News from The High School

Vol 25 No 03 20 Sept 2019

Junior Certificate Results

Form 4 pupils will receive their long-awaited Junior Certificate results on Friday 4 October. We look forward to congratulating all our pupils on what will be the culmination of three years' hard work. Recently a group of The High School's high-achieving Leaving Certificate candidates from 2019 - namely, Erica Macari, Síofra O'Brien, Andrew Canning, Calum Adair, Naoise May, and Hannah Kerr - visited the school. Congratulations to all Leaving Certificate pupils on their excellent results and best wishes to Form 4 pupils as when they receive their results.

National Ploughing Championships

On Tuesday 17 September we visited the National Ploughing Championships. We had a very enjoyable day due to the sunny weather and great atmosphere. There were many forms of entertainment such as watching the ploughing, riding the fair rides, and meeting celebrities like Greg O'Shea, Marty Morrissey, and many more! There was a large variety of stalls there which meant there was something for everyone so we never got bored. Overall it was a great day and we hope we can visit again next year!
Siofra Young and Kirsten Sargent

Form 1 Art Museum Visit

Form 1 Art pupils visited the Natural History Museum on Monday 9 September. We were looking for source material for our Mask Project and everyone thoroughly enjoyed the experience. We made drawings and took photographs of the animals on display. It was amazing to see how everyone was drawn to different displays and how we are developing such different designs for our mask. The collection contains representations of a vast array of mammals, birds, sea life, and insects. We can't wait to see the finished work!

Welcoming our Argentinian Friends

On 12 September we had an exciting visit from pupils attending St Gregory's College, Argentina. They came to play hockey and rugby, to meet fellow pupils, and to perform musical pieces before an Irish audience. Hockey players from Forms 3 and 4 faced strong Argentinian sides in fast-paced, competitive matches while Form 4 boys played the visitors on the rugby pitch in a tough but enjoyable game. We later joined them in The Reynolds Hall where The High School Orchestra performed some brilliant pieces. Afterwards, Argentinian pupils sang beautiful songs in both Spanish and English accompanied by a small ensemble. It was an incredible experience and culturally enriching for both schools.
Kelly-Jo Wilson and Naomi Wilson

HSD Hockey News

Last weekend The High School Hockey teams travelled en masse to Foxrock to play against some formidable rivals. Players from Forms 1 to 6 donned their shin guards and brushed-off their hockey sticks to face formidable teams in an entire morning of matches. The sun shone while the parents cheered from the sidelines and it almost felt like the summer holidays again.

International Representation

Congratulations to recent past pupil Harry Byrne (HSD, 2013-19) who won the 2019 Gravity Enduro Ireland Series for the first time last week. Along with the Gravity Enduro crown, Byrne also came to the fore at Scotland’s Tweedlove Enduro, winning the Under 21 category in one of the UK’s most prestigious events. Harry success earned him a sports scholarship at the Technological University of Dublin (TUD) where he is studying Marketing. The scholarship provides Harry with free gym membership and access to an academic tutor, a physio, and nutritionist. We wish Harry every success as he competes in Mountain Biking World Series in Switzerland this weekend. You can hear how Harry managed to balance his sporting success with his Leaving Certifcate examinations in this interview by clicking on the image below.

Interprovincial Representation

Recently several High School pupils represented Leinster in the hockey interprovincials at Stormont, Belfast. Evan Jennings, Ben Whelan, and Ethan Flynn represented the U18 team, while Ben Pasley, Alex Lynch and Charles Beatty were playing for the Leinster U16 team On Friday the latter played Ulster in a very close game. It ended 2-1 to Ulster. The next day we beat Munster 4-1. On Sunday morning we played Ulster for the interprovincial title. Unfortunately, we did not play as well as we could and lost the game 6-0. That afternoon we played Munster in a frustrating game: we just could not score. It went to 1-on-1's which we won with High School's Ben Pasley scoring. We finished second in the tournament as did the U18 team. It was a good weekend and a great experience.
Charles Beatty

Library Reading Club

The Library Reading Club will commence on Friday 27 September. The club is open to pupils from all years and will be held in the Library at 8.40 am. All pupils who love books, reading, and who would like to meet like-minded people are are most welcome to come along. Any pupils who have purchased Library Club hoodies should bring them to this meeting.

Volcano Cake

Congratulations to this ingenius pupil who presented his teacher with an inspired and edible Geography project - a chocolate biscuit valcano cake. Delicious!

HSD Rugby Success

Form 1 pupils enjoyed their first taste of rugby with a tens blitz at home this week against Temple Carrig School, Newpark Comprehensive School, and Wilson's Hospital School. Let's hope it is the first of many for these young players. Meanwhile, the SCT defeated St Fintan's High School 37-7 and the JCT drew with Gorey Community School in league matches. Well done to all involved!

Lego Club

The HSD Lego Club is once more up and running with meetings taking place on Thursday after school in the Technical Block from 4.00 pm to 5.30 pm. All junior pupils are welcome to attend. Lego Club is an exciting way to make new friends and show off all those junior engineering skills. Click on the video above to see some highlights of last year's Lego Club experience.

Classroom Based Assessment

The new Junior Cycle will place the pupil at the centre of the learning process. One major change is the introduction of Classroom Based Assessments Classroom Based Assessments (CBAs). CBAs will be undertaken in most subjects and will be facilitated by the classroom teacher. They will be undertaken during a defined time period within normal class contact time according to a national time frame. At the end of Form 3 pupils will sit the final State Examinations in all subjects commencing on Wednesday 3 June 2020. The outcome of the CBA process will be reported in the Junior Cycle Profile of Achievement (JCPA).
Ms V B Connolly
Deputy Principal