Vol 26 No 20     12 Mar 2021

HSD Past Pupil Rugby International

The High School First Year team - including Ryan Baird (back row - 6th from the left) after winning First Year Central League

Ryan Baird (HSD, 2011-14) is becoming a household name following his spectacular performance during his debut match for Ireland against Italy in the Guinness Six Nations on 27 February.  While at The High School, despite his small stature, he delighted coaches on and off the pitch, playing on the wing.  He subsequently started at second row for the Junior Cup Team.  Now not so small- six foot six to be exact - he has worked his way up through the Leinster Academy and into the Ireland squad.  After his outstanding performance against Italy, where his speed and work rate throughout the game was simply unmatched, he is now recognised as one of Ireland’s up-and-coming players.  He has left an indelible mark on our rugby history at The High School and I am sure we will be seeing him on the pitch in an Ireland jersey again very soon. 
Andrew Whyte

HSD Motivate Me!

Last week athlete David Gillick participated in the first HSD Motivate Me! talk online.  He started the talk by briefly explaining who he was and what he has achieved in his career, showing us a video of the European Indoor Championships.  He then moved on to sharing with us the challenges in his career and how he overcame them.  He talked to us about our own mindset and the three pillars of sport – mind, nutrition, and fitness.  Although David’s experience is mostly with athletics he gave us some really good tips about goal setting, mindset, and overcoming difficult experiences that could be applied to any aspect of life.  After the talk he answered questions we wanted to ask him like how to run faster (to which he answered "train, train, train") and if he had any rituals before beginning a race.  He even shared his tip on how to develop a growth mindset.  He achieved this by making a video of all his successes and whenever he feels he cannot do something he watches the video and it helps alter his mindset.  I found the talk really inspirational so much so that it led me to spend 44 seconds at the end of the talk creating an action plan for myself to achieve a goal as he suggested during the talk.  I would highly recommend watching the talk on HSD Stream if you haven’t seen it and I am looking forward to the next talks in the HSD Motivate Me! series.
Ciara Morton

World Book Day

World Book Day was celebrated at The High School with pupils and staff invited to talk about their Desert Island Book.  There was a great selection of titles recommended although it can be hard to choose just one!  The Junior Virtual Book Club continues every Tuesday at 1.30 pm.  All are welcome to join in via Teams.  Please contact the Librarian to be added to the group.
Ms Wiggle

Senior Quiz Night

The High School Student Council has recently introduced a weekly online Senior Quiz for pupils in Forms 4-6.  This Friday night treat is a great opportunity to catch up with friends and have a laugh with people from different year groups – and it is a chance to learn something new!  The rounds are varied from ‘Guess This Country’ to obscure games of ‘Who Am I?’ with lots more in between.  Taking part in the Senior Quiz has been a brilliant way to finish the school week on a high note and to bring-in the long-awaited weekend!
Kayla Kennedy

Form 2 Home Economics

Home Economics pupils in Form 2 have been studying the principles of interior design.  They were given the task to design a bedroom suitable for teenagers.  The room had to demonstrate a knowledge of the principles of design and sustainability, and pupils had to apply the guidelines of room planning.  Each sketched a floorplan and used the theory they learned in class to make their dream bedroom in a shoe box.  Well done to everyone who put so much time and effort into their projects.  Here are just a few examples of their successful shoebox creations. 

Past Pupil Union - Zoom Event

In the absence of any in-person events this year, we would like to offer you a way to connect with other past pupils. You are cordially invited to an online event this Saturday evening, March 13th at 8pm via Zoom: ‘Beyond Danum Days -  a celebration of HS&D alumni making a difference in the world’ where we will be having conversations with two prominent past pupils, David Fitzpatrick and Richelle Flanagan.  Professor David Fitzpatrick is the inaugural president for TU Dublin following its designation as a Technological University on the 1st of January, 2019.  Richelle Flanagan graduated from Trinity College Dublin in 1992 with a BA (Hons) in Natural Sciences, a Masters in Nutrition & Dietetics and a Postgraduate Certificate in Allergy, University of Southampton.  The event will also see the launch of our fundraising campaign for a sensory room for the school. We will have a presentation from some teachers at the school who will explain what a sensory room is and how this resource will be used to support pupils in the school.  A Zoom link will be sent to our database on Saturday - we are really looking forward to seeing you there!
HS&D PPU Committee