Tongabezi Trust School newsletter

Tujatane Tales
2010 and We Start All Over Again
Term 1 2010

Happy new year to everyone! 2010 is here and school is busy as usual! Thanks to everyone who has been to visit us this term. We have had a brilliant 13 weeks of spelling bees, volunteers, performing arts rounds 1 & 2, rain... and MORE rain and much more besides. I hope you enjoy catching up with all the children's news and we hope to see you all again soon. Tujatane X

Hooray for Porridge!
Article by Iness Chulu, Pre-School teacher.
The WFP (World Feeding Programme) and the Ministry of Education delivered HEPS (High Energy Protein Supplement) and vegetable oil to the school this term for the feeding programme. Normally we feed the children HEPS porridge every day but when it runs out, we do not stop feeding them but the school buys maize to substitute the porridge mix. The HEPS ran out last year so the school and the children were very happy to see the HEPS being delivered in March. The delivery includes the oil we need to prepare the porridge.

The feeding programme has proven to be very beneficial to the school and the students, as the levels of absenteeism have declined and the concentration of the students is improved.

We are very happy to have HEPS back.

"I love porridge at break time as I'm always hungry from the walk to school by then. It's hot and filling and tastes nice but it could be even better with more sugar. We are grateful for our HEPS."
Celia G3

The lunch time school feeding programme at Tujatane provides a healthy balanced meal every school day for every child. If you would like to know more about the feeding programme or would like to donate to this cause please click here.

Sports with Kiza...
Article by Kiza Chipila, Grade 2 teacher and sports co-ordinator.
The school has had a number of sporting activities this term including netball, volleyball and chess fixtures. But football is always the most popular, especially for the boys!

All of the students are involved in sports at the school. The lower grades take part in sports on a Monday afternoon and the upper grades on a Thursday. It is only the upper grades that are allowed to be in the school teams for football, netball and volleyball though - much to their delight!

On February 19th this term, Tujatane were invited to take part in a friendly football and netball competition in Simonga, against Simonga Basic School, our closest neighbour. It was the first away match of the term and our boys did well however we lost 2-1. We arranged a return match at our school for the next week but unfortunately the very heavy rains stopped it from happening.

The boys were very excited to have a volunteer this term, Tom, who was also helping us with football coaching and taught the students lots of new training skills and was very friendly. We were sorry to see him leave.

Sports is a hugely popular part of school life at Tujatane and there is much excitement surrounding South Africa hosting the World Cup! The children are so proud!

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TUJATANE TALES

Visit from the LIBES Clinic
On March 2nd the health team from the LIBES clinic in Livingstone came to visit our school for a variety of health matters.

Firstly, the children from the school and the surrounding areas were given de-worming tablets in all grades and grade 7 girls were given tetanus injections. Every boy and girl also had his or her teeth checked by the dentist.

Parents from the community also benefited as they brought their children who are under five years old for immunizations and health checks. Adults also received family planning advice and contraceptives as well as testing for malaria and treatment. The nurses also gave the parents and staff a lesson on prevention against cholera and the use of chlorine.

Finally the school was given a full inspection of the kitchen and toilet facilities. Luckily we passed with flying colours!

These health day visits are so important to us and enable us to identify and treat common health problems and every student can get seen to! Health problems that need attention between these types of visits have to be funded for out of the school medical fund. If you would like to know more or would like to donate please click here.

"My baby sister had a rash but the nurse gave her a cream and now she is better. When I grow up I want to be a nurse." Tabo, G3

Trainee Teachers Come To Help and Learn
This term we were very excited to welcome two trainee teachers to the school. Teacher Sophie and teacher Mineva. Sophie is a very well known member of the team here as she used to be an assistant teacher but with the help of sponsorship is now training to qualify as a primary school teacher. As part of their training at the David Livingstone College, both ladies came to observe and teach in pre-school/reception and grade 2 classrooms just for 1 term. We will miss them a lot! Thank you Sophie and Mineva x

"Teacher Sophie is very kind and taught us the National anthem. We like her very much." Beckham G2 "

"Teacher Mineva taught us how to look after our hair and what the colours of the Zambian flag mean." Faith G2

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Christmas Card Competition
This term we had a competition for the students to design and paint pictures for Christmas cards 2010. We had over 100 hopeful entries which will be exhibited in term 2 and judged by a panel of invited guests. The top 4 artists will have their paintings made into beautiful Christmas cards for 2010. The cards will be sold online through the website as well as in the Tongabezi shop. All the money raised will go towards the creative arts programme at school. News of the winning designs and their creators coming soon!

Secondary School Leavers

At the end of last term our G7 class nervously sat for their national exams to see if they could continue to secondary level and also to see which school they would qualify for. All 23 students sat the exams and 22 passed to grade 8 with three of those getting top grades and qualifying for some of the best boarding schools in Zambia. We are so proud!

The exam results come out each year in January, ONE WEEK before students are due to enrol in their new schools! Quite a mad dash to get them all sorted! Who is at which school? Boarding or no boarding, uniforms (different for each school!), shoes, bags, pencils and sheets, books and pillows, quite a performance!

We would like to say a very special thank you to all of our sponsors who have pledged to continue their support of these children. The cost of secondary sponsorship is greater than primary due to the transport issues we have, being so far from town for the day scholars and also due to the requirements the children need to attend the top boarding schools, most of which are 3-4 hours away and a couple of bus rides. Their continuing journey just would not be possible without your generous support.

"I now attend St. Rafael’s Secondary School in Livingstone. It is a very good school because it only takes the best students and has excellent teachers. If there is something not so good it is that there is not much drumming or performing arts clubs like there was at Tujatane. I am so grateful for my sponsors who are helping me so much in my life. Thank you." Casper G8.

We miss all our ex-pupils terribly during the term but during the holidays they all come to visit, write letters to their sponsors, help out with holiday programmes and work with the primary level students.

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Special Thanks for Our Wonderful Kitchen X
Everyone at school would like to say a special thank you to two of our great supporters and frequent visitors, Janet and Jack Helfenstein. With the help of their support over the last couple of years we have been extending our kitchen and feeding facilities at school.

With 168 children at the school, all receiving porridge at break and nsima with beans or egg at lunchtime, this has become quite a challenge. In the past we have struggled to cater for this programme properly due to having just one small cooking hut.

However, with help from Janet and Jack, we now have a big canteen with separate cooking and serving areas. The children have benches so that they can sit down properly and eat; new cups and spoons for porridge (the children used to use their fingers); and also they are sheltered from the rain in the rainy season or the shade in the dry season.

Janet and Jack also provide the funds for our G4 teacher, Ferdinand. Salaries for staff being the main running cost for the school, this helps us out enormously! There are plans to create proper paths around the kitchen and to the classroom buildings so that students, staff and guests can walk safely, especially in the rainy season when everything is a mud bath.

The children love their new eating area and have a cleaning rota to help the staff clear up after lunch each day. Our chef Elizabeth has brand new pots for cooking and all the utensils she needs to cater for nearly 200 (including staff) people per day. It has transformed the whole area of the grounds. This holiday some of our secondary school students came to paint the building as they thought it needed a bit of a lift. It now looks better than ever.

Janet and Jack, you have made such an impact on every member of the school, young and old. Our heartfelt thanks to you both X

UK Charity Status - "The Charitable Trust for The Tongabezi Trust School"
Registration number 1096710
Email. jessopprice@hotmail.co.uk

Newsletters will be put on our school website under updates and details on making a donation through the UK charity are also on www.tongabezitrustschool.com

Comments/feedback welcomed

	The Tongabezi Trust School PO Box 60113, Livingstone, Zambia email: vanessa@tongabezi.com

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