Media Release
Minister of Education Debbie Schäfer
Western Cape

6 November, 2016

Western Cape honours top teachers.

Speech by Debbie Schäfer, Western Cape Education Minister

THEME: Our Teachers: Our Olympians

'I cannot believe that another year has flown by and we are once again meeting at this wonderful ceremony to acknowledge our excellent teachers at this, the 17^th Annual Provincial Teaching Awards Ceremony.

This year's theme, 'Our teachers, our Olympians' is a fitting tribute to our excellent teachers who are indeed our country's champions. And I think it is equally fitting that we celebrate this every year, and not every four years.

The difference is that our Olympians don't get four years to train for the main race! You are running the race every day, often against extreme odds.

And on that note I would like to draw attention to a quote by an international education speaker Barbara Colorose - "If kids come to us from strong, healthy, functioning homes it makes our job easier. If they do not come from strong, healthy, functioning families, it makes our job more important."

I think our good teachers should be regarded as our marathon champions, because in this business you sure need staying power. Perhaps mixed with the steeplechase, because while you are running you have to overcome numerous obstacles along the way.

But I know that those who are being honoured here tonight do all of this because they know that every child in our beautiful country deserves a champion.

• A champion who will never give up on them.

• A champion who sees their potential, who believes in them and encourages them never to give up.

• A champion who encourages them to be the very best that they can be.

You are those champions.

Tonight we celebrate excellence in teaching and we honour some of the outstanding educators who have gone above and beyond the call of duty to ensure that they are the champions we need in our schools. They are those who inspire and motivate our children every day.

There is a saying that says that a person who is appreciated will always do more than is expected. Tonight we are here to appreciate you, because you have done more than expected.

There are many champions and great leaders amongst us tonight, not only because you have done great things but because you have ensured that the learners in your care have gone on to do great things.

The role of a teacher in a child's life cannot be overemphasised. Each child is a blank canvas and the teachers who have learners in their care for hours every day make a mark on that canvas that can never be erased.

Now this is a responsibility that most would shy away from, but not those who are here tonight.

When I read through the nominee profiles for the awards, it was encouraging that there are so many teachers in our province who go above and beyond the call of duty every day. This is also consistent with what I have seen when I have conducted visits to various parts of the province. We have many truly dedicated, excellent teachers, so those who are here tonight must be truly outstanding.

Teachers who work evenings and weekends, not only to better the lives of the learners in their care but for the learners' families and the broader school community too.

Teachers who believe in a holistic approach to education, who work with parents and outside stakeholders to ensure that the learners in their care have access to the best resources possible. This whole of society approach is what is required to take us forward and make a real difference in our province and society.

There are teachers who have used their own initiative and have taken it upon themselves to develop programmes and projects, some who support and mentor other teachers and others that support and develop learning in various subjects. In an ever changing and diverse education system, it is important that you are able to think for yourselves and find different ways of working and thinking more creatively. It is also important, of course, to ensure that our learners are taught these skills.

In each candidate's motivation, there were many examples of outstanding leadership and contributions from educators across the province.

It excites me to see how many of you have run new and innovative programmes in your schools.

One of the most remarkable qualities of a good leader is that they develop new leaders. Many of you have done this by ensuring your staff and colleagues attend courses and further training on management and leadership development.

And so it is important to acknowledge quality, excellence and professionalism in the education sector. That is why we attach such great importance to these awards.

This year, we have also introduced a new award for the Provincial category only - the "After School Leadership Excellence Award".

Tonight, this prestigious award will be presented to an individual who demonstrates passion and innovation in motivating their school team to provide creative, dynamic and interesting After School Programming to their learners.

In the Western Cape, one of our priorities is to expand access to quality after-school programmes across the province.

The After School Game Changer is a critical intervention - not only to keep our children safe and occupied in constructive activities after school, but also to engage with them in extra-mural mathematics and language programmes, tutoring, sporting activities and cultural and behavioural programmes.

Recent research from CHEC suggests that involvement in extramural activities is one of the biggest influences on a learner's employment prospects when they leave school because of the different kinds of "soft skills" they learn by participating in these activities.

The Western Cape Government has set itself the goal of more than doubling the participation of learners from disadvantaged schools in after school activities, and ensuring regular attendance. We aim to achieve this by significantly improving the attractiveness and quality of such programmes for learners by 2019.

This Game Changer will however, not be possible without strong leaders that motivate and encourage not only their school staff, but also other government departments, NGOs and religious organisations to contribute to their school's after-school activities.

Strong committed leadership lies at the heart of this Game Changer's success. I look forward to the announcement of tonight's winner and I sincerely hope that this will encourage more principals to replicate this excellence.

As I have said, we are very fortunate in the Western Cape to have many educators who continue to go selflessly beyond the call of duty to ensure that their learners receive the best quality education. We will unfortunately not be able to recognise all of them tonight, but I want them to know that their efforts are sincerely appreciated.

Each of the 41 educators who are here tonight has demonstrated commitment and dedication to the teaching profession. I congratulate each of you on being finalists in this competition.

It would not be fair also to acknowledge the role of all our officials in the Department, who also work tirelessly day and night to try to make the lives of teachers easier. We have a great team, and I want to pay tribute to all of you, and especially our acting HOD Brian Schreuder, who has shown nothing but commitment to the education department over many years, and who has so willingly and so professionally stepped into the role of Acting HOD.

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 would like to thank you all once again, for your contribution towards excellence in our schools. 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. And it is very largely in your hands as to whether that happens or not.

Your resilience, unreserved passion and undeniable commitment to education will leave an indelible mark on the lives of our learners and together we can make a huge impact on our province and our country.

So, to our teachers, our steeplechase marathon champions, Thank you and Good Luck.'

The following are the winners of the Western Cape's Top Teaching Awards for 2016:

Excellence in Primary School Teaching

Motivation:

She has been teaching for a total of four years, three of which have been at her current school after she was declared in excess at her previous school. Seeing her sister struggling with barriers to learning, and her dislike for the way teachers treated her, encouraged Ms Smit to become a teacher who treats learners with barriers to learning with patience and dignity.

Ms Smit engages learners in her class and her lessons are always learner-centred and effective. She allows learners to ask questions to stimulate critical thinking and ensures that every learner participates because she is determined that each and every child must learn to succeed. She designs her own learning material and creates a colourful and friendly environment in her class so that learners can feel free and comfortable. She teaches concepts through movement, rhymes and songs to enforce diverse learning intelligence.

She always maintains extensive records of planning and learner progress and ensures that learner portfolios, profiles and intervention books are organised. Lesson plans portray differentiation in line with the Curriculum Assessment Policy Statement (CAPS) to accommodate all learners despite their diverse abilities, and this ensures that they experience success. After the content has been taught, learners are given self-assessment tools, which consist of three colour-coded ice-cream sticks on a cable tie. Many of the worksheets have self-assessment tools at the bottom of the page to provide insight.

She effectively communicates learner performance and progress through individual target setting. Goals are set to ensure that learners take responsibility for their own learning and these goals motivate them to do their best each day. Results show excellent progress and learners are improving their academic performance each term.

Learners are given immediate feedback through verbal reinforcement, stickers and comments in their workbooks. They also receive certificates of achievement in critical thinking, spelling and attendance.

The school has learners from rural farms and the community faces extreme hardships such as poverty, domestic violence, crime, substance abuse, HIV/AIDS and illiteracy. While parents are dealing with social challenges they often neglect their child’s educational needs. She distributes toiletries to learners and tries to remedy the effects of social challenges through puppet shows during Life Orientation sessions. Race relations, diversity and inclusion are addressed during classroom discussions. Learners are taught how to treat each other with respect and to appreciate diversity. Teasing learners who are different or facing barriers to learning is strictly prohibited so that an inclusive environment is created.

She often visits parents at their homes to remind them of their duty to ensure that their children are attending school on a daily basis. Despite little parental involvement, she always looks forward to parent meetings and spoils parents with tea and coffee during visits to the classroom. She communicates with parents through WhatsApp and encourages parents to come and see her if they need any assistance.

She believes that there is nothing more rewarding than seeing a child holistically develop into a functional South African citizen despite social challenges. She treasures Bottelary’s learners because she can see she is making a difference in their lives. Learners long for someone to show an interest and affection and she is privileged to stimulate their imagination and creativity and to inspire them to dream of a better future.

Excellence in Secondary School Teaching

Motivation:

Ms Wiegman is a passionate, compassionate, knowledgeable and skilful teacher who stays up to date with the latest developments in her subject. She goes the extra mile to enhance the learning experience and knowledge of her learners. She has the well-being and holistic development of her learners at heart, empowering and inspiring them to widen their outlook on life.

She sets an excellent example to her colleagues and learners through her professionalism and her caring approach to all at school and in the community. She adopts a practical approach in her classroom using experiments, dissections and relevant videos to maintain and enhance learner interest in lessons. She invites experts into her class to talk about relevant subjects such as waste management, cancer, HIV/AIDS and substance abuse. She displays a great interest in environmental awareness and respect for nature and started an annual Grade 10 field trip to Wortelgat, including a camp where pertinent environmental and leadership issues are addressed.

She has excellent relations with all her colleagues and learners and as a register teacher supports her charges spiritually, emotionally and sometimes financially and even goes to the extent of allowing some of them into her personal space.

Ms Wiegman does far more than what is required of her – encouraging peer support and creating an environment conducive to learning in her classroom. Extramurally she is very involved in the coaching of sport and she was instrumental in starting a Service Pillar in the school that participates in outreach projects in the community such as homes for the aged, Camphill Santa Shoebox, recycling and the establishment of a soup kitchen for underprivileged learners.

She shares her knowledge with others and is involved in tutoring Life Science at other schools. Her extra lessons after school and her annual spring schools are tackled with enthusiasm. She is an excellent class manager who inspires her learners. She is always humble, but her results and responses from current and previous pupils and colleagues speak for themselves.

Excellence in Grade R Teaching

Motivation:

After a career in hairdressing, Ms Opperman decided to further her studies in Foundation Phase teaching. Initially she had only embarked on her studies to better stimulate the academic growth of her own three children. However, she soon realised that teaching was her calling. After qualifying as a Grade R teacher in 2012, Ms Opperman started teaching at Delville Park Primary School. She is a passionate, dedicated and enthusiastic teacher, with many unique and unconventional teaching methods which bring out the absolute best in her Grade R learners.

Ms Opperman believes that learners should have fun while learning, and therefore her lessons are highly creative and interesting. She effectively uses puppets and roleplay to enhance learners’ listening and speaking skills.

She uses every opportunity not only to teach, but also to instil values in her learners. From the morning bell, from language studies to Mathematics, she always highlights the more important values that children should learn. This is very important, especially considering the socio-economic circumstances that most of her learners come from. It is clear from her approach to teaching that Ms Opperman reaches each individual child at his/her own level and takes him/her to the next development milestone with ease. Her teaching methods further show that she has an individual rather than a collective teaching approach. She does this effortlessly, as she believes that each learner has the potential to progress.

Ms Opperman’s teaching transcends the classroom and after school she has one-on-one sessions with learners who experience difficulties in certain aspects of the curriculum.

One unique and brilliant incentive among many that Ms Opperman uses to instil discipline and improve academic performance stands out – instead of rewarding points for good work and/or behaviour, she starts the week with learners already having points. Each learner starts the week with ten tickets. Any misdemeanour will result in points being taken away. The learners are encouraged when they start the new week with rewards and then work hard to keep them. Tickets left by the end of the week are converted into cash that learners can spend at the tuck shop.

She willingly attends all planning and curriculum workshops. Furthermore, she effectively delivers the CAPS curriculum and shows an above-average understanding of its deliverables. She has a good understanding with parents and performs house visits regularly.

She is a born educator who teaches with dedication and unreserved passion.

Excellence in Special Needs and Inclusive Teaching

Motivation:

Ms Ernstzen has been a part of Ligstraal School for the past 19 years. She started as a volunteer at the school and when the therapist post became vacant, she was appointed as the occupational therapist. She works closely with teachers and this inspired her to qualify as a Foundation Phase teacher through the Cape Peninsula University of Technology (CPUT) on a part-time basis.

She is currently responsible for the Autistic Unit, six Junior Phase groups and three Intermediate Phase groups. Her focus is on the development of gross and fine motor coordination, perceptual skills, the activities of daily living, and arts and crafts. The learners in her therapy groups are very low-functioning and diverse. She uses different learning styles and techniques to cater for every learner’s individual needs. She wants to develop learners to their full potential so that they can fit into society and be successful.

It is important for her to keep abreast of new developments and she eagerly participates in and attends a number of workshops, seminars, information meetings and sessions.

Ms Ernstzen has been the coordinator of the School-Based Support Team, previously known as the Teacher Support Team, since its inception at the school a few years ago.

Ms Ernstzen started a vocational programme where learners are placed in different jobs in the community to receive in-service training.

In conjunction with the Policy on Screening, Identification, Assessment and Support (SIAS) Project she started a programme for learners on the school’s waiting list. Parents and learners are invited to spend a day at the school and guidelines are given to parents on how to care for their disabled child. A home programme is drawn up for those learners not in school and regular follow-up sessions are planned and executed.

Ms Ernstzen is the liaison officer for the Amazing Brainz Project. Her responsibility is to spend time in teachers’ classes every day to give support, mentorship, guidance and recommendations where needed.

In 2016 she and a newly appointed therapist started with an outreach programme for three neighbouring mainstream schools where she provides therapy sessions to learners in need and has regular discussions with the teachers.

Ms Ernstzen is the hockey coach and her team did exceptionally well. Some of her players were selected to represent the Western Cape team. She is also a basketball coach. Ms Ernstzen initiated the idea that the school should start playing against mainstream schools, the Correctional Youth players and private schools. This improved learners’ self-esteem and self-image.

She applied for and received funding from the NLDTF to transform a netball court into a multipurpose netball and basketball court and parking area. She also received funding from other stakeholders and the school was repainted and classes were equipped with televisions, CD players and DVD players, etc.

Despite all of her other responsibilities Ms Ernstzen is also responsible for CEMIS at her school. She forms part of the stocktaking committee and assists the principal with the School Improvement Plan. She is the line function manager of her department and always strives to create a therapeutic atmosphere where learners feel safe to explore and can be relaxed while in therapy. She is the secretary of the multi-disciplinary team and coordinator of the Staff Performance Management and Development System (SPMDS) and she serves on the computer lab committee.

Ms Ernstzen is a diligent, committed and hardworking therapist. She is indeed an inspirational role model to all working in the field of special-needs education.

Excellence in teaching Physical Sciences (FET)

Motivation:

This candidate is a passionate and dedicated Natural Sciences and Physical Science teacher who has extensive experience gained from her time spent in the profession since 1992. She is a positive, honest, highly motivated, responsible and respected person who is a role model to teachers and learners alike.

Ms Naidoo ensures that she makes these subjects, which are often perceived as difficult, fun and enjoyable for her learners and instils a love for them in her learners. She is of the opinion that learners learn and retain content much better if you allow them to explore it for themselves. A key component of her educational approach is practical work, which includes demonstrations and experiments. She makes extensive use of technology in her classroom, which allows learners to interact with videos that demonstrate the various topics in the Physical Science curriculum in a way that is accessible and engaging. She makes use of creative and stimulating teaching strategies, scientific literacy, inclusive assessment strategies and practical examples to ensure that learners grasp the content.

She has high expectations of her learners and encourages them to study challenging courses such as Chemical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Pharmacy and Agricultural Sciences at tertiary institutions.

Her passion for Physical Science has driven her to initiate science projects within and outside the school. She exposes her learners to science beyond the classroom through science expos such as the Science and Mathematics Initiative for Learners and Educators (SMILES) project and the Expo for Young Scientists. She also tutors at Star Schools and contributes to her community by tutoring at neighbouring schools.

Due to her ethic of hard and impeccable work, she was appointed Head of Department in Science. She excels in her duties as part of the School Management Team and mentors and guides young teachers in her department. Under her guidance the school boasts with excellent results in science.

She has extensive experience in the National Senior Certificate marking process and uses this to give valuable input to first-time markers and teachers who are not involved in marking, as well as to guide learners. This contributes to the excellent science results at her school.

The school was a recipient of a Science Learning Centre sponsored by the UWC Science Learning Centre for Africa and the Garden Cities Archway Foundation. This was due to her contribution to the consistently high pass rate in Physical Sciences at the school.

She considers herself to be a lifelong learner and attended numerous professional development programmes and training sessions which she regards as invaluable to her educational experience and which allow her to make important contributions to the school, the staff and the lives of learners.

She encourages learners to participate in extramural activities which contribute to their holistic development. She is a firm believer that as a teacher she must shape and train learners and equip them with the skills they need to fulfil their rightful roles in the community and society as a whole.

Excellence in teaching Mathematics (FET)

Motivation:

This candidate is a young, passionate, enthusiastic, and inspirational Mathematics teacher. He uses games and songs to make an intimidating subject fun and easier to understand. He has a mantra – "Maths is fun" – and starts his lessons with these words. He believes that the more learners hear it, the easier it will be for them to believe it. His excellence in delivering the curriculum is invaluable and is evident in the school’s outstanding matric results. It is evident that he understands that technology plays a crucial role in today’s teaching and learning environment. He uses Smart Board technology and computer programmes to deliver the curriculum in an interesting and explorative way. Mr Adams pursues professional development and growth and loves learning about the latest developments in his field of expertise. To keep abreast with developments he models lifelong learning by attending Maths training courses and seminars on a regular basis. He uses the knowledge gained to the benefit of his learners and colleagues. He uses informal and formal assessment to give learners feedback and to remedy gaps in learners’ understanding. He invests a lot of his free time in extra classes after school, Saturday classes and holiday classes for learners who need extra assistance as part of his intervention strategy to improve the Mathematics results at the school. He challenges learners by providing a deeper understanding of the content, has exceptional motivational skills and has the ability to make the subject enjoyable and accessible to learners. The great demand to do Mathematics in the FET phase at the school is a direct result of the quality of instruction this teacher offers and the passion that he has for his subject. His commitment and dedication to the subject afforded him the opportunity to be chosen by the Rapport Onderwys Fonds (ROF) to attend a Mathematics course in the Netherlands. He has a firm belief in developing learners holistically and is involved in hockey, the choir, the Christian Society and the Representative Council of Learners (RCL) at the school. This candidate plays a vital role in shaping the student leadership of the school. He allows learners to have meaningful discussions about the evils in the community and the social pressures that teenagers face and gives learners advice on the difficult decisions they have to face each day.

Excellence in Technology-Enhanced Teaching and Learning Award

Motivation:

This vibrant and very dynamic primary school teacher embraced the use of technology in her classroom and has become a role model for technology-enhanced teaching and learning in the classroom, not only in her school, but also to other schools in her district and beyond.

Although limited in terms of the availability of resources, she has succeeded in innovatively applying her whiteboard, data projector and laptop to teach learners the alphabet song, the diagram song and Maths games. Through a process of interactive teaching she succeeds in giving groups of learners the opportunity of engaging with technology while learning, and making use of visual learning to enhance the learning process.

Wireless connectivity at the school has allowed her to access eBooks from Oxford Owl. This gives her learners the opportunity to hear stories (listening activities) and read them. In this way she attempts to overcome the language barrier in her class and consciously address the different learning styles of learners. It is clear that she does in-depth research on the type of activities she uses to teach. Her learners are focused, she uses different types of activities for different groups of learners and does not limit learners who want to do extra activities. She also downloads activities from YouTube as a source of learning. Through the use of technology, she was able to put the Department of Basic Education (DBE) workbooks on the screen and infuse them in her lessons as part the learning process.

Once a week she and her class access the computer lab of the school. She uses this opportunity for reading and Mathematics drills and practice. She applies technology to do diagnostic analyses of her learners’ performance and uses ClassDoJo programmes both for classroom management and as a reward system.

Ms Campbell is an elearning master trainer for the WCED and has trained teachers in Moodle, Web Quest and Hot Potato. She is also an IT facilitator and has recently been accredited as a SchoolNet trainer. She was a presenter at the first Metro Central eLearning Conference in 2015, demonstrating the effective integration of interactive devices into the curriculum. She works closely with the elearning advisers in her district and provides computer application support to schools in her area, St Blaize Primary School being a case in point.

She uses a broadcast group for the parents of learners in her class regarding a variety of issues, including learner behaviour. The group helps her because parents respond immediately. She also has a WhatsApp group to communicate with parents.

She clearly has done much to encourage her colleagues at school to buy into a technology-enhanced approach to teaching and learning. More and more teachers are using technology in class as part of the teaching and learning process and this is primarily due to her unrelenting efforts to ensure that technology-enhanced teaching and learning are fully integrated into the work of the school. She helps her colleagues with the compilation of Mathematics lessons, timetabling, registers and term schedules. She even helps some with SARS eFiling.

She is part of the Erika We Care group, which helps children in need in her community, and is a member of the Beat It Relay team, which raises funds to support a home for cancer patients in George.

Ms Campbell is aware of the latest developments in IT applications for educational use, and she is a positive, energetic and hardworking teacher who is continuously creating an environment of excellence in education. She is technologically informed and a skilful problem solver. She is an inspiration to her learners, the teachers and the school community and has transformed her classroom and school from a traditional talk-and-chalk institution into a school where technology is being integrated as part of the teaching and learning process.

Excellence in Primary School Leadership

Motivation:

Ms Petersen, the principal of Blomvlei Primary school, is a dynamic go-getter who grew up in the Hanover Park area where the school is situated and is familiar with the diverse and challenging conditions evident in the area. Despite this she continues to remain positive while providing clear leadership in directing and guiding the school. She has 27 years’ teaching experience, of which she has served nine years at the school – which includes her last three years as principal.

The school contends with numerous social challenges such as drug/substance abuse, crime and gangsterism while doing everything in its power to "keep the main thing the main thing" – ensuring quality teaching which is stimulating, fun, well-planned and crucial so that learners are able to learn and teachers are able to teach.

Before Ms Petersen’s appointment as principal, the school had nine principals over a period of ten years and was declared dysfunctional. This together with the dire circumstances in the area paints a gloomy picture. Bullying among the learners has been difficult to control because of the negative models of behaviour prevalent in the area.

Ms Petersen is passionate about the children, the community and the school and leads by example to contribute to the school’s morale and ethos. She engaged in meticulous planning, which included the staff and parents, to address every focus area in order to bring about positive change at the school to create a safe school environment/ atmosphere which is conducive to quality teaching and learning on a day-to-day basis. She regards the building of relationships and affirming staff and learners’ efforts/contributions as vital to ensuring the success of all her endeavours.

All role-players were included in efforts to create a vision and mission statement for the school that maps out the direction the school is taking and serves as a foundation for all the various activities which must take place at the school. She ensures that every staff member – teaching and non-teaching – understands and fulfils his or her role and functions as part of a unified team. All policies are reviewed and revised regularly when necessary.

Because of the serious negative impact that social ills have on the functioning of the school, she constantly works towards building and maintaining a relationship of trust, respect, support and cooperation with the staff, parents and learners. Playground learning and teaching activities, fundraising activities, meetings and workshops have often had to be cancelled or postponed due to the instability and insecurity created by gang violence. Due to her persistence and determination, the Western Cape Education Department has erected a high-security bullet-reflective fence around the school. This has ensured a noticeable decrease in the number of acts of vandalism and burglaries. Teachers and learners are constantly familiarised with safety drills.

Since parents have begun to proudly take ownership of the school, they have helped to protect the school buildings and classroom resources by being more vigilant and do not hesitate to report any unwanted activity on the school premises. The school premises are utilised by community organisations and churches over weekends, during school holidays and in the evenings and this ensures activity after school hours and minimises the possibility that burglaries and vandalism will take place.

Despite the sporadic and often daily shootings in the area, learner attendance is close to exemplary as the school is experienced as a safe shelter – a home away from home. Teachers act as substitute parents and confidants to many of the children. Ms Petersen has instituted a Principal’s Award as part of the Code of Conduct whereby learners are acknowledged for doing a noteworthy good deed which could range from good behaviour to academic achievement.

Ms Petersen has been the driving force behind a partnership with the TCD Trust, a tourism organisation that ensured the building of a multimillion-rand eco-friendly library which is optimally being used to enhance teaching and learning. She is currently seeking funding to employ a librarian for 2017 so that the library can remain a valuable resource tool for the teachers and learners. The administration section of the school has also been improved immensely through funding secured from the WCED for infrastructural improvements – thus enabling her and her team of teachers to create a staffroom and administration section that everybody can be proud of. The school premises are a neat oasis which is used to encourage learners to value, respect and care for all their resources – the intention being that learners will emulate this in and around their homes so that they will be encouraged to work towards maintaining and improving their environment and to become proud citizens.

Ms Petersen clearly displays strong leadership at this diverse, challenging and progressive school. She competently gives advice and acknowledges individual creativity while displaying the self-confidence needed to be a leader as well as a team player.

Excellence in Secondary School Leadership

Motivation:

Mr Koegelenberg believes that in every person there is a talent waiting to be exposed, and therefore he works at motivating, equipping and inspiring learners, colleagues and parents to develop to their full potential.

He is an enthusiastic and visionary leader with a passion for learners with special education needs who knows exactly where he is going with the school while keeping the end results in mind. He treats everyone with respect and builds good relationships with all. He encourages his staff to attend any workshops offered and helps them by providing transport to workshops in Cape Town and bringing in substitute teachers while they are away. In so doing he helps staff to grow professionally and to remain relevant in the fastchanging world of education.

He leads by example and does not expect his staff to do anything that he would not be able to do himself. He sets goals for learners and staff that are attainable and realistic. The standard of his leadership has been proved in that the school achieved a high 4 out of 5 in its Whole School Evaluation.

Sport and extramural participation at his school are a given as these help to build the selfesteem of his learners because they are able to compete equally with other schools in this area. He is very approachable with regard to the community and he encourages them to use the facilities of the school (school grounds and workshops) where needed.

He has opened doors for his learners by exposing them to the world of work through a "school to work" programme. This he has achieved by networking with the business community in his town to enable them to recruit some of his learners into permanent jobs or learnerships once they have completed their studies. Some of the businesses he has created successful partnerships with are Checkers, Pick n Pay, Sea Harvest and Total Oil.

He has served the West Coast School of Skills with distinction for more than 30 years, having received all his promotions at this school. Outside the school environment he serves on the local Principals’ Forum and he is an elder in his church.

Lifetime Achievement Award

Motivation:

Mr Alexander’s career in education extends over 30 years. His vision for the school is to create "an oasis of hope in the community".

This he did systematically by securing and beautifying the school and developing and transforming the school into a 21st century institution. The school boasts the latest technology, world-class sporting facilities and cultural opportunities. Many innovative ideas initiated and implemented by Mr Alexander have enriched the lives of learners and motivated them to take their rightful place in society.

Mr Alexander models lifelong learning by continually attending different courses and seminars as well as encouraging and organising staff development opportunities.

He has been acknowledged for various achievements. This candidate has used the social challenges of the community as motivation rather than a deterrent to develop an institution of excellence. Mr Alexander embodies what can be accomplished through determination, commitment and dedication.

In the words of the Golden Key International Society, Mr Alexander "epitomises leadership, service and academic excellence and leaves a legacy of having been instrumental in developing and establishing a school with world-class facilities, a track record of academic excellence and having made a difference in the lives of a community and learners through education".

Media enquiries:
Jessica Shelver
Spokesperson for the Minister of Education, Debbie Schäfer
Western Cape Education Department
Tel: 021 467 2376