The High School  Zion Road  Rathgar  Dublin 6   Tel: 01-4922611   Fax: 01-4924427  office@highschooldublin.com

Italy trip

(Click on the picture above to see a large version)

The first and second year trip to Italy was a great experience for all involved. We arrived in the Leonardo De Vinci airport in Rome on Wednesday the 23rd of March.

Later that day we saw one of Italy’s most famous landmarks the Colosseum and that night we visited the Trevi fountain. Next morning we visited the Vatican City. We saw St. Peter’s Basilica, the Sistine Chapel, and the Vatican itself. After two days in Rome we set out for Sorrento with a brief stop at Mount Vesuvius. Our next visit was to the blue grotto in Capri. The water was so clear that we could see the fish and the water looked green. The following day we back on the road travelling to Rome, with a stop at Pompeii to split up the journey. The weather was great and so was the food, especially the ice-cream and pizza. On Monday we made our way back to Dublin airport. All in all the trip was very enjoyable! We would like to thank all the teachers who took part in organising this trip. The teachers include Ms. Hennessy, Mr. Mc Namara, Ms. Fitzgerald, Ms. Toolan, and Ms. Thorpe.

Open Mic wins Irish Times award

Congratulations to all of the members of the production team of Open Mic magazine. This magazine was entered for the Irish Times school magazine competition and has won an award in the creative section for overall design, layout and content. It has also been shortlisted for the overall award with four other schools. The awards ceremony is on 9 May and we wish the team the best of luck! 

Best Music student in Ireland

Congratulations to Robert Farhat who has been awarded the Music Teachers Association prize for the best Junior Certificate music student in ireland, based on the Junior Certificate results.

Public speaking competition

Congratulations to Clare, Eva and Aisling who recently participated in the Dublin University Women Graduates Association public speaking competition.

Concert - book now

The school orchestra and other instrumentalists will present a concert in the music centre on Tuesday 26 April at 8.00 p.m. Admission is free but as space is limited please notify the school office by Friday 22nd if you wish to attend.

Poland trip

Why would 40 High School students possibly be in Dublin Airport at the sinful hour of 5am? They were going to Poland, that’s why! Yes, a group of Transition Years were going to spend 5 days in Poland, viewing the sights of Warsaw and Krakow, with some detours along the way!

As we had left Dublin so early, it was still morning when we arrived in Warsaw. First, we drove around the city, seeing embassies, palaces, and a clock tower (which the inhabitants dislike because it was a gift from Russia, and the Poles were made to pay for it!) We got out at one of the many city parks to view the impressive Chopin memorial, before driving on to the old city. As the whole city of Warsaw had been destroyed during World War II, the old city had been rebuilt exactly as it had been in pre-war times. We took a walking tour of this part (where we discovered that it was ‘Wet Monday’ – the boys of the city made it their job to squirt water at passing girls!) before lunch, and continued it after. We saw, among other things, a memorial to the resistance in Warsaw, before we travelled to our hotel for the night (sampling some questionable meat!)

The next morning, we rose early again, as we had a long drive to Krakow ahead of us. We stopped on the way in Czestochowa, the site of the monastery Jasna Gora. We were led round this, viewing the opulent chapel, the Black Madonna, and the medieval swords and musical instruments. We bought small souvenirs and were blessed by our tour guide (he was a brother in the monastery!). We continued on to Krakow and checked into our new hotel there. That night, as our hotel was in the city centre, we walked around the main square, the Rynek, and surrounding streets in the dark!

On day three, we saw Krakow in daylight. visited the Wielizcka Salt Mines.

Auschitz was on the agenda for day four, and I think few of us knew what to expect. On arrival, we were taken through the infamous gates, showing the words "Work brings freedom" in German, The guide brought us round several blocks, one of which was filled with people’s belongings – glasses, hair, and 85,000 shoes. We also visited block II, the Death Block, where the starvation cells, standing cells (4 people could be made to stand for up to 8 weeks in one) and the execution wall were. After this came the gas chambers and crematorium, which silenced everyone for a while. A five minute drive to Birkenau followed – it was at least ten times the size of Auschwitz, and a lot bleaker. From the tower above the notorious train tracks, only blocks could be seen. We left, but I think the full impact of what we had seen came later.

Thanks must go to all the teachers for their time and for making the trip so memorable, so thank you Ms Levis, Ms Missen, Mr O’Hanlon and Mr Wright! Everybody enjoyed it!

Sport this week

2nd XI (L) CUS Tues 12 Home 2.30

JCT XI CUS Fri 15 Bird Ave tba

U 14 XI Malahide Fri 15 Home 3.00

2nd XI (L) Sandford Mon 18 Ranelagh 3.30

Seniors St Andrew's Wed 13 Home 2.00

1st years St Andrew's Wed 13 Home 2.00

Junior semi final Muckross Fri 15 UCD 4.00

2nd and 3rd year tournament vs King's Hospital Wed 13 Home 2.00

The minor girls basketball team beat St Joseph's Cluny 18-10 to reach the league final on Wednesday 20 April. Also, congratulations to all first year and senior tennis players who won matches against King's Hospital last Wednesday.