LOUISE Lemmer bids farewell as she heads into retirement after serving as Amanzimtoti High School’s (AHS) principal over the last 17 years.
Lemmer was born in Bethal and matriculated from Hoërskool Brandwag in Benoni in 1974. She completed her HED at Pretoria Onderwys Kollege in 1978 and BEd Honours in 2000.
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“I started my career in education in January of 1979. However, I did my first practical lesson as a student at the young age of 17. I only turned 17 at the end of my matric year. I started my studies the next year and did practical teaching in my first year of studies,” she said.
“I have a passion for young people and find it extremely rewarding to work with them. I have been privileged to do what I love most for the last 43 years,” she said.
She taught in Benoni for one year and then continued her teaching career at Amanzimtoti High School. She worked at AHS for 14 years, seven of them as head of the department.
She then went to Kuswag Skool and taught Afrikaans. She was also head of the department and acted as deputy principal. After 11 years at Kuswag, she returned to AHS as principal in 2005. Lemmer said she had major challenges as a female principal in the beginning.
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“I was the first female to become a principal of a co-ed high school in the South Coast area. I can remember an incident at one of the schools where we had a cricket match. The principal of the other school asked one of my learners where the principal of AHS was. When my learner pointed towards me, the other principal turned around and walked away. It was difficult for some men in those early days to accept women as principals. Today, it is totally different,” she said.
She lives by her life motto: Life has no remote; get up and change it yourself. She said you cannot be a good principal; you have to be a great one.
“It has been a tremendous honour for me to have been the first woman in history to be elected as provincial chairperson of SAOU (Suid Afrikaanse Onderwysunie) in 2012.
“It has also been an honour to represent the SAOU as deputy president for the last six years. I have represented them in Dublin at the International Education Conference in 2014 and later in Finland and Thailand,” she said.
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She expressed her gratitude toward the dedicated management, educators, staff, governing body, parents and learners, both past and present. She thanked the principals of neighbouring schools that she has worked with as well as her friends and family for all their love and support over the years.
Lemmer loves waking up and watching the sun rise, the beginning of a new day with new opportunities and challenges. She will be moving to Cape Town at the beginning of October.
“For the next three months, I will make my new house my new home. As from next year, I would like to become involved in assisting schools with difficulties that they may experience. I am excited about the new chapter waiting for me,” she said.
The school’s deputy principal, Hein Kapp, will be the acting principal.
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