Our Lady of Lebanon School in Liefde en Vrede welcomed two new principals to the school at the beginning of the school year.
Alain Rebelo is the new high school principal while Isabel Grinwis was appointed as the primary school principal.
Rebelo was originally from the south of Joburg, then moved and spent most of his childhood in Springs before moving back to take up a contract with the football club Jomo Cosmos.
After three years with Jomo Cosmos, he played a year in the Eswatini league before he retired from football to take up teaching.
“I’ll say my wife is the biggest reason I took up teaching. I realised if I want to have a family and be happy, I won’t be able to do football full time. I started as a sports coach at Marist Brothers Linmeyer for 11 years before I got the chance to join Our Lady of Lebanon as the principal of the high school,” said Rebelo.
Rebelo’s vision for the high school is to make it one of the top Catholic schools in Johannesburg.
Grinwis is also originally from Johannesburg with her teaching degree coming from the Johannesburg College of Education.
Her first teaching job was in 1983 in Mayfair in Johannesburg.
“Mayfair was an incredible experience and showed me money isn’t linked to happiness. Some of the families in the area didn’t have much but still gave what they could. After Mayfair, I spent 17 years at Maryvale College in Johannesburg before I moved to Montrose Primary School for seven years. In 2016, I was approached by Our Lady of Lebanon to join the school as a head of department,” said Grinwis.
Grinwis was made deputy principal of the school in 2019.
“I want the school to continue to grow and the learners and their parents to grow with the school,” said Grinwis.
With the new school year well underway, both Rebelo and Grinwis said they were both geared up to give 100% to the school and its learners.
