Retreat resident Faadiyah Samsodien-Myburgh is the new principal of South Peninsula High School (SPHS), in Diep River.
She will take over the reins at the start of the first term, after the school said goodbye to Zeid Baker, who retired last year.
Ms Myburgh, 51, has been teaching at South Peninsula for 21 years and said her biggest achievement was becoming the principal at her alma mata.
“It has been quite the milestone in my profession.”
Ms Myburgh has served 26 years in education overall. She said she started at South Peninsula High School immediately after her second son was born in 2003.
While being the only teacher in her immediate family, she said the teaching profession was her calling and she was inspired by her own teachers.
“I have only had dynamic teachers at school as a student, teachers who have been quite impactful in my life’s journey.”
Mr Myburgh said she found her passion in commercial subjects in high school, “thanks to Dr Sedick Du Toit, Fadiel Arnold, late Mr Ebrahim and Ms L Rumbelow. During my tertiary studies, I tutored other students and found that it was quite enjoyable and left me quite fulfilled. Teaching is still so personally rewarding.”
Ms Myburgh said she was inspired by South Peninsula High School. “(It is) an institution which continuously encourages one to improve through self-development and lifelong learning, improving on your weaknesses, and always aiming for the next goal.”
When asked what was Ms Myburgh’s biggest achievement at South Peninsula High School, she said besides becoming the principal, it was being able to attain her B.Education degree (Hon) while teaching.
“Being afforded the opportunity to study has also been a milestone I did not think was possible.”
She said the only challenge she can recall in her years at South Peninsula High School was the struggles faced during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Ms Myburgh was officially appointed as the deputy principal on 1 January 2024, after applying and waiting for 12 months for the appointment.
She vowed to live by the school’s motto. “As an ex-student, being exposed to our school motto, ‘not to be served, but to serve’, has had a great impact on myself and I have thus navigated through life, implementing this as best I can.”
She said her priority was to ensure that they continue to produce well-balanced pupils by providing excellence in teaching and learning.
“We have strong values embedded in a solid foundation laid by our predecessors (Mr Moerat, Mr Isaacs and Mr Baker), a rich history which I am absolutely proud of, and we aim to always improve and build on that. We aim to instil the same values of kindness, one human race, political awareness and resilience to our learners,” said Ms Myburgh.
On her vision for the school, Ms Myburgh said: “Our staff complement consists of a diverse age demographic and I would like to see the different generation of teachers close the gap and collaborate; cohesion between the experience, skill and technology.
“I believe this will ensure an even better quality of teaching and learning. We have a great depth of knowledge and experience to share with each other. I am blessed to be working with a team of educators who share a passion for teaching and the shaping of the minds of our future generation,” said Ms Myburgh.
