Windhoek
Ella du Plessis High School has released its first documentary under the theme, Redefining our identity and purpose against all odds.
The documentary was inspired by the bad publicity the school experienced in recent years, such as crime, learners fighting teachers, and drug addiction among students.
The school hence embarked on a journey of self-discovery to redefine its identity and purpose. The documentary tells a fascinating story about the reality of life at the school through the eyes of more than 40 learners and 20 teachers. The film was shot on location at the school earlier this year by Rector “Ponte Lito” Matongo, a mathematics teacher and media enthusiast at Ella.
Lito says the documentary draws the viewers’ attention into the realities of life at Ella, to help restore the image of the school after it had been distorted by bad media publicity in recent years.
“The documentary is also am attempt to [instill] a sense of pride in the school’s learners and teachers, to give them renewed hope for the future and to motivate them to work hard to reach for the stars, despite all challenges,” says Lito.
The documentary includes learner’s ideas, as well as interviews with students and teachers. In the film Grade 10 learners’ discuss the causes of indiscipline at school, their choir and sports activities, as well as a tribute to Ndiriraro Makono, the boy who was shot dead by a security guard at the school in 2013.
It also includes inserts of interviews with teachers and parents about that dark fateful day in the history of Ella and the negative impact of domestic violence on learners, such as the Grade 11 boy’s story of courage and strength to pursue his studies despite the murder of his mother by her boyfriend in 2012.