October 29 photo assignment: Charlotte's Grade 2 assembly

Last Friday, Charlotte's class took a turn to lead the HOPAC primary assembly (akin to the ECES chapel).   Charlotte had been reporting that they were telling about the stories of Noah, Zechariah, healthy eating raps, and several songs in Swahili.  Going into the assembly, I wondered how it would all come together, but it was a great presentation!

First up was the National Anthem of Tanzania.  Charlotte and one of her classmates, Zanab, were chosen to help lead the student body.  Our kids love singing this song about 1,000 times a day and so I'm becoming very familiar with it.  The lyrics are in Swahili, but I found an English translation (beautiful words!)
Verse 1:  God Bless Africa. Bless its leaders.  Let Wisdom Unity and Peace be the shield of Africa and its people.  
Verse 2: God Bless Tanzania.  Grant eternal Freedom and Unity to its sons and daughters.  God Bless Tanzania and its People.  
Chorus:  Bless Africa, Bless Africa, bless the children of Africa.



"Mungu ibariki Africa!"

Next up were the healthy eating raps, written and performed by the students (and hilarious!)  Charlotte and company's verse was about the benefits of eating vegetables and fruits versus junk food.  

"Word!  Peace out!"  Note the rap hat costume change.

The final part for Charlotte was playing the role of Elizabeth in finding out she would be mother to John the Baptist.  Here she is with "Zechariah."

Another costume change!

The class ended with several songs, including "I have decided to follow Jesus," sung in both English and Swahili, and "Standing on the Promises."  Both songs had a lot of motions and Charlotte was very energetic.  I got some video clips but apparently our internet connection isn't good enough to upload them.

After the assembly with BFF Zawadi: