Laerskool Suidheuwels principal retires

After 24 years, Frik Visagie (65) retired as the Laerskool Suidheuwels Primary School principal on July 30.

Visagie attended Laerskool Voorbrand in Forest Hill, where he completed his primary school career in 1968.

He attended Hoërskool Die Fakkel in Carter Road, Forest Hill, where he was the chess captain for two years. He matriculated in 1973.

Goudstad Teachers College was his alma mater from 1974 until 1978, where he qualified as a teacher. The SANDF was his home for two years, starting in Oudtshoorn at the Infantry School in 1979.

In the same year, he was transferred to Wits Command and successfully taught teachers furthering their studies in Dobsonville, Meadowlands, Diepkloof, Orlando in Soweto, Kagiso in Krugersdorp, as well as Leratong in Roodepoort.

During 1980, he taught Afrikaans and Bible education at Alafang Junior Secondary School in Katlehong. Some of his former learners recently enrolled their own children at Laerskool Suidheuwels Primary.

In 1981 he started teaching at Brixton Primary School and was a soccer coach, PE and Afrikaans teacher. He fondly remembers Donna Louise Armstrong, who now resides in the UK, who came to Brixton as a Grade Five learner and won the Afrikaans prize at the end of the year as the Top Scholar in Afrikaans.

Moving up the ranks

Visagie was promoted as head of department at Meyerton Primary School in 1985 and also got married in the same year. They moved to Henley on Klip.

He was a rugby and cricket coach, regularly arranging cricket tours to Pepper Pots in Margate, KZN.

He successfully initiated a Living Science Laboratory with live animals, rats, mice, rabbits, aquariums and herbariums with a group of laboratory assistants who took care of them.

“I remember one of my top-performing Afrikaans learning, Tavio Roxo is a practising attorney and Jonathan Ripley-Evans, a top cricket player, is an accountant. Also, Kevin Hodgson, one of my laboratory assistants, paid me the biggest compliment by becoming a marine biologist. Barry Collins, who became head boy, is a successful businessman and his mother, Veronica, is my lifelong friend.

“One of my colleagues, Andre Botha, is the principal of Phoenix High School in Vereeniging. Two years ago, one of my former learners, Martin Koekemoer, was appointed as principal in Joburg South,” noted Visagie.

In 1997, Visagie was promoted as deputy principal at Laerskool Suidheuwels Primary, with 320 learners enrolled at the school. He taught mathematics and Afrikaans and coached rugby and athletics.

In 2007 he was appointed as principal and in 2010 he successfully completed an advanced certificate in education.

Create opportunities

His wife, Marlene, who was a well-loved learners with special education needs (LSEN) teacher at Laerskool Suidheuwels Primary, died in 2014.

The school has 1 149 learners and Visagie believes the best opportunities should be created to assist the learners to excel and improve their skills to become responsible citizens and to nurture and support their own children.
He is confident that through hard work and dedication, everybody can attain their goals.

“I have a vision for Suidheuwels Primary and would like to see interactive whiteboards in every classroom and a well-equipped multi-media centre so E-learning can be fully integrated into every lesson,” he said.

He has two daughters, Jeane (28) and Nakita (33), and is blessed with three grandchildren, Theo (4), Minke (7) and Dante (9).

He has served in education for 42 years and seven months and turned 65 on July 20.