After completing her primary school career at St Patrick’s Primary School in Humansdorp and then returning to the school as a qualified teacher to continue teaching for 27 years, principal Valerie Lippert has retired and looks forward to fulfilling many of her other goals and dreams.
In 1976, at the age of six, Lippert stepped into St Patrick’s Primary School for the first time, when she started in Grade 1.
At least 19 years later, when Lippert obtained her degree in education from the University of the Western Cape in 1995, she returned to her beloved primary school, when she began her teaching career as a Grades 6 and 7 mathematics, English and economic and management sciences teacher.
During her time at the school, Lippert said she grew and developed from a post-level one teacher to head of department in 2011, deputy principal in 2015, and then finally she was appointed as the principal of the school in 2018.
She said St Patrick’s will always have a very special place in her heart.
“I have tried my best to touch the hearts of learners because I believe a teacher changes the world, one child at a time,” said Lippert.
“It really was a huge privilege and honour to serve the school, the community and the Department of Education in my capacity as principal.”
To further add to her great experience at the school, Lippert was fortunate to meet her husband, Melvin Lippert, in the same year she started at the school in 1995, and one year later they were married.
Lippert said during her last four years at the school, she was able to achieve many of her milestones with the help from stakeholders within her community, such as Mayor Horatio Hendricks, Councillor Timothy Jantjies, Woodlands Dairy, DisChem, SPAR, South African School Project, which is a charity organisation based in the United Kingdom, Ferdinand Holland, Kouga Windfarm, and various individuals from the community.
With the help of these organisations and individuals, she was able to extend the school’s foundation phase to three classes per grade, establish the school’s first tar surface netball court and build shade ports with benches.
In addition, with further help, she was able to upgrade the assembly quad, establish a new entrance gate for learners, upgrade the access road from a gravel road to a tar road, and they were fortunate enough to receive sponsorship for portable air conditioners, sanitisers, masks, and thermometers to help deal with the COVID-19 pandemic.
After 27 years of teaching at St Patrick’s, Lippert retired at the end of December last year.
“After teaching at St Patrick’s for so many years, I feel at peace, as I exit the field of education, because I was able to make a difference at the school,” said Lippert.
Now that Lippert has accomplished her goals as a teacher and as a principal, she will join her husband’s logistics business, as director of LLMax Logistics (Pty) Ltd and fulfil her dream of becoming a businesswoman.
Lippert said in 2019, her husband’s dream came true when he was able to establish a logistics business.
He therefore resigned from teaching and, for the past two years, she has continued to help him with his business.
Lippert said helping her husband with his business has awakened her passion for the business industry, which has always been her dream since she attained her Bachelor of Commerce degree in 1993, at the University of the Western Cape, before going on to study education.
“It was a bittersweet decision to leave the school. I am sad to leave the school, but I am very excited about my new journey,” said Lippert.
“I believe our footsteps are ordered by God and our vision is to build a kingdom business and we will therefore advance God’s kingdom through our business.”
