‘Abide in God’s love,’ has been the College theme, and since my commencement at the College l have been able to witness the living and modelling of our theme. It has been through God’s love that we celebrate community, the gift of our relationships with one another and embracing the joy and challenge of learning. It has been a remarkable year and an absolute privilege to work within the Damascus community. On Friday, we will celebrate Mass together and then participate in Ball Games, if families are able to join our simple liturgy, it will begin at 9.30 am in the John Shannon Centre. Students will be dismissed at 3.18 pm.

Tonight, we will be celebrating our Annual Awards and Achievements evening at the Wendouree Performing Arts Centre. The evening is an affirmation of all our student’s hard work, perseverance, and commitment to lifelong learning in all spheres of our community. I congratulate all those students who have been recognised, but equally, I acknowledge the great work of those students who did not get an award but who have shown significant growth in their knowledge and skills in all areas of school life. Our guest speaker Josh Eltringham (class of 2003) will reflect on how his Damascus school experience supported his confidence in taking on new experiences and how that confidence has led him to where he is today. It will be a wonderful evening and I thank everyone who contributed, especially our awards committee of Sarah Boswell, Jennifer Montgomery, Ashwin Pillai, Caroline Nolan, Aleceia Gason, Tony Haintz, Sharon Hayes, Chris Grant, and Nicole Hexter.

On Saturday afternoon, l joined the Damascus rowers at the Senior Regatta on the Yarra in Melbourne. The team had a wonderful day, and I was so impressed to see how our young people worked together to support, challenge, and encourage one another. It was beautiful to see the rowers supporting one another across the senior year levels.

At the conclusion of this school year, we give thanks to the staff who have concluded their time at the College; Tony Haintz, Sally Balson, Ann Bawden, Deb Glasson, Gail Haintz, Matt Edwards, and Sharon Wolfe. Each have had extensive careers at Damascus and I thank them on behalf of the generations of young people that they have educated. Keran Mewett is taking leave for term 1 of next year and will return in term 2, we look forward to welcoming her back to the College.

I thank those staff whose term in specific leadership roles come to a close;

• Martin Ryan as Learning Area Leader-RE
• Adrian Newman as Retreat Coordinator
• David Myers as House Leader- Rice
• Nikki Hexter as Assistant House Leader – Rice and Sports Coordinator (Nikki will now assume the role of House Leader-Rice)
• Hannah Keating as House Leader-Xavier (Hannah will assume the Leader of Student Wellbeing leadership position)
• Karen Hocking as Assistant House Leader – Xavier (Karen will now assume the role of House Leader-Xavier)
• Karen Goonan as Assistant House Leader – St Martin (Karen will now assume the role of House Leader-McAuley)
• Rachel Wallbank as House Leader – McAuley (Rachel will now assume the role of Student Growth and Engagement Coordinator Year 10-12)
• Laura Kimm as Assistant House Leader – McAuley (Laura will now assume the role of Student Growth and Engagement Coordinator Transition & Year 7)
• Catherine Richardson as Instructional Development Leader
• Alysoun Smalley as Learning Area Leader-Languages (Alysoun will now assume the role of Leader of Curriculum and Assessment)
• Caroline Nolan as Learning Area Leader-Maths (Caroline will now assume the role of VCE Coordinator)
• Alan Archbold as Learning Area Leader-Technology
• Matt Hallowell as VCE Coordinator and Diverse Learning Coordinator Years 10-12 (Matt will now assume the role of Leader of Student Growth and Engagement)
• Rebecca Anderson as Diverse Learning Leader
• Kirsten Phyland as Diverse Learning Coordinator Transition & Year 7 (Kirsten will now assume the role of Assistant House Leader-Rice)
• Melissa McLachlan as Leader of School Organisation
• Sally Balson as TA Leader

I thank all these staff for the leadership that they have shown at Damascus College, time not money does not extend to the levels of responsibility that this team of people have borne and we are incredibly grateful.

And while we celebrate conclusions, it was great to welcome our newest members of the school community yesterday as our incoming Year 7 students experienced their Orientation Day. There were a raft of new families who joined us and it was a joy to see the interactions and foundation of new friendships and learning. To those who were new families at the College yesterday – Welcome!

Semester reports will be available online in the Parent Access Module (PAM) from Friday, 2^nd December. The final report is a compilation of the feedback provided progressively on the assessment tasks undertaken throughout this second semester. VCE results will be available on Monday 12^th December to students who undertook a Unit 3/4 subject on Monday 12th December – senior students will have received communication on the different means of receiving their results. The Careers Coordinator and College counsellors will be available at school for those seeking support on results day.

Over the past six months, l have had the pleasure of meeting many people and l have engaged with small groups of staff, students, and families to hear your dreams and love of Damascus. I thank each member of the community for making me feel so welcome and so willing to share your dream for our community.

Our staff team have worked hard this year and I ask that you think of them and pray for them this Christmas.

Thank you for being part of the Damascus community in 2022, if this is your last association with the College – thank you for your contribution – if you are returning next year enjoy family and holiday time together. Have a wonderful Christmas, God bless and thank you!

With Every Blessing

Steven

On Tuesday morning, Damascus College welcomed the Class of 2028 to the Year 7 Orientation Day for 2023. Over 200 new students were in attendance, along with parents/guardians, to begin their Damascus journey.

The day commenced in the Damascus Events Centre, where students were introduced to their new Houses, received a house ribbon and were welcomed by the 2023 Student Representative Council (SRC) members. The College captains then had a chance to welcome the students and families before formalities and a welcome from Principal Steven Mifsud.

Students and families were then escorted to House areas throughout the campus before being introduced to their Teacher Advisor and led on a tour of the campus so that they could see and learn more about their new school.

Parents and carers were invited to a lovely morning tea before they left the campus, as the new students enjoyed recess before undertaking class activities, where they learned more about the subjects and extra-curricular activities available to them when they commence at Damascus College in 2023.

Thank you to all of the new students and their families for participating in Year 7 Orientation Day for 2023. We look forward to seeing the Class of 2028 on Tuesday 31 January for your first official day of school.

Over the past year a group of Damascus students have actively participated in the Girls in Stem program.

The Girls in Stem program provides students from a range of Ballarat Secondary Schools, the opportunity to gather for a day twice a term at the Ballarat Tech School and work with industry partners to learn how to design, produce and evolve ideas.

Throughout the year the girls had the opportunity to work with Mars Wrigley, Vitrafy, Haymes Paint and Federation University and C.E Bartlett.

Year 9 student Haileigh Buttigieg participated in the program and has provided an overview from the year,

“The past year I have had the amazing opportunity to be part of The Girls In Stem Program or the GIS alongside, Year 10 students Zoe Newman, Paris Govan, Taya Thiele, Lucy Leviston, Laura McDonald, and Year 8 student Sadie Jones. This program was one of the main highlights of my year.

This introduced us young girls in regional areas to use our minds and interests through, Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics. The Tech School taught as all to follow the points below us we worked in groups designing and evolving our ideas.

• Hold your ideas lightly – be ready to share and grow together

• Applaud the endeavours and successes of each other

• When giving feedback be Kind – Specific – Useful

• Embrace opportunities to work with new people

I have really enjoyed this opportunity and I encourage more girls to participate and be part of the GIS Team.”

Last Thursday 24 November, Damascus parents gathered in the Damascus Events Centre as part of the Parent Q&A with new Principal, Mr Steven Mifsud.

The event was a great opportunity to create dialogue with our new and existing families, to hear from them about what’s working well at Damascus and what would be even better if.

Steven spoke of the type of leader he is, his career journey to date, and his observations so far after two terms leading Damascus College. He provided some insights into College plans for the future and enabled parents to ask numerous questions, so that he could respond and give feedback. The opportunity to gather important information and feedback from our families was invaluable and will be fed back to the College leadership team.

Thank you to the families that took the time to attend the Q&A, your willingness to participate was very highly valued.

Last Wednesday 23 November, Damascus students participated in a Drama Showcase at the Valda Ward Auditorium.

Within Performing Arts at Damascus, it is in the environment of live theatre that the young performer is ultimately tested and rewarded. It is the beginnings of performer confidence and experience. It is for that reason why events like this week's drama showcase are so important.

The College’s regular program of showcases serve the specific purpose of publicly recognizing and applauding the achievements of students within the department. We believe that this kind of event is different from a School Production in that it provides greater opportunity to display a wide range of students and their talents.

The work within the public presentation last Wednesday, was only recently assessed as Semester 2 performance tasks set within the classroom. On viewing these we felt that some of these pieces showed great potential and deserved a wider viewing than simply their classmates. On display was a range of scripted pieces from Year 9 students and three original solo performance pieces by Year 11, Unit 2 students. The appreciative audience attending provided these talented students a wonderful opportunity to gain performance experience and hone their craft.

Well done to all students involved.

Andrew Seeary

Performing Arts Coordinator, Drama

Please see following some information in relation to the Lucas Family Carnival: -

This year, as a part of the Shining Light Award, we are especially excited to invite nominations for our Young Achiever Award.

Do you know a past student that has graduated from Damascus College within the past 15 years that has shined bright in their chosen field, and that you would like to see recognised for their achievements?

Why not nominate them for the Shining Light Award!

To complete the short nomination form or for more information about The Shining Light award please visit: https://www.damascus.vic.edu.au/community/alumni/shining-light-award

Nominations close: Friday 9 December 2022 at 4pm.

With the holidays fast approaching please find following a list or Local and National Support Services: -