Walking through the gates of Astra Primary almost everyday for the past 38 years will be a ritual that the school’s newly retired principal, Desmond Lewis, will miss the most.
Lewis, 60, retired on May 31 as the principal of the Bethelsdorp school where he started his career in education.
He will take up a position as a provincial technical officer at the South African Football Association (Safa) later this month.
“I still feel as though time has caught up with me and now I do not see my leaving the school as retiring but rather an exit, and fulfilling another passion of mine,” he said.
Lewis said he had left behind a sporting culture he hoped the school would continue to build upon.
He started as a physical education teacher at the school shortly after it was built in 1978.
“I joked at my farewell party last week that if my staff members saw me here they should lock the gates and not let me in.”
Lewis, who spent his entire career at the school, said he had many fond memories, especially of his 21 years as principal.
“I don’t know another school and this one has become like my second home because I would be here on weekends and after school as well.
“At first I got into teaching because back then [pre-1994] we did not have many career options and it was a dignified job, but as I started teaching my passion for developing kids grew.
“And seeing how they progressed, the involvement with the kids, that is what I will miss the most, he said.“They are the job and the biggest reward is hearing how well some of the kids who have left the school are doing.”
Describing his retirement from the school as “bittersweet”, Lewis said: “I have been involved with soccer and sports since I started at the school.
“The two kind of went hand-inhand, and we have produced really good sportsmen and women.
“Taking up this new role is like stepping into a similar job because both are about the development of youngsters, but with Safa it will be across the province.”
Lewis said he was confident his staff and teachers would uphold the reputation of the school.
“As a leader you must make sure whoever follows you does an adequate or better job than you.
“It is also about playing a bigger role in building, not only the kids up but also the communities, adding value to your surroundings and the influence you have on people’s lives.
“We have just appointed a new batch of young teachers and seeing how they grow into the profession is something I would have loved to witness, but it is now time for me to serve elsewhere.”
Acting principal Helma Boggenpoel, who started at Astra two years after Lewis, attributed his stringent discipline to the smooth running of the school.
“He left behind big shoes to fill and as the acting principal I hope to keep up the legacy of discipline, rules and maintain his influence at the school.”
Lewis’s daughter, Chevonne Ramage, who teaches a Grade R class, said her father had inspired her to enter the profession. “It was nice working with my dad because he was very firm and disciplined, which he instilled in me growing up.
“I admire most that he would give his all to the school and would put this place first.”