america, say hello to 8A

once upon a time there was a group of learners--some hailing from ndiyona (the namesake of our school), others from neighboring villages like kanyumara, others from the bush and some even from angola. but theres one thing that brought all of these kids and one random american together--the label 8A.



on the street (dirt roads to be precise) were better known as 8A[ction] but for the purpose of this blog you can just call us 8A[mbassadors]. 

here was the idea born from the pride of 8A: document our school year through photos, videos, and short messages all with one purpose: teach americans about namibians. these kids decided that americans perhaps don't have the best image of africa or an accurate one for that matter. and who better to serve as ambassadors of their nation…than its own citizens? and so that was how 8A[mbassadors] was born. 

some kids envy our class. others want to join it. but can you blame them? and, no, its not just cause they have the american teacher. its cause they have the inherent and unwavering passion for learning and life. 

with that, 8A hopes that you enjoy the journey as you  follow our school year and all the ensuing trials, tribulations but mostly exciting times that will surely occur.  feel free to leave messages for the kids…as their hope is to engage some americans with discussions that they initiate. i gave the kids free range on my macbook: this is their chance to learn how to use a computer (for the first time), practice writing english, and see exactly how that tool aka the internet works and effectively ties our globe together making it that much smaller. [took me about 3.7 hours to explain what a blog is] so check out the contents of this blog--unedited and raw, direct from my learners.

mpandu unene vakwetu! 

-mr. francolino (better known as sir or matt, you choose)

but before we get to the crux of our blog lets begin to meet our learners

meet some our learners who reside at table #1:

my name is mushosho Paulinus. how is it in America? in Namibia it is fine.  i like to play soccer with my friends. im in grade 8a. i'm 14 years old and my nick name is Cristiano Ronaldo. i was born in 1998. my best subject math and Agriculture. my class teacher is Mr Matthew Francolino.

my name is kantana johannes Ndumba. I like to play soccer and running athletics. My nick name is Eto'o. I like math most because Math is my favorite subject. My symbol in math is A.

my name is tweya michael. I like to play soccer and volley ball. my nick name is Rkelly. my favorite subject is English because i want to know how to speak English.

my name is edward kampala marungu. I like to dance to music.   my nick name  is Fernando Torres. my favorite subject is Math and english. My class teacher is Mr francolino.  all the way from windhoek!

My name is Shiwoko Kudumo joseph .I like to play soccer. my nick name is Thomas rosicky.  my favorite subject is math. Im in grade 8Action I was born in 1998.

 and now for some photos with the cliques...