Thursday, May 12th saw PCH buzzing with VIP visitors once again. We had 160 special visitors from the 6th classes of our local primary schools and beyond, accompanied by their parents. Our prospective 1st years of 2022/2023 are the first group to experience a normal open/welcome evening since 2019, due to the dark shadow of the Covid 19 crisis. The evening was a great success. It began with a gathering in the gym where the audience was treated to orchestral, choral and dance performances. Ms. Shaughnessy’s choir sang the uplifting and empowering Dermot Kennedy song ‘Better Days’. This was followed by a masterful traditional orchestral medley of tunes led by Ms Cunningham and a surprise dance performance by World champion gold medallist, Evan O’Brien.
Our Principal, Ms. Fiona Gallagher, was expertly introduced by our two special MCs of the evening; first-year students Gagana Renjit Kumar and Ruby Reddington. The Principal then gave a short but immensely inspirational speech in which she referenced the extraordinary spirit of PCH, she launched the official 80th Anniversary celebrations and movingly quoted psychologist, Maureen Gaffney, when she said that “All a kid needs is one adult who’s irrationally crazy about them.”. Ms. Gallagher thanked all her staff of PCH who rallied together to ensure that the first open evening of her term as Principal was a memorable one. She wished the prospective students every health and happiness in their future education. Ms. Gallagher paid special tribute to the parents who had made the time to come to the open evening and thanked them for their special role in the education partnership.
In a well-choreographed movement, all students and their parents were divided by their primary schools and brought on tours of the school by PCH teachers and first-year students who were past pupils of each primary school. Parents and prospective students found this very helpful. The tour included sampling sessions in each of the choice subjects and students got a ‘taste’ of each subject (as well as tasty cupcakes made in front of them by the first-year home economics students).
All students and their families went home feeling a little less nervous about their upcoming transition to PCH and they had a little souvenir bag which included a commemorative 80th-anniversary pen and a calendar of student life in PCH.
PCH welcomes the class of 2022/2023 and looks forward to meeting you all again soon.
