Vol 24 No 09     09 Nov 2018

Parents’ Evening and Prize Distribution

Congratulations to all pupils and past pupils who received prizes and awards at the annual Parents' Evening and Prize Distribution; many thanks to all who were involved in preparing and running this successful event.  Our guest was The Baroness Neuberger DBE who is a member of the British House of Lords.  She formerly took the Liberal Democrat whip, but resigned from the party and joined the Crossbenches in September 2011 upon becoming the full-time Senior Rabbi to the West London Synagogue.  She  gave an insightful and informative talk to everyone gathered in the Gymnasium. The evening celebrated the gifts and talents of current and past pupils in the areas of academic and sporting endeavour.  There was music and song; a wonderful evening was had by all.

All Ireland Hockey Semi-Finals

Congratulations to the Senior 1 boys' hockey team who competed in the All Ireland Schools (Boys) Hockey Championship for the fourth successive year.  The High School defeated Newpark Comprehensive School 5-4, Regent House School 3-1, and drew with Sullivan Upper School 2-2 to qualify for the semi-final stages of the competition for only the second time in the history of the school.  We warmly congratulate the team on the significance of its achievements to date and wish all members of the squad every success in future competitions.

Royal Russell MUN

Pupils from The High School visited the Royal Russel International Model United Nations conference (MUN) in Croydon.  There we represented the delegations of Chad and Colombia in our designated committees.  Our delegates took part in some fruitful debate over the course of the four days in committees such as Environment, Ecology, Disarmament, and International Security.  We discussed a wide range of topics in committees and General Assembly such as child marriage, plastics in the ocean, and lowering the voting age.  It was a wonderful experience and I encourage other pupils to participate in the event next year. 
Debbie Oduntan

Form 6 English Theatre Trip

The week before half term Form 6 English pupils went to see a production of Macbeth in the Mill Theatre in Dundrum as part of their Leaving Certificate course. Macbeth is the prescribed Shakespeare play this year and so this trip provided an excellent opportunity to get a feel for how the play is performed. The production was excellent with wonderful special effects which were used to enhance the spooky scenes.  It was a great way to learn not just about how the play can be performed but also how special effects, props, lighting, and costumes all combine to create an immersive experience for the audience.  I think Form 6 is in agreement that the production of Macbeth was spectacular and I would strongly encourage anyone to see it whether at the Mill Theatre or elsewhere.
.James Cole

Form 4 Cultural Excursion

On Tuesday 23 October pupils from Form 4 travelled to the Titanic Museum in Belfast by train.  We organised ourselves into groups of 4 and were assigned tasks to complete at the museum.  After the two-and-a-half hour journey we arrived in Belfast and after a short walk we were greeted by the tour guides.  The detail about the timeline of the sinking, statistics of those lost, and recorded testaments of survivors gave a chilling image of the "night to remember".  After the tour of the museum we were brought to the nearby SS Nomadic, a small passenger ship built around the same time and in the same style as the Titanic, which is the last surviving vessel from the White Star Line that owned Titanic.  The train ride home felt longer because it was late in the day but we were happy to get home. It was a wonderful experience.
Dylan Murphy

Leinster Champion

Congratulations to Thomasin McKenna who is now the Leinster Breaststroke (50 metres) Champion having won the gold medal at the National Aquatic Centre at the weekend.  Thomasin beat ten other swimmers in the final winning by .02 of a second.  We salute her dedication to the sport and wish our pupil every success as she competes for further honours at this level.
Ms Jones