DOMINICAN COLLEGE WICKLOW
A WELCOME RETURN
DCW school Principal Ms Mynes and Deputy Principal Mr Martin would like to extend a warm welcome to the students, new and old and to the staff as they return to school for the new academic year. They would also like to express their gratitude to all the students and staff for their hard work and commitment to online teaching, which took place during the lockdown period.
It was a difficult time for many but, the collaboration between the students and staff was fantastic as Google-meets became the new norm and replaced the usual classroom setting.
Thankfully, September 1 saw the phased return of the students beginning with the first years. As each year group returned, they were warmly welcomed by their year head and tutors and introduced to the new COVID guidelines. The guidelines will inevitably give a different structure to their school day.
Each year group has a unique entrance/exit and a specific hub which enables the year groups to remain separate. A dual timetable allows for two different break-times and lunchtimes and facilitates the recommended social distancing. The students have risen to the challenge of wearing masks, and we thank them for their cooperation. The health and safety of our school community are paramount.
Six new staff members joined
the school this September; Mr E Flately, Ms N Gallagher, Ms L.O’ Shaughnessy, Mr Caimin Browne, Ms Siún Cashman and Ms S Roache. We welcome them and look forward to their positive contributions to school life.
LEAVING CERTIFICATE RESULTS
After a difficult ending to their time at Dominican College Wicklow, the sixth year students were justly rewarded for all their hard work in school and at home by very impressive Leaving Cert results. It was a strange day for the students as they were unable to celebrate together in the usual fashion. Nevertheless, the girls were delighted with their achievements and we wish them every success in the future.
We want to congratulate Emma Coffey on her outstanding achievement of the maximum 625 points.
Emma has always been an exemplary student achieving all A grades in her Junior Cert exams. During her time in DCW, she excelled at sports, in particular, basketball and represented the school at a very high level helping her team win Leinster titles. We wish her well as she moves on to the next stage of her journey. We must also congratulate another two other students who achieved excellent results; Áine M Kavanagh and Aoife Maguire, both of whom accumulated over 565 points. Fingers crossed that all the girls will be accepted into their preferred courses.
UPCOMING EVENTS
Two fun events coming up are the first year and the fourth year bonding days. The venue for the first-year bonding remains top secret, but the tutors promise a great day out. It will be the perfect
opportunity for the tutors and students to get to know each other in a relaxed environment. Making new friends will be the theme for the day.
The fourth-year students will be getting back to nature as they head to Glendalough.
RETREATS
The Tobar Retreat Team will be returning to Dominican College for the third year running, with Darragh replacing Michelle as the team leader.
Third-year students will be the first to enjoy the day away from the classroom. Due to social distancing, the retreats will now be split over two days with half the year group attending on September 18 and the remaining half on October 1.
The dates for the second-year students are October 25 and November 6 the final retreat planned to date will be for the Transition Year students and will take place on November 9 and 10.
MENTOR INTERVIEWS
The interviews for the first-year mentors have now completed and the final selection will be announced this week. An impressive 40 fifth-year students applied for the positions, and this will now be whittled down to 20 successful applicants. The role of the mentor is an essential one in helping the firstyear students settle into school life in DCW, even more so now, with all the new safety regulations and guidelines.
The mentor groups will now be smaller, which will facilitate a closer bond between the mentors and mentees. The mentors will check in weekly with their groups to answer their queries and help them to become more familiar with their new surroundings. Socially distanced events will be on the cards, so watch this space.
HEAD GIRL/DEPUTY HEAD GIRL
The interviews for the position of the Head Girl and the Deputy Head girl have concluded and a shortlist drawn up. The final decision and announcement of these positions will take place this week.