Vol 26 No 14     22 Dec 2020

Happy Christmas from The High School

I should like to take this opportunity to wish all members of The High School community – governors, staff, pupils, parents, and past pupils - a very Happy Christmas and peaceful New Year. Thank you for everything that has been achieved at HSD in 2020.  I hope you enjoy a restful and recuperative seasonal break at home with family and friends.
Mr G A Forrest
Principal

Click here to watch The High School's Carol Service.

Form 1 Jingle Bell Run

Pupils from Form 1 participated in a mile-long Jingle Bell Run last week.  It gave 
pupils a chance to remove their masks and have some fun as a year group.  Medals were awarded to the fastest runners in each form and prizes were presented to those with the best Christmas costumes. It was a great way to mark the end of what has been a most unusual term. The pupils completed the run as they have the term, with smiles on their faces, ready to take on whatever challenge they faced.  We are immensely proud of our Form 1 pupils and we wish them a very happy, restful Christmas!

Form 6 Christmas Dinner

On Wednesday afternoon Form 6 pupils took part in a seasonal lunch celebration. Everybody wore festive attire and pupils bought Christmas wraps and an ice-cream of their choice with the funds raised being donated to Pieta House.  We ate our lunch while watching a video of Christmases past, followed by a slideshow thanking all the members of staff who have made this year possible. We then took a brisk nature walk to finish off the high spirited day, which marks our last Christmas at The High School.
Oisín Stapleton Doyle (Head Boy)

Rock-Pop Triumph

Since the beginning of September, a small group of Form 4 pupils have worked hard to create a rock-pop show.  We could not do a live performance because of the pandemic. However, we pre-recorded 11 cover songs and put them together to create a 40 minute video.  The video was played to all Form 4 pupils last Thursday.  The songs included 'Ocean Eyes' by Billie Eilish and 'Everybody Talks' by Neon Trees.  We had a lot of fun over the last few months and enjoyed getting to know eachother better.  I wish I could do it all over again!
Leah McGrath

Happy (Sustainable) Christmas!

Last week, members of the Green Schools committee gave a presentation in Assembly about sustainability at Christmas. Our message to everyone is to enjoy the festive season while still thinking about reducing our environmental impact. Unfortunately, Christmas is currently a time of great waste, but we can change this by thinking conscientiously about gifts, food, and decorations.  Use brown paper, newspaper, gift bags, or reusable wrapping paper and string instead of cellotape.  Buy thoughtful, sustainable, Irish-made presents and avoid fast fashion.  Regarding food: buy only what you need, store and eat leftovers, and have more vegetarian options to reduce your meat intake.  Also keep leftovers in reusable containers or wax wraps instead of cling film or tinfoil.  Have a happy and greener Christmas from the Green Schools committee! 
Tirzah Hitchinson Edgar

Christmas at Science Club

Members of the Science Club enjoyed writing with invisible 'ink' last week.  They wrote secret messages with the invisible 'ink' and then sprayed the paper with a chemical solution. The writing only became visible when a chemical reaction took place between the 'ink' and the spray.  The writing appears in different colours, depending on what chemicals are used. 
Ms Deane

Christmas Music Online 

Christmas is traditionally a time for singing and music.  The pandemic has meant that this pleasure has mostly been denied to us to year.  To compensate a group of senior pupils came together to create a Christmas extended play (EP) digital recording.  The idea was inspired by the Isolation 2020 album and the Stand Up album.  Each project can be found on The High School Soundcloud channel. This time the challenge was to record a song with a Christmas theme.  We all enjoy music so it was a lot of fun to put this EP together.  It is always enjoyable to work with pupils in other year groups and that was one of the best parts of this project.  This year has been a particularly difficult one for singers and musicians so it means a lot to have the opportunity to share our music with you.  The songs form a collection of festive favourites and new covers that we hope you will enjoy.  Well done to everyone on the EP release!  Click HERE to listen!
Leah McGrath

Nollaig Shona

Bhí rang 1P an-ghnóthach agus muid beagnach críochnaithe leis an téarma seo. Rinne an chéad bhliain obair iontach ag fáil réidh don Nollaig.  Chruthaigh an rang pictiúir ghalánta don 'Dhá Lá Déag na Nollaig'. Chan muid carúil sa rang agus bhain na scoláirí an-sult as.  Nollaig shona agus athbhliain faoi mhaise do na daltaí agus an fhoireann san Ard Scoil!
Ms O’Sullivan

Sunday Times Articles

Congratulations to Charlotte MacDonnell and Tirzah Hutchinson-Edgar who had pieces published in The Sunday Times last week. Charlotte's poem and Tirzah's imaginative story were inspired by their feelings about climate change.  They can be read in full on the school blog.

Home Economics at Christmas

Home Economics was a hive of festive activity over the last month as pupils perfected their Christmas crafts and recipes in prepartion for 25 December.  Pupils doing Home Economics will be arrivng home in the coming days with beautiful samples of their handiwork.  From sewing decorations to icing yule logs, nothing was done half-heartedly.  As always, the quality of work produced by our young pupils is most impressive.  We hope they and their families enjoy these 
treats and we wish them a very happy Christmas and successful New Year.  

Book Recommendations for Christmas

It's late December and people's thoughts turn to buying presents and books.  With this in mind we have decided to share a list of our favourite young adult Christmas books with you.  We can't go out this year as much as would like to so what could be better than staying at home with a good book?  Click here to see our favourite Christmas-themed book recommendations for the young adult in your life.
Daime Ng, TIrzah Hutchinson-Edgar, and Poppy Hall

Past Pupils Publications

If you are looking for some books to buy for someone this Christmas you might like to consider the following books published in 2020 by former High School 
pupils:

'Peace After the Final Battle': The Story of the Irish Revolution 1912-1924

In this exciting new updated edition, drawing on new research and the most recent material in this field, John Dorney (HSD, 1993-99), historian and editor of The Irish Story website, examines the roots of the revolution, using the experiences of the men and women of the time. 

As we close out the decade of centenaries, and approach a re-appraisal of the Civil War our nation has never truly confronted, John Dorney's engaging history of those years - now in paperback for the first time - is a must read.

Within the space of just a dozen years, Ireland was completely transformed. From being a superficially loyal part of the British Empire, it emerged as a self-governing state. How and why did Ireland go from welcoming royalty in 1912 to independence in 1922?

John Dorney is an independent historian and chief editor and writer of the Irish Story website.

Fighting the People's War: The British and Commonwealth Armies and the Second World War 

Fighting the People's War by Jonathan Fennell (HSD, 1992-98) is an unprecedented, panoramic history of the 'citizen armies' of the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, India, New Zealand and South Africa, the core of the British and Commonwealth armies in the Second World War.

Drawing on new sources to reveal the true wartime experience of the ordinary rank and file, Jonathan Fennell fundamentally challenges our understanding of the War and of the relationship between conflict and socio-political change.

He uncovers how fractures on the home front had profound implications for the performance of the British and Commonwealth armies and he traces how soldiers' political beliefs, many of which emerged as a consequence of their combat experience, proved instrumental to the socio-political changes of the post-war era.

Fighting the People's War transforms our understanding of how the great battles were won and lost as well as how the post-war societies were forged.
Mr Irwin