POLOKWANE – One of the longest serving teachers at Laerskool Ivypark, Nicolene Strauss says her longevity in the teaching profession stems from the love she has for learners and development.

Strauss boasts a blissful 31 year career in teaching and she has traversed the province imparting knowledge to learning at various primary schools.

“I started teaching in 1983 at Laerskool Bosveld in Lephalale. I then moved to Laerskool Piet Hugo Primary School and later joined Laerskool Ivypark in 2002. I enjoyed teaching at Bosveld and Piet Hugo. I had a good time with the learners and the teachers. Those were the early days of my career and I loved the enthusiasm from the learners and teachers.”

She says one of the things that makes her a successful teacher is the ability to make learners fulfill their dreams and achieve their goals.

“I started teaching at Laerskool Ivypark and I have developed a lot of learners who are today good parents, leaders, captains of industries and successful businesspersons. I also teach their children and that makes me happy. We have introduced leadership programmes here at the school aimed at building leaders at a young age. We have a leadership camp where we teach learners about leadership, morals, values and general conduct. Through these workshops we have seen learners becoming better versions of themselves and better individuals at school and their homes.”

She has a degree in education from NKP Teaching College. “At that time there were no other qualifications at our disposal. We had nursing and teaching and I opted for teaching because I love working with children. I love sport, helping them to develop, teaching them new skills, participate in sport,

In her spare time she loves playing with her dogs and visiting nature reserves. Strauss is responsible for languages and life skills and sciences subjects in the senior phase at Ivypark.