Beverley Daniels, the former principal of Athlone North Primary School, has ended her career on a high, after she was among those chosen for Excellence in Primary School Leadership.
She received the award from the Western Cape Education Department in 2018, and this year, she had the opportunity to mentor the current winners.
“It’s so nice to retire after 40 years and to end it off with being a mentor. Just to be part of this – mentoring national finalists – to me, is the final chapter in the book,” Ms Daniels said.
Although she is looking forward to her retirement years, she is sad to leave the school, as her colleagues are “such a nice team”.
“Just thinking about it makes me emotional. Another person I would have loved to be here, is my mother. She died at the age of 82. She used to help me cover the children’s books. Those years the teachers had to cover books,” Ms Daniels said.
Ms Daniels completed her teacher’s diploma at Roggebaai Training College in 1977. In 1978, she started her career at St George’s Primary in Silvertown, which also happened to be the school she attended.
In 1979, she moved to Rio Grande Primary in Manenberg. In 1989, she went to Wesley Training College and in 1990, she was appointed Head of Department at Primrose Park Primary. It was there that she served as deputy principal, and in 2003 was declared in excess, as the school did not qualify for a deputy principal position.
From 2003 to 2010, she was deputy principal at Welcome Primary School. In 2010, she was appointed principal at Athlone North Primary.
“I have planted seeds everywhere I went. The staff at Athlone North Primary is like one big family.
“I appreciate them so much. I have confidence that the school will be fully functional. It is not easy being the principal here, because of all the social challenges, but the discipline is good. To retire from Athlone North Primary School is the best that could happen to me.”
Among the changes Ms Daniels brought to the school, is the refurbishing of the administration block, and the establishment of the library.
“The infrastructure was a challenge for me. We changed the administration block and my sister, Cheryl Carolus, paid for the whole revamp of it.
“The Table Bay Hotel revamped the kitchen and the library. I also had friends help me. I went to churches for donations of books. Our library was filled with lots of donations. I would not have been able to do that without the rest of the staff. I must also acknowledge the Western Cape Education Department (WCED). They gave us the best,” Ms Daniels said.
The one thing she is looking forward to, is buying a beach house in Hermanus. She had wanted to do that since she started teaching. It seems the saying – once a teacher, always a teacher, applies to Ms Daniels so aptly, because part of her retirement plan, is to come back to help novice principals as part of the WCED’s Whole School Evaluation.
“I want to help new principals, especially because of all the struggles one faces today. For the whole 40 years of my career, I have worked at underprivileged schools, and I know how to cope with the challenges. Also, with my experience of being part of a well-run school, I feel that I have a lot to offer other principals.
“Our school library is also a passion for me. When it burnt down, that took its toll on me, but I believed something good will come of it. We will be launching the new library in the first term next year. This is my way of giving back,” Ms Daniels said.