KILT’s Teachers’ Day Celebration: A Love Letter to Knysna’s Teachers

Ask any teacher what the fourth term feels like, and they will tell you: it is a non-stop sprint of revision, marking, exam prep, and keeping learners steady right up to the final bell. Across Greater Knysna’s 16 public schools, educators carry an enormous emotional and academic responsibility every single day.

On Saturday, 17 October, the Knysna Initiative for Learning and Teaching (KILT) invited more than a hundred teachers, principals, and support staff to leave the registers and red pens behind for an all-day safari ‘day-cation’. Hosted between the wide plains of Plettenberg Bay Game Reserve and The Belle at Belle Balance Bush Hideout, the day had zero training slides, zero performance targets, and only one house rule: no talking about school.

For Sandy Ueckermann, KILT Managing Director, looking after teacher well-being is fundamental to the health of the entire schooling community:

“Great education starts and ends with teachers, but they need care and support too,” says Sandy Ueckermann, KILT MD. “Every day, our educators carry the hopes, emotional weight, and daily realities of thousands of children. They give so much of themselves that their own well-being often takes a back seat. This day was our love letter to them. It wasn’t about professional development or ticking performance boxes; it was an authentic vote of confidence, a chance to press pause, laugh together, and be truly spoiled. When we care for our teachers, we strengthen the heart of our entire community.”

A good morning with Seattle Coffee

The celebration started bright and early at the Knysna Train Station parking lot, where Hein and Benjamin Gilliomee from Seattle Coffee Garden Route had fresh muffins and hot barista coffees ready before coaches headed out along the Wittedrift road.

Once at the reserve, everyone boarded open game vehicles to track wildlife across the plains. Between spotting rhinos, giraffes, zebras, springbok, and basking crocodiles, teachers spent the morning taking guided walks through flowering fynbos and catching their breath around the fire at the boma.

Teamwork and quiet reflection

For principals steering their schools toward the final exams, the break gave their teams room to switch off and reset.

Chris Nissen Primary School Head Nozipho Myo threw herself into the adventure, laughing about close encounters with wildlife on the game drive and lessons learned during the nature talk struck a deeper chord. Myo pointed out that schools cannot be run in silos; just like navigating the wilderness, leading a school takes genuine teamwork, and staff have to pull together if they want their vision for the children to become reality. She was also delighted to connect with familiar faces she’d seen around town who were actually fellow educators.

Concordia High School Principal Buntu Blaai was just as enthusiastic about letting his staff completely switch off. He joked that his teachers made him promise not to utter a single word about term performance, exam timetables, or marking. Watching crocodiles lie motionless in the sun, he remarked that their quiet stillness is exactly what exhausted teachers need. Blaai observed that the bushveld holds a mirror to schooling: sometimes you need the solitary calm of a rhino for quiet personal introspection, and other times you need the quick reflexes of a springbok to handle a lively classroom. Having a full, unhurried Saturday in nature meant his team could head home rested, ready to tackle Monday with clear minds.

Voices from the Reserve: Slower Paces and Honest Conversations

Down by the pool in the chill zone, mimosas in hand, teachers made the most of the quiet.

For Pretty Cheba of Thembelitsha Primary and Luvho Ntshintshi of Concordia High, being out in the open air was an immediate mental reset. Cheba explained that nature has an instinctive way of calming the mind, giving educators a rare chance to step away from institutional pressures and put themselves first. Ntshintshi agreed, calling the outing pure stress relief and noting that silencing cellphones and leaving work talk at the gate made it easy to just be present in the moment.

That feeling of being acknowledged ran through every conversation. Nolubabalo Xoki from Thembelitsha Primary shared that being treated to a peaceful day away from classroom noise and tension showed that the community genuinely notices how hard educators work. Patrick Figeland of Sedgefield Primary spoke honestly about the realities of the job, acknowledging that teaching can sometimes feel thankless when appreciation is hard to come by. Having KILT and local businesses go out of their way to spoil them made that daily dedication feel recognized. He also laughed that his own colleagues gave him a hard time for wandering off, because he spent almost the entire day catching up with teachers from neighbouring schools.

The chance to connect outside formal district workshops meant a great deal to everyone. Fraaisig Primary’s Carly Witbooi and Sunridge Primary’s Maritza Ruiters both relished chatting about everyday life—weekend plans, downtime, and upcoming holiday plans—with school talk completely off-limits. Concordia Primary’s Reineke Baard reflected on how rare it is for educators to have someone else look after them and fuss over their needs for a day, while her colleague Roché Witbooi called the setting the exact recharge teachers need. Lesley Olivier from Brackenhill Primary added that because teachers shape the beginning of everything in a child’s life, having time away from the school gate to just connect as people was something they all valued deeply.

Knysna Primary’s Marelise Wentzel took in the blooming spring fynbos—even spotting a few floral ideas for their upcoming school prize-giving—and smiled at Knysna’s diverse community of teachers sharing the same space. Even though their school environments look different, she noted, they all share the exact same calling. Knysna High’s Naomi Juyn agreed, saying the best part was simply laughing with colleagues, watching the birds and terrapins, and leaving the term’s fatigue behind.

Support on Both Sides: The KILT Team Perspective

For KILT’s support staff who spend their weeks inside classrooms alongside these educators, seeing teachers unwind was just as meaningful.

Frances, a Learning Support Field Worker who helps teachers with foundational literacy and mathematics, pointed out that school programmes almost always focus solely on the learners. She explained that having an event centered entirely on the teachers reminds them that they matter just as much.

KILT Counsellor Phutuma Chwane noted how essential it is for educators to step outside school boundaries and breathe, while fellow counsellor Natalie Mentoor spoke about the warmth and high spirits across the group. Mentoor shared that several teachers had approached her during the morning to say the celebration went both ways—they wanted to thank KILT for standing by their schools all year round.

A Forest Feast and Generous Local Backing

By early afternoon, and just as a gentle rain began to fall, everyone gathered inside The Belle at Belle Balance Bush Hideout for a delicious safari potjie lunch. Co-MCs Natalie Mentoor and Tamara Sokunentsa, KILT’s Core Project Lead, kept the energy high, with Mentoor leading an impromptu sing-along to the melody of The Lion Sleeps Tonight, using custom lyrics written to thank the teachers for their daily commitment to Knysna’s youth.

Local Garden Route businesses came to the party in a big way, donating generous prizes and treats to ensure every educator felt appreciated:

• A Good Morning to Go: Seattle Coffee Garden Route provided coffee and a muffin to every teacher before boarding the busses enroute to Plett, guaranteeing a great start to the day.
• Weekend Getaways: Restorative accommodation packages from Falcons View Manor and Fairy Knowe Riverside Resort.
• Dining Out: Restaurant vouchers from 34 South on the Knysna Waterfront and Salina’s Restaurant in Wilderness.
• Sweet Treats: Handcrafted gelato vouchers from Buonnissimo.
• Road-Trip Goodies: Safari snack packs generously supported by So-Ca, Woolworths, and Farmers Butchery.
• Welcome Drinks: A refreshing welcome made possible by Brand Republic.

Beyond the Safari: KILT’s daily work with Schools

While Saturday was about rest and celebration, KILT’s hands-on partnerships with local schools continues every day of the year.

Working alongside 16 public schools and 34 early childhood development (ECD) centres, KILT supports more than 14,000 learners and 400 teachers through 22 targeted programmes. By funding 98 additional teacher and auxiliary posts, KILT has helped bring the region’s learner-to-teacher ratio down from an average of 39:1 to 33:1, backed by remedial, literacy, mathematics, and psychosocial counselling teams working directly on school grounds.

When the coaches pulled back into Knysna on Saturday afternoon, educators headed home fed, rested, and reconnected—reminded that their community sees them, values them, and stands firmly behind them as they head into the final push of the year.