Dominican College Wicklow

BASKETBALL

The first and second-year basketball teams travelled to Greystones to meet North Wicklow Educate Together last Thursday.

For the second years, this would be their toughest game to date, as neither team had lost a match in the league so far. Meanwhile, the first-years played a friendly game against NWETSS to give newer players a chance to experience the game.

The second-year team fought hard in the opening minutes of the match and entered the second quarter with a one-point lead. However, NWETSS quickly took the lead, though the score was still tight at 9-8 at the end of the second half to North Wicklow.After a tough third and fourth quarter, the second year team, unfortunately, lost to NWETSS 28-18, but not without a fight to the final whistle.

Abbie O’Brien, Eva Deehan and Suzi Elliott scored two baskets each and Clare McCarthy and Carla Garcia did a brilliant job on defence.

Despite the loss, the team will undoubtedly finish second in the league. The first-year girls had a more relaxed game, but all gained some great experience, with Lucia Gorman scoring some fabulous baskets. Keelin Campbell Rawson and Niamh O’Neill showed excellent defensive skills. Despite another loss to NWETSS, the girls enjoyed the experience and were able to develop their skills as players.

The final opponents in this round of the league were CCM Both teams needed a win to qualify for the second place playoffs. The first – years played first and dominated the game straight away, with some excellent scores from Hannah Lawless and Lara Chassagne. While the CCM team tried to break our defence, the girls gave no quarter and managed to keep the score low. Keelin Campbell Rawson and Louise Flood put their defensive skills to the test, and the team finished their game with a brilliant score of 22-12 to DCW.

The second-year match was no less dramatic. The girls fought hard from the beginning, and with strong defence from Emma Chiriluta and Lara Kelly, they kept CCM back. Ella O’Donovan and Maria Navarro meanwhile added points to the scoreboard for DCW, and the girls came out victorious with a comfortable win.

Both teams are now through to the knockout stages of the league.

The second-year team will travel to Enniscorthy for their next fixture.

FIRST YEAR GAA

On Friday, March 28, two firstyear teams attended a GAA blitz in Bray Emmets. Under the stewardship of Mr Cronin and Mr Martin, the girls performed well on only their second outing of the year. All had fun, and it was great to see 24 girls taking part in the blitz. We look forward to more competitions this year for the players to improve upon and showcase their skills. Well done, girls.

JUNIOR GAA

Well done to our junior GAA team on securing their position in the final of the County Wicklow Shield competition.

On Monday, March 2, they travelled to Ballinakill Wicklow GAA Centre of Excellence to play St Mary’s Arklow. They were hoping to replicate the performance of the senior squad who had recently won their shield final.

However, from the start, the girls realised they were facing a very well organised team that were both fit and fast. The Dominican girls never gave up and battled right to the final whistle, but a better team outperformed them on the day. Well done to St Mary’s on a super performance.

RAINBOW DAY

This year the annual rainbow day took place on February 28 the Student Council organised the event as a fundraiser for the school. Students and staff had the opportunity to ditch the uniform and wear their brightest and most colourful clothes and accessories. Well done to the third and sixth years who made a considerable effort.

The event raised over €500 and will now be used to improve student facilities around the school. The best dressed in each year group won a prize. Well done to Aisling Nic Carthaigh, Sarah Thompson, Laura Griffin, Morgan Elliott, Bethan Crawford and Emma Coffey. Thanks to Ms Fallon and all the members of the student council for all their hard work. They continue to have a very positive input into school life.

TABLE QUIZ

All had a fun night at the Lions Club table quiz held in Ernie’s Pub on March 4 in aid of Dominican College and the seventh Wicklow Scouts.

The management of Dominican College would like to thank the Lions Club and the parents’ association for organising the fundraiser. Huge thanks to all the parents who supported on the night. Hopefully, we will have even more tables in support of the school next year.

Many thanks also to the parents’ association for organising the recent clothes bag collection. All their fundraising efforts are appreciated. Thanks also to all parents who took the time to donate to this fundraiser.

JUNK KOUTURE

Well done to our Junk Kouture regional finalists Abi Nolan, Poppy Meehan and Gabrielle Crowley. They were one of the 80 finalists selected from the original 3500 entries. The South Eastern Final took place on March 2 in the Helix, Dublin.

On the night, the finalists showcased their designs using recycled materials, each group having one minute and 10 seconds to execute a movement performance along the catwalk. Gabrielle modelled the Dominican entry and completed a very confident performance to a packed auditorium. The entrants performed under the scrutiny of four judges from the world of Fine Art and fashion.

Before the on-stage performance, the judges called to the dressing room to inspect the design and consider the student’s mood board. The students had the opportunity to talk about their inspiration and design process. Radio DJ’s Emma Power and Laura Fox hosted the show and provided lots of glitz and glamour.

It was an excellent opportunity for our students to perform in front of hundreds of supporters with professional stage crew lights and music. Huge congratulations to Abi, Gabrielle and Poppy for their exceptional achievement on reaching the regional finals.

OLD SCHOOL PHOTOGRAPHS AND MEMORABILIA

On Friday, May 22, there will be a garden party held in the grounds of the school to celebrate the 150th Anniversary of the Dominican Campus. Holy Rosary School and Dominican College will be open for tours around the schools followed by afternoon tea in the grounds.

If you have any old school photographs, we would love you to scan and email them to us at info@dcw.ie. It would be fantastic to have a photo montage of school events throughout the decades taking people on a trip down memory lane. We would really appreciate your help with this.

TRANSITION YEAR TRIP

On Wednesday, March 4, the Transition Year students visited Caffreys Chocolate Warehouse in Dublin. Thomas Caffrey was the founder of Caffrey’s Confectionery in the 1930s. Caffrey’s is an Irish company and has been in the family for three generations.

The purpose of the visit was to see the production process in operation. Students learnt about the history of the company, imports, exports, raw materials, and costings were discussed throughout the day. The students also had the opportunity to design their chocolate products and take home their creations.

CLIMBING COMPETITION

With a growing number of schools participating in indoor climbing activities and with the inclusion of indoor climbing in the 2020 Olympics, The Great Outdoors, Mountaineering Ireland and Awesome Walls have come together to establish a national event for youth climbers.

The qualification round for this event took place in the Awesome Walls climbing centre in Dublin on February 27, and four first-year students Caelin Frawley Lenehan, Holly Lewis, Lily Donoghue and Alice Donnelly competed in this event. Caelin is the reigning champion at the primary school level. The results of the qualification rounds will be announced in the coming weeks, so watch this space.