Deputy head of prefects’ address

make mistakes. Uhm yeah.

Mohamed Zidan Cassim

Before I begin this speech, I think it’s important to let you know that I’m extremely nervous and the only reason I’m going first is because I lost a game of rock, paper, scissors this morning, so please bear with me if I stumble and

I have been given three minutes to talk about five years, and yet both the length of this speech, and my time at St Davids can be described as too short.

Truth be told, I’m not sure why I came to St Davids. I applied at the very last minute, completely missed the open day, and it won’t come as a surprise to those who know me well, but I fell asleep on the way to my interview with Mr Smith. What I can tell you though, is that coming to this school was probably the best decision I have ever made.

That decision was the beginning of five years of adventure, joy, pain and learning that I am proud to have shared with 132 of the most amazing men, the class of 2021.

Good morning Mr Thiel, staff, parents and my fellow brothers.

Until just before Grade 8 camp, I hadn’t learned to ride a bike, and so as we set out to cycle for kilometres in the mountains, I was extremely nervous. It wasn’t long before I was falling a bit behind, and began to feel as though I might not finish. It was actually the head boy at the time, Merrick Hughes, who stayed with me and helped me, even carrying my bike up a portion of the mountain when he saw me struggling. This is a moment I will never forget, and one that really motivated me to want to be that person for others.

On the Grade 9 journey there was once again mountain biking, and this time it was Matthew Cooper, one of the boys in my group, who helped me carry my bike up the mountain.

Over the years, as a grade and as a school, everyone has come to carry my bike, and I’d like to think I was able to help others carry their own bikes. I feel that it is these moments in which we struggle, and these moments in which we help others through their own struggles, that we find our true selves. So starting out in Grade 8, I was scared, lonely and looking for friends. I didn’t really know anyone except for one of my oldest and closest friends, Inaam Moosa.

I could never have imagined then that we would be here now.

We went out in search of friends, but instead found a family.

I would love to thank all of those who have supported and helped me to grow and learn over the years, and there are so many of you who have helped me in so many different ways, that mentioning you individually would take hours.

To my fellow heads, it has been a privilege to work with you and to stand next to you. I will never forget our traditions, and there’s no one I would rather have done this with.

To the staff at St Davids, thank you for pushing me past my own potential, and for putting up with us even now, as we go on to write our final exams.

To my parents, and my sister, thank you for your part in helping me to make the best decision of my life, and for supporting me through it all. I couldn’t have done it without you.

To the younger grades, I urge you to make the most of your years, because they come and go much quicker than you’d imagine. I also urge you to help others to carry their bikes, and to depend on each other when you find yourself struggling.

This journey, these past five years, were difficult in the beginning. But that is nothing compared to how difficult it is now, to say goodbye, and so I leave you with a quote by Douglas Adams that I feel sums up my time at St Davids: “I may not have gone where I intended to go, but I think I have ended up where I needed to be.”

It has been an honor and a privilege to serve as your deputy head boy. Thank you.

Manqoba Bungane

Come the day and cometh the hour, truly those words now more than ever contextually bring upon a different reality in our lives, fellow matrics of 2021. The long hard fought road for some of

us serving at this school for +-14 years has come to a foreseeable end.

My first memory of the school is my very first day in Grade 0 when this crazy little white boy, Conor Tonetti, approached me. I was this tall, insecure, Inspector Gadget lookalike, new to Mini Marist, hesitant to make any friends. But in Conor’s spectacular fashion, making the most noise as usual, he made it known that “I was his new best friend and I was not to be messed with”.

This is the kind of comrade that we do pride ourselves in early on as juniors in Prep School and in high school. Touching on our ethos of Humility, Simplicity and Modesty.

Words I live by – looped and engraved in my mind due to the embrace of these school walls have positively brought about a natural change in my daily practice of being the best possible global citizen I can be.

So thanks Conor, appreciate you mate.

Setting out my sights on to the international stage and representing the country in the green-and-gold in water polo has been a goal of mine since I first gained a passion for the aquatics department. Those accolades wouldn’t have been possible without my mentors and coaches, Mr Ramsey and Mr Dean Whyte; for their steady wisdom which I’ll always be indebted to them for the rest of my life. I also can’t forget about Miss Hatfield’s rigorous swimming training and zeal to win in galas that led me to being a fluent swimmer today. I’ll always have those memories to help me wake up for my early morning trainings.

There is something truly special about us South Africans in how we can adopt this tenacious and persevering spirit in the face of adversity. Just ask Gehan Neuhoff; man has been chasing the same girl for two years, been put in the “friend-zone” and still won’t give up.

Regardless of the painful transgressions life throws at us we keep our heads high. The calibre of a man has been debated for many centuries on whether it’s his character, strength or intelligence that defines him. What high school has taught me is that it’s the interpersonal relationships built due to disarmament, laying of pride and respect untoward others that takes you further than any lone individual. So to my compadres, thank you for making me a better man. Matthew Stephenson, my best man. Adrian de Bonis and his girl troubles. Sihle Jwara and his Roco Mamas pre-rugby mukbangs. Matthew Cooper and his Vaal house. Sanele and Kamva for trifectas of late-night alien conspiracies theories. Sibahle Phangela’s XXSmall shorts. Mbilu Mabilu’s loyalty. Lucaaaas niche for being in the right places at the right time. Josh Jacobs aka Jextra for his girlfriend Deanne. And Caleb Grimmet for his nipples. Thank you for the happiest years of my life.

Coming up I’ve had my fair share of troubles and entangling mental illnesses such as depression, anxiety, mania and so forth. Thus the biggest shout of appreciation to my mother Milly. I wouldn’t be here today without the woman that raised men in her home. She knows what it means to be a man more than I’ll ever know and I owe it all to her for fighting for me and my friends – 100% Southbroom gang.

Grade 11s, future matrics. My personal word of advice is this …

The pursuit of happiness shouldn’t be “the road less traveled”. Don’t let the overwhelming nature of matric studies belittle the light that shines within each of you. Pain is temporary but regret lasts forever, don’t be in a position where you’re begging for more dedicated time for relationships, self-care and happiness. Submitting to the nihilistic consensus that resorting to pessimism is a viewpoint must be avoided. We only live once, so we must enjoy the “soft life” with those that contribute to it.

The journey of life is a long and bended road ahead and we must look forward to each challenge and transgressions lying ahead along with its lessons to be learned from those experiences. I love each and every single one you in the stands and you in return have the responsibility to love thy neighbour. The world in which we know it doesn’t have enough of it so to take that next step in our chapters of life outside of school wherever it may be — I wish the best of luck unto you my soon-tobe fellow matriculants. As God did with the prophet Job, I pray for countless blessings unto my brothers in arms.

A special shout-out to the men by my side working night and day in the pits for the last year; I clap my hands for you. Head of School Giuliano Maraschin always exemplifying the attributes to what the quintessence of a man leads like in all faces of adversity. Mohammed Zidan Cassim, the “kid genius” surprisingly always reminding us to enjoy life and find a joke to appropriately humble our serious job personas. And Daniel Ferriman, the man that could genuinely do it all. My same brother that has taught me most about myself in our 13 years together and for that it was the biggest honour to serve by your side. We started our leadership term right in the deep end having us contemplate if we ever were going to make it. But I think we can stand here today and smile – cause we made it gentlemen, not a half bad job if I do say so myself.

I’m conclusion brothers, making practical differences brings about tangible change to our world. Mahatma

Gandhi said “Be the change you wish to see in the world”. There’s no more time for wishes and light coddling from our supportive parents and teachers, it’s time to step up and forth into the world and grab whatever opportunities with both hands. Draw from the wise words of Gandhi and prosper. Perseverance isn’t taught, it’s trained through trial and error. We fall and fail and continue to fall and fail up until so it seems there’s no way out. But it is the stronger will of a Marist man to pick himself up and dust himself off and say, “Hell no, devil not today!”

I’ve never met a stronger group of individuals possessing the potential to create explore, command and take over. We don’t do empty threats here so South Africa, Suid Afrika, Iningizimu Afrika, this is SDMI class of 21’s declaration.

We’re here to shake the room, so be ready, for you have not seen anything yet!

Thank you.

Daniel Ferriman-Else

Good morning to staff, parents and to the boys.

I have spent 13 years at St Davids, from Mini Marist all the way through to matric. I have basically spent my entire life growing in between these walls so it would be impossible to say that the type of person I am today hasn’t been influenced by the time I’ve spent at this school. Since Prep School, I’ve had the chance to explore myself. I’ve been able to find the things that give me joy while also being able to determine what my strengths and weaknesses are. I am obviously not done figuring out who I am but having a head start is always helpful and St Davids has given me that head start.

It has been a journey of ups and downs and there have always been obstacles along the way but like all journeys, those challenges and disappointments are what make the achievements that much better. And by achievements I’m not just referring to rewards or prizes. The greater achievements are those in your head that nobody else knows about. Achievements of being able to push through any adversity you face and keeping your own standards so high that nobody else’s expectations will ever come close to what you expect of yourself and then you start to realise that the way you view yourself is far more important than other people’s opinions of you.

Had I not come to St Davids, those standards I have set for myself may have been completely different. How? I don’t know. But what I do know is that my standards are high and they force me to always perform at my best whether it be on the sport’s field, in the classroom or when I am interacting with people. St Davids has provided an environment in which I have the opportunity to test those standards and they have given me the necessary resources in order to consistently improve and raise those standards.

Some people say that winning isn’t everything but while being at St Davids, I’ve come to realise that it is. But winning to me doesn’t only come down to the scoreboard or the result of a test. Winning is done before any of that. Winning is pushing yourself to your limits and admitting your mistakes and then doing everything in your power to fix those mistakes. Obviously being as competitive as I am, I will always hate losing and not getting the results I know I should and throughout the years I’ve experienced many losses and poor results but when going through those things, I was only ever thinking of my performance and if it was good enough to me. If I did everything I could, I was winning and if I didn’t then I was losing personally and that attitude will always follow me.

When looking back over my school years, I always tend to focus on the education or the sports side of it and then overshadow the social side of school that I actually think is one of the most important aspects of attending school. I used to be a very shy guy who wasn’t good at socializing with any people outside of my own circle. And throughout the years, I have been able to develop a level of self-confidence that allows me to be way more out there and enables me to easily socialise with most people I meet. I think that St Davids gave me the opportunity to develop strong friendships and meet different people along the way.

Ultimately, I am leaving St Davids extremely grateful for the entire journey and for what it has taught me about life and myself. I am happy to be leaving having met all the people whether we are leaving as friends or not and I hope that all us matrics realise that ,regardless of any personal disappointments along the way, we will be leaving as better people than we were before and we have been prepared for this exciting next stage of our lives. Thank you to all my teachers and coaches who have helped me improve and become who I am and I have to thank my parents as my journey would not have been possible without their constant support and belief in me. Lastly, thank you to all of the matrics who have been alongside me for these five years. I wish you all the best of luck for the next phase of our lives.