Some Good News from The High School

Vol 29 No 26 26 Apr 2024

Feis Ceoil Champions!

On 20 March The High School Orchestra participated in the Post-Primary Orchestra competition at the Feis Ceoil, a national music competition celebrating its 128th year. We presented a diverse repertoire of beautiful and challenging pieces: "Norwegian Dance No.3" by Edvard Grieg, "Nimrod" from the Enigma Variations by Edward Elgar, and the Theme from E.T. by John Williams. Each piece stood out uniquely: Grieg's composition was lively with a fast-paced and upbeat tempo, while Nimrod was characterized by its slow, harmonious, and expressive nature. The Theme from E.T., on the other hand, was uplifting and exhilarating to perform. See more...
Michael Binchy

Model United Nations Triumph

On 13 and 14 April, 150 pupils from fourteen schools were welcomed to The High School to participate in our second annual Model United Nations Conference. Model United Nations, or as we often refer to it, MUN, involves each school being assigned a country and each pupil debating topics, representing that country. At our conference we had seven committee rooms, ranging from Security Council to Health and Youth, Disarmament and Security to Social Cultural and Humanitarian. We also had a Historical Committee, which debated topics such as the Iranian Hostage Crisis and the Soviet Blockade of Berlin. MUN is a fantastic opportunity for pupils to learn how to collaborate and compromise to solve some of the biggest issues that face our world, such as Nuclear Energy, Terrorism, and the Role of Social Media. Read more...
Ciara Morton

Junior Drama Success

"My Dinner with Jeffrey" is a particularly special play written by two Form 5 pupils at The High School: Leo Shorten and Max Lyons. The play features an array of bizarre and comical characters, from a formidable mafia boss to a slightly eccentric Antarctician potato seller, who arrive at Jeffrey Mallet’s dinner party. However, the party takes a turn for the worse when murder strikes, leading the eclectic mix of characters to scuffle over the murder of a fellow party-goer as each had grounds to be a suspect. Read on...
Olivia Leonard

Leinster Schools Sailing Representation

Joshua Stewart represented The High School at the Irish Schools Team Racing Leinster Championships at the Royal St George Yacht Club as part of a 'Wild Card' Team, which was put together last minute with individuals who could not form a complete team of six sailors from one school. The team consisted of a mixed group of ages and genders from various schools. They represented themselves and their schools brilliantly and the event was highly successful. Excitingly, Joshua and the 'Wild Card' Team qualified for the Irish National School Team Racing Championships to be held in Bantry on 4 and 5 May. Sailing offers an excellent platform for diversity, inclusion, confidence-building, and life skills development; it is both serious fun and inspiring to witness.

National Fencing Championship Success

Congratulations to Erika Sanvito who was placed second at the Senior Ireland National Fencing Championship recently. Erika also won the medal for Best Junior Fencer and is now ranked third in the senior national ranking. We are all very proud of her achievements and look forward to the next season.

International Hockey Representation

During the Easter break, Ireland Hockey had various representatives involved in international competitions. Hollaí McNamara Quinn visited Lilleshall National Sports Centre in the UK with the Under 16 girls' team, who played matches against England and Spain. Robert O'Brien travelled to Walcz Olympic Sports Centre in Poland with the Under 16 boys' team, competing against Austria, Czech Republic, and Belgium in an 8 Nations tournament where Ireland finished 4th. Oscar Pasley went to Wiesbaden THC in Germany with the Under 18 boys' team managed by Dave Howard, facing teams from the Netherlands, Germany, and Scotland.

Samuel Maxwell and former pupil Ben Pasley participated in a series against England with the Under 21 men at Loughborough University. Mr Fitzpatrick along with former pupils Ella Pasley, Katie Dunne, and Mia Jennings competed at Club Championship ABN-AMRO EHL FINAL 8 held in Amsterdam where Loreto finished 7th overall after securing a spot through winning the EY Champions Trophy.

Ms Meeke served as an Assistant Coach for Ireland's Under 18 girls during their matches against Spain, Belgium, and USA at KHC in Leuven, Belgium. We extend our best wishes to all players as they prepare for upcoming summer competitions!
Ms Gray

Form 5 Careers

Over the past few weeks, the pupils of Form 5 have been treated by The High School Guidance Department to two productive and exciting trips to Trinity College Dublin (TCD) and Technical University Dublin (TUD). In addition to our previous trip to University College Dublin (UCD) in February and listening to talks from visiting ambassadors of Dublin Business School (DBS) and the Dún Laoghaire Institute of Art, Design, and Technology (IADT), we have learned a lot about our possibilities in higher education. We greatly benefited from our Careers module throughout the school year. Our tours of both Trinity College and TUD were engaging and enjoyable, providing us with a great sample of college life. We visited grand lecture halls and libraries, learned about clubs and activities available to students on campus, experienced authentic college accommodation and dormitories, met with students taking courses many of us were interested in, ultimately leaving us with a sense of wonder at all the options we have for fascinating third-level courses we can pursue. With all our college tours and the great experience of our recent mock interviews, we've had a busy yet valuable year filled with careers-related activities that all Form 5 pupils have greatly benefited from!
Leo Shorten

Form 5 Substance Addiction Talk

Pupils in Form 5 received a presentation on drug addiction, including the associated dangers and first-hand experiences with dangerous drugs. A guest speaker shared his personal battle with addiction during an hour-long session with us. Additionally, a representative from a drug rehabilitation centre also addressed the audience. It was a very informative and sobering talk.
Daniel Moane

HSD Cricket Report

On Tuesday 22 April The High School Junior A team competed against Catholic University School's A team in a 20-over match. The High School team was led by Robert O'Brien. Catholic University School won the toss and chose to bat first. They scored 170 all out in 20 overs with Gethin Keheller and James Dreyer starting with the ball.

HSD had a good start with Robert O'Brien and Gethin Kelleher opening the batting. However, CUS soon took three quick wickets. Despite this, Gethin held firm and kept HSD's hopes alive.

With seven overs remaining, HSD needed 80 runs to win but we still had Gethin at the crease. Going into the last two overs, CUS required 27 runs. It seemed like the game was slipping away from HSD until Gethin scored an impressive 26 runs off the penultimate over.

Entering the final over needing just one to win, Leon Russow hit the winning runs. Gethin finished unbeaten on an outstanding 113 not out. Thanks to his remarkable performance, The High School emerged victorious in a thrilling match.
Eli Clarke