End of an era for three schools
IT IS a year of final moments for three schools in Ballyfermot – Caritas College, St Dominic’s College and St John’s College – who are being amalgamated into the new St Seton’s Secondary School, which opens in September 2022.
Across the three campuses, teachers and students celebrated their last Christmas events in the respective schools.
It was particularly poignant on Monday morning (December 30) St Dominic’s College, which celebrated a special outdoor carol service with a twist.
The event also featured an official goodbye to St Dominic’s Principal Sarah Green, who takes up a new role as Principal of St Seton’s, starting in January.
Original plans for Dominic’s ‘carols by morning light’ were foiled by Storm Barra, so it was held outside in full social distancing the following week, to mark the final such occasion of the event within the all-girls school.
Invited guests included former Minister Mary Hanafin, Chairperson of St Dominic’s College’s Board of Management, Eilís Humphreys, CEO of APTCS, Mary Therese Kilmartin, CEO of Le Chéile Schools Trust, Mary Daly, former principal, Ballyfermot Youth Service, and many Dominican Sisters who served in Ballyfermot.
Sr Bríd Roe, also a former principal, led a beautiful reflection, charting the path of the Dominicans to Ballyfermot.
Principal Sarah Green, said the school has a very proud legacy and tradition of providing a holistic education to the young women of Ballyfermot, since it was established in 1956.
“Lives have been timelessly interwoven through shared experiences that have taken place within these walls,” she said.
“St Dominic’s College’s staff, students, parents and the wider community have left indelible marks and memories in the hearts of all the school has served and all those who served within it.
“We are shaped by our experiences – our lives constantly touched and changed by those we meet,” said Ms Green.
Father Adrian Egan closed the service with a Christmas Blessing before Mary Hanafin made a final address.
Billed as a modern campus, St Seton’s is to facilitate 800 students.
