The following is a selection of Reflections written by Year 7 students on their first term at Damascus College: -

Year 7 Core Group 1

Lola Watson

My first term a dmac was very fun and enjoyable we first met the peer mentors and had them every Thursday. A couple weeks into school we had camp with our house group which was fun but challenging but the re retreat was even more fun, coming together with my class and sharing a meal then doing a little bit of re work. Overall Damascus was very welcoming, and I have made lots of new friends.

Lily Kolotelo

My head was spinning with excitement, ready to take in all that Damascus Collage can give. Not many of my primary school friends went to the same school I was put in and that made me extremely nervous. They all went to Loreto or St. Pats. It was only me and Londyn, A friend That I only made last year. My new friend Erika also was in our friend group And I only made her as a friend 2 DAYS AGO. I was starting to miss my old friends when Londyn branched in MORE people into the group.

CAMP!! We where all talking about it for weeks and the day finally came. As we got onto the bus Me and Erika where hoping with all our might so we Could be in the same cabin. We weren’t going to just sleep with a bunch of strangers! The day finally came and we… weren’t put in the same cabin. A feeling of great misery came upon us.

Lavinia kalouche

My name is Lavinia and I’ve started year 7 at Damascus and I can say it was a fun ride but not everything was that way. I have done lots of fun things like camp, the excursion to the movies, athletics day and many more but there were some downs about high school like homework, the assemblies were pretty boring and the nerves on the first day or the nerves from trying to find my classes. In the end I’ve made many new friends and I’m able to find my classes so everything worked out. I have to say it was pretty scary at first but once I settled in I was doing great.

I also lots of new teachers like Mr Macklin, we had some sessions with the peer mentors which are some year 10s to come and play learning games and have a break from boring class. Even though I’ve only been here one term I feel like I’ve been at Damascus for years because everyone makes it so welcoming. Damascus is a great school and really made me feel like I’ve had a great first little taste of high school life. I’ve had an awesome experience so far and hope to have many more.

Mikenzi Kappatos

My name is Mikenzi and my first time was amazing. I have met so many new people like, Oliva, Tilly, Sienna, Lavinia, Kloe, Lola and much more. The camp was so fun too! We had the giant swing and the leap of faith, The food wasn’t the best though. The peer mentoring was really fun, each week we did a number of activities. All the classes are fun too, my favourites are, Humanities, Maths, Drama, Wood and Metal! I really like the teachers to, they are so welcoming and ensuring. Swim Carnival was really fun! But so cold, I regret signing up. I’ve really liked year 7 term 1 because we have had so many days for particular things. swim carnival, athletics day, reflection day and camp. At the start of term 1 I could not find my classes but some older kids help me find my way.

Sienna Baldwin

I have enjoyed my first term at Damascus College. I have met new people and made new friends. I have made many memories at camp, like talking to new people and trying new and exciting activities. I have participating in many things like school basketball, swimming carnival, athletics day, seeing Blueback at the movies and getting my bunsen burner licence. All in all, I think I have had a great start to Damascus, and I am looking forward to what the rest of the year and my time at Damascus will bring.

Josh Rodda

My name in Josh Rodda. On my first day of school, I meet some new friends and some new teachers. I missed camp because I was sick, but all my friends told me about me. I have started making my bag tags. I got my Bunsen burner licence. That was my first term at high school.

Riley Murphy

My first term at Damascus has been good my first couple of days I was nervous because I didn’t know my rooms and I didn’t know many people here but in the first week I got to meet new friends, all my new teachers and know where my rooms are I went to camp, starting to make my bag tag and boat in wood and metal. This was my first term at Damascus and it was good.

Abbey Fuhrmeister

My first term at Damascus College was an amazing I have enjoyed learning new things that I have never done before, and it has helped having my amazing brothers by my side to show me new things as well. Learning how the school works was new and interesting and I have learnt a lot about how the school has affective results on many students. Damascus College has made a tremendous first impression on me and I love the amazing friendly environment. This school just makes me happy, I have successfully started my new journey and I definitely think I am on the right path to success. I am really excited to see what the schools future holds for me. Damascus College feels like a safe environment where I don’t feel like I am going to be judged. I have built better relationships with my friends and have built friends from friends which makes the school journey a lot easier. I have made many achievements while at camp, Athletics Day, Swimming carnival, etc.

Corben Boehm

My first term at Damascus College was filled with many new things. I got introduced to the subjects, humanities, English, science, woodwork, and metalwork. We did year seven camp and that was fun, there were many things we did and all of them were fun. Wood and metal work are very fun once you get past the planning stage. I also started dungeons and dragons which was a great decision.

Isabeau Turner

My first term at high school. Done. It’s gone by so fast, yet it feels so long ago that I first stepped onto the campus, in my brand-new uniform, a mix of fear and excitement swirling and swishing around inside me. I came to this school all alone, knowing no one, but thanks to my wonderful teachers and classmates, it was an incredible start to high school, and I have made some great friends. I’ve had so many fun times this term, and there have been so many opportunities provided to me by the school. Athletics day, swimming carnival, school camp, excursions, book club, writing club, the justice action group, playing basketball, debating and public speaking, getting voted SRC. It has been a whirlwind of things to do and experience, and I wouldn’t have it any different. There were also many opportunities to improve my learning, such as the writing enrichment program. I have loved going to high school at Damascus College. It is an amazing school, and I can’t wait for what the rest of my journey this year will bring.

Ella Gordon

First term of high school down! It still feels like yesterday when we were still learning each other’s names, now we feel like we’ve known each other for a lifetime. My name is Ella Gordon and I have really enjoyed year seven so far. High school has provided me with so many opportunities and clubs that we can participate in already.

In week three we all headed of to camp, it was an amazing chance to make new friends. We were split into groups for our activities and cabins and told to go unpack. Once we settled down, we did our activities and ate lunch before doing more activities. The next day we did our last activity and left to come back to school. We had our opening mass as well as a few assemblies we had school swimming day and it was freezing, the water was warm though. We also had sports day and it was fun because we chose what we wanted to do and didn’t have to do the other stuff. In metal we are making our bag tags and in science we got our Bunsen burner licences. We also had retreat which was fun. In conclusion this has been an amazing term and I am looking forward to my future at Damascus College.

Bryson McMillan

My First term at Damascus was good, in the first week I made some new friends like Henry, Alexander, Noah, Josh, Jud and Riley. Although it wasn’t until week 3 that school really started to get good, when we had camp. On camp we did all kinds of activities like giant swing, canoeing, leap of faith and milk crate stacking. My Favourite activity was the canoeing. After camp we nominated the year 7 SRC, there was a good competition but, in the end, Isabeau was the winner.