A decade of Sunshine

Sunshine Private Academy has gone from strength to strength in their first decade of education for the nation.
Yanna Smith
Justicia Shipena



Ten years ago, Sunshine Private School, going by the mantra 'Finis Coronat Opus' or, 'the end crowns work', opened for the first time with one staff member and three pupils who were taught weekly, led by the principal and founder Nomakondo Kangira.

Fast forward to today and Sunshine boasts a high number of pupils and staff members and is now a fully integrated school that accommodates pupils of all races.

Kangira registered a pre-primary school then later followed with grades 1 to 3 and later grades 4 to 7. Sunshine Private School performed way above the regional and national average expectations in the national standardised achievement test in the grade 5 English and mathematics exams.

The learners of the school scooped a number of awards in the science fair and in 2017 it was the first in the cluster in mathematics exams for grades 4, 5 and 6.

Speaking to The Zone on Friday, Nomakondo Kangira, said she gives credit to God and also acknowledged the dedication of the staff who understand her goal and vision of providing quality education.

Kangira further explained that she chose the name 'Sunshine' for the school as she does not look at dark things of life, she always looks at the brighter side.

“That is the reason I gave the name Sunshine and the sun will shine forever,” she said.

This year the school introduced grade 8 classes and plans to expand the secondary section as well as implement the new education curriculum.



The Marimba band

The school has a band called the Marimba which was introduced in 2016 with grades 6 and 7. During 2016 the learners could play up to nine songs. Later in 2017, the bands recruited more members and the learners are grouped into the band through talent identification.

In 2017 the band's first gigantic outside performance was at the Windhoek Agricultural Show. After the Windhoek Agricultural Show the band performed at one of the events of Nored at the Nice restaurant.

The band also got a recording session with Namibia Broadcasting Cooperation (NBC) at one of their shows called Studio 6 and they have recorded about three songs. United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) also recorded a DVD with the band to use it to promote children's participation in the sustainable development goals (SDGs) and also to encourage schools to come on-board to mainstream the SGDs into the education system.

After that the band started partnerships with a lot of organisations including the Franco Namibia Cultural Centre (FNCC) and French Embassy. They also performed at one the events of the Indonesian Embassy.

Marimba also engaged with the Africa Group of Embassies and they performed at the Africa Day celebrations at Safari Court. They also went to United Nations celebrations and last month they played at the UNESCO IPDC talk held at Gateway Centre.

The school celebrated its 10th birthday in September at the Independence Stadium in Windhoek with different activities including a competition. The school hopes to maintain a high standard of discipline and provide quality education to its pupils for many more years to come. From the beginning the school was supported by Jairos Kangira, a leading international professor in higher education.