The DHS annual Senior Speech Day & Prize-Giving ceremony for the Grade 12s was held on Thursday 12 October. The guest speaker for the event was Mr Sudhakar Dass, (Class of 2000).
Mr Dass gave an insightful speech about intellect and thinking beyond the mind. “In my 17 years of travelling the globe, I have concluded that nobody is thinking. Human beings have a herd instinct and think with using their intellect.” He spoke about three ways of using intellect, which he describes as having no connection to one’s intelligence – that of deciding to do something and following it up with action; setting and choosing a higher goal to pursue in a one hundred percent capacity as well as choosing to follow ones swardharma (following an action that is in accordance with one’s nature) – ultimately spelling out the words, “DHS”. D for decide, H for higher goal and S for swardharma.
After his address, Mr Dass was invited to hand over the awards. The top three academic awards for the day included:
The Kessel Feinstein prize for third in Grade 12 which was awarded to Nischay Jairaj, who also received a merit certificate for achieving an “A” aggregate in 2017;
The GB Lapinsky Prize for Dux Proxime Accessit (Dux runner up) which was awarded to Deputy Prefect, Matthew Henley, who also received the Alan Turton Prize for Visual Arts, a shared award for the Ladies Committee Prize for Visual Arts Practical, a merit certificate, as well as the Niekie Gerber Prize for Afrikaans 1st Additional Language; and
Finally, the crowd erupted with applause for the major award for the day; the CG Hands Memorial Prize for Dux which was awarded to Muhummad Moosa. Moosa was recently selected as one of the Top 100 South African matric learners to attend the 4thannual VC’s Top 100 event, coordinated by the Wits School’s Liaison Team, and has selected Wits as his University of choice for 2018. Apart from Dux, he also achieved the Eddie Corlett Prize for Accounting, the D C & E V Thompson Prize for Life Sciences, the W I Knight Prize for Mathematics, the G J Armstrong Prize for Physical Sciences and a merit certificate.
Other achievers who stood out at the speech day were as follows:
Phendulani Buthelezi (Head Prefect) who received the Sport Achievement of the Year Award as well as the Ernie Theunissen Award (Captain of Rugby), the Transvaal Old Boys’ Award (Head Prefect, Blackmore House) and the George Armstrong Award (Head Prefect, School).
Tonderai Ndudzo, who won the Geoff Mace Award for Excellence in Academics, Sport & Culture, as well as the All-Round Sportsman of the Year;
Deputy Head Prefect, Thomas Kempen, received the SAS’ Nourse Prize for Geography and a merit certificate.
This annual event, which was the first for the 15th Head Master of Durban High School, Mr A D Pinheiro, is a highlight on the DHS calendar. In his address, Mr Pinheiro said that even though learners had made some bad choices in their schooling career, it was time for them to start making good choices for their futures. He continued that life was about choices and that a human being makes, on average, 10,000 choices every day. He added: “For those of you who excel in academics, now is your time to shine and for those of you who have not been academically inclined, now is the time to pull up your socks and study hard.” In concluding his speech, he thanked a number of people who have contributed to the education and guidance of the Matric learners and who have, over the past year, supported him as the Head Master. “I am especially grateful to the Governing Body who have given me this opportunity of leading this great school,” he said.
Finally, Head Prefect for 2017, Phendulani Buthelezi, took to the podium before changing the guard to the 2018 Head Prefect. In his speech he reflected on some of his highs at School, including the 1st Rugby team’s wins vs College on Goldstones and vs Glenwood on Dixons, as well as their loss on Founders Day, which he said showed the character of the team. He added that he now fully understood what it meant to be part of the Brotherhood at DHS and would always remember his time at School.
He thanked many of the staff, and made special mention of Mr Coskey and Miss Smith, and Mr Mathie for always looking out for his best interests and for helping him become a man of character. “Mr Mathie, thank you for the huge role you have played in my development, both, on the field as well as a leader,” he added.
Phendulani also thanked the Class of 2017 for their efforts in changing the perception of the public this year, and for proving wrong many of the people who doubted DHS as the great school it is. “DHS is not back; we never left!” he added.
In an emotional conclusion, he said: “I am so grateful to DHS for giving me, a boy from Zululand, the opportunity to lead in the role of Head Prefect and guiding me as a leader and for helping make my dreams come true.” He left the learners with a quote from Aristotle, “We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence then, is not an act, but a habit,” and then quoted the school motto, “As he is, so is his school”.
The full list of learners who received subject prizes, merit certificates and general awards are as follows:
Liam Green (Stephen Mulholland Award),
Sem Kim-Kayembe (Christopher Wells Award for Excellence in Sport & Culture),
Ntuthuzelo Mbadi (Devi Rajab Award for Cultural Involvement, a shared prize for Business Studies as well as the Tim Wells Prize for Dramatic Arts),
Nkanyezi Hlongwa (Rotary Award for Drama),
Nkanyiso Gasa (Richard Salmon Award for Music),
Nunhunzi Tinashe (L C W Theobald Award (Captain of Cricket),
Samkelo Ntetha (Patel Family Award (RCL Chairman)),
Calvin Newton (Shaun Gray Leadership Award),
Nkanyiso Mashishi (The Cecil Renaud Award),
Yusuf Moosa (Bill Payn Prize for English Home Language, the Transvaal Old Boys’ Prize for English Essay, shared Tim Wells Prize for Dramatic Arts and the O N T Downes Prize for Information Technology),
Muhammad Asvat, Ryan Henry, James-Daniel Dufana and Michael Kyprou – all sharing the Ladies Committee Prize for Visual Arts Practical,
Avuyile Madiba (Buxton Family Prize for Economics and a merit certificate),
Liam Singh (shared prize for Business Studies),
Jui-en Chang (Prize for Engineering Graphics & Design),
Lungelo Mkhize (A W McIver Prize for History),
Mvelo Novoh (Innocent Chamane Prize for IsiZulu 1st Additional Language),
Ashvir Debba (Prize for Life Orientation and a Merit Certificate), and
Akil Jamnadas and Seth Kidgell (shared prize for Mathematical Literacy)