Westville Senior bids Marais a fond farewell
After 44 years of serving at Westville Senior Primary School, Linda Marais has retired.
WHEN Westville Senior Primary School’s Head of Department (HOD), Linda Marais, started work this year, it was with the knowledge that she could begin to wind down as she neared retirement.
Never in her wildest dreams did she imagine that 2020 would culminate in the most dramatic and memorable year of her 44-year teaching career.
She said it will be remembered as a time when she needed to make a rapid transition.
From the traditional methods of classroom-based teaching to the unexpected transition to remote learning with the added pressure of Zoom management meetings, during a pandemic that is characterised by masks, hand sanitisers and social distancing.
Marais was first appointed at Westville Senior Primary School in 1976 and has taught there for her entire career.
She fulfilled the role of acting head of department for a short while before she took up the HOD post in 1993. On three separate occasions she stepped into the acting deputy principal role and has worked under the auspices of five different principals and two acting principals.
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As this was her one and only appointment, she has given her heart and soul to Westville Senior Primary School.
Her colleagues described her as knowledgeable, generous, courageous and they all felt she deserved a high amount of respect as she has always been committed to providing excellence in education.
They said she is an outstanding mentor and her remarkable passion and energetic drive to teach and lead was an inspiration to all who worked with her.
“We applaud Marais for her profound contribution to WSPS. Her teaching prowess has left an indelible impression in generations of the Westville community. She is a role model and her dedicated years of service will forever remain in the heart of the school.
“As much as we will miss her, we are happy to know that she will enjoy a quiet and well-deserved retirement. She can now retire in the knowledge that she leaves with a job well done,” said the WSPS acting principal, Patsy Pillay.
Caxton Local Media Covid-19 reporting
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