FLIPPING BOOK CHRONICLE 2024

ST MICHAEL AWARDS 24 MAY 2024

PAUL FLEISCHACK

P

aul Fleischack has served many in the Michaelhouse community and also communities further afield with distinction. In particular, his commitment to enhancing the well-being of schoolboys has been evident in his every action and he has gone way beyond the expectations of an excellent Michaelhouse schoolmaster in bringing the importance of all living things and the landscape of South Africa and, in particular, of KwaZulu-Natal into the purview of the people he has served. While the creation of the C Block Journey may be seen as simply what a good schoolmaster with an interest in young people and in the fauna and flora of KwaZulu-Natal should be doing, Paul’s contribution to the boys has gone well beyond masterminding an expedition each year over many years. The C Block Journey is now very much a rite of passage for the boys as they come of age after this venture. Paul’s interests have led to his coaching and helping less agile boys, unbeknown to many people, with such things as the skill of riding a bicycle and how to paddle without falling into a river. He has spent many hours selflessly assisting such boys to be able to retain their dignity in front of their peers by implementing, for example, cycle proficiency and training courses. His care for them has been evident in related ways: for example, teaching them how to repair their bicycles when he might have outsourced such an activity. Paul’s latest contribution to the boys just prior to his retirement from Michaelhouse was the creation and development of the D Block Pondoland Cultural Immersion, which ultimately aims to amplify place-based education and environmental-literacy education within the Michaelhouse curriculum and beyond it. It has grown into what the D Block Pondoland experience is today. This has been an exemplar for other schools now undertaking similar ventures, and the homesteads and communities of Pondoland benefit directly from his initiative as his influence has spread to other schools. Sinegugu Zukulu, an environmental activist and Mpondoland community leader, has spoken warmly of how Paul has been instrumental in growing s ustainable tourism on the Wild Coast. At all times, Paul has consulted with the local leaders to ensure that any development and use of the coastline and environs is not seen as an incursion but rather as mutually beneficial. Not only has he served on the Southbroom Conservancy Committee recently, where he has conducted Forest and Tidepool guided walks, but he has made his own home on the South Coast available as a meeting place for discussions on the o pportunity for eco-tourism and the support of the local community on the Wild Coast. He has also for many years brought local Mpondo guides into the Michaelhouse family, giving them space to advertise and talk about their guiding

or walking safaris. The upshot is that many Michaelhouse groups, as well as groups from other schools, come to hike on the Wild Coast. Paul is an ardent supporter of biomimicry education, which essentially uses nature’s principles to solve the challenges we face in our society and on our planet today. He has recently embarked on a biomimicry educators’ advanced course, which will allow him to practise more formally as a biomimicry expert. His motivation in doing this is to give back and share with others. Paul was recently invited to a directors’ conference and given an opportunity to train the directors and managers of this multinational conservation organisation. Here he drew on his work in biomimicry for the benefit of others. Paul has interacted with a number of people through the IFA Lethu Trust under the leadership of Dr Peter Ardington, another St Michael Awardee. This trust currently sponsors 12 principals/senior educators on a three-day nature reserve experience in Weenen. The intention there is to foster learning in the community in terms of our connection with the Earth and, in particular, wildlife conservation, sustainable farming and soil regeneration. Paul served as a business partner to Sibusiso (Patrick) Ndlovu from Curry’s Post Primary on the Partners for Possibility programme. This was highly valued and, in particular, Paul was able to draw with Sibusiso on the practical implementation of the Four Aces of Leadership work by Dr Dudley Forde, which creates an opportunity for servant leadership. Paul is valued very highly by the community and has been involved in the Citizen Leader L aboratory and Partners for Possibility with a vision of developing innovative leadership models, growing conscious citizen leaders across South African society, building social cohesion and working towards achieving a just society. He has an unfaltering belief that a bright future is achievable when we work together. When Paul came into the Partners for Possibility programme, he came with years of leadership experience, yet he chose to learn and expand his own leadership competencies. This impressed those present, who more than ever saw him as a man of justice, compassion, kindness, integrity and a seeker of the truth. In addition to the above, Paul served on the governing body of Nottingham Road Pre-Primary from 1990 to 1994, and of Nottingham Road Primary School from 1996 to 2000. He then served on the board of Clifton Prep from 2003 to 2013, where he chaired the academic subcommittee, and more recently of St Anne’s Diocesan College from 2023 to the present. His election to these roles emphasises, once again, the fact that he is held in high regard and that he is prepared to serve without expecting any financial reward.

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