Elim PS Celebrates 25 Years of Quality Education

Elim Primary School in Khomasdal kicked off their week-long 25th birthday celebrations with an official ceremony at the school on 21 September.

With hundreds of both current and former pupils in attendance as well as teachers from the past and present.

Founding principal, Gert Jansen, shared a brief history of the school, explaining that Elim Primary was formerly known as Number Five Primary School as it was the fifth primary school in Khomasdal at the time. Only 17 staff and 270 pupils were available then, but since then, the number has fairly grown in numbers, with staff, including gardeners, reaching 42 today.

“Around 4 to 6 May 1990, we marched for a school and we had bazaars to raise funds to get a new building. It was a struggle,” Jansen said. But the founding principal and teachers did not want the school to be called Number Five Primary School any longer. Instead, Nikolas Fillipus, who was a teacher then but has since passed away, decided to call the school Elim from Exodus 15:27 in the Bible, where it states, “then they (Moses and the Israelites) came to Elim, where there were twelve springs and seventy palm trees, and they camped there near the water.”

With inspiration from this verse, the school’s logo now contains a palm tree and a pool of water to symbolise peace.

Ursula Damens, Elim’s second principal, encouraged both pupils and teachers to adapt to the modern times, despite life’s challenges. “Change is inevitable. Change must happen.”

The school’s choir Elim Voices entertained the crowd with a few songs to cheer up the pupils and a candlelight ceremony was held as well, where 25 candles were lit in the school’s honour.

The director of education in the Khomas region Gerard Vries was also in attendance, delivering a brief speech about how the school should strive to reach success.

“As alluded by on author, an anniversary is a time to celebrate the joys of today the memories of yesterday and the hopes of tomorrow. Education plays an important role in thee current war of poverty. Elim Primary School has produced prominent members in the Namibian society and I urge the school to continue doing well.

Raise the bar in the upcoming exams. Keep on striving.”

Elim also held a march from the school until the Western Suburbs, a talent show and a beauty pageant during the celebrations.