{"id":4917,"date":"2014-08-18T23:31:00","date_gmt":"2014-08-18T23:31:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/opsisters.org.nz\/preview\/2014\/08\/18\/st-dominics-college-a-look-behind-the-scenes\/"},"modified":"2023-05-12T21:43:11","modified_gmt":"2023-05-12T21:43:11","slug":"st-dominics-college-a-look-behind-the-scenes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/opsisters.org.nz\/preview\/2014\/08\/18\/st-dominics-college-a-look-behind-the-scenes\/","title":{"rendered":"St Dominic’s College ~ a look behind the scenes…"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\n<\/a><\/div>\n


<\/span><\/span><\/span>
\nCommunication
\nbetween parents and the school is always important, and the Sisters used the recent parent teacher interviews as an opportunity to both outline the Catholic ethos that guide their work and to give parents a <\/span>glimpse<\/span> into the <\/span><\/span>school environment into which they entrust their children.  We thought you may enjoy a “look behind the scenes” as well. <\/span><\/span><\/span>
\n
<\/span><\/span><\/span>
\nFirst some Catholic principles <\/span><\/span><\/span>
\n
<\/span><\/span><\/span>
\n“Education is essentially a social and not a mere individual activity”.  <\/b><\/span><\/span><\/span>
\n Pope Pius XI, Divini Illius Magistri \/ On Christian Education<\/span> <\/span>
\n
<\/span>
\n<\/p>\n

\nThe Sisters made reference to the Encyclical on Catholic Education<\/i> by Pope Pius XI to stress the necessary importance of co-operation which should exist between home and school. The sisters expressed their gratitude to the parents who <\/span>share and support their goal of forming good Catholics, true subjects of Christ the King.<\/span>  <\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n
\n
\n<\/a><\/div>\n
\n<\/div>\n

Our thanks to parents who support the school
\nand school activities as well as parishioners who show an interest and participate in our endeavours.<\/span><\/i><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\n<\/div>\n
\n\u201cWhatever a Christian does, even in the order
\nof things of earth, he may not overlook the supernatural; indeed he must
\naccording to the teaching of Christian wisdom, direct all things towards the
\nsupreme good as to his last end\u2026\u2026.;<\/b>\u201d  <\/o:p><\/span> <\/span>St Pius X<\/span><\/div>\n
\n<\/div>\n
\nHence, the
\nimportance of a Catholic environment, – assembly with prayers; beginning and
\nconcluding lessons with prayers; having the crucifix and images of the Saints
\nand Our Lady in the classrooms; offering our duties and activities to God.  <\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n
\n
\n<\/div>\n
\n<\/a><\/div>\n
\nWeekly assembly (above) and School Mass (below)<\/div>\n
\n<\/a><\/div>\n

\u201c. . . without proper religious and moral instruction, every form of intellectual culture will be injurious – for young people not accustomed to respect God, will be unable to bear the restraint of a virtuous life\u2026\u2026.\u201d <\/b>
\nLeo  13<\/span>th<\/sup><\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

<\/a>Equally
\nimportant then is Catholic doctrine and learning the true faith before all else. <\/span>
\n
<\/span>
\n
<\/span>
\nExamples
\nof class activities in Catholic Doctrine:<\/span>
\n
<\/span><\/p>\n

Senior classes refuting the errors of evolution…<\/span>
\n
<\/span>\n<\/div>\n

\n<\/a><\/div>\n
\n
\n
<\/span>
\n
<\/span>
\n
<\/span>
\n
<\/span>
\n
<\/span>
\n
<\/span>
\n
<\/span>
\n
<\/span>
\n
<\/span>
\n
<\/span>
\n
<\/span>
\n
<\/span>
\n
<\/span>
\n
\nJ<\/span>unior classes appreciating their faith by looking into missionary activities and the
\nimportance of promoting the Catholic faith….  <\/span><\/p>\n
\n<\/a><\/div>\n


<\/span><\/div>\n

\n… fostering love for Our lady as an inspiration for true art and finding examples within a New Zealand context…..<\/span><\/p>\n
\n<\/a><\/div>\n


<\/span>
\n… and increasing their knowledge and love of the Sacred Liturgy.<\/span><\/p>\n

\n<\/a><\/div>\n
\n<\/div>\n
\n<\/a><\/div>\n

\nIn
\nparticular, the focus of the girls\u2019 school is beauty of the soul, which shines
\nover the body by modesty. That sense of interior beauty is essential, since it
\ngives the Catholic woman the only true beauty which does not fade away. The
\nsupernatural life shines through and manifests itself in an atmosphere of
\nhonesty, joy and trust.  <\/span>
\n
<\/span><\/div>\n

\n
\n<\/a><\/div>\n

\nOne of our pupils received a top achiever award for attaining the highest mark for IGCSE Latin within New Zealand.<\/span><\/div>\n

\n<\/div>\n
\n
\n<\/a><\/div>\n
\n<\/div>\n
\n<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
\nStudents who received medals in the recent US Latin Examinations  <\/span><\/div>\n
\n<\/a><\/div>\n
\nAcademic ties for those
\nachieving an A grade average and with no subject below a B grade.<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n<\/div>\n
\nIn selecting subjects for the senior girls<\/span><\/b> we strive
\nfor a balance between mastering on the one hand, a good level of depth, and on
\nthe other hand, a wide range of topics, for a two-fold purpose:<\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n
\nFirstly –  To ensure as potential mothers, natural and
\nsupernatural, they have the necessary abilities to ensure the running of a good
\ncatholic home and assist the children with their education.<\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n
\nSecondly – To allow them the entry requirements to university if that be the path God
\nwishes them to choose.<\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n
\n<\/div>\n
\nWhatever their future<\/span><\/b>, a good and
\nbalanced education will give them a sound understanding of both natural and
\nsupernatural truths. This is so that they realise that all truth comes from God
\nand no truth they learn in the world can contradict the truths of the faith.  <\/o:p><\/span>
\n
<\/span><\/div>\n
\nPhotos from our inter-house competitions and activities \u2013 looking at both academic and social
\naspects:  <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n
\n<\/a><\/div>\n
\n<\/a><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

\n <\/a><\/div>\n


<\/a>
<\/a><\/div>\n

\nPhotos from the debating competition for the senior girls <\/span><\/i>and public speaking for the junior <\/span><\/i>
\ngirls <\/span><\/i>on the feast of <\/span><\/i>St Thomas Aquinas.  The adjudicator seems more interested in eyeing the choc-chip biscuits .  <\/span><\/i>
\n
<\/span>
\n<\/p>\n
\n<\/a><\/div>\n

The college also
\ncontinues the Home Economics course, where the girls do both cooking and sewing
\nprogrammes; house competitions are aligned with this aspect \u2013 the cooking
\ncompetition during April feast of St Catherine of Sienna \u2013 you can see the joy
\non the faces of the pupils, their happiness and \u201chungry looks\u201d.<\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n

\n
\n<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
\n<\/a><\/div>\n
\n<\/a><\/div>\n
\n<\/a><\/div>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

\n<\/a><\/div>\n

<\/div>\n

\n
\n<\/a><\/div>\n
\n<\/a><\/div>\n
\n<\/a><\/div>\n
\n
<\/span>
\n<\/a><\/span>
\n
<\/span><\/span>
\n
<\/span><\/span>
\n
<\/span><\/span>
\n
<\/span><\/span>
\n
<\/span><\/span>
\n
<\/span><\/span>
\n
<\/span><\/span>
\n
<\/span>
\n
<\/span><\/span>
\nThe day of recollection also promoting and focusing particular on the role of women in Catholic society and motherhood.<\/o:p><\/span>
\n
<\/span><\/div>\n
\n
\n<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n<\/p>\n
\n<\/a><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\n
<\/span><\/b><\/div>\n
\nOne subject<\/span><\/b> which has recently received some development in both the boys\u2019 and girls\u2019 schools is music. Since the days of St Mark, who founded the Catechetical school of Alexandria, with the Gospels, the Apostles\u2019 Creed, and Ecclesiastical Chant as his curriculum, music<\/b> has been one of the basic subjects in Catholic education. <\/span>In making music an academic subject in the girls\u2019 school, we are not intending to overburden the pupils but simply to focus their and your attention, more seriously on something, which has always been part of the education offered in the parish.<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n<\/div>\n
\n
\n<\/a><\/div>\n

Our parish has always been blessed<\/span><\/b> to have priests who were devoted to the Sacred Liturgy and instructed the faithful, adults and children, to a like devotion. By formalising the music programme, we hope to continue the parish tradition of participating intelligently and devotedly at what the Dominican Mother Francis Raphael calls, \u201cthe solemn and thorough celebration of those sacred offices which, in themselves, comprise a body of <\/span><\/span>unequaled<\/span> religious instruction.\u201d<\/o:p><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n

\n<\/div>\n
\n
\n<\/a><\/div>\n
\n<\/a><\/div>\n


<\/span><\/b>
\nBesides continuing from previous years<\/span><\/b>, lessons in music appreciation, which introduces the girls to good music, which they can sing, play or listen to for recreation, we have introduced a new programme, the Ward Method, for teaching sight-singing of both Gregorian and Modern notation.<\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n

\n<\/div>\n
\n
\n<\/a><\/div>\n


<\/span><\/b>
\nThe hope is that this will<\/span><\/b> gradually make it easier to learn new pieces in the part of the Chant lesson which is devoted to learning new polyphonic and Gregorian pieces for use at Mass.<\/o:p><\/span><\/div>\n

\n<\/div>\n
\n
\n<\/a><\/div>\n

<\/div>\n

\nPupils are encouraged to use their God given talents to represent the school and <\/span><\/i>themselves in other activities outside the school arena.  “Jam it down” represented <\/span><\/i>the College in a music competition. <\/span><\/i> <\/span><\/div>\n


<\/span><\/div>\n

\n
\n<\/div>\n
\n<\/a><\/div>\n
\n<\/a><\/div>\n


<\/span>
\nThis year the school blazer has been introduced for senior pupils, and worn by <\/span>pupils when representing the school.<\/span><\/div>\n

\n<\/div>\n
\n
\n<\/a><\/div>\n


<\/span>
\nOther activities for this first part of the year included:<\/span>
\n <\/span><\/span>The Impromptu drama competition earlier this month which looked at the life of Mother Aubert \u2013  on whom the theme of the school camp due to take place later this year is based.<\/span><\/div>\n

\n
<\/span>
\n<\/p>\n
\n<\/a><\/div>\n
\n<\/a><\/div>\n
\n<\/a><\/div>\n

\n        The school have 2 netball teams entered into the Secondary schools competition<\/span>
\n          \u2013 Our thanks to Mr Foster and Mrs Tangira for coaching.<\/span><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

\n<\/a><\/div>\n
\n<\/a><\/div>\n
\n<\/div>\n
\n<\/a><\/div>\n

<\/div>\n

\nWe conclude by thanking all our families, friends and benefactors for their support and hope to report back soon on our St Dominic’s Day celebrations and annual Teachers vs Students  netball game, the spelling bee competition and bike-a-thon fundraiser – all of which is taking place before the end of August which also means the start of term break, and a period of well deserved rest to both pupils and teachers. <\/span><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Communication between parents and the school is always important, and the Sisters used the recent parent teacher interviews as an opportunity to both outline the Catholic ethos that guide their work and to give parents a glimpse into the school environment into which they entrust their children.  We thought you may enjoy a “look behind the scenes” as … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4917","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-apostolate","infinite-scroll-item","masonry-post","generate-columns","tablet-grid-50","mobile-grid-100","grid-parent","grid-33"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/opsisters.org.nz\/preview\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4917","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/opsisters.org.nz\/preview\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/opsisters.org.nz\/preview\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/opsisters.org.nz\/preview\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/opsisters.org.nz\/preview\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4917"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/opsisters.org.nz\/preview\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4917\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5293,"href":"https:\/\/opsisters.org.nz\/preview\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4917\/revisions\/5293"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/opsisters.org.nz\/preview\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4917"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/opsisters.org.nz\/preview\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4917"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/opsisters.org.nz\/preview\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4917"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}