Primary school children normally cheer on the last day of school. The December holidays have arrived!
But at Uelzen many pupils came home with sad faces… some even with tears.
It was not that they were not happy that the summer holidays had finally arrived it was because the beloved Mr K had left Uelzen for St Dominic’s Academy in Newcastle.
Blessing Khumalo (27), the popular sports master, had for five years built up sport at Uelzen Primary – especially hockey and cricket. His friendly smile, high-spiritedness and bubbly personality was infectious and these qualities were passed on to all those in Uelzen.
Blessing said leaving Uelzen – where he taught for five years – was far from easy.
“I loved every minute and grew to love all the kids. It is a wonderful school. I have taken the opportunity to take up this post at St Dominic’s and I am really looking forward to this challenge and opportunity.”

‘I love to be happy and be surrounded by happy people.’

Born in Nquthu, Blessing schooled at Biggarsberg Primary, Glencoe, Dundee Junior and matriculated at Dundee High. His dad was a policeman in Durban but passed on when Blessing was eight.
While in school, Blessing ‘got addicted’ to hockey and cricket – a passion that has seen him play for the KZN Inland Provincial team and has also coached the Northern KZN schools (primary) team.
He recalls an Afrikaans poem he studied while in Grade 11. “It was about a man who desired a simple life without complications. It is something I also strive for. I love to be happy and be surrounded by happy people.”

He said that it is sad that once kids leave school and go on to study or work out of Dundee, few come back to ‘give back’. “It is nice to give something back to the town that gave me so much. I hope many can see the value in that.’
His final message to his Uelzen children (and readers) was to ‘do what you do to the best of your ability, make a difference and a keep a smile on your face’. *Dean Lambert is the new sportsmaster at Uelzen.