Vol 31 No 14    19 Dec  2025

A Christmas Message

The High School Student Council would like to wish everyone in the school community a very Happy Christmas and a peaceful New Year. Whether you are a Form 1 pupil who has finished your first set of Christmas examinations or a Form 6 pupil preparing for upcoming mock examinations, we hope you have the opportunity over the next two weeks to rest after what has been a very busy term. This past calendar year has been a productive one for the Council, and we are hoping for an even more fruitful 2026!  
Eva Lei and Isla Kennedy on behalf of the Student Council  

Form 4 Christmas Market

From the moment the doors opened, The Reynolds Hall buzzed with activity. It was time for this year's HSD Language Week Christmas Market! Stalls from around the world invited visitors to stop, sample, and explore with greetings echoing loudly in different languages. The atmosphere was filled with alluring aromas, ranging from freshly made delicacies to homemade goods, attracting people from one stall to another. Carefully decorated stalls displayed their offerings proudly, each contributing to the vibrant, festive atmosphere. Though the event itself passed quickly, its impact was lasting thanks to the enthusiasm and hard work of all involved who raised over €1,000 in aid of UNICEF charity. It marked the climax of Modern Languages Week at The High School which featured quizzes, competitions, and daily events at Assembly. Thanks to the teachers who worked so hard to make Modern Languages Week such a vibrant event in the school calendar!
Eva Lei

Hockey Ireland selection

Mia Jennings (HSD, 2011-17) received her first international cap for Ireland Women's Hockey at the Pro League tournament against Belgium and England last week. This marks the first time the Pro League has been played in Ireland and the represents the Ireland Women's debut in the competition.

Mia Jennings was a part of the HSD league-winning team in 2014 and captained the Senior Girls' hockey team which reached the semi-final of the Senior Cup. She has played club hockey with Loreto where she has been coached by Mr Fitzpatrick. During her time at Loreto, they have won the All-Ireland league and represented Ireland in Europe at club championships.

We should like to warmly congratulate Mia on the outstanding achievement of winning her first internatinal cap and wish her all the best in her career.
Ms Gray

Book Club 

This term the Book Club has been very busy. The Senior Book Club had its first meeting this term and has been happily meeting in C7 every Thursday since. Both Junior and Senior Book Clubs have enjoyed a wide range of books this year, from age-old classics to gripping thrillers, cozy books to curl up by the fire with, as well as reading books with seasonal themes such as horror novels around Hallowe'en.

The Book Club is looking forward to all the new books the New Year will bring and new members are always welcome in C7 to eat, chat, and read. We hope to see some of you in the new year!

Here are just a few of the books that we’ve enjoyed throughout 2025:

James by Percival Everett
Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury 
The Dinner by Herman Koch 
The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas by John Boyne 
We’ll Prescribe You a Cat by Syou Isida
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
The Body by Stephen King
A Tale of Magic by Chris Colfer
Breakfast at Tiffany’s by Truman Capote
Carrie by Stephen King
Before the Coffee Gets Cold by Toshikazu Kawaguchi
And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie
Lord of the Flies by William Golding
Hamnet by Maggie O’Farrell
How to Kill a Witch: A Guide for the Patriarchy by Clare Mitchell and Zoe Venditozzi
Misery by Stephen King
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro
Isobel and Sophie Ralph

HSD Choir and Orchestra

This week, The High School Orchestra and Choir demonstrated the true spirit of the season by performing for the residents of Orwell Nursing Home.  This heartwarming initiative brought smiles and festive cheer to the elderly community, showcasing the power of music to connect and uplift.  Their thoughtful gesture reflects the values of compassion and community that The High School holds dear.  Well done to all choir members and staff who made this wonderful event possible!
Ms Bourke and Ms Phillips

Form 6 Christmas Dinner

Form 6 pupils attended a special Christmas lunch which included a festive meal, dessert, and - most importantly - a donation to charity.  This happy group gathered in The Reynolds Hall for food and chat, donning Christmas jumpers to celebrate their last Christmas at The High School.

Christmas Hockey Blitz

What a sight it was to see Form 1 and Minor players enjoy a fun and festive Christmas Hockey blitz this week with everyone getting into the seasonal spirit by wearing creative Christmas attire. The pitches were full of colour as players took to the field dressed in Santa hats, reindeer antlers, elf outfits, Christmas jumpers, and festive headbands, bringing plenty of laughter and cheer to the games. It was a brilliant way to celebrate the end of term, combining a love of hockey with Christmas cheer and creating happy memories for everyone involved.
Ms Jones

Form 6 Irish

Recently the Irish performance group Caith Amach É came to The High School to give a two hour presentation on the Leaving Certificate Irish syllabus.  Form 6 pupils went to the Demonstration Theatre to watch this performance.  In the first half of the show, the two men depicted humorous recreations of the twenty sraith pictiúr that are on the Irish syllabus.  They involved the audience, and made it memorable and funny for all of us.  In the second half of the show, the group discussed the Leaving Certificate syllabus itself, and explored ways to prepare for the forthcoming examinations.  In particular, we learned a lot of information to help us in the Oral examinations. We are all very grateful to the memebers of Caith Amach É for coming to our school. Bhí an-chraic agus spraoi ann! 
Ms Quinn

Sustainable Christmas

It’s almost the most wonderful time of the year: Christmas! Everyone is so excited about the relaxing break, filled with food, friends, family and presents, but come the New Year there is so much excess waste.  In the UK alone the festive period generates nearly three million tonnes of waste - that’s 30% more waste that the rest of the year. So this holiday season, why don’t we try to be more mindful and sustainable? Here are some tips! 

When you are buying gifts for people you should try to buy second hand from charity and thrift shops to give items a second life. Handmade gifts have a personal feel, and if you cant make them yourself, you can buy from local businesses either in a shop or at Christmas markets. You could even buy an experience instead of an item, maybe a concert ticket, sports game, or nice dinner out. 

When wrapping your gifts try to avoid plastic and Styrofoam as they take between decades and centuries to break down! Instead, try to re-use wrapping paper and gift bags. Lastly, when you buy your Christmas tree try to buy it locally, and when its time take it down in the New Year, bring your tree to a place where they compost or recycle them.  We all hope you have a happy, peaceful, and sustainable Christmas! 
Jo Jo O'Connor
Green Schools Committee

The HSD Jane Austen Festival

To celebrate the 250th anniversary of the birth of Jane Austen, The High School hosted a wonderful Jane Austen Festival, with teachers and pupils across the school enthusiastically taking part in a wide range of activities.

Pupils in Form 3 English explored Sense and Sensibility by creating an engaging podcast and designing colourful, creative bookmarks inspired by the novel, while Form 4 pupils took a nature walk along the Dodder river, to spot holy and Ivy, traditional yuletide decorations in the Regency period. Meanwhile, Form 4 Media Studies pupils showcased their design skills by producing eye-catching posters to mark the occasion, asking, 'Are you a Lizzy Bennet?' Form 6 pupils enjoyed singing Christmas carols enjoyed during the Regency period. 

In Art, pupils created beautiful Regency-style silhouettes, capturing the elegance of the period. Cross-curricular learning continued in Geography and Irish, where pupils studied key events taking place in Ireland during the Georgian era, helping them to place Austen’s work in its wider historical context. The History  Department created this useful digital zine on Georgian life, while in Religious Education pupils explored ethical question in Austen's novels.

In Mathematics, some lucky Form 1 pupils tried their hand at a game of Whist, a popular card game that features in many of Austen's novels, while also learning about the rules of probability. The Library became a hub of activity, offering puzzles and quizzes, and a colourful book display for pupils to enjoy throughout the festival.

We owe special thanks to Mr Hanan, who created a series of wonderful cartoon posters to decorate our corridors and bring the festival atmosphere to life. You can enjoy them below. Well done to everyone who participated and helped make the Jane Austen Festival such a memorable celebration!
Ms Burrowes, Ms Wiggle, and Mr Langrell

Thoughts on a Phone Free Christmas

As we all head into this festive period, where we will enjoy time off with friends and family, among other seasonal activities, I have here a small number of points I hope will convince you that decreasing, and in parts, eliminating the time we spend on our phones can help us derive more from the festivities we are about to enjoy. I am by no means suggesting that we fully dismiss our devices over the next few weeks, that would be unrealistic and somewhat impossible. Instead, I believe that in reducing our time spent behind a screen, endlessly scrolling through meaningless threads or the like, we should instead lift ourselves out of the digital realm and embrace, as best we can, the time spent with friends and family, and the time spent simply relaxing and savoring the brief break from the stresses of everyday life. This piece contains two main points, which will outline what I see as the benefits of a phone-free Christmas. 

Phones are the consummate distractors. They infiltrate and occupy all aspects of our existence throughout the year, and the Christmas holidays are no different. It is easy, and in fact, likely that many of us will become engaged with our devices at the most inopportune moments during this festive period. Normally, spending an hour on social media bears no consequence, other than an annoying waste of time. However, at Christmas, the stakes are somewhat raised. Many will meet with friends or family members, with whom we rarely see from one end of the year to the next. In an ideal world, we would take full advantage of these gatherings. Unfortunately, we do not reside in such a world, and many will find themselves, once again, distracted by their phone.

The regret of this distraction during these festive gatherings is, quite clearly, that we miss out on valuable times spent with loved ones and relatives at events that occur only once a year. The worry would be, that we will look back upon these holidays and come to the profound realisation that more time was spent on TikTok than with our families. What's the solution? Simply, turn the phone off for the duration of Christmas Day, or whenever a gathering occurs. It will be difficult, nobody disputes that fact, but the most worthwhile things always are, and this is, without a doubt, a worthwhile endeavor. 

Aside from the loud and exuberant gatherings over the festive period, Christmas also offers a plethora of opportunities to relax and, perhaps more importantly, reflect on the year gone by. These moments of reflection occur most often in the quiet intervals, where we find ourselves free from any engagements. During these episodes, it is all too easy to simply pull out our phone and demand to be entertained, as we scroll purposelessly through any number of vacuous posts or videos, bereft of any significance.

This trivial entertainment leaves no room for reflection on the events of the year, which can ultimately prove detrimental, as how can one grow if we do not acknowledge and appreciate the past, preventing us from striding into the future free from the baggage of the year gone by. Putting our phones away for a handful of hours a day, or even spending one or two hours less online, can act as the catalyst to bouts of reflection that allow us to move confidently into the new year. 

To briefly conclude, I hope I've made it clear that reducing the time we spend on our phones over the coming two weeks will lead us to a much more meaningful Christmas, and that, though strenuous, the benefits of a phone-free Christmas will surely outweigh any difficulty experienced on the way. 
Patrick Slattery-Reilly

Swimming Club Success

Over the last two weeks a total of more than 40 enthusiastic swimmers from The High School Swimming Club eagerly gathered to swim a mile and raise funds for the Dublin Simon Community. The ongoing fundraising efforts have been exceptionally successful, with an impressive €1500 already collected. We extend a warm invitation to all individuals interested in contributing to this noble cause to kindly consider making a donation here.  Your support will undoubtedly make a meaningful difference in the lives of those in need during this festive season.
Ms Jones and Ms Campion 

What Teenagers Really Want for Christmas!

As Christmas approaches, Form 5 pupils shared some of the items on their wish lists, offering a lovely insight into teenage interests. Technology featured strongly, with requests for AirPods, speakers, digital cameras, MP3 players, and phone cases, reflecting their love of music, creativity, and connection.

Comfort and simple treats were just as important, with pupils mentioning chocolate, Needoh stress toys, lamps, and teddy bears. Fashion and sport also appeared, including shoes and a standout request for red Shaq basketball shoes!

Books and entertainment rounded out the list, with interests ranging from Rich Dad, Poor Dad to video games. Together, these choices show a thoughtful balance between independence, comfort, and enjoyment during the festive season.

Table Tennis Success

The Junior Table Tennis team enjoyed success this week as they faced Coláiste Éanna. Their performance was truly exceptional, standing out as one of the finest displays I have witnessed from a High School team in recent years. The High School squad emerged victorious with impressive 6-0 wins in both the League and Cup matches against Coláiste Éanna. Congratulations are in order for Jonathan Xu, Yinuo Wang, Patrick Hogg, and Evin Bacik for their outstanding contributions to these remarkable victories.
Ms Jones

Junior Hockey League Win

What a super win for the Minor A hockey team after a thrilling match against Loreto College, Beaufort with a final score of 1-0. The players' teamwork and effort were evident throughout the game, leading to a well-deserved triumph over their opponents. This result marks a significant achievement for the team and highlights their potential for success in future matches.
Ms Jones

Locker Clearance

A reminder to all pupils that they should empty their lockers and bring all personal belongings home before the end of the Autumn Term to allow for routine maintenance.