Lifelong Gusie bids farewell
Principal of 18 years will retire at the end of 2015
Laerskool Gustav Preller will be bidding farewell to their principal at the end of the year.
Jacques Rentzke has decided to retire after being the head of the school for 18 years.
The 60-year-old started at the school in 1982 as a history and physical education teacher to grade 5, 6 and 7 pupils.
Three years later he then moved to the lab where he taught science and biology until he was appointed principal.
As a passionate sports fan, Rentzke also coached rugby and athletics throughout his time at the school until three years ago where he decided to handover the coaching to the younger teachers.
Even as a principal, Rentzke continued to teach and for the last seven years was teaching technology to the grade 7 pupils.
“If you teach, you get to know the pupils but if you’re in an office all day then you lose touch with whats happening in your school. Being a part of the pupils’ everyday lives is important. Teaching is my passion and so is coaching. Five of my teams throughout the years managed to participate in the Lions finals which I am proud of,” he said.
Being at the school for 33 years, Rentzke has thousands of memories but he highlighted a few as being at the top of the list.
“In 1998 I traveled with the school’s rugby team to France, England and Wales where we had the opportunity to be at legendary stadiums such as Twickenham. That was an amazing experience for myself and the pupils. My other memory would be when a young pupil comes running to me early in the morning and greets me with a cute “Good Morning Sir,” that just makes my day,” he said.
After he retires, Rentzke plans to travel with his wife and will spend some time in Port Edward before traveling to Botswana and Namibia together with friends.
“It’s time to give my family and wife some attention while I’m still healthy by doing a bit of traveling and enjoy life a bit more after all the hard work. However, I will miss the pupils and especially the office staff who’s been together with me for 25 years and longer. They inspired me the most and I want them to know I’ll always be a Gusie in my heart,” he said.
Head of Department Elaine Bresseler and secretary Antoinette Taylor who have worked with Rentzke for nearly 30 years each said he is the kindest person they have ever met who always helped the pupils and staff alike.
“We will miss everything about him, the way he cared, loved and respected everyone. He treated everyone equally and made sure we were always happy. When things went wrong, he would solve the problem right away and we will miss him dearly,” they said.
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