This year we sadly had to say goodbye to a vibrant, passionate and determined part of the senior school. Mrs Swanepoel was Head of SCA, Head of Wildlife, Senior Prefect, Deputy House Captain (Elizabeth) and various other committees in her school career. She matriculated from Riebeek College in 2004 and went on to complete a Bachelor of Arts, majoring in English and Psychology at NMMU and completed her Post Graduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) at UNISA.

What inspires Mrs Swanepoel to get up every morning is God, love and striving for a better day than the day before and wanting to be a positive influence in the lives of young people and her love for poetry encouraged her to become a teacher.

During her eight years at Riebeek, Mrs Swanepoel taught English to grades 9, 10, 11 and 12. Mrs Swanepoel will be taking a break from teaching, and will be involved in ministry at her church.

Her favourite bible verse is Matthew 6:26-29 New International Version (NIV). It reads; “Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life? And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labour or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendour was dressed like one of these.”

“Always be prepared to learn from others, from their experiences. Learning does not always only take place in a classroom, it is in quiet moments, in observing, but also interacting. Always be a friend to people, the kind of friend that leaves people “full”. The kind of friend that people just can’t get enough of. Oh, and always try to bring joy into the lives of those around you.

“I am so grateful for the people I’ve met, the lessons I’ve learned and the friends I’ve made while being at Riebeek College. I am grateful that I can look back and see that I have grown as a person, and that is because of each conversation, each passing glance, each joke, each smile we’ve shared, and each hardship we’ve overcome together. I am proudly a Riebeek girl and teacher. I am thankful for the responsibility of speaking into the lives of our future movers and shakers. Although my season at Riebeek College has come to an end I look back at it as a fruitful one, and I will miss so much about this school.”