On the evening of Friday, 17 October, Howick High School celebrated its most prestigious event of the year, Speech Night and Prizegiving. Despite the tremendous hail storm the previous afternoon, which flooded the perfectly arranged school hall, the ceremony was a joyous celebration of the achievements of our current pupils.
We also honoured the achievement of past pupil, Dr Vanessa Naidoo (Class of 2000), who was our Guest of Honour and Speaker that evening. Dr Naidoo has worked for 'Doctors Without Borders', a humanitarian aid organisation, providing medical aid to populations in distress and need. She has worked as an anaesthetist in Afghanistan and Pakistan, setting up maternity centres in some of the worst places in the world to be a woman, as a primary healthcare giver in refugee camps in South Sudan and set up emergency hospitals in Syria. Dr Naidoo was included in the Mail & Guardian's Top 200 Young Achievers in South Africa list and her message to the Class of 2014 was: "Find that thing you love and work at being the person you want to be, and make it count because you only get one life and it is happening now."
In his response to Dr Naidoo's speech, Chairman of the Governing Body, Mr Kevin Barnsley, paid homage to our teaching staff in celebration of World Teachers' Day by asking the audience to give them a round of applause.
Following our Headmaster, Mr Langley's review of 2014, the academic awards were announced and presented. Dux Proximae Accessit was awarded to Joshua Bull with Sashin Seechoonparsad receiving the Dux accolade. The top all-round Sports man and woman were Emmanuel Mkhize and Kimberleigh van Jaarsveld with Suman Nunkumar receiving the Dramatics Award.
The Senior Representative Council of Learners (prefects) were announced at the Valedictory Assembly on Thursday, 16 October. On Friday evening, the current Head Prefects handed over leadership for the 2014/2015 year to Deputy Heads, Quinn Anderson and Tave Verhoef and Head Prefects James Webb and Grace Crooks.
2014 Dux Sachin Seechoonparsad with his parents, Mr Rushochund & Mrs Devi Seechoonparsad and sister, Ms Seechoonparsad.