Facing up to the challenge of another Covid-19-affected school year, is Amanzimtoti Primary School’s new principal, Tracey Vorster. Acting since 1 September, she was officially appointed on 1 November. She joined the school in 2009 as Head of Department for the intermediate and senior phases. She did class teaching for Grade 5 for a few years and later on taught maths, social sciences and Afrikaans. She was also instrumental in the iPad Extension Programme for Grade 5 and 6 learners. “We worked with different applications (apps), such as Keynote, iMovie, Book Creator, Pic Collage and a few others. The selected learners made posters, did presentations, made their own movies and wrote books. They each had their own Google account and email, and uploaded their completed projects onto a shared Google Drive account for the rest of the learners to view.” Tracey is a technology boff and Excel fundi who was instrumental in moving the school to digital report cards. “I enjoy using technology. When schools shut down in March, we had a plan in place, with Grade 1 to 7 learners using the Seesaw app. They had their own code and password, and could access various grade related activities. We started using Google Classroom in June when our children returned to school.
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“It was a very challenging year for our teachers – they taught 50% of our learners at school, then went home to do virtual classrooms and prepare online booklets, which were uploaded onto Google Classroom and posted onto Whatsapp groups. Our children were amazing and we were so proud of them! We were worried about the little ones, but the Grade 1s adapted very well and embraced Covid-19 protocols with ease. We did assessments at the end of term three and four. The children who embraced the online teaching did exceptionally well. Others, who did not, did struggle.” Tracey was born in Benoni, where she did her schooling at Rynfield Primary and Benoni High School. At high school she met her husband John, who is the principal at Athlone Park Primary. They both completed a teaching degree at WITS University in Johannesburg. “I always wanted to study medicine and chose all my subjects to do so. As there was a shortage of teachers at the time, we were offered full-time bursaries, with free food and accommodation, as well as incentive payment for good results. So, I decided to study teaching and I have never looked back.” John also took up the offer and they were posted to the same school at the start of their careers, Lord Milner boarding school in Limpopo. Tracey was a hostel mistress and John, a hostel master for seven years. They were married in 1987. Tracey continued at Lord Milner, while John went to do his National Service. They moved to Gauteng for 13 years, before moving to Toti in 2005. John took up a post at Amanzimtoti Primary, while Tracey taught at Umbogintwini Primary. They have three children, all of whom are teachers – Melanie, 30, taught at Athlone Park, but has now taken up a post in Mtunzini; Belinda, 29, teaches in South Korea; and Raymond ‘Freddy’, 26, is based at Umbogintwini Primary.
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“There have been some positives to come out of Covid-19. As a school, we appreciate certain things more now. We are consciously aware of the important things in life and have learnt to count our blessings. We have learnt just how adaptable children are and we don’t always give them enough credit. We have learnt that you will never be able to replace the human element in the classroom. Social interaction and the loving care from the teachers are things you cannot replace. “I was hoping that 2021 was going to be a brighter year for all. Unfortunately, I still see a bumpy road ahead. My greatest wish is to see all the children back as soon as possible. I feel very confident to embrace the challenges of another difficult year, as we have an amazing management team and staff who work diligently and tirelessly in the best interests of the school and the children. We refer to our team as the A team.”
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