Vice Principal Skahle Nhlabathi (left), and Acting Principal Thandiswa Mzileni-Mgqamqo
Masi High School has a dynamic duo of principals. The school’s SGB and Department of Education have agreed on an innovative plan for 2023. They have Thandiswa Mzileni-Mgqamqo as acting principal and Skahle Nhlabathi as vice principal for the first six months. Then for the last half of the year, they will swap roles.
What that has produced is a collaborative leadership process between the two principals. They work as one, and the school’s first term of 2023 has been productive and positive.
Thandiswa Mzileni-Mgqamqo joined the school staff in 2004, became Head Of Department (HOD) in 2012 and then vice principal in 2015. Skahle Nhlabathi, having taught in KwaZulu-Natal from 1995, joined the Masi High staff in 2003, became a HOD in 2006 and then vice-principal. They know the school inside out. One can feel their energy and zest, as together they drive the school forward.
They must be exhausted after a hectic first term! The seven new classrooms built by the Department of Education at the end of the year have seen an increase in learners at the school to 1 440. A further five classrooms will be completed by the end of April 2023.
There is much change. Litter has been tackled head-on, by the collaboration of the principals with MasiSports and the Atlas Foundation. Atlas has organised with Mpact that the recycled goods will be collected through a container system. MasiSports has focused on the day-to-day litter and the trimming of the unsightly areas around the school. A clean and litter-free environment is the aim.
With assistance from the Judith Neilson Foundation (JNF), MasiSports has employed four coaches specifically for the High School. The new sports complex will be completed by the end of the second term. This will include a 60 x 32 Astro field, three cricket nets, a practice netball court and the two MasiSports netball courts resurfaced – all funded by the JNF. All sports are well in hand with official inter-school fixtures in soccer, netball and rugby. The latter is managed by Atlas Foundation. Sivu Mlandu, the head of sport, is delighted with the promise of 2023.
The Atlas Foundation also funded the refurbishment of the media centre, which includes the library and a computer lab. The media centre looks incredible.
All the above will enhance the pride felt by the educators and learners and boost the Masi High brand.
The High School looks forward to a wonderful 2023.
