Vol 24 No 21     1 Mar 2019

The High School International Representatives

Congratulations to pupils from The High School who spent the half term break playing and training at the highest levels of sport.  A number were involved with Hockey Ireland squads which travelled to England to participate in a test series.  Calum Adair, Evan Jennings, and Harry Lynch played with the Ireland U18 squad which defeated England 4-1 in their first head-to-head, while Isobel Bowen played with the Ireland U16 team.  Ben Whelan also represented Ireland in the U16 squad.  Meanwhile, Alistair Empey spent the break training with the Ireland U21 squad in Banbridge.  In addition, Orla Prendergast was in Iceland with the Ireland U17 football team playing a friendly series in preparation for their UEFA Elite Round fixtures in March.  We wish all of our pupils success in future competitions.

UK and Ireland Lego League success

During half term pupils from the HSD Lego Club travelled to England to participate in the first UK and Ireland Lego League.  Accompanying them was their robot Johnny VI - a programmable robot made from Lego. Pupils had the opportunity to meet other young aspiring engineers to share experiences and knowledge.   The High School came in fourth place out of the sixty which participated making us the highest ranking school in Ireland in this competition.  It was a most enjoyable and informative event and the pupils are already planning their return trip next year. 

One Act Play

Pupils from Forms 4 and 5 joined forces to create an original play for the One Act drama competition.  This year we created a piece called “Voices” which features a girl who is battling an eating disorder as well as the constant voice at the back of her head.  This play deals with serious and current issues and I am very proud to say that I was part of this fine production.   Although it was a sombre play we had fun bringing the drama to life.  I made many friends along the way and as a group we learned a lot about ourselves as individuals.  It was an experience that I will never forget. 
Mia Murphy

Form 4 Hike

Pupils from Form 4 recently participated in a wintry hike as part of their President's Award.  Gaisce or ‘great achievement’ is a self-development programme for young people between the ages of 15-25.  The Awards initially flourished under the patronage of former President Patrick J Hillery and to date have been carried on by incoming Presidents.  At The High School we encourage our Form 4 pupils to participate in the programme with some pupils continuing the challenge into Form 5 and beyond. 

Drop Everything and Read

Just before half-term pupils and teachers participated in a Drop Everything and Read (DEAR) class.  This iniative encourages pupils and teachers to stop what they are doing and enjoy reading a book for an entire class period. We look forward to paricipating in another DEAR event soon.
Ms Walker  

National Concert Hall Recital

We are delighted to announce that recent past pupil and leader of The High School orchestra, Fiachra de hOra (HSD, 2012-18) will give a special viola recital at the National Concert Hall on Wedesday 6 March.  In 2007 Fiachra was joint winner of the NCH Young Musicians Award for String Players.  He has performed in the West Cork Music Festival and GAIA Chamber Music Festival in Switzerland.  He has toured with various orchestras in both Europe and the UAE.  You may remember Fiachra's stunning performance at last year's Summer Concert at The High School.  Click here to hear Fiachra's accomplished playing from that night. 

Junior Rugby

Junior pupils from Forms 1 and 2 enjoyed a great afternoon of rugby against Kilkenny College recently.  All the boys are looking forward to their upcoming rugby tours in Cork and Wales.   

Twitter Short Story Competition

All pupils are invited to write a Twitter-length short story using only 140 characters on a book-related theme to celebrate World Book Day on 7 March.  Please submit entries to Ms Wiggle in the Library by Wednesday 13 March.  Prizes for junior and senior categories will be awarded in due course.