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 Nikki Hexter, the team of Teacher Advisors and other staff who supported them.
This Friday (23rd 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.
Looking ahead, I remind families that Term 3 will commence with regular classes on Monday, 10th July. It's quite hard to think that we are almost halfway through the year and almost looking at subject selections going into 2024. Well done to all students on their efforts in concluding their Semester 1 classes and completing their assessment and classwork tasks and exams the best they can.
We anticipate that the timetable for the new semester will be on SIMON for students from in the first week of the holidays. Please encourage your student/s to log into SIMON and check their new timetable and in particular, their PE days where they will wear their PE uniform. Pathways and elective subjects will change over for the new semester, and it will be important for students to note these changes. Students changing electives or pathways subjects are reminded to bring along the relevant resources for those subjects with them on the first day back of next term.
Office hours over the holidays will be Monday to Friday, 9:00am – 4:00pm.
Until next term…
Chris