
It was a day of great blessings and jubilation on Tuesday as Hope Schools celebrated their 14th Founders Day while also showing off some of the new additions to the school.
The day kicked off with a guided tour by the pupils to various departments of the school such as the skills development and grade R, grade 2 and grade 7 classrooms.
Skills development coordinator Philip Wynne said they hoped to kit out the building as a workshop in the near future.
“It is absolutely fantastic to have this. You can see the huge amount of pride for pupils with the skills they have learnt and the projects they have completed,” Wynne said.
The skills development programmes include woodwork, metal work, plumbing, cooking and sewing classes.
Wynne said the programmes also open up a different world of opportunities for the pupils.
The school hall, with a dining hall on the ground floor, is approaching completion. The school renovations and added facilities have been sponsored by an anonymous German company.
School board chair Dr Alan Staples said the school had come a long way since its founding.
“The school hall is named after Ruth and Bernd Gombert’s business in Germany, Sois Blessed (So Blessed), which sells some of our children’s creations,” Staples said.
Ruth Gombert said it was a pleasure for them to be back at the school.
“We appreciate everyone for their dedication in creating this space and all who made this possible,” she said.
Gombert was the guest speaker at the 2018 Founders Day, and had flown out again to South Africa with her husband, Bernd.
Guests at the event included principals from Selborne College, Stirling Primary and Port Rex Technical High schools, to name but a few.
School co-founder and guest speaker Rev John Benn highlighted that everyone was on a journey to the unknown with God.
“We had faith through the hardships while starting the school. We hope to move forward but without love we have nothing. God leaves us with these three things: faith, hope and love. I do hope the greatest tradition to come out the school is love,” Benn said.
Tokens of appreciation were also given to all those that had assisted with the school over the years. Fun activities for the pupils included participating in an obstacle course while their parents, teachers and visitors looked on.