This week's news from The High School Dublin

Vol 25 No 02 13 Sept 2019

Debutante Ball - Class of 2019

Last weekend our most recent past pupils, parents, and teachers joined together at the HSD Debutante Ball. This glamorous event marks the end of six wonderful years at The High School. Pupils gathered together one last time as the class of 2019, dressed in their finest attire and looking radiant. They were animated with talk of college and university, excited by all of the new experiences they were having. We wish them all the very best in whatever their futures hold.

Rowing Ireland Success

After a long nine months of submitting ergometer tests and racing 6km trials in Inniscarra in Cork, Alison and I were finally selected in June to represent Ireland for the Coupe De la Jeunesse. We had been selected for the Junior Women's Coxless Four and would be rowing the boat alongside two other girls from Castleconnell, Limerick. We also were rowing in the Junior Women's Sweep Eight as part of the opening ceremony. The Coupe De la Jeunesse is a Junior European Rowing event. This year it was held at Lake Corgeno, Italy. However, before the event we attended a two-week camp at the National Rowing Centre in Cork where we trained with high-performance athletes including the O'Donovan brothers and Sanita Puspure. We trained twice a day, nearly every day, with only two days off in two weeks. We would aim to be rowing 18-20 km in the first training session and another 10-12 km in the race preparatory session. Every training session involved washing the boat, a debriefing on that session reflecting on improvements our coach suggested, a warm-down stretching session, and finally, after all that, we were allowed to eat our lunch. We flew out with the Ireland team on 1 August. We went from training in 16 degrees in Cork to 34-36 degrees in Italy. Thankfully the morning was only 28 degrees and it wasn't as hot as the day before. We practised a few race starts and did some drills while out on the water. By the afternoon there was a sudden change of weather with thunder and lightning. We took shelter at the boathouse, hoping that the weather would change by the time the opening ceremony of the event rolled around. Thankfully by 5.00 pm the weather had calmed down enough to be allowed to row on the water. We came fifth in the eights race with Spain, Netherlands, and Great Britain winning the sweep eight category. On Saturday our race began at 10.40 am which meant we would have to go out on the water 40 minutes before our race was scheduled to start. This was to allow us plenty of time to warm-up and practise race starts before we would finally have to line-up. We brought single-use ice packs in the boat to allow us to cool down before the race to prevent us from overheating. We practised methods to prevent overheating by dipping our T-shirts in the lake and then putting them on while soaking wet to keep us cool while we warmed-up. The water in the lake was actually quite warm and the insides of the boat usually became scalding hot by the time we rowed up to the start. We came fifth in the heat which meant we qualified for final B. In final B we came second to France. It was a tough start to the event for us but we were determined to do better on the next day of the event. On Sunday our race began at 9.40 am so we went out on the water at 9.00 am. We came fourth in the heat and were less than three seconds off qualifying for the A final. However, we won the B final with Poland and Norway hot on our heels. We thought the event was a great experience especially for our first time representing Ireland. Hopefully, we will be selected to compete at this event again next year.
Sarah Daly

Meet The HSD Prefects

We would like to introduce you to this year's group of Prefects and to thank them for volunteering to play such an vital role in the school community. We wish Head Boy - Sol Bell-Megaw and Head Girl - Jodie McAvinue, along with their deputies Adam Maguire and Eabha Hughes, and the entire Prefect team every success in the year ahead.

Form 4 Outdoor Pursuits

Last week, a group of Form 4 pupils travelled to Kippure Adventure Centre. We arrived early in the morning and set off on a hill walk. The challenging hike was worth the effort once we saw the beautiful view at the top. Later on in the day we leaned how to build shelters in the wood and survive in the wild. From cooking our own food on open fires to pitching our tents it was safe to say that we all had a taste of the true camping experience. That night we sat around the bonfire roasting marshmallows. The climbing wall and high rope challenges the next morning ended an enjoyable and beneficial overnight trip. It is a memory that all of us will cherish for years to come.
Ella Maxwell

Culture Night at The High School

The High School archive will be open to the public on Culture Night this year. Don't miss this wonderful opportunity to visit our archive located on the grounds of The High School with displays telling the history of this 350 year old education charity. Usually only open by appointment for researchers the archive invites visitors who want to know more about a charity that has grant-aided over 250 schools and offers a unique snapshot of Irish history. You can visit 4.00 - 9.00 pm on Friday 20 September 2019.

Form 1 Geography Project

Earlier this week, a Form 1 Geography pupil developed this clever, colourful cake to represent the composition of the Earth's crust. Well done!

National Poetry Competition Winner

Congratulations to Rachel Low who has won a Highly Commended award for her poem "Roses" in the National Poetry Competition. She is one of only seven pupils nationally to be awarded a prize. Rachel will receive her award in Athlone in November.

Poetry Aloud Competition

Entries are invited for the annual Poetry Aloud competition. This is a national poetry competition where poems are spoken from memory at all stages of the competition. Please see Ms Wiggle in the Library by Wednesday 18 September.

HS&D PPU Golf Invitation

The annual High School and Diocesan PPU Golf Outing will be held at
Rathfarnham Golf Club on Friday 13 September. This is another special year as John Mills, the current Captain of Rathfarnham Golf Club, is also a past pupil of The High School. We would really love to see as many of you as possible at our outing. It is also an excellent opportunity for you to invite guests, even if they are not past pupils of the school, or to introduce other past pupils who may not have been involved before now to participate in the event. The format is a 3 Ball Stableford competition and you can sign up as a full line or be added to another line if preferred. There is a meal afterwards, a couple of short speeches, and the presentation of prizes. Non-golfing guests are also most welcome to attend the meal afterwards which is always a bit of fun! If you would like to play, or would like more information, please email us at hsdppu@gmail.com
with GOLF in the subject line.
Arlene Brislane

Christian Union

Would anyone from any year group who is interested in joining the Christian Union this year please see Mr Wilkinson in B27 this week so that a suitable time for meetings can be arranged.

Ireland Rugby

The Form 2 rugby team, along with more than a dozen High School rugby fans, attended the recent Ireland game at the Aviva Stadium at the weekend. They had a wonderful time, helped on by Ireland's victory against Wales.

Form 1 Hockey Blitz

Form 1 pupils enjoyed their first hockey blitz this week against The King's Hospital. Let's hope it is the first of many for these young players. Well done to all involved!

Church of Ireland Board of Education Service

The governors, staff, parents, pupils, and past pupils of The High School, together with representatives from minority faith secondary schools from across the country, will join Ms Mary Mitchell O'Connor, Minister of State at the Department of Education and Skills at a service of Choral Evensong to mark the opening of the academic year at St Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin on Thursday 19 September at 3.00 pm. All are most welcome to attend this service; please be seated by 2.45 pm.

Higher Options Conference

Pupils from Form 6 will attend the Higher Options Conference at the Royal Dublin Society on 19 September. Click here for more information including a printable floorplan of the exhibits on show.