Niermeier no more, but long-serving musical maestro leaves a lasting legacy
By Rumi Nanwani
When Renaissance College was founded in 2006 by ESF, there was a very small student body. Fast forward to today, we see there are now around 2050 students and RCHK is home to over forty different nationalities with twenty different languages spoken on campus. Our school is like a big web. We all depend on each other to complete our learning and have a good time. Sadly, a very important person who has helped hold a lot of this web together is leaving the school.
David Niermeier has been teaching in Renaissance College for twelve years. He joined the college one year after it was founded.
“I have taught at a lot of different schools. In my first job I taught [in] thirteen schools. So I really have been at a lot of different places,” he explained. “I like the family kind of feeling [in Renaissance College], that even though, and people keep on saying this, ‘We try to keep it feel like a small school even though it is a big school.’ For example, I just had some secondary students come visit me to say they will miss me and it shows that we really care about each other and it’s not just an education factory.”
If this is true, why would Mr. Neirmeir want to leave RCHK?
“[I am going to teach in] Shatin Junior. There is only one music teacher there, which is my wife. She was doing so much work so the school said, ‘I think we can get someone to help you out.’ I didn’t actually apply at first because I liked being at Renaissance so much. But they didn’t find a person that was right for the job. So my wife asked me if I could apply to see if I can get the job. I got the job during Easter [break],” he announced.
You can’t work your whole life, so I asked Mr. Neirmeir what his plans for the future were.
“Well, I just bought [a house in] Vancouver so we could stay there. We are hoping to buy a house in Victoria. And this is not where I grew up. I grew up in Toronto, my wife grew up in Vancouver. I was a bit worried about not being with my brother, who is in Toronto.” Mr. Neirmeir recounted. “When I mentioned that I want to retire in Vancouver he said he wants to move to Vancouver too. I will do a lot of gardening. Probably play a lot of musical instruments, see if I can join a band,” Mr. Neirmeir told me.
Whether they were in his class or just seeing him around the school, he will be remembered by many students and alumni. We will all miss our music teacher. However, he promises to come visit.
