2025 French Language Study Tour (FLST): 29 March – 13 April

A group of 16 students and three teachers are soon to depart on a two week-long international excursion to France, namely the 2025 French Language Study Tour (FLST). This is the first FLST for Damascus in seven years, well worth the wait. The locations for this excursion include the many attractions of the capital Paris as well as a multitude from the picturesque Loire Valley, specifically the provincial city of Angers and the town of Amboise.

Upon landing in Paris, the group will immediately travel by coach from Charles De Gaulle Airport to Angers. The FLST will officially begin there with five days being shared with St. Benoit (Ensemble Scolaire Saint-Benoit) our sister school, reconnecting with the wonderful community there, both the staff and families who have supported the exchange between our two schools, as well as the school community more broadly. Our time in Angers will certainly be a key focus in our visit to France, and a major highlight of the FLST 2025.

The students who will be participating in the FLST 2025 are:

• Axel Durham (S05, Year 12)
• Eloise Balazic (M05, Year 11)
• Jamila Baldwin (M08, Year 11)
• Isabella Brown-Kenyon (S06, Year 11)
• Imogen Ford (S11, Year 11)
• Ash Gault (S08, Year 11)
• Clementine Griffiths-House (S08, Year 11)
• Sadie Jones (M07, Year 11)
• Keira O’Beirne (M03, Year 11)
• Finlay Reeve (M04, Year 11)
• Ava Chenhall (R02, Year 10)
• Maylea Forte (S03, Year 10)
• Dilana Romeril (S13, Year 10)
• Ivy Storey (X14, Year 10)
• Grace Vermont (R12, Year 10)
• Charlee Watson (S15, Year 10)

The touring group will be missing out on the final week of Term One as well as the first week of Term One school holidays. It is at the same time a privilege and a huge commitment for all participants. In turn, the touring teachers Finn Augustin, Ash Pillai and Min Myers would also like to thank school governorship as well as our families for their support for the tour to happen in the first place.

The school fondly wishes the touring group ‘Bon voyage!’ on their journey to France.

Indonesian Language Learning Ambassador (ILLA)

Damascus College is proud to announce that we have been successful in joining the Indonesian Language Learning Ambassador (ILLA) program, securing one of its 28 scholars nation-wide. This ILLA initiative offers scholarship awardees the opportunity to serve as teaching and cultural ambassadors in Australian primary, secondary, and higher education institutions; the ambassadors voluntarily assist Indonesian language teachers in classrooms, collaborating to conduct cultural or linguistic activities over the course of six visits, with the possibility of extension, based on the needs of the institution.

The Australian federal government through its embassy in Jakarta provides the “Australia Award” Scholarship program to Indonesian tertiary students, which involves Masters and PhD students completing their studies at various institutions located in Australia. As a result of this federal government supported initiative, the College this term welcomes scholarship recipient Mr. Ade Firly (‘Pak Ade’) who is our official ILLA ambassador. Pak Ade will over the course of Semester One be sharing his knowledge of Indonesian language, culture, and customs with Damascus students and in turn have the opportunity to learn about Australian culture and teaching practices, working closely with Finn Augustin and Amanda Tait. Pak Ade is currently completing his Masters in International Business at the University of Melbourne.

Welcome to Damascus, Pak Ade! Our students and staff look forward to learning from you to build the Indonesian language skills and cultural knowledge of our school and the Ballarat community.