CAPE TOWN - After an intense eight month-long Mr South Africa 2021 competition, a Mossel Bay primary school teacher who is on a path to empower his learners, has thanked his school and community for their support.
Anton Siebert, a Grade 6 and 7 teacher at Diaz Primary School, said he entered the competition to inspire hope to his community and learners.
The Mr SA competition took place at the Houghton Hotel on November 6, where Ntando Lurwengu from Durban was crowned Mr South Africa 2021.
Steph Jansen Van Vuuren won first runner-up and Siebert took the second.
The Mathematics, Afrikaans and Business Studies teacher said he received a memorable welcome when he returned to the classroom after the competition last week.
“I was received like a hero. The school had arranged a special welcome which I didn’t know about. They rolled out a red carpet and as I got out of the car and took off my blindfold they started singing and cheering while each giving me a beautiful rose,” he said.
The 30-year-old said his journey in the competition was hard but fulfilling.
“I took each month’s challenge with resilience and patience, I focused on one challenge at a time and did not focus too much on what will be next. But like I said, it was a really good platform for self growth as each challenge was on a different level and you then knew exactly where your strong and weak points were to improve on,” Siebert said.
“My plan now, is to represent the title to the best of my abilities. I want to continue my animal and community care project and bring more light to it. To use animals as a method of teaching kids about love, care and respect towards these animals and thus teaching them some of the most important values in life, hope, love and respect which they can install into their own lives as well as their communities,” said Siebert.
The school’s principal, Genevieve Muller, hailed Siebert for being “resilient and humble“ and for being a pioneer for the school and his community.
Cape Times