Yellow Flag
On Friday 18 November, DCW was visited by Jenny Hayden from the Yellow Flag Programme to assess whether we have achieved our Yellow Flag, which celebrates diversity, promotes inclusion, and challenges racism. Jenny was met by Ms Tyrrell and Ms Flood who have been organising the programme over the past year. She was introduced to students from all year groups whom she spoke to about diversity and inclusion in DCW. Members of the Student Council, the school magazine, the Diversity Committee, and students from various subject classes were asked about their knowledge of what DCW is doing to promote and celebrate diversity in our school. The students spoke very well and were given the opportunity to showcase both their classwork and projects they have been involved in outside of class that explore different cultures and traditions. We were delighted to learn that we have achieved our Yellow Flag for diversity and we sincerely thank Jenny Hayden for her visit, and all the students involved who promoted their work and our school so enthusiastically. We are very proud of you all.
Senior Hockey
Following their first defeat of the season to Drogheda Grammar school the senior hockey team dusted themselves off and with a renewed determination prepared to take on Sutton Park. The game was a home fixture played on November 22nd. It was always going to be a tough task as Sutton Park had a very tight encounter with Drogheda. The Dominican girls drew on their learning from the previous game, tightened up on their marking and played a wider, more attacking game. The backs played a blinder keeping the ball out of the circle and denying the opposition all goal scoring opportunities despite the numerous short corners. Well done to goalie Rachel Byrne who was superb and kept a cool head throughout. The score remained 0-0 at half time. The Dominican side pressed hard in the second half and put pressure on the opposing defence. However, there was nothing to separate the teams and the score remained 0-0. A nail-biting game right to the final whistle. Well done to all players on a great team effort. The next game will also be played at home as the girls play host to Loreto Bray on December 8th.
Junior Cycle Results
Congratulations to all of our TY students who received such fantastic results in their Junior Cycle. All of the hard work and dedication paid off as students received tremendous results across the board. This talented and dedicated group smashed the national averages with high percentages of Higher Merits and Distinctions. We are so proud of all our students and teachers.
A special congratulations to Ava Martin who scored 4 Distinctions and Caelin Lenehan with an amazing 6 Distinctions.
DCW Lotto
Thank you to all that participated in our school fundraiser. The draw was November 24th. There was no winner of Thursday’s jackpot. Congratulations to Carol Power who was our weekly winner of 20 euro, the grand prize rolls over to next week. This is a fundraising initiative and the money raised will be used to directly support your children’s education and purchase resources for our school including IT equipment, sports equipment, classroom and teaching resources
3rd Year Parent Teacher Meeting
A big thank you to all of the parents/guardians and students who attended the 3 rd year parent teacher meeting on Tuesday 22 nd November. We had a fantastic turn out and it was a great chance for parents and teachers to meet in person again. Engagement with parents is so important to DCW and we always welcome any opportunity for them to come into the school building.
Christmas Exams
Best of luck to all the DCW students who are beginning their Christmas exams on Friday 25th November. Our 6 th year students are also getting the opportunity to sit an oral exam in Irish and their chosen modern foreign language. This is invaluable preparation for their mock and Leaving Certificate exams. Thank you to all of the teachers involved. The students have been working hard and it is now time to reap the rewards.
TY Musical
TY students are busy rehearsing for DCW Musical ‘Ella Enchanted’ under the direction of Ms McIntyre and Ms Murphy. All students are working hard to get ready for opening night. There is a great buzz of excitement as we start to see all the hard work pay off on stage with set design, those on stage and the backstage workers. It promises to be a great week of shows and we are looking forward to seeing everyone there. Tickets are available now from the admin office and Earls Newsagent. The curtain rises at 8pm on Tuesday the 6th, Wednesday the 7th and Thursday the 8th of December. Tickets are 12 euro (adult) and students 5 euro.
College Awareness Week
Monday marked the beginning of College Awareness Week in DCW and nationally. Throughout the week students engaged with different activities to raise their awareness of the importance of further education. Throughout the school students could see posters displaying famous people and where they went to university, information about teacher’s college experience and a display of college prospectus. Senior cycle students listened to talks by CAW and the renowned Brian Mooney where he gave advice on choosing the right college course. TY students also engaged in a career/course/skills worksheet that showed them the importance of linking all three elements. Some of our junior students got to experience college life first hand through virtual tours of universities. We hope that this has inspired our future generations of learners and that they can truly see the value of further education.
Learning Leaders
As part of our school self-evaluation process DCW have been focussing on the importance of effective feedback to students. We value students being part of their own learning and can see how effective feedback given to students with regard to their homework and exams is so beneficial. To further this process, we asked the DCW Learning Leaders to take part in a focus group. Within this focus group the students discussed the benefits and methods of effective feedback. The results of these discussions will help inform our school self-evaluation process further.
Junior Science Video Competition
A Junior Science video competition was held as part of DCW’s 2022 Science Week. The students in Junior Cycle science were asked to make a ’60 second video’ on any aspect of science. The videos submitted were of an extremely high standard and covered a huge range of fascinating topics. The prizes were awarded to the following: Holly Byrne in 2nd year won first prize for her super video on how best to empty a water bottle, and second place went to Molly Mc Hugh in 1st year for her very informative video on Prader – Willi Syndrome. Congratulations Holly and Molly and well done to all the other students who entered their videos.
Carol Concert
It’s that wonderful time of the year again where preparations have begun for the annual Christmas carol concert. Both students and staff have been practising hard and it promises to be a wonderful festive event. A reminder that is on the 15 th December at 7.30 in the Convent Chapel.
LIFT Award
Congratulation to the management of our school who have been nominated for a LIFT Award in the Positive Attitude category. While the senior management in our school are very modest it is lovely to see their hard work and commitment being recognised. Here is what the nominator had to say, “Lorraine (Principal) and Neal (Deputy Principal) have led the school through Covid and beyond. They have shown empathy towards their staff and students, they have led with respect and determination. They have worked keep wellbeing of both students and staff to the forefront and continue to do so. Above all they have led by example and kept, and keep, a positive attitude at all times. The school community are grateful for everything they do. They work as a team, they always have time for both staff and students. They go above and beyond.” Congratulations and best of luck!
Wellread National Award
This year we have started working towards our Wellread National Award. MS Tyrrell, Ms Doyle and Mr Martin have been meeting to plot the progress. The school Book Club, led by second year students Hannah Doyle, Grace Barry, Erin Doyle and Emily Reilly, visited Wicklow Library earlier in the term to talk to Bairbre there about different ideas and projects. As well as giving the students a full tour of the Library, Bairbre was also interviewed by them for the upcoming issue of the school magazine. The Book Club’s current read is Skulduggery Pleasant by Derek Landy and Bairbre was great (as always!) in arranging the copies for us. As well as this, Transition Year students Mika Kelly and Mia Wynne are heading up our Wellread Student Team. They have already been down to Bridge Street Books and the school would like to extend a huge CONGRATULATIONS to Joanna and everyone at Bridge Street on their recent win, being named An Post Irish Bookshop of the Year 2022.
A huge thank you also to Joanna who has offered to work with the staff and students on updating the school library.
The Diversity Committee
The Diversity Committee is taking a break while the exams are on. Having been thrilled to achieve our Yellow Flag status we are now looking forward to continuing the work. New members of the Diversity Committee will be coming on board at the next meeting and there is plenty being planned for the rest of the school year. Ms Flood and Ms Tyrrell are keen to see what the students will come up with!
The Brightside
TY editors are taking submissions now for the next issue of the school magazine, The Brightside. With thanks to last year’s editors, Mya Neiland and Aislinn Thomas for their tips in the handover, current TY students Karla McEvoy, Grace Doherty and Sorcha O’Neill are looking forward to getting their teeth stuck in! This issue is being funded by the WorldWise Global School grant – so watch out for plenty of info on the Sustainable Development Goals within. The photography, short story and art competitions have been launched, with the theme of ‘Life on Land’ (Sustainable Development Goal, 15) and we are looking forward to seeing the winners in print later in the New Year.
WorldWise Global Schools
Our Student WorldWise Global Schools team, headed up by Alanah Dalton and Alex Rose are working away on keeping the school updated on issues such as COP27 – the students are keeping the WorldWise Global Schools noticeboard updated regularly. Among some of the schoolwide activities, Ms Kristiansen’s geography students, Ms Tyrrell and Ms Martin’s CSPE students, Ms Kelly, Ms Stafford and Ms May’s science students all took a closer look at many of the issues being covered in COP27 as well as working on the Climate and Nature Summit 2022, organised by the Irish Secondary Schools Sustainability Network. Mr O’Reilly and the Green School’s team are also looking at the issue of water and are working on a campaign to raise awareness within the school community.
