DSP Jahrbuch 2016

NEU IM VORSTAND
Anne Waldek-Thill
Born in Manchester and naturally
a Manchester United football
fan, I am really a citizen of the
world. I grew up in Manchester,
then studied at Leeds University
and later at the Royal Northern
College of Music, qualifying as a
professional violinist and musician.
Deciding that I wanted to see more of the world, I found
myself in Brussels working first for an NGO as their marketing
and communications officer and later for a telecommunications
company where I did bid management. This then led me to Frankfurt
where I embarked on my German journey moving to Munich,
Stuttgart and then back to Frankfurt and Bad Vilbel. Along the
way, I qualified as an English teacher and cake specialist running
two small businesses teaching English and making and selling
delectable cakes. Our family moved to Pretoria just over 2 years ago
when my husband Markus was offered a job with Bosch. We moved
with 3 children – Arieh, Amélie and Daliah and immersed ourselves
in life in South Africa.
I created and ran Science Week 2016 at the DSP and DSJ and
am looking forward to running Science Week 2018. One of my
passions is developing science and technology for the school and
surrounding areas as I believe that children have so much to offer
given the right opportunities, which I hope I can help create. I have
also set up various social networks in the area and have a busy
life with three children who have diverse activities such as lego
robotics, figure skating, piano, singing, tennis and swimming. I am
also trying to see as much of the country and surrounding countries
as possible. Life in South Africa is full of adventures and I hope to
make the most of our time here in seeing as much of the continent
as possible, helping enrich lives as much as possible and enjoying
life here to the full.
Elke Simon-Keller
Elke Simon-Keller lebt seit zweieinhalb
Jahren gemeinsam mit ihrem Mann
Roland und den drei Kinder Emma, Max
und Johanna in Pretoria. Seit Juli ist sie bei
uns im Vorstand tätig. Die Familie ist von
Shanghai nach Südafrika umgezogen. Dort
gingen die Kinder zur Deutsche Schule
in Pudong. Zusammen mit engagierten
Eltern hatte Frau Simon-Keller dort die
Fußballabteilung ins Leben gerufen. Auch
an der DSP hat sie sich schon letztes Jahr
engagiert, indem sie, in Zusammenarbeit
mit SAP und Fußballschule Eintracht
Frankfurt, die Kick & Code Veranstaltung ins Leben gerufen hat.
Insgesamt erreicht die Initiative „Africa Code Week“ (Programmieren
für Kinder) pro Jahr über 150.000 Kinder in Afrika.
Elke ist bei SAP angestellt und ihr Mann Roland bei Bosch.
Die beiden sind seit 1999 in der Welt unterwegs und haben
mehrere Jahre jeweils in den USA und China gelebt. Ihr beruflicher
Hintergrund als Dipl. Informatikerin, zuletzt Teil vom Führungsteam
bei SAP Labs in China sowie Entwicklungsleiterin in Pretoria, bringen
Erfahrungen mit sich, welche wir positiv in das Schulgeschehen
einfließen lassen konnten. Leider verlässt uns Familie Keller bereits
wieder zum Schuljahresende. Ein viel zu kurzer Aufenthalt, der
wenn auch kurz dennoch mit positiven Entwicklungen für die
Schule verbunden war. Wir wünschen der Familie alles Gute für den
nächsten Stop in Singapur.
Henriette Vienings
I was born as Henriette Späth in Pretoria
in 1977 and grew up on a farm in the now
North-West Province, close to Brits. As
a child born from a German and South-
African Family, I was privileged to have
my parents send me and my brother to
the DSP to attend school. When we first
started school at the DSP, we stayed in
the hostel which at that point was still
in Skinner Street in the centre of town.
A year later we moved to the new hostel, also known as the Hanz-
Neitz Haus or now, the “Tagesheim”. Two additional siblings joined
the family over the years and my mother became the head of the
hostel and a teacher at the DSP. At the end of 1994, we left the
hostel and moved into a townhouse in Die Wilgers. I completed my
schooling with the then post-matric year, Abitur, in 1996.
Thereafter, following a few gap years, I enrolled into the
Pharmacy School of the Medical University of South Africa in
partnership with the University of Technology – Pretoria, Arcadia
and graduated with a Bachelor Degree in Pharmacy. Following this,
I completed my internship at Wilgers Pharmacy and did community
service as a Pharmacist at Tembisa Hospital. I started my career as
a regulatory affairs pharmacist in 2005, as part of MRA Regulatory
Consultants. Over time I became part of the management team of
the company and a director and shareholder in 2006. Also in 2005, I
married Steven Vienings and in 2010 our little family was blessed by
the arrival of our daughter Kassandra.
We are very happy to have her attend the DSP, thereby giving her
access to an environment that is ideal for preparing children for a
future that can take them anywhere in the world as active members
of society, equipped to think independently. We enjoy being
participants in the school community and look forward to many
years of involvement with the DSP.
Susan Smith
My name is Susan Smith and I have been a part of the DSP Family
since my son started attending High School in Grade 8. It all started
when we started looking at English High Schools for my son after
Grade 7 and we realized, staying in Centurion, that there aren’t
any really fantastic English High Schools based in Centurion. We
started looking around and were not really comfortable with the
options we had both in Centurion and on the outskirts of Centurion
until my brother in law recommended the DSP. We contacted
Mrs Helen Share immediately and arranged for a meeting and
assessment. We, and especially my son were absolutely in awe of
the friendliness, professionalism and culture of the School, staff,
teachers and students, knowing that a third language and such a
great curriculum would only assist my son to reach his full potential
in future. We knew that we had
found the best and perfect
School. And so our happy journey
began. I love being involved in the
Oktoberfest since my son started
Grade 8. I got involved in the
special Task Team last year 2015 ,
was nominated for the Vorstand,
gladly accepted, and I am also part
of the Marketing and Integration
Committees. I am really looking
forward to next year’s successes.
DSP Jahrbuch 2016
43