Our prayer today is for Year 12 VCE students across Victoria as they commence their exams with the VCE English paper this morning. We pray for wisdom in their approach and just rewards for their efforts. May all students who undertake exams over the coming weeks see them as an opportunity to reflect on their learning and focus on their own individual improvement. We make this prayer of our loving God - Amen.

On Monday night, l attended the Music Soiree for our talented Music students. I wish to congratulate the students for their perseverance and tenacity to learn an instrument, whether voice or instrument. The students performed with gusto and took important calculated risks. We only learn by practice, risk-taking and calculated risks. Well done to our students who challenged themselves and had the courage to take themselves out of their own comfort zone.

Right across the College, it is a time of important assessment and feedback. It has been great to see so many families book appointments with Teacher Advisors in preparation for these final weeks and the important goal-setting for 2023. These meetings are an important opportunity to build confidence or to look at refinements to the 2022 – 2023 learning program. I thank families for their support.

One of our past students, Bridie Cocks, died after being involved in a traffic accident on Saturday evening. Our thoughts and prayers are with Bridie’s family and friends. At such a difficult time of grief and sadness, as a Catholic school community, we turn to our faith for solace and strength.

Over the coming weeks, you may be concerned about your student’s reaction to this news. Many students will wish to talk with their parents. To assist you in those conversations, below is some general information that may assist you in those conversations. I also encourage you to let your students know that you are aware of this incident and that you will listen to their concerns at any time. Staying connected and engaged with your student is one of the best ways to support them. When talking about the issue of death, try to include discussion about positive ways of managing problems.

Two important messages to promote to your child are that all of us should seek help from others when we feel sad or vulnerable and that young people should tell an adult if they are worried about a friend or themselves.

I urge you to be extremely sensitive and mindful of privacy and the use of social media during this time, particularly as some information may not be reliable or accurate.

Young people frequently turn to social media to see what others are saying or to find out more. At these times, it is important that you monitor their use and engage with them about what they read. We urge you to emphasise and reinforce the need to be extremely sensitive and careful about what they post. They should be reminded that they are being given reliable and up-to-date information by the school. They should be encouraged to report any social media communication they see which is at variance with the facts that were provided or which is a cause for concern (e.g. about friends).

Our school will be concentrating on supporting our students and staff over the coming days, weeks and months. This means, among other things, returning the school to normal routines as soon as possible while recognising that students may be affected by this event for many months to come. If your child is already seeing a mental health professional, please ensure this information is given to them.

A range of activities are coming up for students over the coming weeks. From Monday, 7th November, Year 9 students will attend their camp in the Strathbogie ranges. If there are concerns regarding the Year 9 camp – please contact Camps Coordinator Paul Briody, who works really hard to accommodate individual needs to make the learning accessible.

During this same week, our Year 10 students will have their induction to the Christian Personal Development Award (CPDA) through their retreat and other activities. The other half of Year 10 will have work experience. Could I please implore families to support students in engaging with these different learning activities, as they are all structured to develop our young people holistically. If your student does not have work experience at this stage, could you please liaise with the humanities teacher or Careers Coordinator, Georgia Shillito, to meet this requirement.

One of the underlying principles of the College’s Teacher Advisor Program has been to build strong relationships between the school, the student and their family to ensure that their learning opportunities are optimised and that students do not “fall through the cracks”.

I remind families that Year 7 immunisations will take place at the College on Wednesday, 9^th November. Secondary school immunisations are provided to students in Year 7 (HPV and diphtheria-tetanus-whooping cough) and Year 10 (meningococcal ACWY). Due to COVID-19 interruptions to school-based learning, many students in Years 7-12 may have missed these important vaccines. This puts students at an increased risk of illness, including cervical and other HPV-related cancers and diseases against which they are being vaccinated. If your child misses their school-based vaccinations, speak to your GP or local council immunisation service about how they can catch up. To see if your child is due for any vaccines, check your student/s immunisation history statement on the Australian Immunisation Register using your MyGov account. If your child is over 14, they will need to access their immunisation history statement themselves through their own MyGov account or the Medicare mobile app. Learn why vaccination is important:

Immunisation in secondary schools - Better Health Channel

As we approach All Soul’s Day on Friday and in our church tradition, the month of November is an important time for remembering and celebrating those we have loved and lost. Can I encourage you to visit the Commemorative Trail below the Mercy administration wing. The commemorative trail is a reflective walk to assist past, current and future members of the school to remember and pray for those who have gone before us and created the opportunities that we enjoy today.

We remember all those who need our prayers at this time.

With every blessing

Steven

It has been a pleasure greeting students in the warmer spring conditions which have presented themselves this week. The mornings are often my favourite part of the day where you get the opportunity to have informal chats about what is happening in the lives of our students. The mornings also provide an opportunity to observe the pride in how students present themselves wearing their school uniform.

Recently I have been questioned by several students when I approached them for wearing the incorrect socks to school. The students politely questioned how a pair of ‘black globe socks’ was going to impact on their ability to learn in the classroom. A reasonable question which is often used by students when they are present in incorrect uniform.

Damascus College is a proud community which continues to evolve as an inclusive, progressive and innovative learning environment. The uniform is an internal and external representation of the community in which our student’s belong.

House Leaders have found that when students are wearing their school uniform correctly there are less behavioural issues and greater connectedness. When lines start to be blurred such as wearing incorrect socks, the incorrect hair ribbon and incorrect skirt lengths, students sense a drop in standards and in turn expectations of them. This can then infiltrate into the classroom where students standards are not reflective of their potential learning ability. As parents and carers we are all aware when we take short cuts in one area we generally see repercussions in another. Wearing the uniform with pride represents our place in the broader community. The uniform is the public façade of how the community see our college. Wearing the uniform with pride confirms Damascus is a learning environment that students are proud to be part of and where personal pride and presentation is valued.

I would ask that as parents /carers you too share the same values that we ask of our students. Accepting close enough is good enough when you see your child leave for school can commence a cycle which is difficult to break, and potentially go well beyond secondary school.

The two boys who I spoke with earlier this week were gracious enough to admit that they had been apathetic in preparing themselves for school and could sense their motivation was waning. It was pleasing to see that the following day they presented themselves immaculately ready to prepare for the final weeks of classes

I would like to take this opportunity to wish our VCE students all the best for their upcoming exams. This can be a potentially stressful time for students and parents. Please be assured that support services at Damascus are still available for students throughout the exam and post exam period.

Embracing Interculturality

Assistant Principals, Andy Robertson and Tony Haintz attended the annual faith and mission conference at East Kew on Friday 21^st October. The conference was facilitated by Cathy Solano RSM is a Sister of Mercy from Melbourne who began her ministry as a secondary education teacher and taught in regional and urban schools in Victoria. She has worked in Karachi as a teacher trainer, with Jesuit Refugee Services in Uganda and recently as the education and pastoral coordinator for the diocese of El Obeid in Sudan, South Sudan and Kenya.

The topic for the day challenged participants to consider that the cornerstone of Catholic Social Teaching is the resolute defence of the dignity of every woman, man and child. It draws on the teaching of the Catholic Church that all of humanity is created in the image and likeness of God, hence every person has a unique, inalienable dignity imparted by God. Interculturality is the divine vision for all human beings. We are called to foster a culture of encounter, that is deep listening, acknowledging personal and social biases and seeking common ground. This is the key to the evolving earth community. The sharing of experiences and hopes is an act of solidarity that is the path to peace and the vision of Jesus’ mission and ministry.

The annual Damascus College Ron Matthews Shield was awarded at last week's Final Year 12 Assembly.

Congratulations to McAuley House on the win!

Second place was St Martin House. Third place was Xavier House and Fourth place was Rice House.

This award was created in memory of Ron Matthews, a staff member of Damascus College in the early years of the College.

Ron was a great community member and gave a great deal to the students under his care. Ron was always looking for what would be in the best interests of the students to take them into the future.

The Ron Matthews Shield was established to give students the incentive to strive to do their best in various areas of school life in a spirit of friendly competition.

Well done to McAuley House, and all students at Damascus for the pride displayed throughout 2022 in representing your house.

On Friday last week Damascus College welcomed a representative from Bendigo Bank to speak with the Year 11 general Mathematics students.

The students reached out to Learning Area Leader Caroline Nolan to arrange for the guest to come and speak to them as they had missed this opportunity when they were Year 9 students due to pandemic restrictions in place at the time.

It was a wonderful presentation that took a lot of the theory that the students have been learning in the classroom and put it in a real-world setting.

Enviroweek 2022 is held in Australia from October 22-28, 2022 and gives schools and children across Australia the opportunity to connect with their local environment and community. Each year, thousands of children across Australia take action to improve our environment by joining in with local community events.

At Damascus College there have been several actions to mark the week.

A Symbolic Tree

In recognition of Enviro Week, a tree has been created to symbolise the very thing we need to care for. The Sustainability Committee would like to invite our school community to find ways to make small personal changes that help reduce our impact on the environment. The tree, a symbol of growth and rejuvenation is fitting, as small changes in our behaviour can repair any human-imposed damage to our environment. The wooden tree will be displayed in the SMRC for two weeks.

Nude Food Drive

A poster to promote nude food was developed. Nude Food is food without excess packaging. It is food that comes to school without disposable packaging such as extra plastic bags, paper bags, wrappings or cling wraps. We encourage you to package snacks and lunches in durable, reusable containers. Click below to download a Nude Food Week information poster.

Nude Food Week

What?

Waste-free lunches are lunches with ZERO disposable packaging!

Why?

A person who uses disposable lunch packaging generates about three pieces of rubbish each day, which ends up being about 30kg of waste per year! This Enviro Week we want to reduce our waste and our impact on the environment.

How?

Disposable packaging can be replaced with beeswax wraps and reusable containers, as well as natural packaging of food (for example peels, skins and rinds). If you buy food at the canteen, request no packaging or bring your own reusable plate/container.

Who?

When everyone takes action we can make an impact and vastly decrease our waste.

Recycling Paper

Students were encouraged to consider their understanding of Damascus College paper recycling protocols in TA period on Tuesday. Our dedicated cardboard and paper recycling service helps save money on waste management by removing paper and bulky cardboard from general waste streams and reducing waste going into landfill. It saves forests.

Please see following information from the Mounties Cricket Club for access to all abilities cricket.

The Damascus College Rowing Program is fast approaching its first regatta of the season!

The crews have been training well and the students have been performing brilliantly both on and off the water!!! The whole squad will be racing on Lake Wendouree on the 5^th November, head up to the lake to show your support.

Recently, we launched the new season with a BBQ at school and introduced our Rowing Captains for 2022-2023 rowing season, Daisy Simpson-Kerr and Cooper Reid. We wish them the best of luck as they navigate leadership of a competitive sports program.

There is still space for students to sign up to the rowing program for the current season, if you’re in years 7, 8, 9, 10 or 11 either speak to or email Paul Blanchfield, Georgia O’Leary or Hamish Walsh. We are looking for Coxes and Rowers across all levels of Rowing.

Today at Damascus College the Year 9 Food and Consumer Science class held their product launch to an enthusiastic crowd of students who were eager to sample the offerings.

Over the last semester, the students have developed products for supermarket shelves. They work on a design brief and have a target audience in mind, as they use their STEM skills to develop their products, gather data from consumers to make changes and create the packaging and marketing information.

The products created this semester are:

• Spicy Nacho Pocket – wonton wrapper pastry with nacho meat, salsa and cheese in the middle with a Dorito crumb.
• Stir Pie – Gluten free pie with a chicken stir fry filling.
• Salmon cakes and apple crumble meal - Marketed for the elderly as a complete nutritious meal.
• Coco Protein balls- A healthy snack for children to provide energy in a delicious parcel.

The feedback was a resounding YUM!!!

Well done to all the students and staff involved. It was a wonderful opportunity to see and taste the hard work that they have been putting in.

Conveyance Allowance – Last Claim for 2022 – Families who have not yet submitted their claim for this year please note the cut-off date to claim Conveyance for 2022 is November 24^th.

To be eligible for a conveyance allowance, individual students will be assessed under the following criteria:

1. Attend a school/campus located outside the metropolitan conveyance allowance boundary
2. Attend the closest appropriate school/campus at which admission is permissible
3. For students attending specialist schools, this will be determined by the specialist school’s Designated Transport Area (DTA) in which the student resides
4. For students attending government schools, this will be the closest school/campus appropriate to the age and gender of the student (e.g. primary, secondary, single sex)
5. For students attending non-government schools, this will be the closest school/campus of the recognised denomination for conveyance allowance purposes.
6. Reside 4.8km or more from the school/campus (shortest practicable route calculated by the school attended at the time of application from the student’s home to the school/campus)
7. Be of school age (between five and 18-years-old at the time of application), and a resident of Victoria
8. Be enrolled and travelling to school three or more days per week.

Students’ circumstances can change during their school years (e.g. moving residence or changing schools/campuses). Change of circumstances affects eligibility and a new application must be submitted with each change of circumstance.

Private car
A private car conveyance allowance is not available if the journey could have been made using a public transport service or free school bus.

• Where there is more than one student in the vehicle, there are two rates claimable: ‘furthermost’ and ‘additional.’
• Where there is more than one student in a vehicle, and they attend different schools, the amount claimable is based on the distance travelled to school by each student. That is each student must be the subject of a separate application and the student attending the furthermost school is identified as the ‘furthermost’ student; each of the other students must be claimed as ‘additional’.
• Rates are calculated according to the distance (measured in kilometres) from home to the campus attended using the Department’s standard measurement method; for details of the rates claimable, refer to Appendix 1 Conveyance Allowance Rates
• It is assumed that all students from the same family will travel in one car therefore only one family member may claim furthermost student allowance.

Pro-rata adjustment of reimbursement (time fraction)

Where students change school, transport mode and/or address that affect the payment of conveyance allowance, pro-rata payments are made, having regard to the number of days of actual attendance. It is the responsibility of each school to report any mid-semester student changes and the required pro-rata adjustments that are required.

Late payments
Late (past year) applications cannot be accepted or paid.

Any inquiries relating to this allowance or to any bus travel matter may be directed to Tracey Williams at the College office Phone: 5337 2236.