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

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!

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!

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!

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.