SPANISH EXCHANGE 2007

The Fifth Annual Dominican Spanish Exchange considered "a great success". Twenty four Spanish students and their two teachers, Senora Encarna Duenas and Senor Enrique Almanchel, recently visited Dominican College for the return leg of exchange programme which the two schools have developed. The trip marked the fifth annual school exchange between Dominican and the IES Maria Zambrano, Torre del Mar in Malaga The Spanish visitors were hosted by pupils and staff in a follow up to the Dominicans’ visit to Torre Del Mar last October where the pupils developed their linguistic skills and cultural awareness by visiting Granada, Almunecar, the caves of Nerja and the city of Malaga.

During their cultural visit to Northern Ireland, the Spanish group visited the Causeway Coast, the Glens of Antrim, Cultra and the Tyrone Crystal factory. Pupils also attended some lessons in Dominican where they took part in English and ICT lessons, took part in some drama based around “Irish Saints and Scholars”, and performed a rigorous Ceili dance.

One of the Spanish Students, Berta Fernandez, bade a sad farewell on her fifth and final visit to the North Coast before embarking on a university career in her native land.

Mrs Mary O’ Hara, the Dominican organiser of the exchange explained; "Bertha’s continued enthusiasm for the project is a testament to the continued success of the programme and indicates just how much the Irish and Spanish youngsters mutually derive from this shared enterprise. The benefits of the exchange are many and varied- the pupils develop linguistically, culturally and socially as they adjust to the different lifestyle ,customs and daily routines of life with a different family in a different region of the EU".

A farewell party for the visitors on their last evening was very generously hosted by George and Jane McAlpin in Coast Restaurant, Portrush where an evening of song and music capped off a very successful exchange visit. Although the group have just returned home, plans are already underway for next year’s exchange.