Domremy College Five Dock | Sydney Catholic Schools

Domremy’s light focus brightens hearts and minds

Light-themed projects at Domremy College Five Dock have brightened the minds of gifted students in the Sydney Catholic Schools (SCS) network and provided help to families in Papua New Guinea (PNG) living in energy poverty.

Lights for learning

With only 20 per cent of PNG’s 10.5 million residents able to access electricity, school students must rely on dangerous and unsustainable sources of fuel – like kerosene, diesel, wood or candles – to study after dark.

To help improve the situation, Domremy student volunteers have built 50 solar-powered lights as part of the Origin Energy Foundation’s Solar Buddy light initiative.

“We are very proud of all students who gave their time to become more aware as global citizens and make a difference,” – Sarah Thompson

The Solar Buddy project marries STEM and social justice to improve the health and education outcomes of people living in energy poverty around the globe. The lights will be shipped to PNG.

Domremy’s Leader of Innovative and Global Connections, Sarah Thompson, praised the efforts of the students involved in an emotive letter to the Domremy community that acknowledged the severe impacts of energy poverty around the world.

The Solar Buddy initiative was led by the school’s Environment and Humanities captains, with students writing a heartfelt letter to accompany each light.

“We are very proud of all students who gave their time to become more aware as global citizens and make a difference,’” Ms Thompson said.

“We would like to thank the team of volunteers from Origin Energy Foundation for their financial and personal support throughout this project.

“We hope to maintain this relationship and continue to make a difference in the lives of those in need.”

Let there be light

jaderamirezsydcatholiceduauJuly 25, 2024|

New festival shines light on learning

Move over Vivid – there’s a new light festival in Sydney!

More than 2,000 people attended Domremy College Five Dock’s first-ever Light Festival, complete with a glow bar, silent disco and inspiring light-themed student works.

The two-hour event in late June celebrated a term’s worth of learning in STEM, humanities and the arts.

Spotlight on learning

The college Science labs featured light experiments including open flames, refractions and holograms.

Year 9 students at Domremy and Year 5 students from four nearby Catholic primary schools explained what they learnt about the principles of light and architecture while designing model houses.

Their works were part of a Science project for Newman Selective Gifted Education Program students at Sydney Catholic Schools.

Bold and bright installations by the college’s Design and Technology students included sea jellies, puzzle pieces and an octopus named Eugene.

Music and Drama students entertained with musical performances and expressionist theatre performances enhanced by strobe and other lighting effects.

English teachers screened a video of students’ blackout poetry (made by removing words from newspaper clippings with black marker) and ekphrastic poetry, named for the Ancient Greek practice of describing things in vivid detail.

Instructional Specialist at Domremy, Lucy Silva, said the college arranged for a renowned Photographic Light ‘painter’ Peter Solness to work with students on the school oval to capture light in movement.

“The results were simply spectacular!” Mrs Silva said. “The …

jaderamirezsydcatholiceduauJuly 25, 2024|

Innovation in HSC Design and Technology major projects

Three Year 12 graduates from Sydney Catholic Schools received seed funding through education initiative UpRising to develop their 2023 HSC Design and Technology major works.

The strategic partnership with the NSW Government, Institute of Technology Education (iTE), universities, and future-focused businesses aims to give senior Design and Technology students the entrepreneurial skills and support to turn their major works into viable commercial products, supporting the innovation ecosystem.

It was started by former Sydney Catholic Schools Technology and Applied Studies (TAS) teacher Richard Hainsworth in 2021, with 50 students from nine NSW government, Catholic and independent schools in the pilot.

Here UpRising’s 2023 seed funding recipients share the concepts behind their societal need-driven designs.

The projects

Eva Kolokotsas, Domremy College Five Dock

Mycelium coffee table

Eva grew a biodegradable coffee table after observing the amount of curb-side furniture around Sydney destined for landfill.

She discovered mycelium – mushroom fibres that can be harvested and heat treated to create a strong lightweight, sustainable building material – while researching sustainable packaging.

“There is a lot of waste of fast furniture,” she said. “I thought I could use mycelium to solve that need.”

Eva grew and harvested mycelium before mixing it with hemp hurd, water and other materials to produce her design, then baked it in an oven.

“The heat kills off all the active mycelium, so I’m left with the raw material,” Eva said. “It doesn’t alter the size but it makes it much lighter. You can biodegrade it.”

Eva plans to study law at university next year. Through UpRising, a …

jaderamirezsydcatholiceduauNovember 2, 2023|

Maths adds up to early success

Age is no barrier for Domremy College student Monique Gatt who sat for the 2022 HSC in Mathematics Advanced and Mathematics Extension 1 – she is only in Year 11!

Monique has been studying accelerated Mathematics since she was in Year 8 and encourages other girls to pursue subjects that will set them on a path to high-demand careers such as a data miner, engineer, or even an astronaut.

“My brother was explaining to me that there aren’t many girls in his university computer programming course,” Monique said. “There should be more conversations about girls being involved in maths.”

“Maths gives you that analytical mindset – the ability to solve problems and challenges” – Monique Gatt

The importance of a growth mindset
Monique hopes to study medicine at university post school.

She said a strong STEM program – short for Science, Technology, Engineering and

Mathematics – coupled with encouragement from her teachers and school principal had helped her to develop analytical thinking skills and a growth mindset.

Principal Antoinette McGahan said: “What we see in Monique, through her maths studies, is that crucial life skill which we embrace daily at Domremy – the application of a growth mindset in all that we do.

“Mathematics requires logical thinking and problem-solving, both utilised in many aspects of education and life generally.”

“We encourage all of our students when they encounter difficulties, to recognise them as opportunities for new learnings. Rather than saying ‘I can’t do that’ to say ‘I can’t do that yet’ confident that their learning skills, with the assistance of their teachers, will soon see them mastering the new knowledge or skill” – Principal Antoinette McGahan

Monique thanked her teachers for all their support on her learning journey.

“They have helped me …

caspacontentmanagerNovember 2, 2022|

Domremy’s light focus brightens hearts and minds

New festival shines light on learning

Innovation in HSC Design and Technology major projects

Maths adds up to early success

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