THE PAST Pupils Association (PPA) of St. Dominic’s International School presented a viola and piano recital, performed by Stephanie Duarte and Mariana d’Almeida, in Cascais Cultural Centre recently. The concert helped mark the 30th anniversary of St. Dominic’s International School in its present campus. The event was well attended and featured works by Elgar, Mendelssohn, Kreisler, Glazunov, Fauré and Brahms.
The history
The presence of the Irish Dominican Sisters in Portugal is associated with a rich history that dates back to 1639. Unable to form a convent in their homeland due to the persecution of the Catholics, the Irish Dominican Sisters travelled to other countries.
In 1639, they established their cloistered convent at Bom Sucesso, in Belém. In 1829, the Sisters accepted their first boarder student and later established the Bom Sucesso Girls Day School in 1954. Transition to a co-educational school began in 1963.
During the building of the first bridge over the Tejo River, the expanding English expatriate community asked the sisters to establish a new school. St. Dominic’s College, an English language, co-educational school, was established in the Bom Sucesso Convent. The school started with less than 20 students, but quickly outgrew its space. The Sisters purchased land and planned a new campus in what they considered a suburb of Lisbon.
Construction began at the new campus in its present location in 1973 and the new school opened in 1975. In 1988, St.Dominic’s College was re-named St. Dominic’s International School.
The PPA of St. Dominic’s International School was founded in 1995 by a group of
students and Mrs. Verónica Teixeira, then a teacher at the school.
St. Dominic’s International School is a private, co-educational day school and teaches students aged three to 18 years of age in the international community.
The Dominicans, known as the Order of Preachers, are committed to the importance of education. At St. Dominic’s, this commitment is combined with the Irish Dominican Sisters’ Philosophy of Education based on Veritas (search for truth). This Dominican philosophy of education and its values have left their mark in Cascais, as in many other parts of the world.
A series of activities have been planned to commemorate the anniversary. The first event was an art exhibition organised by the school’s Parent Teacher Association (PTA). Now, the PPA is planning another event, which will take place on July 2, in which there will be a general assembly followed by a formal dinner. B.H.
