Vol 26 No 26     20 May  2021

HSD Mental Health Week

Mental Health Week took place in The High School from 10-14 May.  This year's theme was Connectivity and Community.   A group of pupils from Form 5 came together to plan and organise a week of activities and events.  Each day of the week had its own theme: Connect, Learn, Give, Take Notice, and Be Active.

We started off the week by greeting pupils in the morning and giving everyone the name of somebody in their year to ‘connect’ with that day and at lunchtime we set up team games of Spikeball!

On Tuesday we distributed bookmarks made in consultation with Dr Claire Hayes, a clinical psychologist. The bookmarks include her ‘Tips for Building Resilience’ and some of her ‘ABC Coping Sentences’.  In the evening, three pupils had the opportunity to interview Dr Tony Bates, founder of the Irish mental health charity ‘Jigsaw’.  This was live streamed for parents and pupils of the school community and beyond.  We spoke about the importance of connectivity and community for mental wellbeing and Dr Bates answered some questions from the listeners.  Both his experience and advice were inspiring and the interview was enjoyed by everyone.

On Wednesday we marked the Evening of Memory and Reflection.  This was a lovely way to find some mid-week peace and take a moment to reflect. There was live music, poetry, and speeches made by both pupils and staff and the whole event was live streamed.

To ‘Take Notice’ on Thursday an outdoors mindfulness and meditation session, led by yoga instructor Ms Van Valey, was organised during lunchtime for all year groups.  We also had a ‘Gratitude Box’ where anyone could write down something that they were grateful for to remind themselves.

Throughout the week leaflets were given out with contact numbers of important helplines as well as information about the Guidance Department at The High School including different ways to get in touch with our Guidance Counsellors.  Members of the team also spoke at Assembly every morning to highlight the importance of mental health awareness and available support.  Members of the Mental Health Committee also worked alongside Dr Hayes to create a series of short videos touching on many different aspects of mental wellbeing which were shared with pupils throughout the week.

To finish the week with a bang our ‘Be Active’ activity was playing ‘Just Dance!’ outside at lunchtimes!  It was a great end to a very successful week.  Thank you to everyone who played a part in organizing this week, to the very supportive staff members who got involved, and especially to all those who participated with such enthusiasm!
Kayla Kennedy

Summer Concert

This year The High School Summer Concert took place online.  The concert featured performances from soloists, groups, and The High School Chamber Orchestra.  Congratulations to our talented pupils who entertained us with a selection of wonderful musical performances.  We hope you enjoy it as much as we did.  
Ms Phillips

Form 6 Construction Studies

Congratulations to our Form 6 Construction Studies pupils who have completed their Leaving Certificate projects after many months of hard work.  As you can see their design and carpentry skills are most impressive.  Well done, everyone!
Mr O'Sullivan

Form 4 Outdoor Activities

Pupils from Form 4 enjoy a day of organised outdoor activites this week.  There was an array of events available for pupils to participate in including athletics track and field competitions such as long jump, shot putt, and relay races.  After a delicious lunch pupils enjoyed playing games and chatting with friends as they sat in the sunshine and relaxed in the fresh air.  It was wonderful to see their happy, mask-free faces again.
Ms Fallon

Senior Drama

The Senior Drama Team have been working in small groups all year, writing and devising their own short one act plays as part of a ‘Page to Stage’ project. Although we had initially hoped things would be very different by the end of the year to enable us to produce these as performances this has not been the way things worked out.  Instead each group gave ‘live readings’ of their pieces for the other groups.  The performances took place in The Reynolds Hall during the last two classes on Friday 14 May.  It was as a nice way to bring Senior Drama to an end for another year.
Mr Milofsky

International Tennis 

This summer, or when tournaments re-start in Ireland, I plan to compete in U14 and U16 tennis events around the country.  When travelling abroad resumes.  I am hoping to participate in Tennis Europe U14 events to see how my game measures up against girls from other countries.  During the summer months I will have tennis training with strength and conditioning workouts every day and 5km runs most days.  I can't wait!

Form 4 History

This week pupils in Form 4 completed some creative, colourful, and delicious 
projects on Sparta as part of their Transition Year History module.  Well done, everyone!
Mr Milofsky

Form 4 WWF Campaign

We thought that it would be a good thing for The High School to adopt animals from the World Wildlife Fund so we asked each year group and the teachers to vote for their animal of choice.  After processing the votes we discovered that Form 1 voted to adopt a tiger, Form 2 a snow leopard, Form 3 a jaguar, Form 4 an armur leopard, Form 5 a giant panda, Form 6 a gorilla, and the staff voted to adopt a rhinoceros.  To fund the adoptions we organised a non-uniform day for Wednesday 19 May and raised over €1,000.  We also allowed the school community to suggest names for their animals and the winning names will be announced next week.  To ensure that no animal is left without an owner every time Form 6 pupils leave the school the incoming Form 1 pupils will inherit that animal.  We had a lot of fun organizing the WWF campaign - it has made the end of Form 4 even more enjoyable.
Leah McGrath and Tirzah Hutchinson-Edgar

Form 3 Home Economics

Pupils studying Home Economics have been busy perfecting their baking skills producing delicious muffins and buns.  Well done, everyone!