Tomorrow morning we gather as a whole school community to celebrate the Feast of the Sacred Heart. This feast celebrates the decision of the Sisters of Mercy to commence Catholic education here in Ballarat 141 years ago. Damascus College builds on the foundations of their first school, Sacred Heart College, and we are fortunate to have such strong foundations. I thank Angela Carr and the Faith team for the preparation of our liturgy. Additionally, tomorrow presents an opportunity for our school community to acknowledge the memory of Mr Jeff Simpson to all students and staff. Jeff will be forever missed and will always part of the strong history of Damascus College.

I sincerely thank and acknowledge leaders who have stepped into Interim positions over the course of this semester and have been a great support to me and a fantastic inclusion on the Leadership team. I thank;

• Mr Ashwin Pillai – Interim Deputy Principal
• Ms Alysoun Smalley – Interim Assistant Principal, Learning and Teaching
• Ms Hannah Keating – Acting Assistant Principal Student Wellbeing
• Mr Daniel Jans – Acting Assistant Principal Student Wellbeing

I also thank and acknowledge;

• Mrs Karen Hocking – Interim House Leader: Xavier
• Mrs Karen Goonan – Interim House Leader: St Martin
• Ms Anna Rowland – Interim Learning Area Leader: Languages

Beginning in Term 3, we will welcome back Andrew Robertson from Long Service Leave. Hannah Keating and Daniel Jans will resume in their House Leader positions, Alysoun Smalley will resume as Learning Area Leader of Languages, Ashwin Pillai will resume as Assistant Principal of Teaching and Learning, and I will resume as Deputy Principal.

Further on staffing news, Mr Matthew Edwards has relinquished his role as Assistant House Leader for Rice, and Mrs Nikki Hexter has now been appointed to the position. Nikki will move over TA to Rice 16, joining Anna Rowland. Nikki previously shared Xavier 12 with Naomi Olthof, and Naomi has now kindly agreed to take up Xavier 12 in a full capacity. I thank Matt Edwards for his extensive contribution to Rice House in the Assistant House Leader position, and I wish Nikki all the best for the remainder of this year.

Mr Liam Downie will be taking six months of leave, returning in 2023, and Mrs Angela Hoban, who has supported us over the last six months in careers, concludes her time with us. I thank and acknowledge Angela for her extensive service to the College and wish Liam well in his travels.

I would also like to acknowledge the amazing resilience, adaptability, and hard work that our Damascus College staff have put into the past nine weeks to provide our students with the very best learning opportunities.

We welcomed past students and specialists in the Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Maths fields on Monday for the Year 9 STEAM expo. Year 9 students had the opportunity to chat with an expert in a field of interest that will hopefully support them in their career path and journey ahead. I thank Ivanka Saric, Naomi Olthof, Georgia Shillito, Barbara Kelderman and their teams for providing this opportunity to our students.

Our intermediate boys played the St Patricks College Year 10 team in their final game of football for the season on Tuesday afternoon to qualify for the next stage of the Herald Sun Cup. This followed their great success securing the overall BAS Pennant for Boys Intermediate football. Whilst the boys put up a gallant effort, unfortunately, the team from St Pats was too strong for us. Thank you to Shaun O'Loughlin, Hamish Walsh, Ryan Leaney and Pat Dillon for supporting these students this term.

Yesterday we came together as an entire school to celebrate Rice House Day. Brother Edmund Rice was the founder of the Christian Brothers. In Ballarat, the Brothers established their own school for boys and worked in and administered St. Paul's Secondary College on behalf of the Catholic Parishes of Ballarat. St. Paul's was one of the amalgamating schools that in 1995 became Damascus College. The spirit of justice that inspired Edmund and his Christian Brothers calls us still to educate for justice by serving the poor. Our Rice House celebrations yesterday were a wonderful showcase of young people's capabilities and talents. I congratulate Rice House Leader David Myers, the team of Teacher Advisors and other staff who supported them.

This Friday (24th June) will be the last day of term, and we will see a school finish time of 2.17pm. Students have a casual day for the Vinnies Winter Appeal. Students are asked to bring $5, if it is within their family's means, to support the "Vinnies" Winter Appeal to support the homeless and at-need families. If your student has PE, Wood, Metal, Science or Food – please ensure that they wear appropriate clothing, notably closed footwear, for practical classes.

Child safety and wellbeing at Damascus College: information for families and the school community

The Victorian Government has announced new Child Safe Standards scheduled to commence on the 1^st July to further strengthen child safety across organisations, including schools. The new standards recognise the critical importance of families and the broader school community in maintaining and promoting child safety and wellbeing.

Damascus College is in the process of reviewing and updating our child safety policies and procedures to ensure they meet the requirements of the new standards. The updated policies will be available to view at https://www.damascus.vic.edu.au/about-us/child-safety once they have been completed.

We are committed to continuous improvement in our approach to child safety and wellbeing and welcome feedback from families and members of our school community on ways we can further strengthen our child safety policies, procedures and practices.

If you have any suggestions, comments or questions, please contact myself, Chris Grant, as the Child Safety Officer for Damascus College.

Looking ahead, I remind families that Term 3 will commence with regular classes on Monday, 11th July.

Office hours over the holidays will be Monday - Friday, 9:00am – 4:00pm.

Thank you for the privilege of working with the wonderful young people that make up the Damascus community this semester and for your family's support of our College. If you are travelling over the holidays, do so safely.

Until next term…

Chris