Dominican College Wicklow
RUGBY TROPHY TOUR
The Leinster rugby team had a hugely successful season in 2017/2018 winning both the coveted Heineken Cup and the Pro 14 trophy. Following this success their sponsors, The bank of Ireland, organised the Leinster Rugby Trophy Tour so that clubs and schools in the province would have the opportunity to have photographs taken with the impressive trophies. The tour began in October in Dublin City, moving to the North Midlands area in November and to the North-East in December. The new year saw the trophies reach South-East Leinster.
On January 8, Aidan Kearney the local Community Rugby Officer brought the trophies to Dominican College much to the delight of the first and fourth years who gathered in Fatima Hall awaiting his arrival. Aidan gave a brief outline of the achievements of the Leinster team and highlighted the achievements of successful Wicklow rugby players. One such player was of particular interest to the girls, past pupil Saoirse O’Reilly. While still in school Saoirse was capped for Ireland on several occasions and we are hugely proud of her achievements.
Following Aidan’s talk group photographs were taken. Many thanks to Aidan for the very enjoyable session and the fantastic opportunity to have the photographs with the trophies.
HOCKEY
Well done to the minor hockey team who had a very thrilling match against Our Lady’s Terenure to end the group phase of their Leinster League. It was an end to end game with scoring opportunities missed on both sides. The Dominican girls had stronger possession in the first half to failed to capitalise on this. Terenure came back into the game in the second half but the girls responded with a solid defence. Neither team could break the deadlock and the game ended in a 0-0 draw. The girls have had a very successful season and now await the results of the remaining games to see if they progress to the quarter-final stages of the competition.
WINTER BALL
The winter Ball is a special fundraiser for Wicklow Cancer support and is being organised by three fourth year students, Amy Mates, Leah Byrne and Enya Donohoe. It takes place on January 18 in Fatima Hall. The event begins at 8 p.m. with no entry after 8.30 p.m. and concludes at midnight sharp. There is still a limited number of tickets available at a cost of €12. For ticket sales contact the girls through Instagram at winter_ball2019. All money raised will be donated to the charity. The girls have put a huge amount of effort into organising the event and we are proud of their efforts.
ENTRANCE EXAM
The entrance exam for the students wishing to attend Dominican College in September 2019 will take place on Saturday, January 26, at 9 a.m. Currently letters are being distributed to the parents who have filled in the relevant application form. Should you require an application form contact the school office.
CATHOLIC SCHOOLS WEEK
National Catholic Schools Week is the annual celebration of Catholic Education throughout the country. The theme of the week for 2019 is ‘’Catholic Schools: Learn. Serve. Lead. Succeed’’. To begin this celebration the student leadership team and members of the school Liturgical Choir will join Fr Donal at 10 a.m. Mass in St Patrick’s Church on Sunday, February 3, The Liturgical Choir led by Ms Gaffney always provide music of the highest standard so if possible, come along and join in the celebration.
SENIOR CYCLE HISTORY
All senior cycle students are studying hard in preparation for their mock exams so what better way to put their knowledge to the test than a competitive table quiz. A group of sixth year students will travel to Tallaght Community School this week to compete against other schools in the Wicklow and Dublin regions. We wish them the very best of luck.
ATHLETICS
To date the cross-country athletes have competed very successfully in the County Championships. They are currently training hard in preparation for the Leinster Schools Competition. This takes place in two stages. The first qualifying stage is the East Leinster Competition which takes place in Avondale on Tuesday, January 22, The top 15 individual runners and the top three teams then progress to the Leinster Finals. We wish all our athletes the very best of luck.
BASKETBALL
Huge congratulations to the under-19 basketball team who won their all-Ireland quarter-final match on January 10 They traveled to Waterford for the game and despite the long journey they had a very comprehensive win against St Paul’s Community College. The game ended with a score of 44-15. A special mention must be given to our top scorer on the day, Róisín Ring. They now play Scoil Caitriona Glasnevin in the semi-final and we wish them the very best of luck.
YOUNG SCIENTISTS
Congratulations to our Young Scientists Rachel Foster and Aisling O’Neill, who qualified to compete in the final stage of the BT Young Scientist and Technology Exhibition at the RDS on January 8 to January 12.
The girls had a busy but enjoyable week at the RDS showcasing their project titled ‘Statistical Analysis of Changing Attitudes towards Male Workers in Early Years Childcare/Education. The girls had the opportunity to meet lots of new people and had their photograph taken with TD Pat Casey. On Friday the girls were joined by the majority of first year students and a large group of second year students who traveled to show their support. The girls were one of 550 projects nationwide to qualify – a fantastic achievement.
FUNDRAISING
Well done to all the students involved in the many fundraising events which took place prior to the Christmas holidays. The Student Council raised over €500 which will now be passed onto a representative from the Peter McVerry Trust. This trust was set up by Fr Peter McVerry in an effort to reduce homelessness and the harm caused by drug misuse and social disadvantage. The girls themselves chose the charity.
Similarly, the second year CSPE students together with their teacher Ms Martin worked on several different fundraising activities for the homeless in their own community, the elderly and Ash Rescue Centre. €130 was raised from their Fairtrade Hamper and an additional €15 was collected from selling slices of their decadent Malteser Cake. €80 was used to buy 50 gifts for the elderly which were delivered with a handmade card. €50 was spent on buying necessities for the homeless people in temporary accommodation in the Wicklow area.
The Bray Simon Community were delighted with the shoe boxes which also contained handmade cards.
Finally, an impressive sum of €310 was collected for Ash. Well done to all involved.