and David was the headmaster at Sakeji School. The links between Amano and Sakeji are very strong, with such luminaries as Philip Grove among the ex-Sakeji pupils and our Head Teacher Hilary Millard having taught there as well.

In the congregation on Sunday was another ex-Sakeji pupil, Jean-luc Hinaut, now serving the Lord in establishing a mission station up near the Congo border in the Luapula area. Jean-luc and his wife Rita have previously served in the Congo ministering to refugees and were made refugees themselves.

Our group photograph shows (from right to left) David Foster, Jean-luc, Pauline Foster and Matt MacDiarmid. How did Matt get in there, and a single shot of him with his trademark guitar as well? It's the revolving door again! Matt has been at Amano for almost a year and sadly his time is almost up. David is an elder at Matt's home church and during the Family Service he announced that part of the mission he and his wife had undertaken in coming to Zambia is to make sure Matt gets back home! The Fosters are booked on the same flight as Matt out of Lusaka on 16th July and David told us all that Matt is greatly missed by family and friends back home. We will be updating this blog in the near future with a feature on Matt; for now suffice it to say that while we cannot for a moment begrudge Matt's family the joy of his return, we too will greatly miss him.

Perhaps Matt's church and family could get a revolving door of their own so he could soon come back? Just the man to fit it would be Roger Berry who is pictured here. Roger returns to his home on Guernsey on Wednesday 1st July. Roger is apparently known as a very hard worker who deals with difficult situations and gets results. His few weeks at Amano this time have more than justified the reputation. The new dining room/hall floor has been laid under his expert supervision. Practically every day Roger was first on site at around 0630 and often last to leave. His 'hands-on' approach coupled with his gentle but firm control of the project encouraged the Zambian workforce to turn out a really high quality job.

Amano's 'revolving door' brings the joy of old and new friends and the sadness of parting. It reminds us of the Lord's goodness in sending people who enhance the life of Amano in many ways and makes us long for the day when the Lord Jesus Christ returns and the people of God will be together forever, never again to experience the sorrow of separation of any kind.

Examination time

2009-06-19T08:33:00.000-07:00

Anyone who has taken a holiday knows the feeling of wanting to return to the routine of work slowly and steadily. No such opportunity at Amano, at least for the Secondary students! School recommenced after the half-term holiday on Tuesday 16th and the whole Secondary school was immediately plunged into examinations. Grade 12 were taking IGCSE papers in their various subjects in preparation for the finals later this year. Other classes do not have that pressure but examination time at Amano is taken very seriously. Most students commented that the holiday had been at least partly given over to study. Break times during the week were marked by students sitting in the sunshine looking very serious over last minute revision Teachers were very busy with invigilation and were soon accumulating papers for marking.
The 'examination atmosphere' spreads to Primary as well in that the younger students have to observe 'quiet times' when examinations are on. The present school hall is located in the Primary block and is used for examination purposes.

Inevitably Friday of examination week comes with an increased feeling of relief - not only the end of the first week back but the end of the 'trial by paper!' Friday morning Secondary assembly was in keeping with that 'end of week' joy when Head Teacher Hilary Millard presented Merit Certificates during the notices. Secondary students are awarded merits (or demerits!) as appropriate during school and each half term the merits attained are totalled and a presentation made, a certificate for six or more merits and a certificate and a chocolate bar for anyone achieving twelve or more. The previous half term totals revealed that students had done generally very well. Exceptional scores of twenty-three merits by Elisabeth Breuninger (Grade 9) and twenty-one by Chewe Chibwe (Grade 10) were recorded. Two grades (8 and 9) had achieved at least a certificate for every member. Grade 10 did very well in terms of the total merits awarded.

Students doing examinations (and teachers marking!) were not the only ones working hard. Roger Berry from Guernsey is at Amano with Brass Tacks and is doing a wonderful job of advancing the work on the new multi-purpose hall. Floors are being laid and other skilled jobs advanced by regular workers along with a number of temporary piece workers under Roger's supervision. Regular readers of the news from Amano will be aware of the steel structure and roof of the hall being put in place a few weeks ago. Our photograph shows Roger's men hard at work. Markus Breuninger's skills at of project management will be engaged to the full in completing the hall, plus the ongoing sixth-form and laboratory building as well as all the other Amano requirements and maintenance.

Other photographs show students in examination mode and Grade 10 leaping for joy, merit certificates in hand, as examination week draws to a close!

Primary Day Out

2009-06-02T09:02:00.000-07:00

The Copperbelt Agricultural and Commercial Show Society holds an annual show in Kitwe, just 45km or so from Amano. This year the Society ran an Art Competition with categories for individual and group contributions using a wide variety of media. Amano Primary students entered and won prizes in eight categories with a further four 'highly commended' awards for individual students artwork.
The whole Primary school attended the show on Friday 29th May and enjoyed the displays and activities. Our photographs show some of the scenes from the show (the snake is perfectly harmless, by the way!) and also written contributions from Caitlin and Sunny in Grade 1 recalling the day.

The second term of 2009 begins . . .

2009-05-10T06:11:00.000-07:00

This last week marked the return to school for the staff and pupils at Amano, with a staff meeting on Monday and boarders returning in the afternoon and then the start of school proper on Tuesday. The reaction of students was certainly mixed; some had had a thoroughly enjoyable break and would have appreciated more, some were willing to admit that four weeks had been a long time and that returning to Amano was a welcome event.
We have much to thank the Lord for as term begins. All the staff and students returned safely, the plans and preparations for the new term have been seen to be well done and no great disasters have marred the work. It is easy when things follow the routine to forget that they only do so because of the Lord's guiding and protecting hand. He alone is our strength and stay at Amano when times are good and when they are not so good.
Special cause for rejoicing was the arrival of Andrew and Amanda Kirk from Suffolk, England who have joined the staff of the school. Amanda teaches Grade 1 and Andrew joins the Secondary staff as form teacher for Grade 9 and teaching Maths and other subjects to Grades 8, 9 and 10. The family have come to Amano for as long as the Lord calls them to be here, for which we praise his gracious name.
Our picture shows Andrew and Amanda with their children, Samuel and Joshua, who joined the student body, Joseph in Grade 1 and Samuel in Grade 3 under the tuition of Deborah Cole. The second picture shows Hope Chitonge who also joined the school at the start of this term as a student in Grade 10. Hope is an orphan and as such should have a place in the dormitory, but sadly that is not possible at the moment. She is boarding with a family in Chingola and comes in with the day students on the school bus. This highlights the great need for prayer at Amano at the present time, the provision of dormitory parents. Hope cannot be in the dormitory because it is full and in fact two other girls are also awaiting a dormitory place. In terms of buildings at Amano we have the provision to house more boarders as the new boys dorm is effectively complete and when occupied would allow the present dorm to accommodate more girls.
Almost every day, even during the holidays, we have parents coming to school or telephoning, asking if we can accept their children at Amano. We want to take them because it is our great aim to influence as many families as possible by giving their children the firm foundation of a biblically based Christian education, but the dormitory situation means we have to turn them away. Please pray with us for the provision of at least one and preferably two couples called to the work of dormitory parenting. It really is our most urgent need at this time. And don't just pray! Might you be someone the Lord is calling? Or do you know a couple who are seeking the Lord's will about serving overseas and to whom you could introduce this need? Your prayers, your help and your interest are really needed now.

School holidays are not always what they seem!

2009-05-01T00:31:00.001-07:00

Amano has enjoyed four weeks of holiday - no sign of the students at all and at times very few signs of life on the campus itself! Two weeks of the period coincided with a break for most of the Zambian workers, so it would be true to say that it was in general very quiet. However, the Lord's work must go on and things must be prepared for the new term which starts on Tuesday 5th May.
Our pictures show the construction of the framework for the new general purpose hall. This part of the work was done by contractors who moved with amazing speed and dedication! They lived in a tent on the site and worked from early morning until the light faded in the evening, getting the steel supports in place and the sheet roof fitted in under three days! Our pictures show the steel supports being put in place, the roofing almost complete and finally a view of the structure as it now stands taken from the school Admin block. We give grateful thanks to the Lord for this work done and look forward to the completion of the project which includes a new kitchen and dining room and an indoor multipurpose sports/meeting hall.
Inside the Admin block there was work to do on the computer system. Again we praise the Lord, this time for generous gifts that have allowed us to add to new computers purchased at the end of last year. A new server has been received and commissioned and additional desktop computers will make the work of administration much more pleasant. All the computers in the school, including the server, are using Ubuntu Linux and delivering a wide range of educational tools for our students. All the setting up of these machines takes a great deal of time. Our picture shows Harold Shamanoh working on the set up process. Harold has worked hard to learn quickly and has been invaluable in getting the work done.
Amano's head teacher, Hilary Millard, has also been hard at work on timetables and other important matters, ready for the staff meeting on Monday.
'All work and no play' is rumoured to have made a certain 'Jack' very dull, so our final picture shows a scene at Mindolo Dam near Kitwe on a beautiful day during the holiday. The aptly-named Rod Boatman is a skilled sailor and captained the yacht shown, taking various people for a very pleasurable sail. Student Daniel Vedder is cautiously donning a life jacket prior to boarding, meanwhile Daniel's father Marco and a younger sister paddle a canoe.
Please remember Amano in your prayers as the new term starts. There is much to do this year and our longing is that the Lord Jesus Christ will be exalted as a result.

End of Term!

2009-04-09T04:32:00.000-07:00

First of all, apologies for the unavoidable delay in making the update to this blog. There is some consolation for regular readers in that this is a packed update recounting the highlights of the last week of term before Easter.
Amano's first term of 2009 ended on Friday 3rd April, but not before some special events had taken place. The first was on Monday 30th March when Whole School Assembly was moved from its usual 0730 slot to 0930, allowing Physics and Math teacher Rod Boatman to bring in wife Marja and daughter Jenny to join son Dennis (student in Grade 11) and family friend Daniel Vedder (student in Grade 9) to perform with the puppets Marja makes. The two 'performances' - one intended for Primary and the other for Secondary - were skilfully presented and much enjoyed by the school and staff. The clear gospel message was reinforced by Rod who also lead singing using his accordion. Our pictures show the puppets in action and also Rod. Mischievous suggestions that readers might not be able to tell the difference are not welcome!

The last week of term always has various things going on that dislocate the normal routine. There were various rehearsals announced, separately for Primary and Secondary drama and also for choir, and then dress rehearsals. There was much hard work being done and all of this saw the light of day on the very last day of term when Assembly was again 'delayed,' this time to 1145, allowing parents and friends of the school to be present and making a final end to the term. The Assembly theme was Easter and first Primary students presented a drama called 'Would you believe it?' in which the 'crowd' portrayed their reactions to the death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. Secondary students then presented 'The Missing Piece,' a drama focussing on the disciples learning of the resurrection including the events on the road to Emmaus. All of this was accompanied by music directed by Gwen Amborski which was beautifully sung by the choir. Amano Chairman Phil Grove closed in prayer, leaving only parent-teacher interviews for some Secondary students after lunch to complete the term.

Amano inevitably has 'comings and goings' to deal with and the end of term means mostly goings. So with some sadness we said goodbye to Lyndsey Coleman from Merseyside who came temporarily in January and served faithfully as teacher to Grade 1. Lyndsey was much loved and appreciated by both students and staff. We wish her well as she completes her teacher training in the UK.
When Lyndsey came, Martin Smith from Leighton Buzzard was on the same flight, coming initially for the same period. Martin, seen above, taught Grades 6 and 7 and showed his other skills in guitar at various events, training the Primary football team and being responsible for the drama club. He was very involved with the Easter assembly and has won a real place in the heart of Amano with his relaxed but determined manner. By God's grace we said goodbye to Martin on the last day of term but only for a short while. Martin will return to Amano in time for next term, having identified the Lord's call on his life to serve for a longer period. We praise the Lord for that! Martin is pictured above.
Last but not least, Christa Hamel from Germany has served faithfully and quietly in the dormitory for more than a year. Christa serves with Liebenzell Mission and originally was scheduled to leave Amano at the end of 2008 but kindly agreed to extend until the beginning of April. She won a place in all the boarders affections, particularly the girls with whom most of her work was done. There was a student farewell for Christa on 2nd April. Staff gathered on Friday afternoon to share cake and drinks and hear Phil Grove speak highly of her as a godly lady who will be in our hearts for a long time. Christa returns to her family and friends in Germany; she is pictured here with Matron, Mrs Simfukwe, who will surely miss her next term.

We praise the Lord for another term in Amano's life and development completed. Please pray with us that we will know the Lord's guidance and blessing as the new term begins early May. We need that above all, remembering that Amano was called into being by his grace and exists for his glory.

The Amano Debate!

2009-03-28T07:01:00.000-07:00

Last year an Amano Christian School debate team travelled to Ndola Trust School for the first Independent Schools Association of Zambia inter-school debate. This week, on Wednesday 25th March, Amano had the privilege of hosting Ndola Trust for the return match. Amano had an all-male team of five very assertive young men while Ndola had three young ladies escorted by one young man. The fifth member of the Ndola team had been unable to travel at the last minute but their 'first' spoke twice to replace him.
The motion before the house was 'Juvenile Delinquency is due to lack of parental care.' Amano Head Teacher Hilary Millard opened proceedings by making the welcoming remarks. Rod Boatman was chairman, Martin Pflaum the timekeeper.
Amano were the proposition team and so opened the debate and Ndola followed with counter-arguments. On both sides the arguments were well-made and strong, Amano arguing that young people must be properly parented and closely monitored and encouraged, Ndola arguing that modern conditions required more responsibility from young people and that parents could not be blamed. The three judges had to give a great deal of attention - having been flattered by most of the speakers in their opening remarks! The three were Mrs Malambo of Ndola, the indepdent Mr Lukavu from Nchanga Trust School and Mr G Hind from Amano.
Ndola were declared winners by just 1.6 points at the end of the debate.
Both teams argued cogently and the audience responded very well. It was a thought-provoking session and a day to remember.
Amano's thanks are due to English teacher Lukundo Siwale who trains and encourages the debating team.
Our pictures show the Ndola team, the Amano team, Rod Boatman being briefed on his duties by Lukundo Siwale, judges Mrs Malambo and Mr Hind, judge Mr Lukavu and timekeeper Martin Pflaum and Rod Boatman at the lectern.

Amano's ISAZ Triumph!

2009-03-13T05:26:00.000-07:00

Amano Christian School competed in the ISAZ (Independent Schools Association of Zambia) Sports Finals last weekend (7th March) with great success, made all the more remarkable by the fact that Amano was by far the smallest school. Indeed, Amano is so small that our teams for both Volleyball and Football are composed of the same students and although we qualified for Basketball it was judged too much to ask the team to compete in yet another sport! What follows below is something for which we praise the Lord, recognising also the dedication of the team members and the sustained hard work by our sports staff Steve and Jo Grove.

The girls football (for which they had not had time to practice) was a valiant effort. They were defeated in their first game 2-0 which was not at all a disgrace as the victors went on to be the new champions. In two subsequent games the opponents were held to a draw.
In netball the girls improved on last years performance where they dominated in three games, losing the semi-finals by only one dubious point. Volleyball was their 'target' this year and they were motivated and determined, having reached the semi-finals last year. This year they won all their games and came home the new champions!

The boys were wonderfully successful in both football and volleyball. In football they won two games and drew one. Both the semi-final and final were determined by penalty shoot-out and Amano came home with the champions cup, plus the kudos of having Martin Pflaum win the Best Player Award for the tournament, won last year by fellow-player Benjamin Mutti. In volleyball the Amano boys team triumphed in all their five matches to easily take the cup.

Amano team members and staff recognise that all this was only made possible by the gracious blessing of the Lord.

A couple of other points to note: ISAZ represents many schools that are not Christian, but two Christian schools, Chengelo and Amano took six of the seven trophies at this final! Amano's practice of having a 'heads down' before and after each match for prayer was noticed by other schools; finally Amano teams throughout the ISAZ events this year were again noted for their good behaviour and absence of bad language, sadly not something that all ISAZ schools achieve.

Pictures on this page by courtesy Michael Pflaum. A 15 minute video of the boy's football match highlights is available to download from:
http://www.amanochristianschool.org/isaz_football_highlights_09.mp4
(10mb download - to download to your computer right-click on the link and choose Download)

Primary Science Fair

2009-03-09T01:23:00.001-07:00

On Friday 6th March a special event took place when the Primary school held a Science Fair in the main hall. Older readers (like this writer!) may wonder what a Science Fair is. Any doubts about the event were quickly swept away, however. The children had worked really hard and some of the excellent displays and the children involved can be seen in our pictures. Each display was 'staffed' and Secondary school students and staff and parents were welcome visitors. It was quite obvious that a great deal of work had gone into the Fair. Primary staff members Kaye Thomas, Deborah Cole, Martin Smith and Lyndsey Coleman had worked hard with the students over about three weeks. The results were well worth seeing and a credit to all involved.

All work and no play . . . .

2009-02-06T08:20:00.000-08:00

. . . . makes Jack a dull boy, as the proverb goes. Amano is very serious about its mission as a Christian School and there is always a determined effort to attain the best academic standard we can, but what would life be without sport and some time for fun?
Over the last two weekends teams from Amano have travelled to Kalulushi and Chengelo to play against other teams at volleyball, football, netball and basketball. At Kalulushi Amano boys won at volleyball and the girls thrashed the opposition with a stunning victory. At Chengelo there was less to celebrate but the girls won at volleyball and the boys at football. The matches were friendly and provided a change from the normal Amano routine. Our pictures show the boys volleyball at Kalulushi, basketball (with some post-processing!) and rugby at Chengelo.
This week ended with a 'time warp' in the Amano calendar, because next week a team will travel to Chengelo again, this time for the serious business of the Independent Schools of Zambia playoffs. Because of the distance and the number going it will be necessary for the students to leave on Friday and return early evening Saturday, ruling out any possibility of Valentine celebrations.
Two sixth form students, Jedidah and Gabi, organised a Valentine event for Primary students that took place on Friday afternoon 6th February. The 'Sir Knight and Miss Valentine' event saw some young ladies from Primary dressed first in Valentine clothes and then formally, in between performing songs etc to demonstrate their talents. The young men were dressed as knights and then more formally and were a little more reticent for the most part in the talent department!
A panel of judges wrestled with the difficulties of declaring the winners. In the end Natasha was crowned Miss Valentine and brave Sir Shadrach was the winning knight.
Our pictures from the Valentine event show the charming entrants for Miss Valentine, the judges in deep discussion, the knights, Shadrach being knighted by Mel Robson and the lovely Natasha crowned and sashed next to a decorated Shadrach.
The judges were (from left to right) Valerie Grove, former dorm parents Lil and Mel Robson (back on a visit to old haunts) and Ulfert Andresen.

The Dreaded Results!

2009-01-24T06:57:00.000-08:00

The school year at Amano has similarities and differences from the typical UK school year, The major difference is that the school year here begins in January and ends in December, instead of beginning in September after the August break. A consequence of that difference is that examinations for the International GCSE, AS and A levels are taken mostly in November. The similarities are that the term holidays follow the UK pattern, and that Amano students are just as nervous when the examination results are due as any student in the UK or indeed anywhere in the world!
The dreaded results arrived this past week and as the big day approached (Wednesday) the usual symptoms were to be seen! Even teachers are not immune - the results obviously reflect on the school as well as the individuals involved.
How can we summarise the results for twelve students across Grade 12 and Sixth Form? We can begin by praising our gracious Lord and Saviour who is the supreme Teacher and who has again blessed Amano Christian School with results that reflect well on the individual students and on the school as a whole. That is not to say there were no disappointments and no occasions for heart searching! These things are a necessary part of learning and can and should be an encouragement to try harder in future. Having said that, the results sheet is certainly dominated by A's and B's across all the IGSCE subjects. Amano students actually achieved 84% A's and B's. There were some good results along with some disappointments at AS level but none for which students or teachers need be ashamed.
Three students were awarded an International Cambridge Examination diploma for good results across a wide range of subjects. Gabi Pflaum achieved 'Distinction' and Wankumbo Silengo and Gianni Katebe achieved 'Merit.' Gabi's brother Martin also did very well at AS Level in Physics and Maths.
As befits a Christian School the results for Religious Studies (now renamed 'Christian Foundations' at Amano) were very good.
Like the Israelites in the wilderness years we are grateful for all the Lord is doing among us, but we know we are not yet where we should be! Readers should bear in mind that all the results are achieved in conditions that are not always ideal for students or teachers. Obtaining text books and equipment is expensive and not easy in Zambia. Amano's present size means that we are not able to have specialist teachers in all subjects. We rely on teaching tutored from the UK via the Internet and apart from the problems of power cuts and slow internet connection this in itself is an area still 'under development.' In some subjects (Biology, for example) we do not have the expertise or equipment to encourage practical work at present. We covet your prayers and your practical help as we seek the Lord's guidance in dealing with issues like these.
In summary, this years results show that Amano is experiencing the blessing of the Lord in many ways and achieving the aims and purposes for which it was founded.
Our picture shows sixth form student Jedidah Kalala who did well in Psychology and Sociology at AS level and is just one student who experienced some set-back as a result of the need to further develop our distance learning. Jedidah's warm smile is not just for the camera; Amano is blessed with students whose work and demeanour reflect the Lord's hand.

The Sixth Form - blessings and needs!

2009-01-16T01:15:00.000-08:00

One of the signs of the Lord's blessing on the work here at Amano has been the development of the sixth form. Parents will know that it is not at all a trivial decision as to which school or college their teenagers undertake sixth form studies, the final preparation for university. Seven students are now studying at this level at Amano, three in the upper sixth and four who commenced this term in the lower sixth. We praise God for this and ask you to pray for these students and for Ulfert Andresen who teaches them and guides their work.
Sometimes the Lord's blessing highlights needs and it is so in this case. The buildings at Amano are really used to capacity and the development of the sixth form has made expansion essential. The four lower sixth students have a study in a small room on the end of the Primary block; the upper sixth took over the staff room this year. Staff now have to use the library for their break but as that is often in use by students and classes it cannot properly serve as a place where teachers can study or read outside break times. Sixth form classes are currently held in the school art room.
The difficulties are temporary in that a new sixth form block is under construction but this cannot be completed before May at the earliest. We very much appreciate those who give for needs like this and we ask the prayers of all those with an interest in the Lord's work at Amano for students and staff during this time.
Our pictures show the lower sixth and upper sixth study rooms, Ulfert teaching in the art room and work on the site of the new sixth form block.

2009-01-08T21:05:00.000-08:00

Strange things sometimes happen here in Zambia, but not quite so strange as the internet weather feed suggested this week - the 'up to the minute' monitor reported 26'C and snow in Chingola, the town nearest Amano Christian School! The 26'C was probably right, the snow we leave to our European and North American friends to enjoy as best they can.
Rainy season is very well underway now and the grass is growing at a rate that would make UK gardeners glad it is winter there. Suffice it to say that the uncut peripheral areas around the school have more than 2 metres of growth (well over 6ft in old money!). Everything looks very green and the birds and insects - both here in much wider variety than the dry season - are making the most of it.
Term started on 6th January with some new students in Grade 1 and a few throughout the school. We could have taken more but we are not able to offer boarding places until we have the dormitory parents we constantly pray for. Please join us in praying that that need will be met. The new boys dormitory building is not quite finished inside but soon will be and when the dormitory parents come there will be much to celebrate.
Two new teachers arrived to start the new term at Amano, both from the UK and both here until April. Lyndsey Coleman is 24 and is a qualified teacher from Merseyside. She is teaching in Primary and considering serving the Lord at Amano, possibly after completing further studies in the UK. Lyndsey plays piano and clarinet and enjoys sport
Martin Smith is 48 and has been teaching for twenty years. He is originally from Tunbridge Wells in Kent and currently lives in Bedfordshire. He has previously served for two years at a mission school in Ivory Coast. Martin plays the guitar and enjoys song writing and musical theatre. He is seeking the Lord about a possible future at Amano.
Please pray for Martin and Lyndsey and the other Amano teaching staff. By the grace of God the need for teachers is always met and of course it is in the Lord we trust for the future. As we see it a number of long-term staff are needed and we encourage you to join us in prayer for that.
Our pictures show Lyndsey and Martin and an 'off-the cuff' picture taken on a lovely morning in January at the school (Admin is on the right, the Primary block on the left).

And what does the school chairman do . . . . . ?

2008-12-26T06:35:00.000-08:00

Anyone coming to the Amano website and entering by the 'Welcome' page sees the smiling face of Phil Grove and a brief message from him. The signature line simply indicates he is the school chairman and you will find passing mention of him in this blog but almost nowhere else on the web site. If you were visiting Amano you might see him in passing perhaps once in the course of a week but otherwise there would be nothing to indicate who Phil is or how he serves the Lord. With the school very definitely on holiday it seemed a good idea to say something more about Phil, pictured here with Valerie.
Phil's role as school chairman at least partly arises from the fact that he is one of the founders of Amano, along with Michael Pflaum who we will feature on another occasion. Both Phil and Valerie have spent almost all their lives in Zambia and Phil was educated initially at Sakeji School which still has strong links with Amano. In the Lord's good timing they met and it was recently revealed to the school that Phil proposed to Valerie at Victoria Falls. In recounting that time Phil said that if Valerie had refused him someone would have been found at the bottom of the Falls; as the Lord would have it Valerie accepted the proposal and her father suggested that there should be a renaming of the place to 'Valerie Falls!' The Zambian authorities don't seem to have taken that hint yet!
Amano Christian School originally became a possibility because political instability in the region where Sakeji School is sited indicated that it might be necessary to relocate. In the event that did not happen but the Amano project went ahead and resulted in the growing school we have now. Phil and Valerie's interest in education generally and Amano specifically was serious and practical from the very beginning. They personally invested time, energy and money in what they believed was the Lord's purpose in establishing Amano and have never wavered in that commitment.
So why, if that is so, is Phil not a more visible presence at Amano? There is a whole string of good reasons for that. Phil will modestly say he has three areas of main responsibility: the printing press which occupies a building literally on his doorstep, the distribution of aid and his preaching and teaching responsibilities amongst Christians arising from his position as an elder of Bethel Chapel in Chingola. We don't have space to detail fully all Phil and Valerie are doing in the service of their beloved Saviour, but just to expand a little on those areas will give some idea of what occupies Phil. The printing press produces books which are distributed and sold all over Zambia by Christian Copperbelt Publications and other materials are produced for Phil's own publishing work as well. Just the press work alone would be a full-time job for most of us.
The 'distribution of aid' means the receiving of one hundred shipping containers a year at the Grove's home site and the breaking down of those containers into shipments that are taken by truck over a large area of Zambia, supplying hospitals and other mission stations with all kinds of essentials. It would be no exaggeration to say that there are large and important parts of the mission work in Zambia that could not function were it not for Phil and Valerie's work. They would quite rightly want all the glory given to the Lord, but no-one should underestimate the personal work and effort that goes into arranging all this, getting customs clearance and a hundred other things.
Phil's service as an elder is another essential dimension. he regularly teaches and preaches and is greatly appreciated in these roles by many, many people, both Zambians and missionaries.
Valerie supports Phil in all of this but also has her own field of work. She runs a daily clinic, is the senior school nurse, teaches a ladies Bible study and provides music through her skills on the piano at Bethel. Valerie also makes food 'to die for' as the modern saying goes - how else would Phil be sustained?!
You may be exhausted just reading all this, but there is more. Space here doesn't allow us to go through all the various things Phil does in flying regularly to Lusaka - and other places - dealing with Zambian government matters in various aspects, listening to and offering wise counsel to the many people who come to him looking for help, plus chairing the school board and being actively involved in giving advice and help to many people at Amano.
Phil and Valerie's son Steve helps with the containers and mission maintenance but a couple who could serve in this area would be a tremendous blessing to Phil. Someone with printing skills is needed also - could it be you? Phil and Valerie need specific prayer support. We always want our readers to remember Amano as a school but taking a few moments to bring Phil and Valerie Grove before the Lord will bless the school as well!
Phil's abilities combined with Valerie's talents might well have made them a wealthy couple in a secular context. Instead they are willingly giving their lives in the Lord's service. In Brethren circles Phil is quite well known and certainly one could hardly serve the Lord in Zambia without coming across the Groves, but in the wider world they are willingly 'nobodies' as they concentrate their energy on promoting and serving the kingdom of God. There is a tremendous need for others to step forward to take their place and to expand the work in the future. Will you seek the Lord as to what he would have you do?

Christmas Computers!

2008-12-19T23:09:00.000-08:00

Amano Christian School is dependent on many sources of supply for the wide range of books and equipment a modern school needs. Some things have to be purchased but the kindness and generosity of people in different parts of the world has supported the work here. It would take too long to list all the many things that have been sent to us that are in daily use and are greatly appreciated by students and staff.
Among the donated items have been computers, printers and various other accessories. Without them the administration of the school and the place of computers in the education of the students the Lord has sent to us would have been greatly diminished. However, computers are subject more than most items to the fact of built-in obsolescence and the reality is that sometimes the machines available for education and administration have been less than ideal.
Earlier in the year a very generous gift was received for the work at Amano that has allowed us to make the school’s first-ever purchase of new computers. They were ordered in August from Novatech in the UK (www.novatech.co.uk) who were very helpful in many ways, not least in giving a useful discount! Shipping the pallet of twenty-two computers and LCD screens took until December, but the Lord’s timing was evident in that their arrival was exactly right for them to be installed over the Christmas break.
The new computers will be used mainly in the computer laboratory for use by all the school. Seven will be used specifically by the Sixth Form students who have a special need for them in their course work.
Our picture shows the very first of the new computers up and running. Those who are really interested in technical details will notice that the computer is not running Microsoft Windows. We are planning to use Ubuntu Linux as our Operating System where possible.
Maybe your eyes glazed over at the mention of Operating Systems. Possibly you are not really keen on computers at all! Don’t let that feeling close your eyes to the fact that these new machines are very much the provision of our gracious Lord who watches over us in every way. We never forget our main aim of pointing the students in our care to the Lord Jesus Christ as their only hope and always our main concern is their eternal destiny over and above their possible careers. That approach is quite biblical - the Scripture tells us to seek first the Kingdom of God and that then everything else we need will be added. The arrival of our first new computers is evidence yet again that the Lord always keeps his Word.
Please continue to remember all the aspects of Amano in prayer and, when you are able, in your giving.

Christmas 2008

2008-12-11T07:39:00.000-08:00

Term ended at Amano on Wednesday 10th December. There was the usual 'Christmas count-down' with various activities in the dormitory and in school, but the undoubted highlight was the planning, preparations and rehearsals for the Christmas concerts which were held on the final day.
Anyone who doubted the hard work that was going into the concerts would have had their doubts removed when the final results were seen. The school hall was packed to standing room only for both the Primary and Secondary performances. A special delight was the large number of parents and friends who came - no small thing when the Primary concert began at 9.00am on what for most Zambians was a normal working day.
The Primary theme was 'international' and took the audience round the world, visiting the USA, India and various other places as well as Hawaii and Zambia shown in our photographs. Each 'nation,' appropriately dressed and with typical music and dancing contributed something to the biblical Christmas story. The Primary teachers (Deborah Cole, Kaye Thomas and Kelly Zimpfer) had worked hard in co-operation with Gwen Amborski (music) and the result was a delightful and flawless performance form the children who obviously enjoyed themselves.
The Head teacher, Hilary Millard, presented prizes to children who had worked especially hard during the year and also made presentations to Jason & Kelly Zimpfer (who are leaving Amano to return to the USA) and Renate Koegel (who has been at Amano for a few weeks but now returns to her usual mission station elsewhere in Zambia).
Secondary students also worked hard on their concert which included excellent music and an amusing presentation of the Christmas story using a 'TV show' and various other elements including the best and funniest presentation of the wise men of Matthew 2 this writer has ever seen! Again a perfect performance was accompanied by wonderful music (Gwen Amborski along with various students).
Hilary Millard again made the prize presentation to those who had done exceptionally well. A special presentation was of certificates gained in music, specifically flute playing, by three students under the tuition provided by Jo Grove. Jo is seen with two of the her students providing accompaniment during the concert.
You would be right in expecting a Christmas concert at a Christian School to be different. Both Primary and Secondary concerts included a very clear and direct presentation of the gospel - not the 'watered-down' version so beloved of many schools in the UK and elsewhere! The audience were told very clearly that trust in the Lord Jesus Christ, the baby whose birth is celebrated at Christmas and who was both truly man and truly God and who died on the cross for sinners, is essential. The Secondary presentation in particular was pointed. Even the title of their concert (The Choice is Yours) left no doubt about what was being said.
It is a real privilege to be working in a country like Zambia where there is still the freedom to present the truth and that privilege is doubled when the students at Amano make it clear that for so many of them the message of the gospel is both understood and loved.
Maybe it would be worth spending a few moments this Christmas considering whether you could be part of what the Lord is doing here in Zambia? You can join us as a prayer partner, you can commit to financial support as a one time gift or longer term as a sponsor, or you could come to Amano and be part of one of the most exciting projects in mission today. Please visit our website at www.amanochristianschool.org

Amano's 'star' week

2008-12-06T00:32:00.000-08:00

This past week has been a 'star' week in two ways. First of all, Wednesday evening witnessed an unusual astronomical event. Rod Boatman kindly sent text messages to a few of us that that evening would see the moon positioned between two planets. The event was scheduled to be clearly visible here in the southern hemisphere, but rainy season is not the most reliable time for astronomy!
As the Lord would have it, we had a good sighting just before a downpour: the photo shows the moon with Venus on the left and Jupiter on the right. As the Scripture says, 'the heavens declare the glory of God.'

Later in the week different stars in an altogether sadder event, at least for staff and students at Amano. It is no exaggeration to say that Jason and Kelly Zimpfer have been 'stars' at Amano during their time here. It's no small thing to achieve that status on a 16 month short-term placement, but Kelly's quiet but effective teaching and Jason's excellent work in a number of departments have been a real blessing to everyone. Jason and Kelly were dorm parents for a while and were popular and appreciated in that position. When that time ended Kelly was able to devote herself to her real love, teaching primary children, and Jason continued to do some teaching while at the same time doing sterling work in his specialised area as a construction engineer and being involved in building design and drawing for Markus Breuninger, the Project Manager.

On Friday 5th December a farewell 'dessert party' was held after lunch in the Breuninger's garden. Board chairman Phil Grove spoke on behalf of the Board of the appreciation everyone feels for Jason and Kelly's work; Markus spoke very warmly of Jason's contribution in his department and of the regard that he and everyone else, including the Zambian workers, had for Jason; Head teacher Hilary Millard spoke of her regard for their work in the school. In his speech Phil Grove said that young people of the Zimpfer's quality willing to put in time on the mission field were sadly rare these days. As you read this, is it possible that the Lord is calling YOU to Amano to serve in some capacity or another? You may be as young as the Zimpfer's or older, but shouldn't you be seeking the Lord as to whether your abilities (which he has given you!) can be used in his service in Africa?

Jason and Kelly will be sadly missed and remembered very fondly as they return to the United States in the coming week.

Our pictures show Zambian staff Mrs Mwambu, Lukundo Siwale (both teachers) and Prudence Mambwe (accounts) enjoying the sun at the farewell, Jason and Kelly and the unknowing beauty of the afternoon, Laura Grove (daughter of Steve and Jo, teachers, and granddaughter of Phil and Valerie).

A Significant Day

2008-11-18T04:30:00.000-08:00

On Saturday 15th November there was a special gathering at Amano. Our four Grade 12 students, Gabriele Pflaum, Gianni Katebe, Emmanuel Mwale and Wankumbu Silengo have now completed their Secondary schooling and the last of their exams has finished! They are not leaving Amano - all four return in January to begin other courses at Sixth Form level - but this significant transition from secondary to tertiary education needed to be appropriately marked.

Earlier in the week they enjoyed a meal out with their teachers at a local restaurant, then on Friday 14th November there was an evening party in the dormitory which was a great deal of fun.

The service on Saturday was a more orderly affair - necessarily so! - but was greatly enjoyed by all present, including the Grade 12 parents who were able to come. School chairman Phil Grove led the service with his usual aplomb.

The music was one of the delights of the service. The three musicians, Jason Zimpfer, Matt MacDiarmid and Gwen Amborski were performed very well and in addition to accompanying the congregational singing and the singing items, they sang two songs themselves. Gwen had also trained the Amano Singers (who performed brilliantly) and arranged the music for the program.

School Board member Mrs Carolyn Belton made the presentation of an NIV Study Bible and a book giving a guided study of the Gospel of John to each of the four students. Mrs Belton was assisted by the Head Teacher Miss Hilary Millard, who gave a speech on behalf of the school.

The four Grade 12 students all had a part to play in the service, with Gianni and Emmanuel reading Scripture, Wankumbu leading in prayer and Gabi delivering the speech on behalf of the students. The sermon was delivered by Graham Hind and prayers were offered by Michael Pflaum (Board Vice-chairman and Gabi's father) and Board member Kelvin Samwata.

Photographs above (from the top) show:
The Grade 12 students with their parents; Marina, our Zambian kitchen supervisor who was an important part of the team responsible for an excellent lunch; Gwen Amborski; Gwen with Matt MacDiarmid and Jason Zimpfer, musicians; Hilary Millard making her speech; the congregation; Hilary with Mrs Carolyn Belton; the Amano Singers; the four Grade 12 students singing - from left to right Gabi, Emmanuel, Gianni and Wankumbu; Phil Grove; four pictures by Ulfert Andreeson from the Friday evening celebration.