Vol 28 No 29     28 May 2023

HSD Class of 2023

Last week we bid a fond farewell to the HSD Class of 2023, marking the occasion with an uplifting last Assembly which featured musical performances by numerous Form 6 pupils.  On Wednesday afternoon members of the school community gathered at Zion Church for The High School Graduation Service, presided over by the Most Revd Dr Michael Jackson, Archbishop of Dublin and Bishop of Glendalough, Primate of Ireland and Metropolitan.  Then on the following Wednesday afternoon our most senior pupils and their families gathered in the Gymnasium to celebrate the last six years at The High School with powerful and moving speeches from the Head Boy, Gary Meaney and Head Girl, Moya Quigley.  There were musical performaces of popular songs, culminating with the presentation of Certificates of Graduation to each pupil in turn.  Afterwards, refreshments were served in the Dining Hall and families, pupils, and members of staff gathered in the Millenium Garden to chat and take photographs.  And then it was suddenly time for all those gathered there to take their leave, for the last time, as pupils of the school.  We should like to wish the HSD Class of 2023 every success in the Leaving Certificate and in whatever their futures hold.  

Summer Concert Success

You know it is May when The Reynolds Hall echoes to the sound of music and it is time for the annual Summer Concert.  For over two hours we were spellbound by musical performaces of every genre. The school choir and orchestra, chamber groups, bands, and soloists shared the stage in what is one of the highlights of the school calendar.  Inside the auditorium the lucky few gathered there were lifted by the beautiful harmonies and cadences of violin, clarinet, trombone, double bass, viola, voice, guitar, and piano.  The award winning talent was simply astounding and was brought to a cresendo by the solo performance of the Leader of the School Orchestra and violin virtuoso Daimee Ng who recently featured on RTE's Nationwide programme.  As always the evening is a bitter-sweet triumph for some pupils as it marks the end of six happy years playing music at The High School.  We wish to thank Form 6 members of The High School Orchestra and Choir who are leaving us this year for all of their hard work playing at school events and official occasions during all of that time.  We hope that they will return each year and join us in The Reynolds Hall for an unforgettable evening of music at the Summer Concert. 

Leinster Schools Track and Field Championship

We are delighted to announce that High School pupils have enjoyed great success at the Leinster Schools Track and Field Championship.  The High School won Gold in the 100 metre race and also came close in several other events.  We wish to congratulate our pupils on their wonderful success in the competition. 

Leinster Senior Cup reunion

Last week members of HSD Leinster Senior Cup winning team of 1973 visited us at The High School for the first time in fifty years. The surviving members of the team have not met together since that time but on this occasion past pupils travelled from Australia, South Africa, Paraquy, Austria, and Germany to visit the school.  One guest noted that he hadn't been inside the Demonstration Theatre since he attended a Careers talk there in 1973.  Various past pupils spoke to a packed room, recounting stories of past games and offering words of wisdom to current pupils.  One former Ireland and Lions international even gave a few lucky senior pupils some useful coaching advice.  The visitors were particularly delighted to offer their warmest congratulations to The High School Junior Cup Team who won the Leinster Junior Cup as well as the Metropolitan Cup earlier this year.  Their words were inspiring and pupils delayed long after the school bell to meet individual members of the 1973 team.   

Sporting Reflections

I played sport at The High School from Form 1 to Form 6, dabbling in a bit of everything as a junior pupil.  It was a great way to make friends and get to know people. I loved the social side of playing rugby and how there was a first and second team which allowed people who wanted to take it more seriously to play together.  Our teachers and coaches encouraged us to play as much sport as possible and to just enjoy ourselves.  It created a real sense of belonging in the school: we loved the support we were given by other pupils.  The atmosphere around sporting events at HSD is always welcoming, albeit quietly competitive at times.  Through my exam years I always found that sport provided me with a great outlet from school work.  The senior hockey and rugby teams are the pinnacle of school sport here and a good crowd always congregates to watch their games.  I can honestly say that some of my best memories at school were when I was playing senior hockey.  I'm grateful for all these good memories and I would encourage anyone in the school to try to get involved in school sport. 
Ben Pasley

HSD Pupil and Author 

Congratulations to Head Boy at The High School, Gary Meaney, on the success of his first book, Zoology's Greatest Mystery: And 100 Other Wonders of Nature.  Named by one reviewer as "The next Attenborough”, Gary's book is a must for anyone who loves Ecology or has an interest in the natural world.  Jane Goodall, primatologist and anthropologist, had this to say about the book:  “Anyone who picks up this book will immediately become fascinated and want to carry on reading. They will be on a voyage of discovery that will take them round the world. They will learn things that will surprise, amaze and sometimes shock them. Read it and you will see I am right!” .   With over 26.4 million views on his Quora account, Gary is a respected and knowledgeable Ecologist and we are very proud of this wonderful achievement.  To learn more about his story, there is an interview featured on the RTE website. For more information on Gary's book click here.

Form 4 Award Ceremony

This week the Form 4 Award Ceremony marked the fast-approaching end of the school year.  The event was a fantastic opportunity to reflect on the year behind us and to appreciate the new skills we learned, the new certifications we acquired, and the new friends we made!  There was huge diversity in the prizes given, displaying the wide range of facilities on offer to Form 4 pupils.  Overall the event was the perfect way to celebrate and to end an enjoyable and memorable year.  

Leinster Cricket Union Champions

Congratulations to the Form 2 Girls cricket team who defeated Mount Temple Comprehensive School to win the Leinster Cricket Union Schools Section Girls U15 B final.   The junior girls have enjoyed a good cricket season this year and it was great to see them finish with a well-deserved victory.  Well done!

Leinster U14 Cup Victory

Congratulations to all members of The High School U14 A cricket team who defeated Wesley College to win the final of the Leinster Cricket Union Schools Cup.  We warmly congratulate the team on its achievements in 2022-23 and wish all members of the squad every success in future competitions. The U14 B team had a fantastic campaign narrowly losing out on qualification to the final stage.
Mr Malin

Art Exhibition

Here is an exhibition of portfolio work created by Form 6 pupils.  Click the link and take a tour of our virtual art gallery. 
Ms Rogers

International Bee Day 2023

On International Bee Day 2023 it would be fitting to give an update on the success of the past twelve months for The High School Bees.  Their introduction to Danum in April 2022 has resulted in their expansion from a half hive to three thriving hives, two of which we have already fitted a super on so that we can collect the excess being collected and produced.  Last year we had 25-30 jars of honey. The expectation this year is that we may have at least three times that number but it is still early in the season.  Thank you to all who have joined us on this bee journey.  They are fascinating organisms from which we as humans have learned and observed on so many different levels from community engagement to engineering.  Please feel free to bring your classes to observe the hives from outside of the fence in the coming week and if you have any pupils experienced or interested in bee keeping we would love to have them join us on this adventure.
Mr Langrell

Form 1 Tree Planting

Pupils in Form 1 enjoyed planting indigenous Irish trees around the school campus this week in the glorious May sunshine.  What a wonderful way to celebrate nature in the beautiful school environs.  
Mr Langrell

National Karate Win

Congratulatins to Doireann Langley who competed in the HDKI Irish Open Karate Championships this weekend and won first place in the kumite (fighting) whilst representing HDKI Ireland.  We wish our pupil every success in all future competitions!

Form 6 Construction Studies

Congratulations to all the pupils who study Construction Studies who have finally completed their Leaving Certificate projects after many months of hard work.  The design and carpentry skills at our school are certainly most impressive.  As you can see, all that endeavour has been well worth it: the results speak for themselves.

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