Vol 24 No 26     03 May 2019

Habitat for Humanity - Vietnam

On 12 April a group of twenty pupils and five teachers began the long journey to Hanoi in Vietnam having worked hard for almost a year to fund raise the sum of €3500 each. Vietnam is located in south-east Asia bordering China, Cambodia, and Laos. It is a beautiful country with picturesque scenery of wooded mountains and rice paddy fields which has succeeded in reducing its levels of economic deprivation since the 1980s but still contains 9 million people living in extreme poverty. There was a short layover after a six-hour flight in Doha, Qatar before another flight to Hanoi. We stayed in Hanoi for one night before travelling to the more rural area of Thai Nguyen. Once we arrived we began to work building two houses. While the heat made the work very difficult it was encouraging to see how the houses developed over the next five days. It was interesting to speak to the future homeowner and skilled workers on the site and also to play with local children after the day’s work was done. The time spent with the team in Vietnam was the experience of a lifetime and created many great memories for us to look back on. When we had finished our work we travelled back to Hanoi where we visited Ho Chi Minh's Mausoleum and a Vietnamese water puppet show. We also spent time on a boat in Ha Long Ba which is a UNESCO World Heritage site with towering limestone pillars and incredible Karst cave systems. Overall, the trip was an amazing experience which the entire group thoroughly enjoyed. We recommend that any current Form 3 and 4 pupils should consider applying for the Habitat for Humanity trip next year. 
Oisin Stapleton Doyle and Amelia Durac

Feis Ceoil Success

Congratulations to The High School Orchestra which was awarded second place in the Post-primary School Orchestra section of the Feis Ceoil music competition.  We are also delighted with Eileen Curran's achievement on winning first prize in the Junior French Horn competition and Daimee Ng who was placed second in the Junior Violin competition.  The Feis Ceoil Association promotes excellence in the learning and performance of music across all ages, levels, and disciplines on the island of Ireland.  Well done to all our pupils who participated in this prestigious competition.

MUN Success

Pupils from The High School travelled to the annual Blackrock College MUN conference (ROCKMUN) in April.  The event took place over the course of two days during which pupils represented the delegations of Afghanistan and the United States of America in a number of committees from Human Rights to Ecology and Environment.  The conference featured lively debate on a broad range of topics.  The High School pupils were well represented and two delegates won Distinguished Delegate awards for their participation.   As always it was an extremely enjoyable and educational experience.  Sadly, the event brought a close to The High School’s Model United Nations’ attendance for this academic year but we look forward to returning in the new term perhaps alongside some fresh new faces!
Eve Shannon

HSD International Representation

Congratulations to all current and past pupils of The High School who were involved with sport at the highest levels during the Easter holiday.  Enya Mak and Orla Bagnall travelled to South Africa to play for the Leinster U17 cricket team.  Alistair Empey and Alex Flynn as well as Conor Empey (HSD, 2011-17) and Peter Lynch (HSD, 2012-18) played for the Ireland U21 hockey team against France.  HSD hockey coaches Alison Meeke ( HSD, 2003-09),  Jessica Meeke (HSD, 2006-12), and Mia Jennings (HSD, 2011-17) participated in the European club championships. 

Rowing Victory

It has been a successful few weeks for our dedicated rowing pupils who competed in two regattas over the same weekend. recently.  At Neptune Regatta, Sam Daly rowed in the winning Senior Men’s eight against UCD Boat Club.  His sisters rowed in the winning Junior Women’s eight against Coláiste Iognáid Rowing Club.   At Commercial Regatta, Sam won the Junior Men’s double against Three Castles Rowing Club by one foot while his sisters won the Senior women’s pair against Anna Liffey Boat Club which was made up of former Dublin Universty Ladies Boat Club senior rowers.  Congratulations to these talented HSD rowers and best wishes for success in future competitions.

Kilkenny College Rugby Blitz

The first ever girls tens team represented The High School at a special rugby blitz at Kilkenny College recently.  Two junior tag teams also made the trip and performed well on the day.  We wish our rugby players every success in future competitions. 

Hockey News

The Seniors played a great game against Midleton College just before the Easter holiday.  Everyone had a wonderful time.

Bounce for Charity

On Thursday 9 May pupils from Form 2 will be running a special charity event for the entire school.  Pupils will be invited to bounce their way through an outdoor inflatable assault course during breaks at a cost of €2 for two rounds.  All proceeds raised will be donated to Our Lady's Children's Hospital, Crumlin. 

Senior Extra-Curricular

Thre are still some places available for Senior pupils who wish to participate in Rock Climbing at The Wall on Wednesday afternoons after school.  Anyone interested in signing-up can contact Ms McDonnell.

Summer Sports Programme