Media Release
Minister of Education Debbie Schäfer
Western Cape

8 November, 2015

WCED pays tribute to Western Cape's top teachers.

Statement by Minister Debbie Schäfer, Minister of Education

The Western Cape Education Department presented awards in 10 categories to the province's top teachers on Friday, 6 November 2015. Debbie Schäfer, Western Cape Education Minister, presented the following address at the award ceremony, held at the Old Mutual in Pinelands.

'The last year has certainly been an eventful one, and I suspect that the next will be too. We have had ANA confusion, I have been locked in a school, we have had a Matric pupil driving the bus to school and we have on-going protests for incredibly different reasons. We have a huge financial crisis and a lot of work to do still in this province to improve education.

But among all this, I am very pleased to still be here at my second Annual teaching Awards, which is the 16th Annual Provincial Teaching Awards Ceremony. I think it is important, amongst all the daily concerns, to take some time to relax and enjoy ourselves and celebrate the good things, which tonight are the excellent educators in the Province.

It has been said, "The mediocre teacher tells, the good teacher explains, the superior teacher demonstrates, and the great teacher inspires", so we have a lot of inspiration in the room this evening. These are the teachers who do not need to hear comments like the following:

Teacher: Craig, you know you can't sleep in my class.
Craig: I know, but maybe if you were a little quieter, I could".

I believe that it is important to recognise and celebrate the invaluable work of our teachers in this province.

And there is no better place to do this than at this ceremony surrounded by the 'best in the business' or should I say the 'best in the Western Cape', which generally means the same thing!

So tonight I look forward to celebrating with you and honouring some of the outstanding educators who inspire and motivate our children every day.

A great teacher lives by a few basic principles, to be the best teacher that they can be and to serve as a worthy role model for the learners in their care. This of course involves being fair, but given that children are so clever, you need to be careful. One day a child asked his teacher - "would you punish me for something I didn't do?". "Of course not", said the teacher. "Good", he said, "because I didn't do my homework"!

A great teacher is someone who goes beyond the call of duty, who stretches the boundaries, and who sees the value in teaching illiterate parents to read.

A great teacher encourages learners to expect the best of themselves despite their socio-economic backgrounds.

An excellent teacher is someone who works patiently with special needs learners, who works hard every day to ensure that our learners receive excellent education suited to their special needs, and that as many learners as possible are taught skills that will enable them to take up their place as contributing members of society, and to reach their full potential.

An excellent teacher is someone whose passion for difficult subjects such as maths and science, rubs off on the learners and who inspires his or her learners to do better and be better.

An excellent teacher works hard to create a bond of mutual respect between teacher and learner and considers the learners different strengths, weaknesses, abilities and background when doing so.

It is also important for me that our excellent teachers understand the vital leadership role they play in their schools and communities, and that they work together with us to improve education and instil good values in our children, including respect for others, respect for property and upholding the law.

It goes without saying that our excellent teachers are our most important resource.

We must do everything possible to support our teachers, especially those who are committed to making a difference in very difficult circumstances.

I must say that we are very fortunate in the Western Cape to have so many educators who continue to go selflessly beyond the call of duty to ensure that their learners receive the best quality education.

This year we received 167 nominations for the Provincial Awards.

Tonight sitting before me are 59 nominees, 59 excellent teachers, and 59 of our provinces top teachers, who have demonstrated commitment and dedication to the teaching profession - and I must say that after reading through many of the nominee profiles, that this year we had an especially high calibre of nominees. It was therefore a great challenge to choose 10 awards winners from the list of dedicated, committed and outstanding teachers.

So tonight, to all the nominees, I honour you, the Department honours you, the Western Cape Government honours you, and we thank you for dedicating your lives to education.

Each and every one of you has had some impact on changing the lives of our learners and so contributing to change in our communities and in this province. Education is fundamental in any society, and whether our learners receive a good education or a bad education can determine the rest of their lives. Teachers are in fact the creators of all professions. As they say - if you can read, thank a teacher.

There is a quote by Donald D Quinn that says 'If a doctor, lawyer, or dentist had 40 people in his office at one time, all of whom had different needs, and some of whom didn't want to be there and were causing trouble, and the doctor, lawyer, or dentist, without assistance, had to treat them all with professional excellence for nine months, then he might have some conception of the classroom teacher's job.'

This is perhaps why I changed my mind in Grade 8 from wanting to be a teacher to wanting to be a lawyer!

But I have also seen for myself over the last year some of the rewards. I have seen such a hunger for learning from tiny children to progressed Matrics attending Spring School to try and pass their exams. Another one of those sayings is that "a teacher takes a hand, opens a mind and touches a heart". It is also a great privilege to be able to touch so many hearts and open so many minds every day. And I have seen when you do that how the children react. I have had my heart touched a few times this last year, and for those who know me that is not an easy thing to do. So maybe my decision to be a lawyer was not such a good one after all. At least now I get to experience some of this privilege when I do school visits.

Of course, I don't need to tell anyone in this audience about the real meaning of the word sacrifice. You are here this evening because you make great sacrifices day in and day out so that you can improve education in your field of expertise, in your school and in this province.

I could not be prouder to stand here tonight and to take part in the awards ceremony to recognize your outstanding loyalty and devotion to our learners.

Tonight's celebration is, of course, not the end of this process. I should sincerely like to wish all our winners the best of luck in the National round of the teaching awards. It would be fantastic to see some Western Cape winners! Regardless, you are all winners in our eyes already.

I hope you will always continue to have the passion, commitment and resilience that you have shown thus far and that together we can make a huge impact on our province and our country.

I would like to thank all nominees that are here tonight for their dedicated, caring and professional service and for your contribution towards excellence in our schools.

And let me take this opportunity to pay tribute to all those who have worked so hard throughout the year to make this great event possible Eddie Kirsten, Gavin De Bruin, and all WCED Officials involved in the adjudication process. Thank you very much for everything that you do and I hope you have an enjoyable rest of the evening.

Thank you and Good Luck.'

Summary of Process - Provincial Teaching Awards Process - 2015

Aim of Awards:

The awards acknowledge the extraordinary efforts of teachers who excel, often under difficult circumstances. They provide a crucial service to our children, many whom live in poor communities.

Background

The awards are presented annually at both provincial and national level. The rigorous adjudication process culminates in a prestigious Awards Ceremony, where the provincial winners are announced by the provincial Minister of Education.

The 2015 provincial awards Ceremony will be held at the West Campus Building, Mutual Park, in Pinelands on the 06 November 2015.

Categories:

The awards recognize excellence in the following categories:

• Excellence in Primary School Teaching
• Excellence in Secondary School Teaching
• Excellence in Grade R Teaching
• Excellence in Special Needs and Inclusive Teaching
• Excellence in Technology -Enhanced Teaching and Learning Award
• Excellence in teaching Mathematics (GET)
• Excellence in teaching Natural Sciences (GET)
• Excellence in Primary School Leadership
• Excellence in Secondary School Leadership
• Lifetime Achievement Award (Minimum of 30 years without a break of service in a public school/centre in South Africa)

Process:

The process started with the WCED calling on the school communities to nominate excellent teachers that excel in their area of expertise as per the categories above.

The nominations were received by the Districts that are clustered together in 6 clusters, i.e.

Metrople North & Metrople East Education Districts;
Metropole South & Metropole Central Education Districts;
Eden & central Karoo Education District
Cape Winelands Education District;
Overberg Education District;
West Coast Education District.

The District clusters adjudicate on the nominations received and identify the local winners. Die panel is made up of retired school principals and teachers district officials. Teacher Unions are also represented on the adjudication panels.

The district clusters announced the winners at centralized cluster functions. The names of the cluster winners are forwarded to a provincial panel that identifies the provincial winners. The provincial is also made up of retired school principals and teachers district officials. Teacher Unions are also represented on the adjudication panels.

Awards received:

The WCED awarded certificates of excellence to cluster winners, along with an ICT voucher to be redeemed at a reputable ICT provider. In addition to the prizes awarded, the schools of the finalists will also receive R 5 000 that must be used towards professional development of the whole teaching staff.

The provincial winners will also receive certificates of excellence, along with ICT vouchers to be redeemed at a reputable ICT provider, the value of the vouchers at provincial level:
Winners - R 12 000
Runners-up - R 7 000

In addition winning schools will each receive R 7 500 that must be used for professional development for the whole teaching staff.

Nominations received:

Clusters: 167 nominations received from schools

Provincial nominees: 39 schools, 59 teachers including five teams will receive awards.

Provincial winner: 10 individuals, at 10 schools.

See the below for the names of the winners and their citations.

National Adjudication

National Adjudication will take place during the 06 - 13 December 2015 in Pretoria.

Excellence in Primary School Teaching

Motivation:

It is remarkable how one person can make an immense difference to a school and community, irrespective of how poor the conditions, bad the socio-economic circumstances, wide the cultural diversity and/or seemingly insurmountable the challenges may seem. In Hanover Park Ms Hector is that person. It was in a similar area that she grew up, went to school and felt the calling to teach in order to be "in the life-changing business". She is the one who shows vulnerable parents, learners and teachers a way out of their untenable situations.

She lives by a few basic principles: to be the best possible teacher that she can be, to display a keen sense of pride in her work and to serve as a worthy role model for the learners in her care. She firmly believes that educators must care deeply about their learners, as they are in dire need of love, direction and affirmation, and that a teacher must establish his/her classroom as a place of safety in which learners can feel secure, comfortable, accepted and valued. She also believes that staying updated and well-versed in terms of the curriculum, teaching goals, subject matter, teaching styles, planning and implementation, and monitoring, are prerequisites for successful teaching and learning.

She employs strategic teaching skills, displays sincere respect for her learners, has a constructive rapport with her learners, optimises learning, puts much effort into her teaching practice and goes beyond the curriculum to support the learners. Both her term planning and lesson planning are always up to date and are aligned to CAPS and Annual Teaching Plan aims and her content coverage is paced accordingly. She uses mind maps, concept charts, diary entries and the ABC brainstorming chart to engage learners in a way that optimises learning and critical thinking. She ensures that she upholds the principle of inclusion.

She is master of her profession. She inspires her colleagues to strive for excellence in teaching by setting the example. For her, planning, preparation, implementation, evaluation and monitoring are key factors to ensure quality teaching and learning. Her excellent mastery and implementation of information technology and the written media further enhances and maximises the impact of her teaching.

The learner as such, forms her main focus area; she respects each child's personhood and works diligently to promote the well-being of all. Thus, under her guidance and leadership, several clubs and societies have been established in both the school and the community in order to address various social concerns and issues, such as HIV/AIDS, gangsterism, drugs, gender inequality and various forms of abuse.

Miss Hector is a teacher of the highest order and therefore a most worthy recipient of this award.

Excellence in Secondary School Teaching

Motivation:

Ms Ras-Pretorius teaches Dramatic Arts in the FET Phase at Desmond Mpilo Tutu Secondary School and has done remarkably well in the subject over the years, attaining a 100% pass rate for Grade 12 since 2005. She was appointed as Chief Marker for Dramatic Arts from 2008 to 2014. A number of her learners attained Bachelor Passes in Grade 12 and furthered their studies in Drama. Where learners struggle academically, she arranges psychometric testing to ascertain where they encounter problems. Continuously striving to obtain better results, she always offers a second chance with their assessment. She provides afternoon classes to learners in need of extra support. Where learners are absent, she visits them and makes sure that they catch up on the work done in class to ensure that they do not fall behind.

With her extensive subject and CAPS knowledge, methodology and experience in the NSC marking, she is able to assist her learners to excel beyond their expectations. Her classroom creates an atmosphere that is conducive to quality teaching and learning and this personifies her passion for education.

Her Dramatic Arts learners participate in national competitions e.g. Klein Karoo National Arts Festival. As a subject, Dramatic Arts is diverse addressing issues such as gender equality, sexuality, poverty, gangsterism, peer pressure etc. In teaching the subject Ms Ras-Pretorius takes a personal interest in learners who are negatively affected by their personal circumstances. She is also involved in integrating township learners with other schools by using her learners to introduce pantsula and gumboot dancing to city schools.

It is her belief that theatre can change society by influencing learners positively. She works in the community, assists with community activities, does home visits, supports and motivates them to use the learning opportunities available to them. Being sensitive to social problems, she acts as a guardian to those learners who are emotionally challenged. Her personal involvement adds value to her relationship with learners by being able to know them on another level.

Despite the fact that the school is not well resourced, Ms Ras-Pretorius is undeterred from continuing to strive for improved conditions, in many instances using her own finances. She stretches boundaries, is innovative and encourages reading to improve thinking and writing skills. For this reason she initiated the school newspaper. She assists teachers where necessary, is kind to colleagues and loves to be occupied with school administrative duties. She attends to detail from paper to practice.

Ms Ras-Pretorius is organised, constantly tries to raise the standard and has a good relationship with colleagues and learners. Her strong values and norm system are inspiring for the school and wider community. She loves life, is a committed teacher, unique, confident, vivacious, dedicated to the profession and her children, and is an outstanding role model.

Excellence in Grade R Teaching

Motivation:

Mrs Roelofse has been the Grade R teacher and Head of Department of the pre-primary school at De la Bat School for the Deaf for 20 years. In her 33 years of experience she gained a sound knowledge of Grade R, pre-Grade R and specifically deaf learners. She has a diverse classroom of learners with most learners coming from poor socio-economic environments and various challenges. She strives to develop every learner to his/her full potential with respect and compassion. She knows each learner's strengths and weaknesses.

Every year's Grade R class comes as a new challenge to her and with dedication and positivity she prepares these special learners for the challenges they might face in Grade 1. She uses innovative techniques to address the children's learning and behaviour challenges in a creative manner. She creates a stimulating, relaxing and creative environment to give her learners the best opportunities to develop holistically.

She uses every opportunity to improve herself by attending any course that would add value to her existing knowledge and skills. She is always prepared to present demonstration lessons to inspire other teachers and share new ideas. She is a lead teacher for special schools and assists with ECD training at the National Institute for the Deaf College.

The learners in Mrs Roelofse's care have benefitted from the implementation of a carefully developed CAPS curriculum which is very effectively used in her daily formal and informal teaching and assessment. She spends a lot of time on speech and speech reading development of the child to prepare them for the hearing world.

Mrs Roelofse is a role model and inspiration to the staff, learners and the community. She has been involved with the dance and rhythmic development of the deaf for 30 years. She is involved with various fundraising projects to raise funds for the pre-primary department. One of her latest projects was to run a sponsored road race overseas at the age of 60.

As a dynamic Grade R teacher she is worthy of receiving this prestigious award.

Excellence in Special Needs and Inclusive Teaching

Motivation:

Ms Claasen teaches at Ligstraal School, Paarl. She is mainly responsible for the Autism Unit. She teaches a diverse group of learners with autism. Each learner has different symptoms and styles of learning; therefore her focus is on developing those skills that learners can apply in the present, but mostly for the future.

She excels in understanding the necessary adaptation of the CAPS curriculum to the needs of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) learners. She uses the strengths and interests of her learners to foster independent learning. Knowing each learner is essential in building strong relationships to ensure trust, safety and security to develop each learner holistically. To address the special needs of her learners she provides tools, such as written or picture schedules, to ensure that the flow of activities is understandable and predictable. The integration of technology such as visual and smart boards, computers, videos and television is an outstanding feature of this teacher's lesson plan. Ms Claasen bases her adapted curriculum on the learner's individual characteristics and not on the label of autism.

She prepares learners for independent living and social integration in their community. Ms Claasen creates a highly structured environment to assist learners with routine, structure and predictability. She heeds the importance of time, place and a safe and secure environment as it is vital to ASD learners who struggle with position and space. Her classroom policies shy away from rigidity and focus more on what will work most effectively to the advantage of the autistic child.

Even though working with the autistic child is a challenge, Ms Claasen exhibits a joy and a passion that clearly is to the benefit of her learners. She believes that her charges should be in good health, free from pain and irritation. She is exceptional in exercising patience, a critical skill for teaching autistic children and uses alternative ways of communication e.g. Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS) and Makaton (Sign Language use for the ASD person).

Furthermore, Ms Claasen is a firm believer in a team approach, making use of social workers, psychologists and local clinics to assist parents to provide the best for their child. Regular home visits ensure parental involvement in the wellbeing of the child.

Ms Claasen is a dedicated and committed teacher. Her personal motto "I cannot change the student, but I can change my teaching methods" demonstrates her exceptional approach to the uniqueness of her learners. She is indeed an inspirational role model to all working in the field of special needs teaching.

Excellence in teaching Natural Sciences (GET)

Motivation:

Ms Olivier has been teaching for a number of years in a governing body post and has only been permanently employed by the WCED for a few years. She is passionate about Natural Sciences and her vision and mission are to ignite learners' love for Natural Sciences. She is a motivated and enthusiastic Natural Sciences teacher.

She started her teaching career at the High School where she had a 100% pass rate in Biology. As a previous LSEN teacher she is able to reach all levels of learning styles in the classroom. She understands that learners come from different cultural backgrounds and she is sensitive to socio-economic issues.

She is an excellent role model, challenges learners' abilities and is respected by her colleagues. She believes that a good and solid foundation at lower grades is important, so that the learners can obtain good grades at high school.

She believes that doing experiments on a regular basis will keep the subject alive since learners will be able to see and participate in doing practical tasks. She gives high order activities to learners who are excellent in her subject and also provides the opportunity for her learners to participate in the Astro Quiz where they can compete at regional as well as national level, to show their talent.

She is a master of her subject and cannot be faulted in her knowledge and experience as a Natural Sciences teacher. She diligently attends departmental meetings and workshops to sharpen her knowledge and classroom practices to gain a better understanding of her subject to ultimately benefit her learners. When CAPS was introduced she was a lead teacher and she is also currently the subject head at the school.

Much of her energy goes into identifying learners who are struggling with the subject. To assist these learners in reaching their full potential she is involved in providing extra classes and introduced intervention groups that assist these learners in understanding and not falling behind in their work.

She works well with her colleagues as well as with other colleagues from the schools in the area. They exchange learning materials and question papers to improve the standard of Natural Sciences in the area.

Ms Olivier is innovative and uses different assessment methods. She believes that the learners must acquire different skills. She believes and teaches learners to understand that Science is part of their daily lives, even making a cup of coffee is part of science.

Most learners fear Science and she always ensures that a conducive and non-threatening atmosphere is created in the classroom where learners may pose questions in a non-threatening way to alleviate the fear of Science and gain self-confidence at the same time.

She integrates different modes of technology in her class and created a social media group where parents may ask questions about homework and assignments given to their children.

Ms Olivier is functional and hands on in her practical approach to teaching Natural Sciences, always prepared and on top of her game.

Excellence in teaching Mathematics (GET)

Motivation:

Mrs Herman demonstrates all the required qualities which cause her to stand out as the winner of this category. She has spent 13, 5 of her 30+ years' teaching experience teaching at her current poverty-stricken school. She is experienced as a passionate, dedicated, conscientious and committed teacher towards her learners, colleagues and parents as well as everybody who comes into contact with her. While she is ever mindful of the learners' mental and intellectual developmental needs, she also addresses their physical needs to ensure that her learners are not hungry and therefore able to participate fully in the day's proceedings. While the class comprises 40+ learners, the teacher has total control of a disciplined class actively engaged in the lesson in a non-threatening way.

It is evident that she was able to create a mutual bond of trust and respect between herself and her learners. The different strengths, weaknesses and abilities, backgrounds, exposure to/experience of the subject are born in mind as well as the diverse cultures when planning her lessons. The different languages used by the learners demand that she code switches to meet the challenging demands of her class group and in so doing she optimises learning.

She is able to motivate learners to want to learn and so work towards understanding Mathematics. She endeavours to use concrete apparatus where necessary when teaching new concepts and progresses to the semi-concrete and the abstract. Her well-planned lessons are excellently structured to cater to the diverse needs of her learners by including an element of fun in order to develop a love for the subject. Her exceptional organisational skills includes all learners into group activities while taking into account their varying levels of understanding and acquired knowledge and skills. She integrates the Mathematics lesson with a drama/English language lesson and makes a concerted effort in her planning to ensure that the activities included are practically-based activities and that learners use Mathematics terminology. At all times attention is focused on the learners achieving a level of success with their Maths activities so that they are driven to set higher personal goals.

The teacher's passion rubs off on learners so that learners are interested and encouraged to follow a career in Mathematics and the teaching profession. She exposes them to stories of various Mathematicians, the history of Mathematics and videos with regard to number patterns in a dramatic and colourful way. Learners see and experience the usefulness of Mathematics in a real and practical way.

She sets targets to achieve high standards of work thus challenging learners' abilities. She creates group presentations and co-operative learning activities for problem-solving situations. Her planning makes use of technology more and more. She bought her own data projector for her PowerPoint presentations. She created and started chat groups which support and allow shy/weaker learners to email or send Mathematics related WhatsApp messages/questions and requests to her at any time. This motivates learners to want to learn and work towards understanding Mathematics. This means of communication is also utilised to issue Mathematical instructions to group leaders at the beginning of a practical lesson. She also developed a structured peer/buddy system to encourage co-operative learning for certain learners. Visual learners are able to use YouTube, "Maths for children" and "Think" (an online programme) as well as CAMI Maths.

She provides for visual auditory learners in her teaching and teaches concepts through visual stimulation - especially geared towards learners with barriers to learning. Since she has gained experience in teaching throughout the grades in the primary school, she is familiar with the curriculum of the previous and following grades and bears this in mind in the planning and teaching of the curriculum. Through her involvement in drama and the extra-curricular activities of the school she meets learners on another level and builds their self-esteem and gains their confidence.

Mrs Herman attends all training courses and makes use of Edumedia and e-learning. She belongs to Academia; she keeps up to date with circulars and the media, and reads about current trends. She networks with teachers of neighbouring schools and officials of the WCED. She is an active member of AMESA. To keep abreast of changes she models life-long learning by being involved with the following: the Africa Institute for Maths & Science, part-time study since 2009, completing an Advanced Certificate in Maths and currently completing a B.Ed Honours degree: Mathematics in Education, attending Maths courses offered by AMESA/WCED while constantly reflecting on and improving her own teaching practice/skills to benefit learners.

She is a lead teacher for Maths in the Senior Phase within the circuit, where she is involved with the presentation of curriculum matters/innovations in Maths. She shares best practices and assists with training/workshops for teachers at other schools in the community. She provides good, sound leadership and mentorship to colleagues at her school as well as at neighbouring schools. Her passion for the subject has rubbed off on the learners and served as an inspiration to other teachers to attend Maths courses and workshops so that they too may sharpen their skills.

Mrs Herman has been involved with the lecturing of Mathematics at second year level at CPUT and UWC thus covering a huge need to teach the teacher how to make Maths teaching meaningful. Her current studies include her research: "Does Maths anxiety affect learner performance?"

Mrs Herman goes to great lengths to promote Mathematics. She creates opportunities for parents and teachers to see how Maths teaching and learning takes place in her class. In her role as the HOD at school, teachers welcome her into their classes to observe and give the necessary support. Opportunities for upward and downward reporting are created to benefit teaching as well as the learner. The subject has improved immensely as a result of Mrs Herman's commitment, dedication, patience and tenacity which have made a marked impact on the learners, teachers and parents.

Excellence in Technology-Enhanced Teaching and Learning Award

Motivation:

This young, very energetic and extremely dedicated English subject teacher, with eight years of experience in teaching, has embraced the use of Information Communication Technology (ICT) in the enhancement of teaching in its totality.

With only four years of teaching English to Grades 11 and 12 learners at Spine Road High School behind her, she has transformed her approach to teaching the subject and has incorporated ICT in all aspects of the curriculum.

She is currently the head of administration at the school, the ICT Co-ordinator and also provides training on e-learning at the school and in the district. She has conducted workshops on ICT for the district office and has also conducted workshops for the Progressive Principals Association focusing on the application of ICT in the classroom.

In her classroom, the "Apple Room", Mrs Ismail uses the 25 Apple laptops and a Smartboard assigned to her to teach learners research skills and also to make electronic resources available to them. Learners have been taught the skills to use creative software and to structure documents and presentations. She introduced learners to software that aids their studying and note-taking. She also initiated peer-tutoring programmes for her subject where stronger learners assist the weaker ones. She makes extensive use of video technology to teach in class and uses technology as part of revision and assessment.

Her use of e-resources and technology-enhanced approach to the teaching of English has brought rich rewards to her and the school. In 2013 the school received the award for the Most Improved in English Home Language and in 2014 the school received the highest average in English Home Language in Mitchells Plain and attained the first 100% pass rate in Grade 12 in Mitchells Plain.

She currently has two teaching blogs, projecting her professional and creative development and allowing for greater exposure for the school and education. The blogs also allow learners to access educational and school content in her absence. Learners are therefore never left behind. She also has an Instagram account with her register class.

An excellent innovation is the audio recording of her lessons for her Grade 12 learners. This allows learners to play back the lesson and do an analysis of what was taught. She also provides information on flash disks which allows learners to go back on previous aspects of the subject. Colours play a major role in the development of learning materials. In that way slower learners are assisted. This ties in with her philosophy of the holistic development of the child by incorporating all the senses of learning. She creates her own electronic resources for her subject. The resources are individualised and structured for the specific use of teaching. She shares these resources with the teachers in the subject department and in doing so, becomes the champion of the integrated approach to teaching and learning, especially focusing on the integration of technology.

Outside the classroom, she started a motivational club, called Ins.P.I.R.E. (Inside People Is Real Education). Through the club, she equips learners with the skills to articulate their emotions through the art of poetry and song. She also started a blog for learners where they post their own poetry. This blog has become a platform for expression and communication. She always encourages her learners to expect the best from themselves in spite of the many negative social-economic conditions that they are faced with daily.

She is an inspirational role model to teachers, learners, parents and the community. She is a pioneer of the digital classroom at her school and her district; she strives to ensure the equitable roll-out of technology whilst supporting and equipping educators with the skills to use technology effectively.

Mrs Ismail is a worthy recipient of this award.

Excellence in Primary School Leadership

Motivation:

Mr Donovan Cleophas has been the principal of Masiphatisane Primary School since 2010 and has brought about a major transformation benefitting both the learners and the community.

Mr Cleophas has an inclusive approach and his leadership is built on democratic principles. This has led to his staff, parents and learners buying into his vision to focus on improving the quality of teaching and learning at this school. He developed a shared vision around standards and measurable success, placing high expectations on the quality of education delivered at the school.

Leading by example, he spends 49% of his time on teaching. Mr Cleophas does not shy away from conflict or the administering of progressive discipline. This ultimately leads to milestones worth mentioning such as the staff attending various capacity-building workshops e.g. "Good School culture" and "Racial diversity". He is proud of the 0, 02% absenteeism rate of his school. Illiterate parents are supported and mentored in understanding CAPS and the pass requirements.

Mr Cleophas believes in life-long learning, having obtained an Advanced Certificate in Education and a B.Ed Honours degree at the University of the Western Cape. He also obtained an ACE in History reading from Leeds University.

Many partnerships were formed between the school and the business community. R1, 5 million in services and products was invested in the school on various projects. More than 800 learners are fed from the feeding scheme supported by the proceeds of a vegetable garden tended by unemployed parents. Generous donations also made a clothing bank possible to provide for learners in need.

He fostered links with different European schools as part of his studies, searching for best practices to implement at Masiphatisane. Reciprocal links with Bakarras School in the United Kingdom has led to learners becoming pen pals as well as exchanging visits between their schools. His efforts have been recognised and rewarded by the WCED as well as DBE. Improved LitNum results as well as excellent WSE and NEEDU reports also attest to his achievements. His peers mandated him to represent the West Coast Education District on the Provincial Principals' Forum.

The attitude of the community has changed from apathy to enthusiastic involvement. His favourite saying, "If it is not good enough for my own child, it is not good enough for anyone else's child", resonates with parents and the community. Having made the decision to lead a township school, comprising of a diverse staff and learners, Mr Cleophas has established himself as a leader of note and a most worthy recipient of this award.

Excellencein Secondary School Leadership

Motivation:

Mr Marthinussen's teaching career spans over 30 years and he has been principal of a very bigco-educational high school for the last 18years.His appointment as principal of the school in 1997 came days after many experienced teachersand most of the senior staff were lost to the school due to the voluntary severance packagesthat wereoffered at the end of 1996.

The nominee found himself leader of a school in an impoverished town with a severe experienced teacher shortage. Undaunted, he set about reviving the fortunes of his school.Seeing himself as an agent of change, he started to introduce policies and procedures in theschool whichwould mirror South Africa's new constitutional precepts and deal with educational transformation and the social challenges facing the school.

The structure of the school and the composition of the school management team werechangedto serve one purpose -the delivery of the curriculum to all learners in the most effective and efficient way possible. The timetable was completely revamped to meet the required subject timesand to ensure optimal use and access to resources. Financial constraints meant thatthesubjects available to the school had to be reduced but a strong focus was placed on Mathsand Science. All FET learners take computer application technology as it isbelieved that computer skills would benefit the learners in the work place. Over the years 7 computer labs have been setup and the school is a free Wi-Fihotspot. The wider community also benefit from this technology as accredited learnerships were introduced and many unemployed young people were placed in jobs on completion of these learnerships.

Great emphasis has been placed on improving academic results, so, while the Grades 8 to 11enjoyed extra Mathematics and Science tuition through contacts with Stellenbosch University,the Grade 12swere given support via Saturday classes and Winter and Spring schools during the holidays. In an effort to get as many Grade 12sas possible into tertiary education, theschool has partnered with firms such as Hisense, Eskom, the Dell Foundation, Apollo Bricks and Atlantis Foundries which support the learners with bursaries to cover study and accommodation costs.

By his attempts at furthering educational transformation at his school, the nominee has been invited to speak at international educational conferences in England, Australia, the Netherlands,China and the USA.

The sporting side of school life is catered for in a wide range of sports, including this year'smatches against their first overseas opponents. Culturally the learners are exposed to drama, choir and debating.As if he hasn't brought enough change to his school, the nominee and the WCED arecurrently involved in a project to build a new school with the help of a private developer.

Mr Marthinussen has established himself as a leader of note and a most worthy recipient of this award.

Lifetime Achievement Award

Motivation:

Mr Botha's teaching career spans over an impressive 41 years, of which 18 years have been as principal of Excelsior Primary. Mr Botha is a good example of an educator who has dedicated his life to improve the lives of the learners under his care and guidance.

Mr Botha's purpose in education is to show a high interest in all levels of school life, thereby creating a healthy balance between academics, culture, sports and life skills. He also believes in creating a safe environment that is conducive to prosperous teaching and learning. He believes that proper people management is one of the most important pillars to build a school's infrastructure. Mr Botha treats people as equals despite rank, age, gender or personal beliefs. He is tough on standards, but gentle with people and this is reflected in his participatory management style.

One of the highlights of Mr Botha's career was the transformation of Excelsior Primary School from a predominantly white school in 1997, to the successful multiracial school that it is now. This was achieved through sheer commitment and dedication. With diligence and passion the doors of learning at Excelsior were opened to other races and foreigners. The social challenges that accompanied this transformation were seen as opportunities to advance the educational experience of all learners, including those from outside the school's feeder areas.

Building the self-esteem of learners and taking them beyond their social economic environment is one of the main objectives of Mr Botha and his team of dedicated educators.

Careful financial management by Mr Botha and the governing body has allowed the school to improve their facilities and infrastructure to meet the needs of their ever changing environment. To this end, the school is in the process of completing a new building for Grade R learners, complete with an aftercare centre for 360 learners. This highly commendable project was financed from the school's own funds. Money was also made available to assist and tutor foreign learners in English.

Mr Botha is a visionary who encourages learners to expect the best from themselves. To achieve this, a value system was established that is based on the following: respect, caring, citizenship, fairness and truthfulness. Mr Botha is of the opinion that every opportunity must be used to change the lives of the learners under his care and to make a difference to their life experience.

Issues of diversity and transformation are carefully managed to promote inclusivity and give expression to one of the school's core values of being a home for all learners. To this end, the leadership and guidance of Mr Botha has been pivotal to the success of the school.

Mr Botha truly embodies the characteristics of humility, commitment, dedication, respect and integrity and this makes him a worthy recipient of this prestigious award.

Media enquiries:
Jessica Shelver
Spokesperson for the Minister of Education, Debbie Schäfer
Western Cape Education Department
Tel: 076 175 0663