letter to the newly appointed Headmistress of HEA - Mrs Taeklar Chiwawa-

From the Patron - Professor Kenneth Mufuka- USA

It is not a small honor to be appointed Headmistress of Hatfield Elite Academy, especially when that appointment comes after the founding Headmaster Mr. Sensere.

Your appointment is the beginning of a journey to greatness. We do not wish to recreate the wheel, that is a waste of time. We want to look at the past, see and choose from those great masters who have come before you. You can also look aside at the sister academies that best resemble our own. Here I have Ms. Bates of Ariel School in Ruwa as an example of what we can achieve and what we can become.

But as a historian, I go back to the source, Zimbabwean education was modeled along British private Christian schools-that is where our inspiration came from. I have in my mind, the great headmaster Dr. Thomas Arnold of Rugby, 1828-1842.

With Dr. Arnold we can answer the great question that underlies all education. What is our mission? This we can answer very simply. Our mission is to mold boys and girls who love their country, proud to be Africans, and yet willing and able to absorb and accommodate the future.

When a pupil leaves Hatfield Elite, we should be able to say, distinguish, without any doubt that here comes a properly shaped and molded boy or girl, honest, competent, aware of that religious gift that creates his dignity and place in the universe; in short, a pupil whose foundations to the future have already been laid, and who is self-conscious of that fact.

Our aim, and our practice, therefore, is to lay a rigorous foundation in the STEM subjects, for therein lies the future of technology and of a modern world. But this alone is insufficient if the knowledge is housed in carelessly lazy boy that has not been blessed by physical exercise. Thus sports, as Dr. Arnold of Rugby found out, is part of the foundation for a future socialization. Sports encompasses competition, ability to lose with grace, and in the long run the desire to do one’s best, no matter what the results.

Such an ambition is the embodiment of a Hatfield Elite pupil, one who strives honestly despite the acknowledgement that the final result may not be illustrious.

Since this is my first epistle to you, I need only mention one other thing. No one finger can crush an ant, though it is very small. This idiom, which I pass to you, was drilled into me by my mother, a woman of the Rainbird Clan, the most sagacious clan among the Bantu. 

The point is, without building connectivity with fellow teachers and campus staff (including bus drivers) your brilliance will be undermined by a slothful staff.

I will have more to say as time goes on. As you may remember, we have on your school calendar, the Patron’s Prize Day. I hope to be there in person. I thank you and welcome on board. 

Professor Ken Mufuka PhD.

Patron, Hatfield Elite Academy