Taeg Moshela, Head of School 2023
The day I was made St John’s College Head of School was the day it dawned on me that I would have to stand up a year later to say goodbye and deliver a captivating, sentimental and heartfelt speech that honours the 13 years of my life I have spent at St John’s — the last five years of which with an incredible group of matrics — while also honouring those who made it possible. What better place to start than the beginning? So let me take you on a journey, a life story, a venture of faith.
I had the privilege of starting in 2011 at the St John’s Pre-Preparatory School. I wish I could say my journey at St John’s started with looking up at the exquisite Sir Herbert Baker architecture and having my breath taken away, but it started with a very consumed five-year-old who didn’t fully understand what a school really was. Our time there was the foundation of our lives and the values that we hold, and also of the brotherhood that stands here today.
We finally got a taste of the magnificent Sir Herbert Baker buildings as we entered the St John’s Preparatory School. This was where our values solidified, and a genuine love and care for the school started to be fostered.
And then we got to the College, the place we all hold so dear. This was the first experience I had with the magnificent buildings of the College. The previous years had been a journey of learning, but when I looked up at the College, it told me a different story. A story of everything St John’s was, but also everything St John’s could be. A story of which our tragically lost peers will forever be a part.
If you had told that wide-eyed, ambitious and eager 14-year-old what experiences those buildings had in store for him, he would tell you that your predictions were far-fetched. If you had told him he would be a part of a matric body that was united as one over the years after living through a pandemic in Grade 9, he would have told you that there’s no way. So, to the Matric Class of 2023, I thank you. Thank you for exceeding all expectations over the past five years. We have left the blazer in a better place than we found it. I am proud to be a part of your matric class. From producing more Honours and Colours blazers than I’ve ever seen to the commitment to the school, thank you for holding St John’s good name in your hearts in everything you do. You can go out into the world knowing that you are rightly trained in body, mind and character.
To the Prefect body of 2023, thank you for all your hard work and commitment. Being face-to-face with the challenge of leading a school into its 125 anniversary is not a small ask for a group of 18-year-olds. Figuring out what it meant to be a Prefect and what was expected of us was something we were never explicitly told, but we managed to pull it off. We stayed true to our application letters when we set out to honour St John’s rich history while moving forward with a positive and transformative mindset.
To Leruo Tshephe, our Second Prefect, the ship would be lost at sea without your leadership and support for the Prefect body. Any thanks and praise anyone feels should be directed towards me should be equally directed toward him. To Aphiwe Nqumba, our Custos, your pure heart, kindness, and gentleness brought a peaceful and comforting presence to the Prefect body and to me. You made the College a safer place. To Khumo Kumalo, your leadership has been bold, and the Student Affairs Committee has grown exponentially because of you. To the Heads of Houses, your work this year has been phenomenal, and the state of each house has improved since you took office.
I trust that the incoming Head of School, Ross Rovelli and his prefect team of 2024 will lead St John’s #Beyond125 with courage and dignity. Remember to stay true to yourselves and the values of St John’s College.
To Mr Stuart West, you have been more than just a Headmaster. You have been a mentor and a role model to all the boys of the College. Working with you has been an absolute pleasure, and I can walk out these gates knowing that St John’s will be all right with you at the helm. To Mr Matin Huysamer, you have been the glue that holds us together, and I can’t imagine where we would be without your guidance. Our five years here could not have been so great without you leading the way, and your efforts are enormously appreciated. To Mr Allan Magubane, we entered the College in the same year, and in those five years we shared together, you have taught me more than I could imagine. The relationships you have formed will go a long way, and I thank you for all you have done. To the Housemasters, the Executive and staff, your dedication to the school is noticed, and we appreciate all you do for us.
My mother did not fail to remind me that the Head of School always thanks the parents, especially their own. So, to the parents, it is impossible to express in words the depth of our gratitude for your unwavering support and sacrifices. You have been our pillars of strength, our guiding lights, and our most fervent cheerleaders. Your endless encouragement, love, and belief in our potential have been instrumental in bringing us to this moment. Your sacrifices, whether they were late nights, early mornings, or the countless ways you've invested in us, have not gone unnoticed. From the bottom of our hearts, we thank you for the boundless love and dedication you've showered upon us, shaping us into the individuals we are today. We carry your love and lessons with us as we step into the future, and we promise to make you proud.
To my mom and dad, you have been the backbone that keeps me up, and I will forever be in debt to you. I would not have the courage to stand up here today if it wasn’t for what you’ve done for me in my life and the examples that you set by living yours.
Many of us don’t know what to do when this is all said and done. For me, I will walk into the Memorial Chapel as a student for the last time, and I will follow Mr Upchurch’s lead for one last time. When the time comes to walk out with my brothers as the School Hymn echoes off the walls, I will grab the badge, the badge that is on my heart, and I will walk out of that chapel with the strange feeling that it is the end. Then, I will go on a walk, a trip down memory lane. I will walk through the College buildings, taking in the history and traditions built over 125 years. I will walk through the Prep, appreciating the buildings symbolising St John’s over the next 125 years. I will make my way to the Pre-Prep, and I will feel the joy and youth those buildings hold. Once I have revisited all the places that shaped me, I will be content in knowing that it all worked out in the end. And in the end, just like in the beginning, you will find me driving out the same gates through which I first entered. This time, I will not be a five-year-old who doesn’t know what this place is but rather an 18-year-old who understands everything this place can be.
Matric Class of 2023, may the light of god guide us as we step forth from this place. May the life of St John’s College live and breathe through us until the very end, and may the love we have for one another bind us as one body, mind and character. Light, Life and Love. Lux Vita Caritas.
College, serving you as Head of School has been the greatest honour of my life. There’s nothing more I can say except thank you, thank you, thank you.
This is an edited version of Taeg Moshela’s address to his Class of 2023 peers at St John’s College at the UV Speech Day.