Vol 29 No 11     17 Nov  2023

Act of Remembrance

Every year, the Senior Prefects of The High School participate in the national service of commemoration held at St Patrick's Cathedral on Remembrance Sunday. This tradition continued this year as well, with Mr Forrest and our student leaders Mia O'Mahony (Head Girl), Anna Hoey (Deputy Head Girl), and Eoin Kelly (Head Boy) representing our school.  Together, they paid tribute to all those who have lost their lives in conflicts.  Notably, President Michael D. Higgins of Ireland was also present among the congregation.  To learn more about the seventy High School past pupils who died in WWI click here.

Senior Hockey Tour

Last month, the Senior 1 and 2 girls embarked on a trip to Belfast to show their support for the Senior 1 boys participating in the All Ireland Schoolboys Championship.  Filled with excitement, we arrived at Royal Belfast Academical Institution (RBAI) our faces adorned with 'HSD' written in red lipstick and paint stripes on our cheeks. The match began, and we managed to score an impressive goal from a short corner before the end of the first quarter.  RBAI responded by scoring two more goals, making our chances seem increasingly slim.  However, HSD delivered a phenomenal equalizer that lifted our spirits and voices into a resounding wall of sound that persisted until the final whistle.  Unfortunately, despite their outstanding performance, the school did not advance beyond the group stages as they needed a victory.  Nevertheless, it was an incredibly thrilling game to watch!  Our voices were hoarse from cheering as we made our way to Strathearn for another match.  Both teams had players missing due to injuries which provided us with an opportunity to play alongside members from other teams.  These matches showcased the immense talent and depth present in both squads while also serving as evidence of how much progress we have made throughout this season.  After arriving at the hotel, we settled into our rooms and enjoyed dinner together. Later on, we took a leisurely walk through Belfast to indulge in some delicious ice cream. The following morning, our bus driver kindly treated us to a tour of Belfast where he shared fascinating historical insights with us.  We even had the chance to visit Queen's College and leave our signatures on the door that once welcomed His Holiness Dalai Lama on behalf of The High School.  We ended this memorable trip on a high note; we watched the boys' match against Sullivan Upper School - they emerged victorious!  We should like to thank to Ms Jones, Ms Meeke, and Ms Byrne for organizing this incredible experience for us all!
Ava Deacon

MUN International Visit

Last month, members of The High School Model United Nations team arrived at a Dublin Airport filled with thousands of Ireland rugby fans wearing green who were travelling to Paris.  Our destination was London and after a long morning of travel, which included one flight, one train ride, one tram ride, and seven sets of stairs, we finally reached the beautiful campus of Royal Russell School.  We stayed on site in the boarding school.  A total of thirty-nine schools from around the world gathered together for a Model United Nations conference.  These schools were divided into 80 "delegations," each representing a different country.  The High School represented Ghana.  Click here to read more.
Ciara Morton

Leaving Certificate High Achievers

Congratulations the following immediate past pupils for their outstanding achievement in the recent Leaving Certificate examinations: Andrew Farrelly, Oscar Hannon Smyth, Alexandra Lenihan, Daimee Ng, Arthur Feeney, Tirzah Hutchinson-Edgar, and Matteo Sanvito.  We commend them for their hard work and dedication.  We offer our warmest congratulations to all candidates on their individual successes which were achieved in challenging circumstances. 

Water Polo International Representation

We are pleased to announce that Carla Millar, a pupil from The High School, has been chosen to represent the National U13 Water Polo Team.  This is a remarkable achievement for Carla, and we extend our warm congratulations to her.  In the upcoming weeks, she will be traveling to Walsall as a member of the Ireland team.  We wish Carla every success as she progresses in this sport.

Interprovincial Hockey Victory

Congratulations to these pupils and their Head Coach, Ms Meeke, for their outstanding performance in the Interprovincial final against Ulster at UCD last Sunday.  It was truly a remarkable match that showcased their talent, dedication, and hard work. They should be proud of their achievements and the effort they put into preparing for this important event.  Well done to all involved!

ISSU Student Council Meeting

On the Friday before half term, Student Council representatives from The High School had the unique opportunity to attend an absorbing meeting with both the Student Council at Stratford College and the current president of the Irish Second-Level Student’s Union (ISSU), Shari Irfan.  The ISSU is the national representative body for secondary school students in the Republic of Ireland, with the organisation’s overall aim being to promote a stronger student voice at all levels of the education system. They provide support, training, and assistance to their 602 member student councils, including ours at The High School.  Over the course of the next couple of hours, our councils discussed both national and regional issues facing schools, such as Senior Cycle reform, mental health and social media, sustainability in schools, and students affected by war and conflict through the overall lens of “how can schools be supported with these issues?”.  The meeting was exceptionally productive and a unique opportunity for both councils to voice their concerns and will, hopefully, be of use for future conversations with regard to the various topics raised.  I believe I can speak on behalf of the Student Council when I also add that we thoroughly enjoyed visiting Stratford College and meeting other students there, who were very kind hosts.  We certainly hope to invite their Student Council here in the near future!
Olivia Leonard

Senior Volleyball 

The Senior Volleyball team encountered a formidable challenge in the quarter-finals of the All Ireland tournament.  Despite their valiant efforts, they were unable to progress any further.  However, they did manage to secure a commendable victory against Luttrelstown Community College, which highlights their determination and skill.  In the end, they unfortunately fell short against the dominant champions, Coláiste Pobail Setanta in Hansfield.

Senior Rugby Success

The SCT have put ourselves in a strong position in our section of the league thanks to an important two weeks that brought two valuable wins.  The first of these wins came in an incredible home contest against a strong St Andrew's College side.  Having gone in 24-5 down at half time, the outlook was bleak.  However, a massive second half performance brought 21 unanswered points for us with Adam Jordan and Milo Lavelle getting on the scoresheet, before in the final play of the game, Ury Spain crossed the line to give Elliot Walsh the opportunity to snatch the win with a conversion.  He took this opportunity perfectly slotting over for the win from the left wing.  Our other win came away to CBS Naas where we made things much more comfortable for ourselves.  We ran out 68-17 winners in a game that saw us score 10 tries.  It was a fluid attacking performance, particularly in the first half that set us on our way to victory and showed our ability to back up a great win with another strong performance.  These two results give us a great platform for the rest of our season for which we have strong ambitions.
Alexander Bowden

Form 1 Rugby

On 14 November pupils in Form 1 rugby team played a blitz against St Andrew's College and Wesley College at home.  We played four matches each, winning two and drawing two, and had great fun on the nice sunny day.  We remain undefeated this season.  We are really look forward to playing our next match!
Chloe Flegg

Form 1 English

In English yesterday, we focused on the stories from World War One.  We started the lesson by reading a letter from a former, young teacher at The High School called Alexander R. Slade (1/6th Esssex Regiment) while he was in a trench, serving in Gallipoli.  It was written over 108 years ago on 2 November 1915.  Luckily he survived the war.  It was incredible to read how a member of the school community was fighting so bravely for his country.  After that we went to see a trench that is on our school grounds which looks something similar to a WWI trench.  There, Mr Langrell and Mr Terzioglu spoke to us about how trenches and dugouts were built and equipped in WWI.  It is slightly overgrown space, covered in shrubbery, about 9 or 10 feet deep.  It was very interesting to see, but we will never truly be able to feel what the young soldiers went through. 
Jasper McSweeney

P.S.  If you have some information or news that you think we could feature in our school newsletter, please let us know.  Click here to get in touch.
Ms Burrowes 
Communications Coordinator