Dominican College Wicklow
SWIMMING
The first Leinster Senior Schools swim gala took place on Sunday, October 21, Six Dominican students competed in the gala. Robyn Brennan and Olivia O’Donovan competed only in individual events while Mia Kristiansen, Lilly Devitt, Kirsty Dunne and Lily Sheehy competed individually and as a team in the medley and freestyle relays. In the individual events there were lots of PB’s and all students finished in the top 10. The relay team were fourth in the freestyle and took silver in the medley relay. Congratulations to all involved and a huge thanks to Ms Kristiansen for organising the Dominican swimming.
SHOW JUMPING
On Sunday, October 21, three Dominican students, Jessica Phelan (third yr), Naoise O’Neill (second yr) and Aoife O’Leary (sixth yr) together with Ms Stafford travelled to Barnadown in Gorey to compete in the Interschools show jumping competition. It was a very challenging course and all students demonstrated their skill as they completed a great round of jumping. Congratulations especially to Jessica Phelan, who was placed first in the 1.1m individual event. In the coming weeks there will be a further two competitions and we wish the girls the very best of luck. Thanks to Ms Stafford for all her encouragement and guidance.
MATHS WEEK
Although a week later than the National event much fun was had by the students as they competed in the various maths challenges and activities both inside and outside the classroom. Problem solving, and logic became the universal theme in the maths classrooms and much use was made of the iPads for puzzles and maths games. Outside the classroom the junior students competed in maths table quizzes where their recall of the previous year’s course work was put to the test.
Congratulations to second year students Aoife Nixon, Laura Griffin, Amelia Nowicka and Izarbe Linan Lara, who won the second-year quiz. Top spot in the first-year quiz went to Grace Muldowney, Nancy Moorehouse, Kate Hamiliton and Lara Kelly. Well done to all our budding Einsteins.
In preparation for maths week the transition year classes researched and created large visual puzzles suitable for primary school students. They then invited the sixth class students from Holy Rosary School to come and try to solve the puzzles. Due to conflicting schedules this event will take place in the week following mid-term.
HOCKEY
On October 23 the Dominican minor team played host to Conleths College. The game was a very intense physical game with DCW dominating play for most of the game. Unfortunately, totally against the run of play Conleths got a break and took full advantage scoring the only goal of the game. Despite constant pressure DCW were unable to break through the strong defence. It was a great game to watch so well done to all involved. The Dominican students next travel to Mount Anville after the mid-term break.
The senior team also remained at home for their game against Drogheda Grammar school. It was a very exciting end to end game which resulted in a 1-1 draw. Ella Healy scored for DCW with a fantastic flick over the goal-keepers head. Congratulations to the girls on a great team effort. Their next fixture is an away game to Sutton Park on November 12.
BASKETBALL
Congratulations to the under-16 basketball team who had a very exciting win over Woodbrook College. Well beaten by this team last year the girls were prepared for a tough battle. It was a very close game, but it was the Dominican girls who took better advantage of their scoring opportunities and won the game by five points.
FUNDRAISING
Twenty-five fourth and fifthyear students took part in the ‘No Phone Challenge’ to help raise funds for Enable Ireland. The students agreed to part with their phones for twenty-four hours, a tough task for some. The phones were handed up at registration on Tuesday, October 23, and returned at registration the following day. A big thank you to all the students who volunteered to take part.
CINEMA DAY
As part of the LCVP curriculum fifth year students must plan and run a fundraising event in aid of a local charity. This year the girls decided to host a Halloween Cinema Day for the whole school. The film for the senior students was Hocus Pocus while the junior students watched Coraline. The fifth year students designed the cinema tickets, decorated Fatima Hall, collected the money and ordered the appropriate quantities of goodies. The day was a huge success with the girls raising over €1,000 for the Wicklow Cancer Support. Well done to the fifth year students on their excellent team work and thanks to Ms Scahill for overseeing the event.
SCIENCE TRIP
On October 22 and 23 our thirdyear science classes attended an ecology trip in Glendalough in preparation for our Junior Cycle Exam. We were brought to the educational centre and split into smaller groups, each group being led by an expert in the ecology of Glendalough.
It was evident that there were many species of animals around us as our helpful tour guides notified us of the snuffle holes and thrashings on the ground, left behind by the wildlife. We studied insects and plant life that live with the animals in this natural deciduous woodland. We then had to fill in a sheet that described the ecology of Glendalough. Following our lunch, we had an hour to do some of our own exploring with our friends. It was an educational but enjoyable experience. (By Leah Murphy and Eva Lawless).
IT CARLOW TRIP
A group of 20 transition year students went to IT Carlow to attend a Women in Engineering and Technology event. There were female speakers studying and working in a range of areas such as Assistive Technology, Fluid Mechanics, Aerospace, Cloud computing and software. It was a very informative day and the girls learned that Engineering is a creative and collaborative job.
AN TRIAIL
Chuaigh na cailíní ón séu bliain go Baile Átha Cliath chunam drama ‘An Triail’ a fheiceáil. Bhain siad go léir an-taitneamh as agus bhí said ábalta roinnt siopadóireachta a dhéanamh as an mbealach abhaile i nDún Droma. Cabhróidh sé seo go mór leo agus iad ag ullmhú don scrúdú Gaeilge. Buíochas mór leis na múinteoirí a chuaigh ar an turas, Ms Beary agus Mr Cronin.
HALLOWEEN DRESS UP
On the Friday before midterm the Student Council organised their annual Halloween fundraiser to raise money for the school. Last year it was the Gaelic team that benefited as they received over €700 to buy new school jerseys. This year is the turn of the athletes and hockey players. There was a great atmosphere in the school as management, staff and students all got into the spirit of the event and donned their costumes. Well done to the student council for organising the event.
CHANGE OF DATE
The school will now be open on November 7 as there has been a change of date for the Well-being CPD for all staff. The new date for this CPD is Monday, November 26, so the school will be closed for students on that date. Apologies for the second email. I hope it will be possible to add this to our school news items.