Strass Alumni - Livingstone

To all the Old Boys and our friends, let's support our School. Next year is a Golden Jubilee.

Picture from Chishimba Hansingo

Keep the flag flying

Hi everyone,
We have decided to change this page to Strass Alumni because there is an already exist page for St. Raphael's Sec. The administrators for both pages are in contact communication.The link to the School page is below (https://www.facebook.com/StRaphaelsSecondarySchoolLivingstone)

St. Raphael's secondary school - Livingstone Education

Interesting writing by Advocate Kaizala Tembo (2000 exit)

ST RAPHAELS SECONDARY SCHOOL- TRIBUTE
I remember the time i qualified as a zeze to STRASS in 1996. It was an honour because it automatically entitled me to some respect from my friends in the neighbourhood. It was a very respectable school where only pupils who had done exceptionally well in primary school were taken. I was of a very dimunitive stature at the time and people would wonder where i was coming from. As a zeze, as we were known, we succumbed to the physical intimidation of huge sugos who at the time were so huge and fit to run their own homes as fathers. In this rank, i recall pupils like Mweetwa, who was the headboy. The school was home to mixed races comprising predominantly blacks,indians and coloureds.
STRASS was run by the Irish catholics and the headmaster was Brother O`reilly. Everyone who was at Strass that time knows that this was the man. He never condoned nonsense from pupils and teachers alike. I remember having encounters of bomb slaps from him for not having payed my school fees. whether it was my fault or not , he never cared. Similarly, i witnessed an incident where he slapped a teacher for not being properly dressed. This attitude created a sense of discipline in us and this trade mark can be seen in almost all the St Raphaelsians who witnessed this.
Brother O' Reilly was not a man to meet anywhere in school as there was a likelihood that you may be found wanting in one way or another. Every teacher would be teaching in class at all times.It was un heard of for pupils to avoid classes will-nilly. Every pupil wanted to be the best and our flock grew up in one category of know how such that if any person was brought in on transfer from some other school, he would have an uphill battle to catch up. His results may be far far below the class average. For us, passing was not an issue. What was an issue was the marks one got.
I remember the playing of chimpombwa in the school pitch over break and lunch. I remember the wednesdays for clean ups. The well stocked library and debate sessions we had with our rival schools at the time in the names of St Mary's and Hillcrest. I remember the traditional inter-class football competition. All these left an indelible mark in my memory. As a result of these activities, this school is a parent to lawyers, doctors, engineers, pharmacists, adminstrators and pastors among others. Without doubt, it should be high time that we should no longer think of what this school did for us but what we should now do for it.
I am aware that we have an alumni, but we have reached a level where we should not be reminded of the duty that we owe to the school. Our Alumni should hav been the busiest now in arranging and adminstering the various gifts and donations to the school. Looking at the size of the school and the brains it has produced, the school should have been having more than enough by now if all its former pupils remained committed.I should confess that i am guilty of this neglect myself and this acceptance should be a beginning point for change. Equally who ever has done nothing now has an opportunity to contribute on a fresh page.
I pay tribute to our fallen teachers- Mr Namatama, Mr. Zulu and Mr Hanyuma, May their souls rest in eternal peace. I LOVE ALL ST RAPHAELSIANS. IF U ARE A FORMER STRASS BOY, PLIZ SAY YES!!!!