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Congratulations to our Duke of Edinburgh Award winners!

The DofE is an award for senior pupils consisting of four sections at Silver level: volunteering, skills, physical and an expedition, however with COVID we have pupils in Y13 and Y14 collecting their awards today.

Completing your DofE Award is a great achievement as the award requires a lot of effort, time and dedication. That feeling after the expedition when you finally take off your walking boots and realise you have completed your challenge is immense!

Congratulations to the following pupils who have successful completed their Silver DofE award:

Avis Ip, Harold Ng, Ethan Burke, Daniel McClean, Hannah Glasgow, Jada Lai, Yu Hin Pang, Chloe McCollum, Crystal Ho, Reece Ferguson, Miriam Carson, Callum Walker, Reuben Hampton, Rebecca Graham, Hannah Herron, Lois Carson, Kristin Fenton, Caleb Burke, Kamile Gasiunaite, Eva Cavanagh, Safron Smith, Emma Chambers, Katie Ewing, Lucy Archer and James Shaw.

The following pupils have received the Certificate of achievement for having completed 3 sections, but not the expedition section:

Eliza Richardson, Catherine Richardson, Shannon Kelly Troughton, Grace Wylie, Aaryn Tang and Ellie Heatherington

Well done everyone! What an amazing achievement!

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House Gingerbread Competition

Well done to all who took part in the Gingerbread House Competition! The standard was exceptionally high and it was evident that a lot of time and effort had been dedicated to the competition. 

Special congratulations to our senior and junior winners:

Senior overall winner: Sophie Meyer Year 13 BC
Senior runner up: Joanna Ashfield Year 13 ND
Junior overall winner: James Watson Year 8 BT
Junior runner up: Jessica Birnie, Sarah Needham, Isabella Kinkead ND

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Saying farewell to our Dilworth Tutors

Last week in assembly, we said goodbye to our Dilworth Tutors.

Nigel, Sione, Oliver and Hayley (our first ever female tutor!) have had a wonderful year and they have certainly left an impact on all of us here at RSD.

In her speech at their final assembly, Hayley referred to her many roles and responsibilities during her year at RSD, not least in Girls Boarding, assisting with sport and recreational activities and helping in classes such as Art and FT. She also spoke of the opportunity to act as a role model for younger students and to inspire them to be the best they can be. Hayley spoke of how quickly she settled into life in Northern Ireland and thanked everyone who helped her feel quickly at home. Hayley closed her speech by explaining that the academic excellence, warmth, kindness and generosity experienced at RSD were highlights for her and said, ‘It has been an honour and a privilege to work and live among such incredible staff and students…This year has been incredible and I am forever grateful for this experience.’

Oliver referred to his work in Boarding and in day school, helping pupils with their work, aiding their improvement in class and working closely with Boarders in the evenings. He mentioned travel experiences to Hungary, Greece, Denmark, Croatia and on the school Ski Trip to Italy as highlights of his year at RSD and thanked those who made this possible. Oliver summed up his year here by saying, ‘We have all made countless memories along the way that will last a lifetime.’

Sione was keen to underscore his enjoyment of the sporting element of life at RSD, as well as his involvement in Dungannon Rugby Club. He praised the determination and skill of the Rugby and Hockey players he has coached and emphasised the strong relationships that had been developed through his sporting involvement. Sione made sure to encourage pupils at RSD to consider the opportunity to travel and work as a Tutor in the future and expressed his gratitude for the opportunities this experience had made possible.

Nigel was keen to explain the impact that the Tutors from RSD had on him as a pupil at Dilworth and emphasised that this was one of the main reasons why he decided he wanted to come to Northern Ireland. The opportunity to act as a role model, inspire younger students, build relationships and help contribute to the warm and welcoming environment in RSD, especially in Boarding, has been really important to him. Nigel also referenced the significant role he played in sport at RSD, and at the Rugby Club and he thanked God for allowing him to engage in this experience which, he described, as ‘one of the best years of his life.’

All the tutors encouraged RSD pupils to consider applying for the Dilworth Exchange Programme in the future and highlighted the life changing experience it had been for them. They individually thanked the Dilworth and Hugo Trust, Dr Burnett, Mr Clingan, Mr Wheeler, the Kitchen Staff, Boarding Staff, Caretakers and all the teachers and pupils who welcomed them warmly, worked with them closely and built strong friendships that will last a lifetime.

We are so grateful for the contribution that each of the Tutors have made during their time at RSD and we all wish them rich blessings and every success for the future that lies ahead.

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Boarding Christmas Dinner 2023

At the start of this December, the long tradition of RSD boarding dinner was once again hosted. It was a great night packed with boarding, teachers and staff.

The night started off with a traditional Christmas meal, a feast of turkey. Not only was the main dish gorgeous, the desserts were also a work of art. A big thank you to our team kitchen staff for their hard efforts.

After dinner was a talent show from the boarders. Firstly, we had a performance from our first ever boarding orchestra. It was of a talented bunch of musicians presenting the piece “Joy to The World”.

The second show was a production featuring an impersonation of our very own Mr. Ritchie, Mr. Watterson, and Mr. Black Jr. It was a great success that was well received by everyone

A round of games was next on the programme. It was of a concept of elimination, made up of a total of 5 rounds. The first round was a game of Mr Wolf, followed by tug of war, musical chairs, tangrams and a game of marbles. The winner of the contest was our very own Head of boarding – Miss Winslow.

Certificates for the year and a funny kahoot followed. And the night finished off with an emotional video to recap memories featuring the leavers of 2024 and the photos from the past year.

Once again a big thank you to everyone that made the night possible.

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Christmas Food Bank Donations

For the entire month of November, the Charities Committee ran the annual food bank appeal. Students and staff of all years were encouraged to bring non perishable food items to collection boxes in their form rooms. The donations were split in half and donated to 2 Charities; Lenity NI and The Vineyard Church Dungannon. The pupils in the form class with the most donations each received a selection box and the winner was Mr Lucas’ form class, 10P with an impressive 79 items donated! The food bank appeal is always widely supported and we were very pleased to donate to 2 Charities who make such an impact to the local area.

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