When I think of change and the challenges of adjusting school life and the frustrations of alteration, I remind myself that it could be worse, and I could be on the International Olympic Committee. I cannot imagine juggling the challenge of bringing the Olympics to the world in the context of this global pandemic. In this sense, school challenges are relatively less complex!

Nevertheless, it is frustrating to be in a set of circumstances that require us to adapt and change our plans constantly. My pride is in the way that this community continues to respond in such life-giving ways. Always looking to the learning opportunities and growth in our young people.

In this communication, I am working through the changes that will occur for TA interviews next week and other adjustments to our program in light of the extended lockdown.

Damascus College Teacher Advisor interviews create a critical link between families and the College, which is vitally important in remote learning. The focus of this particular interview is on future pathways. For Year 7 to 11 students, this involves subject selection, but for our Year 12 students, it is very much about what their post-Damascus pathway will be.

The timing of the planned return to school next Wednesday has meant that we have had to look at next week and how interviews can work most effectively.

In the calendar, we were to have TA interviews on the afternoons of Tuesday 27^th and Wednesday 28^th and interviews all day on Thursday 29^th. Under the current plan, students would return to school on Wednesday and then have a non-teaching day on Thursday. In working through a range of different options, we have decided that the best learning and teaching and well-being outcome next week will be to bring those TA interviews to Monday afternoon and Tuesday.

We recognise that this is another significant change for families and for that I apologise. Our changes are a result of the lockdown, and we are responding to things outside our control.

In moving TA forward to Monday afternoon and Tuesday, we know that the majority of parents are home and in lockdown with their students; this enables families to join TA easily around the student device. We also are acutely aware that it is in no-one’s interest to come back to school for a day and then have a day out of school again. We are also of the belief that young people are always engaged in conversations about their subjects and future directions and that the focus of this interview anchors students to the future and keeps us firmly and positively looking forward. That is important in these times of unsurety – that we all keep looking forward.

We will then run a condensed timetable on Monday through until lunchtime with six shortened lessons. In the afternoon, we will then conduct TA interviews with them scheduled to finish by 4:15pm. We ran with this schedule last year in lockdown.

On Tuesday, we will conduct TA interviews from 8:30am – 4:15pm finish.

We will work a condensed timetable on Friday to enable staff to prepare for TA interviews and a planned return to onsite learning on Wednesday.

We are asking families to book your times for Monday or Tuesday between now and 4.00pm on Friday. I apologise for the short booking window, but I hope that families appreciate that we are responding to changing circumstances. In a small number of circumstances, there may not be an available booking time; if this is the case, could you please reach out to your TA or House Leader to arrange a mutually agreeable time.

For those who are seeking onsite supervision, this will be available on Friday and Monday under the adjusted timetable. We would hope that those families are in a position to collect students on these shortened days; however, we will continue to provide supervised study if this is not possible. We would appreciate communication through the College office if supervision is required for Friday or Monday afternoon or for the day on Tuesday.

As with any TA day, the learning activity of the day is the interview; however, teachers have set work for students, and they are encouraged to continue with this in preparation for our planned return onsite on Wednesday.

I have attached a letter with further explanation of the TA process here and you will receive an additional email today from the College when online bookings are open and available.

Student lesson times for Friday and Monday will be published in the daily messages and available through SIMON and PAM.

We are hopeful that we will return to school on Wednesday and run face-to-face classes for the rest of the week.

In other changes, the Year 9 planned reflection day for this Friday has been adjusted and will be delivered remotely during lessons 3 & 4. I acknowledge the work of Sally Murphy in planning and adjusting. We had a wonderful Indonesian Immersion experience last Friday and hope to extend that when we come back onsite, I thank and acknowledge Brendan Bawden. We are waiting to hear whether the Year 8 Enriched Mathematics Olympian will proceed next Wednesday. I thank Davis Neate for his work in this space.

We remain excited for the production of Spelling Bee, which is ready to go when it is permitted.

At this stage, the General Achievement Test is still scheduled for next Thursday, 29^th, for students undertaking a VCE Unit 3/4sequence. If this is confirmed as continuing, we will provide specific advice for senior students next week.

Last Thursday afternoon, the BAS Road Relays were conducted at Lake Wendouree. On an afternoon that could have been challenging, our students conducted themselves in a way that brought pride to our community. All students worked hard to be their best but just as importantly, to see such camaraderie and “team spirit” amongst them was a delight. Our senior students were absolutely fantastic as role models. Thank you to Rod Mathews, Dan Jans, Gavin Walsh, Pat Dillon, Nikki Hexter and Allan Lepair for your support of this team.

I also acknowledge all those families that attended our Pathways and Careers Information evening last Thursday evening and thank our Assistant Principals, Learning Area Leaders and Careers team for the work that went into this event.

While we await final results, I am pleased to report that our Junior Girls A Team, made up of Gretta Ashley, Lucy Jones, Quinn Moore, and Layla Muir, successfully won their age group. In other age groups, we had placings, and when these are available, I will have much delight in sharing these with you.

In this Sunday’s Gospel, we hear of Jesus feeding the 5000. It is a reflection of Jesus providing sustenance by drawing on the resources of those in his immediate circle, and to everyone’s surprise, there was enough. I am struck by the parallels that exist for us all in being required to sustain one another by leaning into the skills and talents of those around us. May Christ’s modelling be present to us as we continue to navigate change.

Please pray for staff member, Joanne Lawrence who lost her loved Mum last Thursday after losing her mother in law the previous week. Our thoughts and prayers go out to Joanne and her husband Michael and their family.

We also extend our condolences to the family of Jett (Yr 8) and Shannon (Yr 11) Craggill and their family on the passing of their maternal grandfather yesterday. May he rest in peace.

I remain grateful for the Damascus Community’s flexibility in these changing times.

Until next week …

65 members of the Damascus College community completed The Push-Up Challenge across the month of June. In doing so, they collectively completed 123,073 push-ups and raised $984 for Headspace Ballarat – all while pushing for better mental health. Congratulations to everyone who was involved as part of the Damascus College team and to everyone else who participated in the challenge as part of other local teams.

Well done to all involved!!!

The School Improvement Surveys are key tools that provide the College with data from staff, students, and parents to assist in understanding how well our College is operating. The information provides an insight into the College climate and culture at a particular time. It is a window into how we are understanding our operations with focuses on organisational climate, teaching climate and student behaviour and wellbeing. It is coordinated through the Diocese of Ballarat Catholic Education Limited using a third-party company Insight SRC as the survey provider.

Randomly sampled parents and students are asked to complete the survey in the window between July 26th – August 6th, 2021. All staff members will also be completing the survey in this window.

Supporting our Damascus College Be.My.Best focus, the School Improvement Student survey measures five different socio-emotional learning (SEL) for students. These include Emotional Wellbeing, Teacher Relationships, Engagement in Learning, Faith-Based Behaviours, and Student Relationships. It is important, however, to consider these socio-emotional outcomes in conjunction with academic achievement data, such as the school's NAPLAN results and other assessment regimes at the college.

The School Improvement Surveys are valuable tools and decision-making aids, particularly when used in conjunction with other information about your school’s performance.

Parents / guardians who have been randomly selected will be contacted by email with details of how to complete the anonymous survey, just prior to the opening of the online survey instrument. We thank you in advance for a speedy turn around.

Congratulations to Year 7 student Eloise Balazic for recently placing 2nd in the Yarn Bombing competition in the Bridge Mall, Ballarat.

This event was introduced to encourage people to embrace and celebrate the Ballarat chill and what better opportunity to get in to a bit of knitting or crocheting. To Yarn bomb, is to cover an object or structure in a public place with decorative knitted or crocheted material, as a form of street art.

The winnings she was awarded will be donated to Happiness Advent Calendars, which is an initiative run by Year 10 student Jake Sbardella and his mother. This initiative raises funds to buys beds for community members in need.

Well done Eloise, your lion is a sight to behold!

Photos courtesy of The Bridge Yarn Bombing, and further information can be found at:

https://www.bridgemall.com.au/yarn-bombing/

CSEF eligibility

Below is the criteria used to determine a student’s eligibility for the Camps, Sports and Excursions Fund (CSEF).

Criteria 1 – Eligibility

To be eligible* for the fund, a parent or legal guardian of a student attending a registered Government or non-government Victorian primary or secondary school must:

• on the first day of Term one, or;

• on the first day of Term two;

A third eligibility date has also been added - On the first day of Term three – 12 July

• Be an eligible beneficiary within the meaning of the State Concessions Act 2004, that is, be a holder of Veterans Affairs Gold Card or be an eligible Centrelink Health Care Card (HCC) or Pensioner Concession Card (PCC) holder, OR
• Be a temporary foster parent, and;
• Submit an application to the school by the due date.

* A special consideration eligibility category also exists. For more information, see: www.education.vic.gov.au/csef

Parents who receive a Carer Allowance on behalf of a child, or any other benefit or allowance not income tested by Centrelink, are not eligible for the CSEF unless they also comply with one of (a) or (b) above.

Criteria 2 - Be of school age and attend school in Victoria

School is compulsory for all Victorian children aged between six and 17 years of age inclusive.

For the purposes of CSEF, students may be eligible for assistance if they attend a Victorian registered primary or secondary school. Typically, these students are aged between five and 18 years inclusive.

CSEF is not payable to students attending pre-school, kindergarten, home schooled, or TAFE.

Eligibility Date

For concession card holders CSEF eligibility will be subject to the parent/legal guardian’s concession card being successfully validated with Centrelink on the first day of either term one (27 January 2021) or term two (19 April 2021).

Payment amounts

CSEF payment amount

The CSEF is an annual payment to the school to be used towards camps, sports and/or excursion expenses for the benefit of the eligible student.

• Primary school student rate: $125 per year.

• Secondary school student rate: $225 per year.