Interview with Mark Di Pasquale –2002 Mark came to St David’s in 1998 and being a new kid on the block knew no one which he found uncomfortable especially with so many of the boys coming up from the prep school. However he ended up being friends with the prep boys as opposed to those who came from other feeder schools. Living just down the road meant he could walk to school which was a big plus and he could attend other extra mural activities outside of school. Mark enjoyed the sports and all the facilities, was in the 1st team for hockey and A team swimming and was captain of the swimming and hockey teams. He was selected for the Gauteng provincial team for swimming and hockey.. He also enjoyed athletics and water polo. He enjoyed his time at St David’s but didn’t feel it really prepared him for life as a resident at university with no formal homework sessions that boarders have which mirror tuts at university. Although programmes in Maths were available he did not take them although he now realises that this would have been helpful. He felt there wasn’t as much camaraderie as there would have been at a boarding school. Mark was a prefect and was awarded specific honours for modern biathlon. His memory of his last day at St David’s was being excited as the school had provided him with the confidence to go out and contribute to society and to be recognised as an adult. After matriculating with a distinction in Accounting,, Mark went on to study at the University of Johannesburg, B Comm (Hons) Accounting, he then qualified as a CA (Sa) and is a CFA (Chartered Financial Analyst). He is currently working as the chief financial officer for a listed property fund. He is still friends with Steven Cory and is a member of MOBS. JLE May 2013
Interview with Mathew Schneider – 2002 Matthew came to St David’s from Grayston Preparatory in 2002 into grade 8. He was the first generation of the Schneider family at St David’s. He remembers lining up in the quad next to the smelly ablution block, the matrics seemed huge and he knew only two other boys from Grayston. He knew no one in his class and his introduction to a boy’s school was a fight which broke out between two boys during an English lesson. Matthew went to the Grade 8 camp to Babanangu. It was an overnight trip with the boys sleeping on the bus, some in the luggage racks and some on the floor. Matthew enjoyed the sport immensely and was a member of College house with Yvette Snyman as housemaster. In grade 8 and 9 he played cricket, rugby and athletics. At the end of grade 9 he moved from cricket to water polo and was a member of the team up until matric. He was a member of 1st team rugby, A team athletics, A team swimming and 1st team water polo. The U15 rugby team did really well and Matthew recalled the first year that St David’s was invited to participate in the 10 Schools Gala which was held at Wits University. He remembers the early morning training the friendship and camaraderie. Academically Matthew was average as he was too busy on the sports field and didn’t enjoy studying. He was awarded an honours blazer for leadership, sport and merit and was selected to be a prefect. The teachers who really stood out were Phil Andrew, Yvette Snyman, Dianne Webb, Teresa Voorendyk, Brad Ireland and Marius Buys. Of all the camps that Matthew participated in the grade 11 camp at the “Spirit of Adventure Camp” in the Magaliesburg was the most memorable. They were the first St David’s boys to go there and it has become a regular camp ever since. Matthew made some really good friends who he still sees on a regular basis, they are really deep seated friendships. Matthew is passionate about St David’s and loves coaching. He enjoyed his high school career and thought that Paul Edey was a great headmaster. After matriculating, Matthew went to UJ and studied for a BComm Sports Management. He continued to play rugby for Pirates for another 5 -6 years which he thoroughly enjoyed. After graduating he went into sales for 2-3 years which he didn’t enjoy. He contacted Shane Gaffney and started his internship at St David’s in 2010 studying for 2 years through Unisa for his post graduate certificate in Education. He loves teaching and is happy at St David’s. He currently teaches Accountancy to grades 8 and 9 and Business Studies to Grades 10 – 12. His mentors were Shane Gaffney, Alan Redfern and Alex Gitlin all who have moved on to become deputy headmasters elsewhere. Matthew is a member of MOBS and plays in their water polo team. JLE February 2014
Interview with Nicholas Haralambous – 2002 Nicholas’s first memory of St David’s was the entrance exam which was held in what was a small theatre by one of the science labs. He was 13 in grade 7 and had come from Crawford Prep where anything goes. He had long hair, was shaving and wore civvies. All the other boys taking the exam were straight shooters. School uniforms all done up and they knew each other. He was the only person from his school applying so he kept himself to himself, wrote the exam, finished early and left. When Nick was at S David’s there was no option but, given the choice he would have liked to board and thought it would have been great. He spent so much time at school that maybe a bed was placed in one of the classrooms. In any event he also remembered wanting to spend as much of his time messing around at school as was possible. Nick enjoyed the people most whilst he was at St David’s. At the time they were the best guys he could have wanted to know and he enjoyed the well rounded nature of the school. On the down side, Nick was always looking for more from St David’s in the way of choice – languages, arts, drama and better coaching. There was always a bit more that could have been done. However it is good to know that these things have been mostly addressed and that the school now offers a vast amount of choice. Nick will never forget the grade 8 camp at Glenmore, that year prefects attended a portion of the camp. Nick played 1st team rugby in grade 11 and 12. An occasion which stands out was when Nelson Mandela visited the school in Nick’s matric year. It meant that he, as head boy had to give a speech to the school, guests and attendees. It was a daunting task at the age of 18 to have to stand up and introduce an icon like Madiba. It was without doubt the most memorable day that Nick had at St David’s. Nick also had the pleasure of sitting close to Colin Powell, the US Secretary of State while he gave a speech in the school’s amphitheatre and Bobby Skinstad was the guest speaker at the annual ruby dinner. Nick couldn’t remember any “worst moments” but thought that it’s always rough dealing with school politics and the most difficult period for him was grade 11 when prefects are announced. There was a lot of pressure to be someone that you weren’t. Everyone has heard the PFP (pushing for prefect) taunts and for whatever reason Nick felt a lot of stick for that in his year. Mr Edey was without doubt the most memorable teaching figure Nick had ever encountered. He really understood the school, its ethos and all the boys individually. He had it. Nick will never forget his booming voice in the History classes and the empathetic assembly speeches. The most memorable speech he recalled Mr Edey giving was in 2000 after a particularly bad week where St David’s boys were singled out for something stupid. Mr Edey stood in front of the school and reminded the boys , as only he could, that it’s the 5% of boys that let the other 95% down and they shouldn’t let them define who they were. The matric dance was an interesting one. The dance Nick’s year threw in grade 11 was epic and was hosted at the Sandton Sun Towers in Sandton City. They had an amazing Venetian theme and kitted everything out in incredible style and they expected the same for their matric year but didn’t get it. Nick is not sure whether the grade 11’s in 2002 were pranking them but the dance was hosted at the Wanderers Club and the theme was “Aliens”. Nick felt it was cringe- worthy but in the end entirely memorable because of how bad it was. On his last day Nick remember being quite relieved to have made it through matric. It was difficult to imagine a world without the other 90 or so guys in his class. They did what every matric does, the hazing on their way out, the pranks and the traditional breakfast in the pavilion. Then it was over, just like that. Nick was a prefect and head boy and was awarded a general honours blazer, the Old Boys Trophy for Leadership and Promotion of the Marist Spirit and a Champagnat medal. In Nick’s speech at the annual prize giving he said “Tradition has and will always have a place in our school”. The single most moving experience of my life was walking down the 1st XV rugby steps in my tracksuit with 400 boys sitting in front of me and cheering the first team on”. After matriculating, Nick attended Rhodes University and received an undergraduate degree in journalism and politics. Nick is currently a consultant and the owner of the men’s fashion brand Nic Harry. Nick is a member of MOBS and last visited St David’s in 2012. JE 2014
