EVANDER – Unicorn Nursery School celebrated 60 years of existence on 27 September.
TP Stratten Primary School was also part of the celebrations and Unicorn will now be called TP Stratten Pre-primary School.
The school was established in 1956 by Ms Rinie Viljoen and other parents who lived in Evander.
Ms Viljoen, who is now 81 years old, said the school began in a house and children used car tyres to sit on and play with.
When the school was established, there were no teachers and Ms Viljoen had to teach the kids while her own child, who was still breast fed at the time, was on her back.
Only English and Afrikaans were offered and most parents who came from outside South Africa to work at the mine, learned the two languages from their children.
When the children reached the age of going to school, they went to Kinross with the bus because there was no school in Evander at the time.
Laerskool Hoëveld was built 50 years ago.
Ms Viljoen shared her memories of the old Evander which had only one café from which you could anything.
The town also had only one street.
Before they had a café, they used to buy bread in Standerton and Springs.
Ms Viljoen loved teaching and only retired from teaching three years ago.
“I retired only three years ago and when I now look at the school and compare it with how it was begun, I can now say it is a school and not a house anymore,” said Ms Viljoen.
She said some of the kids she taught during the sixties and are now living oversees, still talk with her on Whatsapp.
Ms Maritjie Viljoen, the current school manager, said it is good to see the school building is still in a good condition, especially the house that was used to teach children in in 1956.
