There have been many highlights in Lorraine’s teaching career. “This was another amazing experience” punctuates most of her teaching recollections. However, a very special time in her career was in 2001 when she was approached by Trinity House, a private school in Gauteng, to start a nursery school.

She had actually applied for a teaching post, but after a series of interviews found herself being appointed, not only as a teacher, but also as the principal of a school that had yet to be built. She saw this challenge as a wonderful opportunity to create her dream school and to develop new skills, always keeping the ‘Nest’ principle at the forefront of her mind.

The school grew to over 200 children in her 12-year tenure. 

In 2008, the ADvTECH Group bought Trinity House, which meant another period of growth for Lorraine: now words such as shareholders, stock markets, business plans, future growth, profit margins became part of her lexicon. She also helped market the new Trinity schools that were being established to prospective parents and was involved in the recruitment and initial training of new staff members.

Then in 2015, Lorraine’s husband dropped the bombshell - it was time to relocate to Hermanus. Lorraine remembers being horrified when she first arrived in Hermanus as to her it looked like a glorified old-age home - where were the children? Fortunately, it wasn’t long before she discovered  the Hub.

The tutors and students at the Hub are privileged to have benefitted from being part of Lorraine’s nurturing ‘nest’. This year, drawing on her vast bank of experience and further education and training in the field of education and mentorship, Lorraine has helped to prepare students for their teaching practice. 

The first workshop was on professional conduct within a school. Lorraine feels that it is important that students are made aware of this before they embark on their Teaching prac. as schools are always on the lookout for future staff members, and it is therefore in the students’ best interests to make a positive first impression.

Schools are less interested in qualifications and are rather looking for a person who has the right attitude towards her students, her subject and the school. 

The second workshop was on didactic principles; the importance of putting thought and effort into planning a lesson; and then helping students to draw up a lesson plan. This is an area the students find difficult. Because of their lack of practical teaching experience, it takes the student a while to grasp the vital connection between teaching aids (which don’t need to be expensive nor fancy), interactivity and outcomes.

Lorraine’s wish is that all the students will experience the spontaneous joyous reaction of the children to what the students have planned and prepared for them - in other words, to experience the evidence of a successful lesson. An experience they will never forget.

Lorraine, a storyteller par excellence, started her teaching career in 1984. She feels truly blessed to have found a career about which she is passionate and which has brought her great joy. Her daughters remember her often singing in the car after a day’s teaching and then once at home, gathering them all together so that she could share, and often re-enact, one of the exciting teaching moments she had experienced that day.

Thirty eight years later, Lorraine still exudes this same passion for children, for teaching and for learning.