Education
Dominican Ministry of Education
The Dominican Sisters, Cabra have been engaged in the ministry of education and this continues today, albeit in new and different forms. Traditionally this ministry has encompassed teaching in primary and secondary schools including schools for the hearing-impaired and children with learning disabilities.
In the past number of decades, the Sisters have progressively entrusted the leadership and management of its schools to the laity. In recent years all schools that were under the trusteeship of the Dominican Sisters, have been handed over to Le Chéile Schools Trust to ensure the continuation of the Dominican ethos for future generations of young people. The Dominican ethos however is at the forefront of education in all of the schools established by the Dominican Sisters.
Education remains a cornerstone of Dominican life and Mission. In An Tairseach, we seek to raise awareness of the place of the human as part of the web of life, through practice and education. We also offer a wide variety of courses in the Lumen Dominican Centre. Sisters in Ireland are also involved in other educational projects. Hope House in Louisiana, through its adult learning centre, provides basic adult education and prepares students for the state’s alternative high school diploma. Sisters are also involved in many other educational projects in Argentina and South Africa. In Lisbon the work of education continues through the Fundação Obras Sociais Religiosas Dominicana Irelanda.
The Dominican Ethos
The star, crest and motto Veritas epitomises the aim of Dominican Schools and Colleges which is the pursuit of Truth in all its forms.
Today in Ireland, the management and running of Dominican schools has been largely placed within the Le Chéile Schools Trust.
This ethos is concerned with the education of the whole person where the focus is on the search for truth about God, the world, ourselves and our eternal destiny. The schools, which are based on a sense of trust, work in partnership with parents to instruct and educate the young people, encouraging respect, responsibility, initiative, personal growth and leadership.
Teachers in Dominican schools aim to awaken in pupils a love of learning and a desire to search for truth. Each pupil is helped to achieve self-understanding and acceptance of her unique worth and an appreciation of the uniqueness of others. Every effort is made to develop skills which will enable pupils to play an active role in their own learning and to seek a standard of excellence.
