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YENI run Digital Youth workshop for year 10 pupils is a resounding success
11-Nov-2018 |  |  |  |
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Bronagh McAuley and Alastair Cameron from Young Enterprise NI, with volunteers from Zimplify Portstewart, arrived in the school on Wednesday 7th November to deliver the Causeway Coast & Glens Borough Council Digital Youth Programme with our Year 10 pupils.
Mr McDaid, our ICT Co-ordinator explained: “This was a wonderful opportunity for our talented year 10 pupils to showcase their ICT and entrepreneurial skills. We were delighted to invite YENI into the school to challenge our pupils to come up with creative solutions to problems and to have the confidence to pitch their ideas to their wider year group”.
Bronagh McCauley,Development Manager Young Enterprise NI commented,
“Thank you so much for having us! It was a pleasure to be in the school the students were lovely to work with and had some great ideas. Sam Stuart is such an ambassador and was a great help on the day.”
Alastair Cameron from Young Enterprise NI further reflected:
“On Wednesday I was running a Digital Youth masterclass in Dominican College, Portstewart. The aim of the programme, funded by The Causeway Coast and Glens council, is for students, within three hours to conceive, design model canvas and pitch a digital solution for a specific problem. Sam Stuart, Dominican Head Boy, helped members of YENI and Zymplify to judge the 11 teams each with their fabulous ideas and decide on an overall winner. Sam was a great example to both his school and himself.”
All the organisers praised the ingenuity and creativity of the Dominican pupils and the high standards achieved across all eleven groups on the day. The feedback from our Year 10 pupils was overwhelmingly positive also.
Images of Wednesday’s workshop can be found here:
https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:6466015582213931008/
Celebrating our Golden Jubilee of Co-education at Dominican College, Portstewart.
08-Nov-2018 |  |  |  |
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Celebrating our Golden Jubilee of Co-education at Dominican College, Portstewart.
By Sr. Lucina Montague
By Sr. Lucina Montague
In September 1968 Dominican College became co-educational, an enormous change for a small day and boarding school for girls. It was a rocky start, as those who were here at the time and in the succeeding years could tell you. A favourite debating subject, “ This house is on the rocks” was all too symbolic. It was difficult for all concerned – a huge change for those already here, a challenge to attract boys to what had been a girls' school for 51 years, and of course a financial challenge to provide at least the basics of suitable extra accommodation in days when our finances were precarious, to say the least.
The transition took time and patience, as well as commitment and faith in what we were doing. Happily DCP, and its students, male and female, thrived, and became a very special part of Dominican educational provision.
To celebrate this Golden Jubilee is important, but after a year of celebrating the centenary of the school something different is demanded. One very appropriate idea emerged – could we form a link with a co-ed Dominican school in a very different part of the world, who could benefit from our annual fundraising, as we and our present pupils could mutually benefit from broadening our horizons through our contact with them and another country and culture?
Through the mother house of the Dominican Order in Rome, we are now in touch with a small school in Mandalay, Myanmar, which may be young in years, but has so much in common with DCP. It is small now , as we were back then and, like us, it is co-ed, welcoming pupils from different traditions, Catholic and Buddhist. It is struggling, as we did for so long.
The official name of the school is Dominican, St Martin de Porres’ Boarding School, founded in 2014. At present there are 103 students, in four levels, 44 boys and 59 girls, approximately half Buddhist and half Catholic. The pupils are 14+ years old. These pupils go to government schools during the day, and to Dominican at night, where 10 teachers help to prepare them for university and other higher education. The final grade, which is essential for university admission, is very difficult to attain. While we expected hard work from our students in DCP, we did not have to go to school in the evenings as well!
Pupils in this school in Myanmar pay what they can towards their education, but the needs are great, and more students could come if the accommodation expanded. Also, sponsorship of students would be a tremendous help, as there is real poverty within the whole community.
Dominican College were delighted to announce the Dominican school in Myanmar as one of this year’s school charities along with the Kevin Bell Repatriation Trust and the SVP. Acknowledging those in need and reaching out in support continues to be a vital part of our Dominican ethos.
As a Golden Jubilee suggestion: could we suggest that DCP past pupils make a one-off contribution, however small, towards our sister-school, and thus make our jubilee memorable for so many young people who also would benefit so much from Dominican education?
Please send what you can to Dominican College, Portstewart in support of Dominican Mandalay.
Every contribution will be acknowledged, and we will keep you up to date through the website and social media.
Watch this space for other Golden Jubilee information!!
The transition took time and patience, as well as commitment and faith in what we were doing. Happily DCP, and its students, male and female, thrived, and became a very special part of Dominican educational provision.
To celebrate this Golden Jubilee is important, but after a year of celebrating the centenary of the school something different is demanded. One very appropriate idea emerged – could we form a link with a co-ed Dominican school in a very different part of the world, who could benefit from our annual fundraising, as we and our present pupils could mutually benefit from broadening our horizons through our contact with them and another country and culture?
Through the mother house of the Dominican Order in Rome, we are now in touch with a small school in Mandalay, Myanmar, which may be young in years, but has so much in common with DCP. It is small now , as we were back then and, like us, it is co-ed, welcoming pupils from different traditions, Catholic and Buddhist. It is struggling, as we did for so long.
The official name of the school is Dominican, St Martin de Porres’ Boarding School, founded in 2014. At present there are 103 students, in four levels, 44 boys and 59 girls, approximately half Buddhist and half Catholic. The pupils are 14+ years old. These pupils go to government schools during the day, and to Dominican at night, where 10 teachers help to prepare them for university and other higher education. The final grade, which is essential for university admission, is very difficult to attain. While we expected hard work from our students in DCP, we did not have to go to school in the evenings as well!
Pupils in this school in Myanmar pay what they can towards their education, but the needs are great, and more students could come if the accommodation expanded. Also, sponsorship of students would be a tremendous help, as there is real poverty within the whole community.
Dominican College were delighted to announce the Dominican school in Myanmar as one of this year’s school charities along with the Kevin Bell Repatriation Trust and the SVP. Acknowledging those in need and reaching out in support continues to be a vital part of our Dominican ethos.
As a Golden Jubilee suggestion: could we suggest that DCP past pupils make a one-off contribution, however small, towards our sister-school, and thus make our jubilee memorable for so many young people who also would benefit so much from Dominican education?
Please send what you can to Dominican College, Portstewart in support of Dominican Mandalay.
Every contribution will be acknowledged, and we will keep you up to date through the website and social media.
Watch this space for other Golden Jubilee information!!
Hello,
We're raising £1500 to help a Dominican school in Mandalay, Myanmar, which is similar to DCP. It is co-ed and welcomes pupils from many different traditions..
Please donate to my JustGiving Crowdfunding Page and help make it happen:
https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/domincan-college-portstewart?utm_id=2&utm_term=34qmYdqYr
Thanks for your support
Sincere thanks in advance.
Sr Lucina.
We're raising £1500 to help a Dominican school in Mandalay, Myanmar, which is similar to DCP. It is co-ed and welcomes pupils from many different traditions..
Please donate to my JustGiving Crowdfunding Page and help make it happen:
https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/domincan-college-portstewart?utm_id=2&utm_term=34qmYdqYr
Thanks for your support
Sincere thanks in advance.
Sr Lucina.
Jake Wallace, Year 11, selected for U-16 NI soccer squad.
07-Nov-2018Well done to Jake Wallace, Year 11, who has just received a call up for the Northern Ireland International Under-16 Squad. This is a real honour for Jake and his family and builds on his early success in playing for younger international squads.
The Northern Ireland Under-16 international team will play three matches at Tralee in the Republic of Ireland in the Victory Shield competition.
The games are:
12th November Northern Ireland v Republic of Ireland
14th November Northern Ireland v Scotland
16th November Northern Ireland v Wales
Edwin Ferris, the Honorary Treasurer of the Northern Ireland Schools’ Football Association wrote to the school over the Halloween holiday asking for Jake to be allowed a leave of absence from school to play for his country describing how “International recognition is an honour for the school as well as the player.”
Jake’s mum, Paula described Jake as, “One very excited, privileged, honoured boy to be playing for his country, Living the dream…. “
Swimming success for Dominican College Portstewart
23-Oct-2018
On Sunday 21st October, Kirsten Tea and Charlie Eatwell both represented DCP at the Swim Ulster Cup in The Aurora Leisure Complex Bangor.
Competition was tough with over 1300 pupils from across Northern Ireland competing throughout the weekend.
Kirsten swam brilliantly to record 2 new PB’s in the 12-14 Girls 100M Breaststroke and 100M Freestyle.
Charlie was on top form, recording a PB of 1.05.17 in the 12-14 Boys 100M Freestyle. Charlie narrowly missed out on a spot in the final but held his own against a strong competition including some much older swimmers. Out of a group of over 100, Charlie finished 11th fastest!
This is indeed very promising for both the swimmers who will be able to compete in this age group again next year.
Overall a successful day with both swimmers making significant progress which reflects their own personal dedication to the sport.
Well done and many thanks to Mrs Sharon Tea for accompanying the pupils and to Mr Coils for helping organise the Dominican pupils’ preparation for the event.
Competition was tough with over 1300 pupils from across Northern Ireland competing throughout the weekend.
Kirsten swam brilliantly to record 2 new PB’s in the 12-14 Girls 100M Breaststroke and 100M Freestyle.
Charlie was on top form, recording a PB of 1.05.17 in the 12-14 Boys 100M Freestyle. Charlie narrowly missed out on a spot in the final but held his own against a strong competition including some much older swimmers. Out of a group of over 100, Charlie finished 11th fastest!
This is indeed very promising for both the swimmers who will be able to compete in this age group again next year.
Overall a successful day with both swimmers making significant progress which reflects their own personal dedication to the sport.
Well done and many thanks to Mrs Sharon Tea for accompanying the pupils and to Mr Coils for helping organise the Dominican pupils’ preparation for the event.
2018 Year 8 pupils encouraged to spread their wings
30-Sep-2018 |  |  |
Our new Year 8 pupils encouraged to spread their wings as they begin their Dominican journey.
“Until you spread your wings you’ll never know how far you can fly”. This was the theme chosen for our Year 8 Mass this week to celebrate the beginning of their Dominican journey.
Our newest pupils gathered with their families on Tuesday September 25th for a special ceremony organised by Ms Rainey and the RE department and celebrated by our school chaplain, Fr Raymond McCullagh.
As they prepared for the service, each of the Year 8 pupils had designed a butterfly to represent their own unique personality and the theme of the mass was about overcoming challenges and achieving your potential.
FR Raymond, in a powerful homily, spoke of the importance of travelling together as a team. He drew parallels with wild geese flying in a V formation where all the individuals benefit from the uplift. He spoke about how, when the lead geese tire, they are replaced by new leaders who are replaced in their turn to maintain the group momentum.
He spoke of the pastoral care of the flock where two geese will protect an injured partner by escorting it to the ground safely. He assured the year 8 pupils that this school would protect, nurture and develop them as learners and urged them to enjoy the journey ahead in the company of friends.
The post – communion reflection drew on the story of a man who stunted the growth of a butterfly by forcing it from its cocoon prematurely thus preventing it from achieving its true potential.
Ms Ronan concluded Tuesday’s mass by thanking the staff and particularly the pupils who had made the evening so special. She thanked parents for the wonderful gift of entrusting us as a school with the precious gift of nurturing and developing their children and helping them discover their wings. She praised the pupils for the wonderful start they had made to their Dominican education and assured them that it would be “merely the blink of an eye” before we gathered again in May 2024 to watch these young people take their first flight away from DCP itself.
Well done to our Year 8 pupils and thank you to our Year 8 parents and families.
“Until you spread your wings you’ll never know how far you can fly”. This was the theme chosen for our Year 8 Mass this week to celebrate the beginning of their Dominican journey.
Our newest pupils gathered with their families on Tuesday September 25th for a special ceremony organised by Ms Rainey and the RE department and celebrated by our school chaplain, Fr Raymond McCullagh.
As they prepared for the service, each of the Year 8 pupils had designed a butterfly to represent their own unique personality and the theme of the mass was about overcoming challenges and achieving your potential.
FR Raymond, in a powerful homily, spoke of the importance of travelling together as a team. He drew parallels with wild geese flying in a V formation where all the individuals benefit from the uplift. He spoke about how, when the lead geese tire, they are replaced by new leaders who are replaced in their turn to maintain the group momentum.
He spoke of the pastoral care of the flock where two geese will protect an injured partner by escorting it to the ground safely. He assured the year 8 pupils that this school would protect, nurture and develop them as learners and urged them to enjoy the journey ahead in the company of friends.
The post – communion reflection drew on the story of a man who stunted the growth of a butterfly by forcing it from its cocoon prematurely thus preventing it from achieving its true potential.
Ms Ronan concluded Tuesday’s mass by thanking the staff and particularly the pupils who had made the evening so special. She thanked parents for the wonderful gift of entrusting us as a school with the precious gift of nurturing and developing their children and helping them discover their wings. She praised the pupils for the wonderful start they had made to their Dominican education and assured them that it would be “merely the blink of an eye” before we gathered again in May 2024 to watch these young people take their first flight away from DCP itself.
Well done to our Year 8 pupils and thank you to our Year 8 parents and families.
Dominican College are delighted to support a Dominican School in Myanmar
24-Sep-2018 | | | |
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Dominican College are delighted to support a Dominican School in Myanmar as one of its designated charities this year.
Our annual School Beach walk will be held on the afternoon of Friday 28th September and, once again, our entire school community, in line with our school ethos, will walk together in support of social justice.
Over the past fifteen years we have raised in excess of £150,000 for our sponsored charities. This is due to the generosity of parents and friends of Dominican and to the commitment and dedication of our students. We want to thank everyone who contributed or helped in any way. During the course of this school year we are asking again for your help and we would like to continue to support a range of charitable causes including the following:
Over the past fifteen years we have raised in excess of £150,000 for our sponsored charities. This is due to the generosity of parents and friends of Dominican and to the commitment and dedication of our students. We want to thank everyone who contributed or helped in any way. During the course of this school year we are asking again for your help and we would like to continue to support a range of charitable causes including the following:
Kevin Bell Repatriation Trust
The KBRT aims to help alleviate the cost of returning the bodies of loved ones who have died tragically or suddenly abroad. The charity helps families in Ireland.
The charity was founded by the family of a late GAA player who died in an accident in America and have raised over £100k to help other families who find themselves in the same tragic situation. Kevin Bell, from Newry, died in June in a hit-and-run accident in New York.
This is our first year supporting the KBRT.
This charity was very involved in helping, among others, the family of Craig Church, a past Dominican pupil who passed away suddenly in China this summer.
The charity was founded by the family of a late GAA player who died in an accident in America and have raised over £100k to help other families who find themselves in the same tragic situation. Kevin Bell, from Newry, died in June in a hit-and-run accident in New York.
This is our first year supporting the KBRT.
This charity was very involved in helping, among others, the family of Craig Church, a past Dominican pupil who passed away suddenly in China this summer.
This is our second year supporting this charity.
St Vincent De Paul Society
St Vincent De Paul Society
SVP aim to turn concern into action. This charity helps the disadvantaged, marginalised and vulnerable in our local community. The charity was founded by Frederick Osman who was inspired to fight poverty in Paris.
Our school has its own SVP society and we have worked closely with this charity for a number of years.
Our school has its own SVP society and we have worked closely with this charity for a number of years.
Dominican Myanmar.
Our final charity this year was specially chosen to reflect the Golden Jubilee of boys arriving in the school in 1968. We have decided to support a Dominican School in Myanmar.
The house that the present school situated was established in June, 2014 by the Master of the Order, Brother Bruno Cadore, with the permission of the Archbishop of Mandalay, Msgr. Paul Zinghtung Granwg. It is located in the middle of Myanmar, in the region of Mandalay Division, near the Mandalay City. The official name of the house is St. Martin De Porres.
For this reason the school has been given the name of DOMINICAN, ST. MARTIN DE PORRES’ BOARDING SCHOOL. The school is just running as a supplementary course. Most of the students have to go to the government school during the day and come to study with us at night. The school is now in the fourth year of running. There are about 100 students each year.
There are 103 students studying in four levels this year: 20 students in the fourth grade, 15 students in the eighth grade, 27 students in the ninth grade and 41 students in the tenth grade. All students (44 boys and 59 girls) from different grades study 6 subjects respectively even though the subjects are not the same. Half of the students are Catholics and the rest are Buddhists. The majority of the students are 14 to 15 years’ old in the average. Football and Cane ball are the sports that the students usually play. A small amount of money is required for each student in accordance with their grades.
From the very beginning of its opening till the present, therefore, the school needs to depend on the Province financially. The school normally begins in May and ends on March. There are 10 teachers all together including night-guide students. The last grade (G – 10) is very important and rather difficult for all students to pass. Unless they pass this grade, they cannot join the university. Therefore, they have to try very hard in order to pass this level. Most of the students who pass this level will join the university or go to the higher education.
The house that the present school situated was established in June, 2014 by the Master of the Order, Brother Bruno Cadore, with the permission of the Archbishop of Mandalay, Msgr. Paul Zinghtung Granwg. It is located in the middle of Myanmar, in the region of Mandalay Division, near the Mandalay City. The official name of the house is St. Martin De Porres.
For this reason the school has been given the name of DOMINICAN, ST. MARTIN DE PORRES’ BOARDING SCHOOL. The school is just running as a supplementary course. Most of the students have to go to the government school during the day and come to study with us at night. The school is now in the fourth year of running. There are about 100 students each year.
There are 103 students studying in four levels this year: 20 students in the fourth grade, 15 students in the eighth grade, 27 students in the ninth grade and 41 students in the tenth grade. All students (44 boys and 59 girls) from different grades study 6 subjects respectively even though the subjects are not the same. Half of the students are Catholics and the rest are Buddhists. The majority of the students are 14 to 15 years’ old in the average. Football and Cane ball are the sports that the students usually play. A small amount of money is required for each student in accordance with their grades.
From the very beginning of its opening till the present, therefore, the school needs to depend on the Province financially. The school normally begins in May and ends on March. There are 10 teachers all together including night-guide students. The last grade (G – 10) is very important and rather difficult for all students to pass. Unless they pass this grade, they cannot join the university. Therefore, they have to try very hard in order to pass this level. Most of the students who pass this level will join the university or go to the higher education.
