The Concerned Principals Group and Heathfield High Action committee opened up their hearts by laying wreaths at Parliament on Friday January 15 to honour the teachers and public servants who have succumbed to Covid-19.
The initiative was attended by 15 people, including educators, former educators and staff and they adhered to regulations by dropping off the wreaths and leaving soon after.
The Concerned Principals Group members included Vincent Hendricks, principal of Athlone High, Wesley Neumann, principal of Heathfield High, Noel Isaacs, principal of Floreat Primary, in Steenberg and Isaac Arendse, principal of Steenberg High, who formed the group in June, last year to raise awareness around Covid-19 and the dangers of it.
Vincent Hendricks, said the event on Friday “was an important commemorative event out of concern for the safety and the lives of educators and public servants.
This was a small way to highlight that the virus is real and taking the lives of our educators.”He said many lives had been taken and one close to him was the wife of his colleague Clement Meyer, Celine Meyer, the acting principal of Duneside Primary School in Westridge, Mitchell’s Plain.
Noel Isaacs said, although he did not attend the event, he thought that it was a “wonderful” gesture to pay tribute to all teachers as well as members of the non-teaching staff who lost their lives due to Covid 19.
“Sadly, we’ve seen a number of teachers who passed away from Covid-19 in the past month as well as this month. We mourn the death of Galiema Reynolds, of Steenberg Primary, who succumbed to Covid-19 last month. We are not aware of the extent of infections and the number of teachers who will be self-isolating by the time teachers are required to report back to school.”
Mr Isaacs said, however, they welcome the delay in reopening schools with schools now reopening on Monday February 15.
