Ms Elmarié Basson, our newly appointed Afrikaans teacher

• the enormous changes and uncertainty surrounding COVID-19;

• changing schools by leaving a community of friends and pupils that you have been a part for twenty years and stepping into our brand new community, where you don’t know staff, pupils and parents.

• Added to this, not physically meeting your pupils and looking them in the eye. More than daunting.

Allow me to introduce her to everyone: Elmarie Basson completed her degree at the University of Pretoria and has 25 years of teaching experience. Some of her previous schools include Crawford College Lonehill, Beaulieu College as well as Afrikaans Meisies Hoërskool in Pretoria.

She is very passionate about the Afrikaans language and she assured me that she has many ways in which she shares this with her students during her classes. Ms Basson grew up in Phalaborwa (right next to the Kruger Park) and therefore it will be no surprise to you, that she loves the bushveld and during most of her winter holidays you will find her in the Kruger Park.

She loves to travel and has been fortunate to visit many foreign countries. Some of her recent travels include some bucket list items, such as visiting the Great Wall of China and a Mediterranean cruise where she visited Italy and Greece. She loves a bit of adventure - her teaching is rich with her experiences and life-learning!

As I chatted to her last week, looking back over the past two weeks, she told me that she finds the students and staff at Pecanwood College to be very kind-hearted and polite and that she cannot wait to meet you all in person. Welcome to the Pecanwood family, Ms Basson!