This Friday is St Patrick’s Day, a day within the Catholic tradition full of fun, friendship and lots of Irish music, dance, literature, drama, food and more.
The following little Irish blessing marks the day and celebrates the humble gratitude of the Irish this St. Patrick’s Day.
May there always be work for your hands to do, May your purse always hold a coin or two. May the sun always shine warm on your windowpane, May a rainbow be certain to follow each rain. May the hand of a friend always be near you, And may God fill your heart with gladness to cheer you.
Next Tuesday, we will move to the Llanberris Reserve for our annual House Athletics carnival. The athletics carnival is a great opportunity for our young people to team together in their Houses to compete. As with any school day, this is a compulsory school day for all students. There are a broad range of events to engage students of different abilities. Please make sure students have suitable sun protection and food and water for the day. We look forward to welcoming our families to the carnival as spectators, and please ask that you sign in and out at the entrance gate.
NAPLAN testing for Years 7 and 9 students will take place from today and continue through to Friday 27th March. NAPLAN is a national common assessment tool, and families are encouraged to explain to students that while it gives an indication of student progression, it is a single assessment on a single day and not to overemphasise its importance. At Damascus, we encourage all students to undertake the suite of NAPLAN tests; however, if you have specific concerns, please contact the College. Similar to 2022, all tests will be completed online, allowing us flexibility during the timeframe mentioned above on when each test is conducted.
The dates of each test for each year level are listed below.
Writing (42 minutes) – Headphones Allowed
Wednesday March 15th
- P1 – Year 9
- P3 – Year 7
Reading (65 minutes) – NO Headphones Allowed
Thursday March 16th
- P1/2 – Year 7
- P3/4 – Year 9
Conventions of Language (45 minutes) – Headphones Allowed
Monday March 20th
- P1 – Year 7
- P3 – Year 9
Numeracy (65 minutes) – Headphones Allowed
Wednesday March 22nd
- P1/2 – Year 9
- P3/4 – Year 7
Catch Up’s for missed NAPLAN tests will be between March 15 and March 27th
We pray for all those who need our prayer at this time.
Chris