Dominican International School

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Dewdropsdrops (talk | contribs) at 14:49, 27 August 2020. The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Dominican International School
私立道明外僑學校
Address
76 Dazhi St., Zhongshan District

Taipei City
,
Taiwan

Republic of China
Information
TypePrivate International School, Roman Catholic, Dominican
Motto"Laudare, Praedicare, Benedicere”
Established1957
PrincipalSr. Ma. Zenaida T. Ancheta, O.P.
YearbookThe Dominican
Websitehttp://www.dishs.tp.edu.tw

Dominican International School (Chinese: 私立道明外僑學校), formerly Dominican School, is a private, English medium, Roman Catholic school located in Dazhi, Zhongshan District, Taipei City [citation needed]. The Religious Missionaries of St. Dominic OP own and manage DIS [citation needed]. The school is open to all foreign students [citation needed]. Dominican International School educates students from Kindergarten to Grade 12 [citation needed], including Advanced Placement [citation needed]. The modified American curriculum includes courses in Religious Studies [citation needed].

History

Formerly a U.S. Government Contract school or a Department of Defense (D.O.D.) school in Taipei, Taiwan [citation needed], Dominican International School (DIS) is a Roman Catholic, private school under the supervision the Sisters of the Congregation of the Religious Missionaries of St. Dominic [citation needed]. This Congregation is of Spanish origin with the mother-house located in Rome, Italy [citation needed].

In the latter part of 1956, permission from the Mother General was obtained to start a school that offered Catholic instruction and a good education to American dependents [citation needed]. The first school was organized for Pre-Kindergarten, Kindergarten and Grades 1 and 2, at a small rented house in Chang'an East Road [citation needed].

In January 1957, the school was blessed by Anthony Riberi, D.D., Apostolic Internuncio to China [citation needed]. Three Filipino Sisters started to teach the 16 enrolled children [citation needed]. Enrollment increased steadily and by June 1957, there were 76 students [citation needed], and two additional Filipino Sisters had joined the faculty [citation needed].

During the following school year, a larger house was rented in Liung Chung Street [citation needed]. In August 1958 a team of American Superintendents of Schools from Washington D.C. arrived [citation needed]. They examined the teaching qualifications of the Sisters, the curriculum, methodology and the textbooks used by the students [citation needed]. The American educators agreed unanimously to grant recognition to the efforts of the Sisters and declared that they were able to provide an excellent [citation needed] education to the American dependents [citation needed]. Dominican School became a U.S. Government contract school: a D.O.D. school. Grade 3 was added to the existing grades [citation needed].

In 1959, a larger building was rented [citation needed]. Three more grades were added and more Sisters arrived from the Philippines [citation needed]. The first P.T.A. was organized with volunteer officers [citation needed]. A vacant site was purchased for the erection of school buildings, including strips of land for granting access to the property [citation needed]. This remains the location of Dominican International School. Before materials could be brought in for the construction of the building, the access roads had to be completed [citation needed].

The first cornerstone was blessed in a simple ceremony by a Dominican priest on August 4, 1959, after which construction started [citation needed]. On March 28, 1960, classes were held for the first time in the new school [citation needed]. On April 30, 1960 Thomas Cardinal Tien, S.V.D., D.D, blessed the school [citation needed]. Grades 7 and 8 were added in the following year [citation needed]. More Sisters came from the Philippines and the enrollment reached 600 [citation needed].

As time went by, a gymnasium was added, statues erected and a wall placed around the compound [citation needed]. In August 1960, 4 classrooms, a laboratory, a science room, a typing room and a music room were added to the existing school building [citation needed]. For the first time there were Grade 9 classes and the enrollment reached 800 [citation needed]. With the withdrawal of the American Forces from Taipei, Dominican School became an international school [citation needed].

With the prominence of the Internet and technology in the 21st Century, 2006 was spent developing an electronic curriculum [citation needed]. This new system made the curriculum available online to all stakeholders [citation needed]. Even though the development of the curriculum is an ongoing process, the initial stages were completed in time for the school's 50th Year Celebrations in 2007 [citation needed].

In December 2008, the gymnasium, cafeteria, and the west wing of the main building were demolished to make way for the construction of new school buildings that are more suitable for 21st Century education, making provision for advanced technology [citation needed]. The groundbreaking ceremony for the new construction was held in June 2009 [citation needed], blessed by Archbishop John Hung [citation needed], S.V.D. and construction started in August 2010 [citation needed]. Phase One, which included classrooms, an audio-visual room, an art room, science laboratories, and a brand new library were completed in the summer of 2013 [citation needed]. State-of-the art technology was installed [citation needed]. The remaining buildings will be demolished and rebuilt in 2014/15 [citation needed]

.

Students at DIS participate in many international events such as an annual Global Issues Network Conference (Manila in February 2012 [citation needed], Singapore in November 2012 [citation needed], Beijing in November 2013 [citation needed], and Jakarta in February 2014 [citation needed]). In January 2013 four Grade 12 girls and two Grade 9 boys went to an International Peace Conference in India [citation needed], accompanied by a teacher; sports teams and coaches went to Thailand in the 2012/13 school year to compete against other International Schools from Asia [citation needed]; students participate in the World Scholar’s Cup competition annually and always win through to the final round [citation needed]. They represented DIS with success in Shanghai(2010) [citation needed], Kuala Lumpur(2011) [citation needed], Bangkok(2012) [citation needed], and Dubai(2013) [citation needed].

The teaching faculty of the school represent many nations from four continents [citation needed]. Faculty qualifications include PhD's in Mathematics, Chemistry, Economics, Literature, Biological Sciences, Educational Leadership and Theology [citation needed] as well as a collection of several master's degrees which, inter alia, include Education, Business Studies, Applied Linguistics, School Leadership, Special Education, School Counseling, TESOL, English Literature, Management Information Systems, Biblical Studies, Strategic Management, Marketing Management, Curriculum and Assessment, and Psychology [citation needed], each bringing their own perspective, contributing to the multicultural [citation needed]character of the school.

Notable alumni

References

History directly cited from the school website: http://www.dishs.tp.edu.tw/about%20us/history.html

External links

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Dominican_International_School&oldid=975237651"