DOMINICAN COLLEGE WICKLOW

PARENT MEETINGS

In September, the management and the year heads meet with all the parents to discuss issues relevant to their daughter’s year group.

These meetings are usually held in Fatima Hall and are a great way for everybody to clarify any uncertainties and discuss the term ahead. This week all these meetings took place through the online forum.

First and third-year meetings took place on Monday at 6 p.m. and 7.30 p.m. while the second, fifth and sixth-year meetings went ahead on Tuesday evening.

We want to thank all the parents who embraced the technology and hope the online sessions were just as informative and interactive as the face to face meetings.

The presentations of these meetings are now available on the school website. The school calendar is also up on the website. However, the dates of the parent/ teacher meetings have yet to be finalised.

Thank you again to the parents

who returned to the online forum for the parents’ association AGM on Wednesday night. Your constant support is appreciated. We want to thank Mr Séamus Ryan, the outgoing parent nominee for his service and dedication to the school.

Thank you also to the chairperson Hilary Bunce, secretary Annie Connolly and treasurer Margaret Davis for your commitment and tireless efforts to support the school community.

SECOND-YEAR BONDING DAY

In these challenging times, everyone needs a little lift and what better way to do this than to spend a day off-campus. The Second-Year Head, Ms Cremin, has organised for all the year group to spend the day in Pirates cove in Gorey. We hope the students and their tutors have a fun day, and we look forward to their feedback.

EQUESTRIAN NEWS

There is fantastic news for all our enthusiastic show jumping students. We have just received confirmation that the school competitions will restart in mid-October with new COVID guidelines in place.

The first competition will take place in Wexford Equestrian Centre on October 18 and will incorporate the final of the 2019/2020 season. JAG Equestrian will host the second competition on October 25 We wish Ms Stafford and her team the very best of luck this season.

THIRD YEAR RETREAT

Due to COVID restrictions, the third year retreat was split over two days with the second session taking place on Friday, October 2, This time it was 3 Emerald and the remaining half of three Sapphire that enjoyed a relaxed day away from the books. Darragh, Mike and Enya from the Tobar retreat team in Galway returned for this session and were once again a massive hit with the girls.

There were a multitude of fun games that saw the girls work together as a team alongside some serious discussions. The retreat leaders connected with the students and even made topics such as living with COVID relevant to their lives. Thank you to the Tobar team and thank you to Ms Walshe for organising the retreats.

FIFTH YEAR ENGLISH

Ms Mason has planned to take her fifth-year English students to the Wicklow Gaol and the local library. The purpose of the trip is to hone their research skills which are a crucial element of the senior syllabus. At both destinations, they will have access to an abundance of information and local history. We hope they enjoy the trip and return to school with lots of interesting new facts.

JUNIOR INTERPROVINCIAL HOCKEY PLAYERS.

Congratulations to two of our junior students Ava Martin from second-year and Isabel Ledesma from third-year on their recent selection for the under-16 South East Interprovincial hockey squad.

Towards the end of the summer, there were trials held in Enniscorthy and Kilkenny. From the large number of young players attending, a final 24 were chosen with Ava and Isabel among these top hockey players. They have had practice matches against Enniscorthy, Wexford and Gorey ladies’ teams losing only to Gorey 3-4.

They will have one more practice match against Kilkenny. Then they will take on Munster on October 25, Ulster on the 27th and Connaught and Leinster on the 31st. Ava plays in midfield on the right, and Isabel has shown her versatility playing in the backline and midfield.

We wish both players the very best of luck in their upcoming matches and congratulate them on their fantastic achievement.

TRANSITION YEAR PHOTOGRAPHY TRIP.

On Tuesday, September 30, four Bronze had the opportunity to visit Powerscourt gardens and waterfall.

This trip was part of our photography course with Peter. During the trip, we were given complete creative freedom and the chance to explore the garden lake, nature trails and Japanese garden. Their vast array of flora and fauna made for fascinating photographs. Some frogs even made an appearance.

We agreed to meet up with Peter and Mr Doolan at 12.30, so we could go to the waterfall. On arrival at the waterfall, Peter told us that we would be judging each other’s photographs and to take our time making sure we were happy with our outcomes.

Thanks to Peter’s advice on how to capture photos with good lighting and which angels will work best for us, we all had very successful results. After a long day of socially distanced photography, we stopped off at Applegreen for a well-deserved reward.

Thank you to Peter and Mr Doolan for this wonderful day out. By Lisa Hurd.

FIFTH YEAR MENTORS

The fifth-year mentors met with their first-year mentees again this week. The sun was shining, and the girls met outside on the newly purchased picnic benches.

The relationship between the senior and junior students is progressing well, and the first years are beginning to settle into their new environment.

The mentors are now planning a series of fun events to help the first year’s bond with each other. The first event will take place on October 7, and this will be a team scavenger hunt.

JERSEY DAY

Congratulations to the Transition Year students who organised the recent jersey day to raise funds for Wicklow Hospice. To date, €700 has been counted. Thank you to Ms Goff, the Transition Year coordinator for facilitating the event.