‘Abide in God’s love,’ has been the College theme, and since my commencement at the College l have been able to witness the living and modelling of our theme. It has been through God’s love that we celebrate community, the gift of our relationships with one another and embracing the joy and challenge of learning. It has been a remarkable year and an absolute privilege to work within the Damascus community. On Friday, we will celebrate Mass together and then participate in Ball Games, if families are able to join our simple liturgy, it will begin at 9.30 am in the John Shannon Centre. Students will be dismissed at 3.18 pm.

Tonight, we will be celebrating our Annual Awards and Achievements evening at the Wendouree Performing Arts Centre. The evening is an affirmation of all our student’s hard work, perseverance, and commitment to lifelong learning in all spheres of our community. I congratulate all those students who have been recognised, but equally, I acknowledge the great work of those students who did not get an award but who have shown significant growth in their knowledge and skills in all areas of school life. Our guest speaker Josh Eltringham (class of 2003) will reflect on how his Damascus school experience supported his confidence in taking on new experiences and how that confidence has led him to where he is today. It will be a wonderful evening and I thank everyone who contributed, especially our awards committee of Sarah Boswell, Jennifer Montgomery, Ashwin Pillai, Caroline Nolan, Aleceia Gason, Tony Haintz, Sharon Hayes, Chris Grant, and Nicole Hexter.

On Saturday afternoon, l joined the Damascus rowers at the Senior Regatta on the Yarra in Melbourne. The team had a wonderful day, and I was so impressed to see how our young people worked together to support, challenge, and encourage one another. It was beautiful to see the rowers supporting one another across the senior year levels.

At the conclusion of this school year, we give thanks to the staff who have concluded their time at the College; Tony Haintz, Sally Balson, Ann Bawden, Deb Glasson, Gail Haintz, Matt Edwards, and Sharon Wolfe. Each have had extensive careers at Damascus and I thank them on behalf of the generations of young people that they have educated. Keran Mewett is taking leave for term 1 of next year and will return in term 2, we look forward to welcoming her back to the College.

I thank those staff whose term in specific leadership roles come to a close;

• Martin Ryan as Learning Area Leader-RE
• Adrian Newman as Retreat Coordinator
• David Myers as House Leader- Rice
• Nikki Hexter as Assistant House Leader – Rice and Sports Coordinator (Nikki will now assume the role of House Leader-Rice)
• Hannah Keating as House Leader-Xavier (Hannah will assume the Leader of Student Wellbeing leadership position)
• Karen Hocking as Assistant House Leader – Xavier (Karen will now assume the role of House Leader-Xavier)
• Karen Goonan as Assistant House Leader – St Martin (Karen will now assume the role of House Leader-McAuley)
• Rachel Wallbank as House Leader – McAuley (Rachel will now assume the role of Student Growth and Engagement Coordinator Year 10-12)
• Laura Kimm as Assistant House Leader – McAuley (Laura will now assume the role of Student Growth and Engagement Coordinator Transition & Year 7)
• Catherine Richardson as Instructional Development Leader
• Alysoun Smalley as Learning Area Leader-Languages (Alysoun will now assume the role of Leader of Curriculum and Assessment)
• Caroline Nolan as Learning Area Leader-Maths (Caroline will now assume the role of VCE Coordinator)
• Alan Archbold as Learning Area Leader-Technology
• Matt Hallowell as VCE Coordinator and Diverse Learning Coordinator Years 10-12 (Matt will now assume the role of Leader of Student Growth and Engagement)
• Rebecca Anderson as Diverse Learning Leader
• Kirsten Phyland as Diverse Learning Coordinator Transition & Year 7 (Kirsten will now assume the role of Assistant House Leader-Rice)
• Melissa McLachlan as Leader of School Organisation
• Sally Balson as TA Leader

I thank all these staff for the leadership that they have shown at Damascus College, time not money does not extend to the levels of responsibility that this team of people have borne and we are incredibly grateful.

And while we celebrate conclusions, it was great to welcome our newest members of the school community yesterday as our incoming Year 7 students experienced their Orientation Day. There were a raft of new families who joined us and it was a joy to see the interactions and foundation of new friendships and learning. To those who were new families at the College yesterday – Welcome!

Semester reports will be available online in the Parent Access Module (PAM) from Friday, 2^nd December. The final report is a compilation of the feedback provided progressively on the assessment tasks undertaken throughout this second semester. VCE results will be available on Monday 12^th December to students who undertook a Unit 3/4 subject on Monday 12th December – senior students will have received communication on the different means of receiving their results. The Careers Coordinator and College counsellors will be available at school for those seeking support on results day.

Over the past six months, l have had the pleasure of meeting many people and l have engaged with small groups of staff, students, and families to hear your dreams and love of Damascus. I thank each member of the community for making me feel so welcome and so willing to share your dream for our community.

Our staff team have worked hard this year and I ask that you think of them and pray for them this Christmas.

Thank you for being part of the Damascus community in 2022, if this is your last association with the College – thank you for your contribution – if you are returning next year enjoy family and holiday time together. Have a wonderful Christmas, God bless and thank you!

With Every Blessing

Steven