Dominican College Wicklow
ATHLETICS
The East Leinster Cross Country Championships took place in Avondale Park on January 21 A minor and a junior team from DCW travelled to the competition. We are very proud of all our minor athletes who completed the tough course and showed great commitment.
Ciara Mas showed huge determination as she battled to qualify for the Leinster finals after a very nasty fall. Unfortunately, the finish line came too soon, and she finished in 18th position with 15 to qualify. A definite contender for next year.
Expectations were high for the junior team who were medallists in the national finals in 2019. The Dominican girls repeated their gold medal-winning performance taking the East Leinster title once more. Huge congratulations to Lily Sheehy (third), Alex Carey (sixth), Kayleigh Keogh (12th), Catherine Mitchell, Isabelle Connolly and Rebecca Brennan.
We wish them the very best of luck at the Leinster Championships which take place on February 12 in Santry Demesne.
EQUESTRIAN NEWS
The Open equestrian team were out competing on Sunday, January 19, in Wexford Equestrian Centre. All four members, Ella Mulvey, Naoise O’Neill, Casey Neville and Jessica Phelan, had beautiful double clear rounds which meant they had to compete in a jump-off round. Casey Neville and Jessica Phelan were selected to participate at this stage of the competition. At the end of the jump-off Dominican College were placed fourth. Excellent jumping from all four members.
At the awards ceremony, the girls received an award for the best turned out. Huge thanks to their sponsors Liam Neville Developments Limited for funding their numnahs and their show-jumping jackets. A big thank you also to their trainer John Mulvey for all his time and expertise.
SENIOR BASKETBALL
The under-19 basketball team are very busy preparing for the final of the Leinster School’s league, honing their shooting skills and devising strategies.
They will meet St Mary’s from Edenderry in the final on January 31 the venue for the final is the National Basketball Arena in Tallaght, and the game starts at 10 a.m.
We wish the girls and their coach Ms Kelly the very best of luck. Any students who wish to support the girls on the day must contact Ms Kelly immediately.
MINOR HOCKEY
The minor hockey team played
Alexandra College in their last home game of the season on January 23 It was a very exciting game from start to finish. The Dominican girls had the upper hand in the first half but didn’t have any clear shooting opportunities. The score remained 0-0 at half time.
The visiting team came back hard in the second half and it was a very competitive end to end game. Unfortunately, it was the visitors who broke the deadlock and scored the first goal. The Dominican girls fought right to the end, but it wasn’t to be. Alexandra College won the game 2-0. We wish them the best of luck in the remainder of their games.
Many thanks to first-year players Hannah Lawless and Ava Martin, who joined the team at the last minute because of illness and injury. They both had great games and strengthened the attacking play in midfield. The minor team have their final game of the season on Monday, February 3, an away game against Loreto Balbriggan.
SENIOR HOCKEY
The senior hockey team top their league table having secured maximum points in all their fixtures and now await news of who they will play in the quarter-final stage of the Leinster Schools hockey league. We wish them every success going forward.
TRANSITION YEAR BANK
On Tuesday, January 20, representatives from bank of Ireland came into the school to talk to all the Transition Year students. The talk centred on the importance of students having a bank account. Students learned that if they opened a current account now, they could have 11 years free banking, saving each individual up to €1,000.
Every year students from Transition Year run a school bank and meet with the account holders at lunch once a week. The idea behind the bank is to instil the practice of lifelong saving from an early age. Students received information on the jobs titles necessary to set up the bank, and the bank representatives explained the criteria for each role.
The interviews for these positions took place the following afternoon. The successful candidates were Ella Healy, Emma Philips, Robin Brennan, Isabella Downey and Gesa Kahlert.
TRANSITION YEAR LAW DAY
On January 23 and 24, the Transition year students took part in a Law workshop led by Mr James Fahy, a Barrister. On the first day, the girls learned about the different types of courts, and there was an emphasis on civil law. They learned of the different issues dealt with in the civil court and how to tell the different courts apart. James shared many interesting stories about his civil cases and a little of his background. He told of his desire to be a PE Teacher but then decided to take a different path. Initially, he became a Guard and found he enjoyed the law side of the profession, so he decided to become a Barrister. He explained the details of the job, how the system works and his pathway to becoming a successful barrister.
On the second day, the girls learned how the criminal court worked. James went through many of the different criminal cases he was involved with and explained how he had worked the cases. After lunch, the girls performed a mock trial. People volunteered to be barristers, solicitors, the defendants, the witnesses and the members of the jury. Each role had a script. Getting into the mindset of all the different characters was great fun and an effective way to empathise with the characters. Overall, the day was fun and informative.
REGISTER OF ELECTORS
On Wednesday, January 22, Orla and Jeremy from Wicklow Garda station kindly came to DCW to sign voter registration application forms for over 20 of our sixthyear students that will be eligible to vote in the upcoming election.
We are very proud of their determination to get registered so that they can exercise their right to vote. Their vote can make a difference. We want to wish them the best of luck when casting their first votes. Many thanks to Wicklow Garda Station particularly to Orla and Jeremy for all their help.