Dominican College Wicklow

INTERNET SAFETY

On Friday, February 8, Cian Doyle from the bank of Ireland gave a talk to the Transition Year students regarding online safety. The various different social media apps were discussed and the importance of having each of these on a private setting was highlighted. Without the private settings everyone has access to your information, even prospective employers.

Behaving in an appropriate manner on nights out was discussed as you never know whose social media site you might end up on. Another very important point to remember when traveling is to turn your location off. If it is left on people will be aware that you are away and your home is empty. Likewise, when away don’t post on Facebook till you have returned home.

The most important piece of advice was never to accept friend requests from people you don’t know. Instead block this person and report the request on set- tings for the relevant company to investigate. The talk was very informative, giving very practical advice and we would like to thank Cian for his input.

I WISH

On Monday, February 11, Ms Cremin and Ms Scahill took thirty-three transition Year students to the I WISH conference In the RDS in Dublin. I WISH is sponsored by Dell EMC and VMware in association with Science Foundation Ireland.

The aim of the conference is to encourage young female students to pursue careers in STEM, that is Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics. The current lack of female participation in STEM means that we are leaving 50% of the talent pool behind. Making a change to this statistic can help solve the current skills gap in the industry.

It was a very busy day with lots of interactive exhibitions, workshops and engaging talks by men and women who have seen opportunities for great careers in STEM Hopefully our students will have taken some inspiration from the day.

SECOND YEAR ART TRIP

On February 26 the First year art students will travel to the City Centre to visit the National Art Gallery located beside Leinster House. The gallery houses the national collection of Irish and European art. The specific area of interest to the first years is the National Portrait collection and they will be given a guided tour around this section. This will be particularly pertinent to the students as they are currently learning about the mechanics of still life and portraits.

FIRST YEAR HOCKEY

On Wednesday, February 12, DCW played host to Loreto Foxrock for the final games of the season. With an unlucky loss to Dalkey the week before the girls were determined to finish on a high. Both teams had superb attacking games, unfortunately only the A team managed to beat the goalkeeper. The B team, despite a constant attack in the second half failed to find the back of the net and the game ended 0-1 to Dalkey after an early goal in the first half.

The A team were solid in defence and Foxrock never looked likely to score. However, it took till the second half to break the deadlock when Isabel Ledesma controlled the ball at the top of the circle and swept the ball at speed passed the goalkeeper, a really great goal. Annabel Werner was second on the scoresheet as she successfully negotiated the goalkeeper to bring the game to a close at 2-0 Dominican College. Congratulations to both teams on their exemplary conduct both on and off the pitch.

As the four-week challenge draws to a close we would like to congratulate all the students and staff who participated in the various different challenges and activities throughout the month.

Currently, it seems be the second year groups who are competing for the fun prize to be awarded to the class with the most tokens for participation. The theme for the final Monday once again became ‘No Mobile Monday’, as students were challenged to part with their phones for the day. This possibly proved more challenging for some students to part with the device for a second day..

The Tuesday lunchtime activity proved to be popular as teams of students took on the teachers in games of dodgeball. The students far outnumbered the teachers, but the teachers held their own and great fun was had by all. On Wednesday lunchtime, Ann McIntyre, the musical director and choreographer of the school shows, put the girls through their paces in a very enjoyable Samba session.

On Thursday, to wind down after a very busy term the staff got together for a ‘Pot Lunch’ where staff members contributed different parts of the lunch menu. It was a great opportunity for all staff to chill and chat and show off their culinary skills. In general, it was a very active month with lots of bonding activities, challenges and mindfulness thrown into the mix.

Many thanks to Mr Martin for his expert planning and creativity. We now eagerly await the news of which class won the most tokens for the greatest participation. A great prize is in store for this class after midterm.

JUNK KOUTURE

Congratulations to Megan Byrne, Ava Frazer and Enya Donohue, who have made it through to the regional final of the Junk Kouture competition. This is a national fashion contest which encourages young designers in second level education to create unique outfits from recycled materials and junk. The final will take place in the Helix Dublin on March 4.

The girl’s outfit is called ‘Into the Woods’ and was created using old newspaper and leaves/bark from a woodland that was cleared. Ten percent of the girls score will be determined by the public vote which commences the week beginning March 18. To support the girls please go to the Junk Kouture website, create an account and vote for the girls. It is a fantastic achievement for the girls and we are all very proud of them.

LE CHÉILE CONFERENCE

By Molly Flood, Transition Year – On February 7 Sorcha Higgins and I travelled to the Hudson Bay Hotel in Athlone for the annual Le Chéile conference. We were accompanied by our principal, Ms Mynes and chairperson of the school board, Lorcan Byrne. The conference ran over two days and we stayed overnight in the hotel for free. This year’s conference was particularly significant as it was the 10-year anniversary. The theme this year was welcome, Witness, Wisdom. Before the conference, as part of a project we were asked to interview some students, a parent and a teacher new to DCW about the kind of welcome they received when they became part of the school community.

We were delighted to discover that each interviewee found the school to be a welcoming, friendly place and all are enjoying being part of DCW. It was very interesting to discuss our findings with the other schools and learn a little about their school community. There were lots of similarities and differences too. Over the two days we attended workshops about self-discovery and the history behind Le Chéile. We had a table quiz which helped everyone to bond. We also had the opportunity to sing together as one big choir. Overall it was an amazing experience and I really enjoyed making new friends.

CROSS COUNTRY

Well done to all our first and third year athletes who competed in the finals of the Leinster Cross Country Championships. Our first-year team in particular had a fantastic day with Lily Sheehy finishing in ninth place and Alex Carey in 11th place overall, both securing their qualification individually to the all-Ireland Schools Cross Country Championships. The team claimed second place returning to the school with Leinster silver medals. So, huge congratulations to Lily Sheehy, Alex Carey, Kayleigh Keogh, Grace Muldowney and Katie McGrath.

The team will now represent the school and Leinster at the all-Ireland National Cross-Country Championships, which take place on March 9 in Kildare. All athletes did the school proud and their coach, Ms Wadden could not have been any prouder. We wish them the very best of luck in March.