10 December
On Thursday 5 December, the Damascus College community gathered to celebrate academic excellence and endeavour, at the annual Awards & Achievement evening, held at Founders Hall at Federation University.
With more than 600 students, staff and families in attendance, the auditorium was full of anticipation, excitement, and pride, for the many student achievements celebrated on the night.
Past student Dominic McNeil, Class of 2003, commenced the evening as the special guest speaker, and he spoke on his career journey so far, and how his unexpected passion for sport science had developed, and led him to his current role as university lecturer at Federation University.
Year 12 student Taya Thiele thoroughly entertained the audience with her drama solo performance ‘The Lorax,’ and Year 11 student Charlie Snare was captivating with his unique and beautiful performance of ‘Raindance’ on the Marimba, an unknown instrument to many. The final performance was a video compilation showcasing the VCE Visual Art and Technology creative talents of the Year 12 students and their final pieces from throughout 2024.
Students were a mix of nerves and excitement as they received a range of individual awards, special awards and scholarships, rewarding students for academic excellence, social and emotional growth, applied subject achievement, sporting endeavour, age group champions awards, and much more.
The Catherine King Community Shield was awarded to staff member Adrian Newman, and Year 9 student Isabeau Turner received the Debating Award sponsored by Michaela Settle. Thanks to Catherine King and Michaele Settle for their attendance and for presenting these awards.
To end the night 2024 College Captains Lucas Wells and Paris Govan presented their final speech to the Damascus community, before symbolically handing over the student leadership to 2025 College Captains Milan Pilmore and Joachim Henderson.
Damascus College congratulates all award and scholarship recipients on their contribution to the College, and their hard work and commitment to their education throughout 2024.
2024 Junior Art Acquisition Award
Art - 'Murph and his cruiser'
The reason I did this design is because I really like land cruisers, I also incorporated a footy as my head and north Ballarat because that’s the team I play footy for. For the background I also used mud tracks and a footy oval because their some of my favourite hobbies.
Riley Murphy, Year 8
2024 Senior Art Acquisition Award
Unit 3 & 4 Art Making & Exhibiting - 'The Abyss'
The piece titled “The Abyss” explores the theme of fear through storytelling. This is conveyed by depicting the story of a person getting lost in a forest, which taps
into common fears and the irrational nature of being alone. The artwork is designed in the style of a picture storybook, reflecting research into cautionary folk tales. The torch symbolizes the character’s will to persist through their troubles, with the torch gradually fading in the final frame to signify their escape. The gold frames are used to evoke the “Golden Book” bedtime stories, further emphasizing the storytelling nature of the artwork.
Ava McLeod, Year 12