POLOKWANE –Â Her teaching journey started 14 years ago where she worked as temporary assistant at Dino Park Preschool. She subsequently moved on to Little Blessings.
She then started learning all there is to know about teaching.
In 2009 she started her journey at Northview Christian Academy as a Gr 3 teacher. A year later she was appointed as deputy principal.
“Many long nights of working the longest hours, I later was appointed as the principal of the school in 2015. I am a person that will take any opportunity and make it my own,” Walkenshaw says.
She adds that she really believes in the saying that you are never too old to learn and prays everyday that she will be shown the path she needs to take and make a success.
A new challenge for her at the beginning of the year was the combining of Northview Christian Academy and Christian Achievers Academy into one school.
“The biggest challenge was getting everyone on the same page and getting them to work in the same way, the new NCA way,” she explains.
She says that one of the best things about the school moving to the new premises is that more children, for whom there previously was no space, could now be accommodated.
Besides being a principal, she also finds time to be a mother, she studies early childhood development, she trains candidates who wants to become pre-primary school teachers, and she is an assessor and moderator for Edu-Experts. She also finds time to do trauma counselling and helps crèches and pre-primary schools in the city to register.
“I do see myself as a mother to the children of the school and with that in mind I believe in an open-door policy always. Being a soft-spoken person that is loving helps, but I am also a person that can be strict and maintain discipline,”she says.
She adds that she always tries to be a role model to both the children in the school, and the personnel of the school.
Her advice to learners looking into education as a career is to have the passion for the work.
“You must know and understand that your work never really ends. Never stop learning. Always bring that something extra in everything you do,” she advises.
She advises people to always take on every opportunity and always try and better themselves. Her plans for the school include a jungle gym, a petting zoo, undercover parking and giving the learners every possible chance to do better in different types of sport.
“I would like to see the school get more involved in outreach programmes in different communities for people in need,” she said in conclusion.
