Dominican College Wicklow

YOUNG SCIENTIST

Congratulations to the students who represented DCW in this year’s ‘Young Scientist Exhibition’. The girls involved are: Rachael Millea, Rachel Winters, Laura Whitty, Caoimhe O’Neill and Ciara Fagan.

Special congratulations goes to RACHAEL MILLEA from fifth year. Rachael received a ‘Highly Commended Award’ for her project entitled: ‘Can used coffee remove lead and other heavy metals from water?’.

‘This was a very interesting project to work on as I had never investigated anything like this before. This project involved a lot of long days experimenting with water and coffee. I really enjoyed every minute of working on the project and the results I came upon were very rewarding. I found that used coffee grounds are able to remove lead from water.

‘At the end of the exhibition I was delighted to come away with a prize of ‘highly commended’ in Chemical, Physical and Mathematical Sciences category. I thoroughly enjoyed the whole experience and would encourage students who have a passion for science to take part’ (Rachael Millea, fifth year).

LAURA WHITTY and RACHEL WINTERS project was ‘Rainwater harvesting as a domestic water supply – an investigation into attitudes and awareness of people in Co Wicklow’ (Social and Behavioural Sciences).

‘Our project was about the feasibility of rainwater harvesting as a domestic water supplement in Co. Wicklow. We spent time understanding peoples’ perceptions, attitudes and behaviour towards rainwater harvesting systems. To carry this out, we spoke to 301 people across Co. Wicklow.

‘The results that we found were very interesting. We found that most people have little knowledge about rainwater harvesting. We found that people would be very interested in learning more about this process. We really enjoyed the experience of the Young Scientist Exhibition and hope to participate again next year’(Laura Whitty and Rachel Winters, TY).

CAOIMHE O’NEILL and CIARA FAGAN carried out their project on ‘The antimicrobial properties of traditional Maasai medicine’ (Biological and Ecological).

‘Our science teacher Mr O’Brien brought three different types of traditional Maasai medicine back from a Tanzanian market and we thought it would be interesting to investigate whether or not they worked.

‘We were lucky enough to work in the UCD microbiology labs with Dr Tadhg O’Croinin. We carried out three different experiments using E. coli and S. aureus to see if the medicines could fight these bacteria. Our results concluded that two of the three medicines did contain anti-microbial properties.

‘The BT YSE was such a great experience. We built up confidence and learned a lot by talking to the judges. We made loads of new friends and even got to feature on the Nicky Byrne show with Jenny Greene on 2FM.

‘Overall the Young Scientist was an amazing experience and we would recommend it to anyone who has an interest in Science. We would like to thank the teachers in the school, Dr Tadhg O’Croinin and Mr O’Brien for all their help and hardwork’ (Caoimhe O’Neill and Ciara Fagan, TY).

On Friday, January 13, all first year and TY students visited the exhibition in the RDS – a great day was had by all and the girls are already planning their projects for next year.

CAO TALK FOR PARENTS

A talk will be held for parents on Thursday, January 26, in DCW (Th. 2 and 3) from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m.

The topics to be covered are: Transitions to Third Level, Applying via the CAO, HEAR and DARE Schemes, PLC courses and links to Universities, internet resources and websites. Any parent with a specific query might want to submit it beforehand to anestmason@ dominicanwicklow.com.

HOCKEY

Both senior and minor teams are training hard in preparation for upcoming matches. Minors will travel away to Balbriggan and will play host to Glasnevin. Seniors will have their final home game where they will take on Notre Dame on January 24. Best of luck, girls.

ATHLETICS

All DCW athletes are busy preparing for the East Leinster Cross Country Championship on January 26 in Avondale. The athletics team have had a super first term and we wish them continued success with the East Leinster Championships.

ENTRANCE EXAMS

The entrance exams for incoming first year students will be held on February 4 in Fatima Hall.

CATHOLIC SCHOOLS WEEK

Catholic Schools Week will take place on January 29 till February 3. The theme for the National Catholic Schools Week 2017 is ‘Catholic Schools: Communities of Faith, Knowledge and service.’

ENGLISH

All third year students attended Smock Alley Theatre, Temple Bar, Dublin for a production and workshop of ‘Romeo and Juliet’ as part of Junior Cycle English on Friday the 20th.

PARENTS ASSOCIATION

The parents’ association will be holding their next meeting on Monday, January 30. We are very grateful the parents’ association for their hard work throughout the year.