Boishaaier 2025

Intreeboodskap – Hoofseun 2026

De Wet Nel 2026 H o o f s e u n Intreeboodskap

As ’n jong seuntjie was die begeerte om hoofseun van Hoër Jongenskool Paarl te wees reeds ’n droom wat ek gekoester het en ’n doel waarna ek gestrewe het – ’n droom geskape deur 157 jaar van mans in gestreepte blou baadjies en ’n droom gewortel in tradisie en trots. ’n Droom wat miljoen keer in my kop afgespeel het. ’n Droom wat uiteindelik waargeword het. Ek is my ma, pa en broer ewig dankbaar vir elke les, elke glimlag en elke skouer om op te huil, wat my gevorm het tot die persoon wat ek vandag is. Hulle was nog altyd my rots en steunpilaar, en het my geleer om om te gee, lief te hê, en om die lig in elke donker tonnel te wees. My vriende: Agter elke hartseer hart is daar ’n oor wat luister, agter elke blydskap iemand wat saam lag en agter elke man vind jy sy vriende – vriende wat nie net in sy vreugdes deel nie, maar ook sy stiltes verstaan; vriende wat sy wonde ken, maar hom steeds as heel sien. Julle leer my hoe om te val en wys my hoe om op te staan; julle hou my voete op die grond. Julle sal nooit julle impak in my lewe kan begryp nie. Julle is familie. My laaste woord van dank wil ek rig aan ons Hemelse Vader, die anker in my bestaan. Sonder Hom was, en is, niks moontlik nie. Four years ago we first walked through the black gates to enter the unknown, but from the first handshake, the first call of parade, and the first words of Ernst Kirsten on the mountain, the unknown was never a place of uncertainty or vulnerability but a place that turned into a home – a place of family. Dit is ’n plek gekenmerk deur duisend broers, saamgebind deur drie pilare en ’n enkele embleem wat met trots op hul bors pronk; ’n plek in die hartjie van die Paarl, aan die voet van die berg, waar die eikebome verouder maar nooit sal ophou blom nie. Hierdie plek is die Hoër Jongenskool Paarl. It’s a place we love, a place we cherish, and a place where boys get sculpted into men who are able to go against the grain to stand up for what’s right; men of compassion and empathy; men of character. For the year of 2026 we have a set vision that will be achieved, a vision deeply needed to uphold the rich tradition of the 157 years of generations that came before us, and to set the norm for the 157 years of generations that will follow. Our vision is to build a culture and environment of love and empathy towards one another; an environment where men can talk, men can listen, and men can grow; an environment where intentions are pure and responsibilities are accepted with gratitude; an environment in which the burning flame of passion and pride that silently faded into

darkness will be lit up again in the hearts of many. Matteus 5:14 stel dit so mooi: “Julle is die lig wat die wêreld moet verlig.” Mag ons in hierdie omgewing groei tot mans wat hul kruis opneem. Mag ons gebede elke oggend teen die granietklip weergalm en hoop in die harte van miljoene kweek. En mag ons, as aanstekers van geloof, die brandende vuur wees wat ’n wêreld vol duisdernis verlig. To the class of 2026: standards have been set, expectations have

been launched, but we’ve never been destined to settle only for the norm; we have been given a chance to write our final chapter with blue, white and blue; an opportunity few will ever have the privilege to experience; an opportunity to tip the scale and be the change everyone wishes to see; an opportunity to lead an institution that stands as an eminent beacon of excellence, and to write our names alongside the legends of yesterday; an opportunity to create our own legacy that will forever be known, and felt, in the oak of the trees, and the granite in the mountain. Boishaai: Mag ons in 2026 saam lag, saam huil en saam trek om ’n stem te vorm wat vir ewig in die gange van die Hoër Jongenskool sal aanklank vind; ’n stem om oor die vallei van die Paarl te weergalm en duisende harte te lei om blou te raak in Auretstraat. En mag ons in hierdie jaar die vlag van ons geliefde skool omhoog laat wapper in die winde van die Paarl. I leave you with the following: as we pick up our pen to write a new chapter and guard a legacy that has been passed down over centuries, fear will be irrelevant, for each morning we bow our heads in prayer and look up to the mountain, knowing that we find our strength in Christ. We will watch our words turn into actions and our actions making the change, for we have something they don’t; something they will never have. We have the sacred fellowship of men bound by honour, a silent covenant of hearts beating with the same purpose, the unbroken thread that ties souls through trial and triumph alike. We have the living testament of unity.

We have brotherhood. Now and forever, oh mighty Boishaai. Tandem Fit Arbor Surculus.

20 BOISHAAI 157 YEARS