Our students at Damascus College continue to value, challenge and be their best. As a College community, we continue to offer all our learners experiences and opportunities to reach their individual potential and to grow in their human dignity. The learning program is enriched by our participation in the Ballarat Association Sports (BAS), camps, work experience, and CPDA, just to name a few. Engagement in the breadth of our learning program extends our students, teaches resilience, promotes confidence and harnesses organisational skills, all at the heart of our Social Emotional Learning.

This week our Year 9 students travelled to camp in the Strathbogie ranges; this experience challenges our students physically, mentally and emotionally. Camp experiences allow our students to be taken out of their comfort zone and to challenge themselves. Additionally, our Year 10 students are participating in Work Experience or the CDPA. The Christian Personal Development Award is designed to help students to see the need to be proactive about personal development. There are four categories students must consider: Action of Mercy and Justice/ Community Service, Spiritual Development, Physical Development and Other Cultural Activities. In Year 10, the students are introduced to the Award with a week of activities.

Thank you to the many students and families who have had the courage to be challenged, stretched and experience some levels of discomfort. We can only grow as people if we experience discomfort and uncertainty. If we are too comfortable or complacent, we do not experience the richness of life or the exhilaration when facing the unknown. It is important that young people are encouraged to take safe risks, to be pushed to go to the unknown and to be uncomfortable. The best learning occurs when we are uncomfortable, take risks, and think outside our usual routines. It is through the camps, work experience and CDPA that positive and negative memories are made. I would like to thank the staff who accompanied our students on the camp – they gave up precious professional and family time.

Our senior students have been involved in many examinations and completing assessment tasks. On Wednesday, 16^th November, our staff are involved in a professional practice day – finalising marking and preparing for the Early Start Program.

Our rowers had a strong hit out at the Rowing Victoria Schools regatta here in Ballarat on the weekend, with this being the first experience of a race for many students. There were some very strong results, and I congratulate all involved.

In today's newsletter is an invitation to meet me on 24th November. I have been at the College for nearly a semester and have been welcomed with honesty and humility. I look forward to meeting you as parents and carers. Please register here

Last week Victoria Police from the Victorian Joint Anti-Child Exploitation Team (JACET) delivered a media conference in relation to an increasing trend of Sexual Exploitation of Children, especially young males. Leading Senior Constable Des Hudson, the Youth Resource Officer from Ballarat Police, has provided information from the media release and asked if, as a College, we could distribute the information to parents to create conversations at home that can make a difference in helping to keep young people safe.

Often the young person may feel too embarrassed to come forward, believe that they have been doing something illegal, and do not realise they are being manipulated or are aware that they are actually the victim of a crime. Please see the information from the media release below: -

Police Media Release

Tonight the College is participating in the Headspace Webinar Ballarat parent / carer information session: supporting the mental health of young people experiencing grief and loss previously advertised by the College. It is not too late to register. Please register here.

This week's prayer reminds us to be present, to be the gift to one another to celebrate our dignity.

Holy, life-giving Spirit,
infuse in us your ability to remain present to your people.
Help us to be there,
to be right there,
for the people who need us.
There for young people,
there for the elderly,
there for the brokenhearted;
fire our hearts with your life-changing presence.
Even though we know you to be everywhere
and in everything,
give us the ability to be fully in one place at a time,
open and ready to love.

With every blessing

Steven

Last week Damascus College was thrilled to participate in the final 2-day workshop for 2022 in the Girls in Stem Program conducted by the Ballarat Tech School.

The College was very well represented by Sadie J. Year 8, Haileigh B. Year 9 and Laura M. Year 10 who undertook various activities during the two day program.

The girls visited Federation University Mt Helen Campus on day 1 to:

• See how VUAS use outdoor drones to collect water samples, deliver emergency supplies and map terrain.
• Fly the Tech School outdoor Mavic drone fleet, building flight skills through a series of technical manoeuvres.
• Race the Tech School indoor Tello drone fleet, sharpening flight skills through a high energy drone racing competition.

Day 2 was on site at the Tech School where students worked in teams to program NAO Humanoid Robots and build VEX Robots to achieve a specified design brief, bringing together all three components, Tello, NAO and VEX, in a showcase challenge.

Congratulations go to all the girls who actively participated throughout the year. The students were challenged to work in mixed school teams, under time pressure to achieve outcomes and make new connections. It has been rewarding to see them grow in confidence and develop their networking skills alongside their appreciation for the application of STEM learning.

#DamascusCollege #DamascusPride #BeMyBest #FindMyCalling

Damascus College Year 9 student Suraya Lewis has just been featured as a Creative Ballarat artist and on the cover of their annual report. It is a wonderful article and celebration of Suraya and her talent as an aerial artist.

Suraya is an aerial artist who seems to defy gravity as she moves through the air with grace and fluidity and the judges at the Bend the Air, Circus Evolved competition held in Melbourne in early July agreed as she was the winner of the Advanced Lyra (hoop) 13-17 year old soloists. Not only did Suraya perform the piece, she choreographed it as well. Suraya is training hard, but looking forward to heading to the Gold Coast in January for Australia’s biggest circus competition, where she will be competing against other artists from all of Australia.

You can view the Creative Ballarat interview at https://www.creativeballarat.com.au/artists-makers-creatives/suraya-lewis

Congratulations Suraya, we look forward to your next performance.

#DamascusCollege #DamascusPride #BeMyBest #FindMyCalling

Each year the Damascus Art Department chooses two pieces of student work to be purchased by the school and placed on permanent display within the College. These pieces represent a high level of skill in the chosen medium, effective visual communication and an ability to explore materials, techniques, ideas and concepts. One piece is from a student in year 7 to 9 and the other from a student in year 10 to 12.

The two pieces chosen this year are from year 9 student Zoe Angove with an oil pastel depicting an urban landscape at night, and year 12 student Finn Mauriks with an etching titled “Jandamarrah”.

This oil pastel artwork was for a Multimedia Landscape task in yr 9 Art.

The task we were set was to create an urban landscape at night. I added and then removed the pastel with a plastic ruler to add a scratchy, textural surface. I also blended the oil pastel to create layers and to mix colours. I didn’t want to add too much detail into the buildings, so as to create an ominous, ambiguous landscape for the viewer to interpret. Overall, I really enjoyed creating this piece and loved exploring the medium of oil pastel.

Finn Mauriks 2022 Senior Art Acquisiton artist statement:

my Unit 3 folio, I have explored the concept of cultural suppression of Indigenous people over Australia. The title ‘Jandamarrah’ refers to the Bunuba warrior Jandamarrah who turned against his European captors and fought a guerrilla campaign against White Settlers in the Kimberley region. The etching is a collection of landscapes within Bunuba territory that represent the ancient landscapes and its untouched quality free from European destruction.

The Damascus College Rowing Program participated in their first regatta of the 2022/2023 season this weekend at Lake Wendouree.

It was an amazing day with beautiful weather and it was a joy to see so many students, staff, families and friends come along to support our rowers. There were some exceptional races, with the Junior Boys crews winning their finals.

Damascus College would like to congratulate everyone who took part, we look forward to an exciting season ahead.

At the conclusion of Enviroweek last week our two year 9 Horticulture classes have planted 28 new native trees along the reflective trail at the back of the Damascus College Campus.

The trees have been a collaborative effort between the current students and the students who took Horticulture in semester one. The semester one students collected the local Acacia seed from the school campus and experimented with different treatment methods to simulate natural events known to trigger seed germination, such as fire, flood and drought.

Semester two students then took over the care of the trees until they were big enough to plant out. We are also happy to report that 100% of the native gums that were planted on National Tree Day have survived their first very wet Winter and the semester two students have been weeding and tending to these trees. With the record rains this year, watering the trees has not been necessary.

Congratulations to all the Horticulture students this year who have helped make Damascus a greener space! -Kayla Robson

Last week Damascus College was thrilled to welcome Graeme Kent to our beautiful campus.

Graeme presented to a variety of year 9 humanities students to share his experience and knowledge of the people of Nepal as part of their Geography curriculum in which they are learning about interconnection. Graeme, through his organisation, Aussie Action Abroad (AAA) has travelled to Nepal and provides valuable resources to people in need. The support AAA provided is essential for the survival of many, especially after the catastrophic earthquake in 2015. The people of Nepal endure frequent landslides and lesser-magnitude earthquakes every year and Graeme and his organisation provide care where they can.

Through the experience he has gained Graeme was able to present informatively on Nepal’s culture, food, clothing, schools, and mother groups.

Thank you Graeme for this engaging educational experience, as our students enjoyed your presentation and found learning about this country and its people very intriguing. We know two of the students in particular were thrilled that you gave up your time to participate (your granddaughters Lucy and Nellie were bursting with pride to have you here on campus).

#DamascusCollege #DamascusPride #BeMyBest #ImPartOfSomethingGreater

Please see details following of various free Parent Webinars during Term 4.

• Stress & Wellbeing - November 9th, 6:30 - 7:30 pm (AEDT)
  
• Resilience - November 23rd, 6:30 - 7:30 pm (AEDT)
  
• Setting Up for Success - December 7th, 6:30 - 7:30 pm (AEDT)

To book any or all of these click here.

Please see following the link for the October 2022 edition of “Our Diocesan Community” to be included in your next school newsletter, Facebook page and/or website https://www.ballarat.catholic.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/ODC-October-2022-web.pdf.

Please see following information on the Ballarat Run 4 A Cause: -

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.