Merry Christmas from The High School Dublin!

Vol 28 No 15 16 Dec 2022

A Christmas Message

Twelve months ago The High School was a very different place. A mask covered every face; screens divided every desk and table. For social distancing reasons half the pupils had no locker to speak of and pupils in Form 6 had no access to the Senior Common Room. Thankfully, normality has returned and the barriers which once divided us seem just distant memories. As we usher in the Christmas season and the New Year thereafter let's take a final glance back at 2022 and celebrate how far we've come.
Over the last year the pupils of The High School have enjoyed success in almost every aspect of life: academic, sport, music, and drama. The school has once again become the bustling place we know so well. We were fortunate to enjoy much sporting success in 2022. Consider the Senior Volleyball team reaching the All Ireland semi final just last week, or the Senior 1 Hockey team showcasing marvellous talent to become silver medalists in the All Ireland Schools (Boys) Hockey Championship. The High School has been a hive of sporting success. A special mention must also go to the immense effort and success of the Junior Girls Rugby players last year who most recently won the Leinster Rugby 7s tournament. There was also great cricketing success with the Form 1 Boys team winning the Leinster U13 league and the Senior Girls winning the Leinster Senior Girls League. In athletics there was success for the Senior Boys Relay team winning All Ireland silver with Sean Aigboboh being selected to represent Ireland.
We also enjoyed a sold out Senior Play last month with Legally Blonde the Musical. This year The High School Orchestra won the Feis Ceoil competition and Form 6 pupil Daimee Ng recently won the prestigious Frank Maher Classical Music Award 2022.
Recently, our Senior Science Team was placed 6th in the Leinster Irish Science Teachers Association Schools Quiz and qualified for the national competition.
We also found bliss in the ordinary this year at The High School: from the recent snow days to the early January trip to Donnybrook decked in red and black to support our Senior Boys Rugby as well as the fun of Sports Day last May we have truly enjoyed a wonderful year. Form 6 pupils have been making the most out of our last year here at The High School with Biology and Geography field trips, an Art excursion to the National Gallery, a Music visit to the Wexford Opera House, and a bonding day out. Just this week a delicious Christmas dinner completed a wonderful year. We are confident that we can continue to thrive and flourish in all aspects of life as a school community in 2023.
Moya Quigley (Head Girl) and Gary Meaney (Head Boy)

Volleyball All Ireland Semi-final

On Friday 9 December The High School Volleyball team travelled to Limerick with high hopes of advancing to the final of the All Ireland Competition. The semi finals were held at the University of Limerick; we arrived ready as ever. For our first game we were up against Dunmore Community School who performed strongly and beat us over two sets. Coming into our second game we were looking for redemption. We fought hard and won the first set with a great display of our skills. Unfortunately, we were unable to close out the game and lost the second set which sent the game to a tie breaker. This was a must win moment as without a victory in this game, we would be out of the competition. Both sides were determined to win but in the end, we narrowly lost. Despite a disappointing day of volleyball, we are now looking forward to our next challenge in the Senior Schools' Cup.
Jack Barlow

Rock-Pop Triumph

One of the most exciting opportunities afforded to pupils in Form 4 is the Rock- Pop show. In this half-yearly module a group of pupils form a band and work towards putting together a 40 minute live show. This term there were the five members in the band. They practised and perfected eight songs over the course of the term, before finally performing them for Form 4. The show included: Layla by Derek and the Dominoes, Purple Rain by Prince, an acoustic version of Take on Me by A-ha, and even a spoken word piece written by the band themselves. The event concluded with a final crescendo to an enthusiastic crowd of Form4 pupils waving glowing lights.
Luca Farrelly

Poetry Aloud Winners

The presentation of the Poetry Aloud 2021 awards took place this week. Poetry Aloud is a national competition which asks entrants from across the country to recite poems from memory. This year’s presentation took place in the National Library of Ireland, with the awards being presented in a room which houses W B Yeats’ personal library. Tirzah Hutchison-Edgar came first in the Senior category and Jake O’Loughlin was runner-up in the Intermediate category. Thank you to Ms Wiggle and Ms Hutchison-Edgar for facilitating our participation in Poetry Aloud.
Jake O’Loughlin

Form 6 Festive Lunch

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

Form 2 Wood Technology

Form 2 Wood Technology recently finished their Marquetry Clock just in time for Christmas! This craft technique required a keen eye for detail, steady hands, and an abundance of patience. Each pupil carefully cut a variety of veneers to craft an image of their choice. Well done to all!
Mr Kingston

HSD Advent Appeal

Thank you to everyone who has already donated to The High School Advent Appeal for the homeless. There is still time to participate: donation boxes are at Reception. Dried food items, sweets, and new hats, coats, and scarves are especially required.

Drop Everything And Read

Last week pupils and staff participated in a literacy event: Drop Everything and Read. It was a super initiative to remind us all of the joy that is to be had between the covers of a good book.