As we wrap up another vibrant and enriching term at Damascus College we have much to celebrate. We took many considered risks and thoughtful educational changes and I have been delighted to see the students and staff flourish at St Brendan’s Campus. It's a wonderful time to pause and reflect on the many achievements and experiences that have shaped our community this Term.

I was proud as we officially opened the Xavier Flood Senior Learning Centre—a transformative space designed to empower our senior students with flexible, modern and collaborative learning opportunities. The energy and excitement around the space is palpable, and it marks a significant investment in our students’ futures.

Rehearsals for our upcoming production of Oliver is well underway! Students have been pouring their hearts into every scene and song and we can’t wait to share the final performance with you next term. A huge thank you to our performing arts team and families supporting students behind the scenes.

Next week, a group of students and staff will depart for Indonesia to take part in an exciting cultural immersion experience. The trip will provide valuable opportunities to deepen their understanding of Indonesian culture and practise their language skills in real-world settings. I wish them safe travels and a most enjoyable and enriching experience.

As we often remind our students, learning is not just about content—it's about curiosity, openness and growth. Thank you to families who recently participated in the Teacher Advisor Review process. Your input helps us continue to evolve and support every learner’s journey. Attendees provided valuable feedback that has been compiled for consideration in planning for our 2026 timetable.

I warmly congratulate Ash Pillai on his promotion and appointment to Sacred Heart Geelong. Ash has been a cornerstone of our leadership team, contributing greatly to our learning and teaching programs and the College’s strategic thinking. We are deeply grateful for his dedication and passion and we wish him every success in this exciting next chapter. Next week a panel will be interviewing a number of people for this significant role.

The following role changes have been made to ensure coverage during periods of leave:

• Acting Assistant Principal – Student Wellbeing: Gavin Webb. Gavin has stepped into this role whilst Andrew Robertson is on leave.
• Acting Assistant Principal – Teaching and Learning: Naomi Olthof. Naomi has stepped into this role until a new appointment has been made.
• Acting VCE Coordinator: Karen Hocking. Karen will step into this role while Caroline Nolan is on leave.
• Acting Learning Area Leader – Mathematics: Alan Lepair. Alan will step into this role while Hamish McCrum is on leave.
• Acting Leader of Curriculum and Assessment: Jen Henderson. Jen has stepped into this role to backfill Naomi Olthof as she takes on the role of Acting Assistant Principal – Teaching and Learning.
• Acting Sports Coordinator: Paul Blanchfield. Paul has stepped into this role to backfill Gavin Webb as he takes on the role of Acting Assistant Principal – Student Wellbeing.
• Acting Learning Area Leader – Religious Education: Ashlee Tanner. As has stepped into this role until a new appointment for has been made.

At the end of the term Margaret McIntyre and Annette Hirth conclude their time at the College. We are grateful for their hard work, passion and enthusiasm in RE and French.

I am delighted to welcome two new staff members, Tam Lloyd-Teese and Margaret Niutta to the College. Tam will commence as Assistant Rowing Coordinator on Monday 23 June and Margaret will begin in Parent Reception on Tuesday 24 June.

We look forward to working with them and wish them all the best in their new roles.

I will be taking Long Service Leave during the first two weeks of next term and during that time Chris Grant will serve as Acting Principal. I’m confident in Chris’s leadership and know the school will continue to thrive in my absence.

As this is our final newsletter for Term 2, I want to extend a heartfelt thank you to all our families for your continued support, encouragement, and engagement. I hope the upcoming break offers your family a chance to rest, recharge, and reconnect.

Warmest regards,

Steven

Next Friday 4 July will be the last day of term, and we will see a school finish time of 2.18pm. Students have a casual day for the Vinnies Winter Appeal. Students are asked to bring $5, if it is within their family's means, to support the "Vinnies" Winter Appeal to support the homeless and at-need families. If your student has PE, Wood, Metal, Science or Food – please ensure that they wear appropriate clothing, notably closed footwear, for practical classes.

CDC have informed us that they will not be operating at the early finish time as in pervious years, and instead, will continue to operate on their usual bus schedule – a pickup of approximately 3.30pm. For any CDC Bus travellers that need supervision, this will be made available from 2.30pm to 3.30pm on Friday. Country bus services will collect students following the early finish time of 2.18pm. More details will be emailed regarding this.

Furthermore, CDC have today informed us that once again, there will be another planned industrial action by the Transport Workers Union (TWU) on Tuesday 1 July 2025, and as a result, CDC Victoria’s bus services in Ballarat will be disrupted on this day.

Unfortunately, this means the school bus and town route services for our school will not operate on Tuesday 1 July. Country busses will run as normal.

Looking ahead, I remind families that Term 3 will commence with regular classes on Monday 21 July. It's quite hard to think that we are almost halfway through the year and almost looking at subject selections going into 2026. Well done to all students on their efforts in concluding their Semester 1 classes and completing their assessment and classwork tasks and exams the best they can.

We anticipate that the timetable for the new semester will be on SIMON for students from in the first week of the holidays. Please encourage your student/s to log into SIMON and check their new timetable and in particular, their PE days where they will wear their PE uniform. Pathways and elective subjects will change over for the new semester, and it will be important for students to note these changes. Students changing electives or pathways subjects are reminded to bring along the relevant resources for those subjects with them on the first day back of next term.

As we approach the final two weeks of Term 2, Year 12 students are encouraged to make the most of the upcoming holiday break. With Unit 4 coursework commencing, the holidays present a valuable opportunity to revise Unit 3 content and consolidate their understanding, while also taking time to preview and prepare for Unit 4 topics. Given that Term 3 is a nine-week term, it will move quickly, so using the break to stay organised and ahead in their studies will help set a strong foundation for the final months of their VCE and VCE/VM journey.

Office hours over the holidays will be Monday to Friday, 9.00am – 4.00pm.

Throughout the first two weeks in this role, I have had numerous parent phone calls, face to face family meetings and have attended a Family Information night at the College and will attend another one this week.

The first night was led by our Principal, Steven Mifsud, where parents and carers had an opportunity to discuss the current Teacher Advisor (TA) structure and what it may look like moving forward. It was run as an open discussion forum, where they expressed their thoughts and provided valuable feedback regarding their experiences and expectations for the TA program. It was wonderful to hear from such invested and passionate parents and carers, whose feedback will inform decisions as we review the program to ensure the teacher-student relationship is one of continual growth and mutual investment, which leads to a greater sense of connection and identity to the College.

The second parent night, which I will attend this Wednesday, is the Family Partnerships Program “Finding the words” presentation, which will be led by our Counselling Team and guest presenter Jesse Parks, the Community Engagement Leader from Headspace Ballarat. The night will focus on teen Mental Health and Suicide prevention.

Some key take aways from the night will include.

• The need to normalise mental health conversations.
• The need to foster safe and respectful conversations about suicide that neither trivialise nor taboo the topic.
• How to recognise and respond to distress.
• How to start a conversation with your child.
• How and where to access supports such as Ballarat Community Health, Headspace, BADAC and Grampians Health Services.
• The need for Mental Health and Wellbeing to be embedded into the curriculum across all year levels.

The amount of care and investment that not only the families of our community have naturally for their student/s but that of the future direction of the College, be it structural or curriculum wise is really evident and encouraging. Family involvement in a student’s education leads to a number of benefits, which positively impacts academic results, social-emotional returns and overall growth from a general wellbeing perspective.

We as a college understand that you are the primary educators of your student and we thank you for entrusting us with them. In continuing to strengthen the relationship between home and school, I would encourage all families to re-iterate what boundaries exist and make this clear to your student. By reinforcing the College’s expectations around behaviour and the like we, together, are strengthening the relationship and teaching your student life skills. I look forward to continuing to build on the existing relationships that already exist between home and school with all families, as we progress throughout 2025 and beyond.

On Wednesday 11 June, Damascus College students participated in the Legacy Junior Public Speaking Awards, at Legacy House Ballarat.

Isabeau Turner (Y 9), Keeley Moore (Y 7), and Kayla Brumby (Y 7) participated with up to 17 other representatives from Ballarat schools. Each student gave a five minute speech and an impromptu speech on 'Everyone should have a...'

Isabeau topics: Social justice- zine culture; Everyone should have a cause

Keeley topics: The importance of remembrance; Everyone should have a chance

Kayla topics: Personal effort; Everyone should have a fish

Well done to these three students for participating, and congratulations to Isabeau as she was one of two winners and is now preparing for the State Finals in September.

As Semester One draws to a close, the English team is proud to celebrate a number of successes both in and beyond the classroom. We sincerely appreciate the ongoing support families provide, helping students strive for their best in English. As we look ahead to Semester Two, we kindly remind families to ensure students are well-prepared for their classes by replenishing any necessary stationery and workbooks.

Early next term, students in Years 10 and 11 will begin selecting their VCE subjects, while Year 9 students will be choosing their English electives for Semester 2, 2026. We encourage all students and families to consult the upcoming subject handbook to make informed decisions about future English studies. Available options include Core English, English Language, and Literature, as well as Year 10 Applied English—designed for students interested in pursuing the Vocational Major Certificate (VM-C) pathway in VCE.

It has been wonderful to see students actively engaging in their English classes and challenging themselves to achieve their best. We’re also pleased to see many students taking advantage of extra-curricular English opportunities, such as the Writer’s Club—held every Day 6 during the big break in Room 7205—as well as public speaking and debating. If you’re interested in getting involved in any of these activities, please don’t hesitate to speak with your English teacher.

In addition to regular classes, Year 12 Core English teachers are available every Thursday from 3:30–4:30pm in the St Martin’s Resource Centre to support Year 12 students. During this time, students can access one-on-one assistance, receive feedback and guidance on their writing, work in small groups with teacher support, or simply use the time for focused study. This session also offers valuable supervised working time for VET students who miss their English class on Wednesdays. Furthermore, English Language support is also available each Tuesday morning from 8:00–8:55am with Andrea Hadley. These sessions are held in the open space on Level 3 of the Xavier Flood Senior Learning Centre and are open to students in Years 10–12.

On Wednesday 21 May, VCE Literature and English Language students had the valuable opportunity to travel to Melbourne to attend Bell Shakespeare’s production of Henry V. A big thank you to the students for representing Damascus College with enthusiasm and maturity—they were outstanding ambassadors for our school.

Languages News

Currently, Damascus students already learning French or Indonesian as a core subject during Year Eight may elect to further these studies from Year Nine all the way to VCE Year 12. Undoubtedly, many students at various year levels mull over the decision to continue with languages. The main ingredients required for fulfilment and success in further studies of languages are curiosity, a genuine love for culture and language, as well as the willingness to review new learnings and regular practice.

Both internationally recognised official UNESCO languages, French and Indonesian have played significant roles in the history of our regional development here in the Asia-Pacific. In 2025, Damascus College has taken to the international stage with study tours for both languages. After our successful April study tour to France - Angers and Amboise in the Loire Valley as well as Paris - it is now Indonesian’s turn, with their study tour comprising ten students departing next week, led by Mr. Brendan Bawden who has worked tirelessly in collaborating with our partner institution, The Bloombank School in Jakarta, in order to prepare a highly engaging and innovative itinerary for students. In-country excursions such as these support an authentic student engagement with language, people and culture, and to gain an expanded world perspective.

2025 Indonesian Language Study Tour: 1 – 13 July

The ten students, accompanied by three teachers led by Brendan will soon depart on a two week-long international excursion to Indonesia. This popular study tour has been held bi-annually and follows the memorable experience held in 2023. The four provinces covered during this excursion include Jakarta, West Java, Yogyakarta and Bali. Students will experience interactions with Indonesian people from varied backgrounds going about their everyday lives. It is an amazing opportunity to be immersed in society in a vast and diverse land that expresses both the traditional in its rich and proud history as well as the modern in the national confidence in itself as a future world leader.

The following students will be participating in the 2025 Indonesian Tour:

• Blake Alcock (X02, Year 11)
• Jessica James (R03, Year 11)
• Olivia Radisich (X01, Year 11)
• Imogen Rosenhart (X03, Year 11)
• Harley Shannon (S07, Year 11)
• Finn Hoare (R06, Year 10)
• Yolanda Jones (X06, Year 10)
• Sam Langhorne (X06, Year 10)
• Charli Rowe (S07, Year 10)
• Toby Allan (R03, Year 9)

The touring group will miss the last four schooldays of Term Two as well as the first week of school holidays. It is at the same time both a privilege and huge commitment for all participants. Accompanying the students along with Brendan are Nicole Hexter and Amanda Tait, who will ensure a safe and enjoyable experience for all students. The school fondly wishes the touring group Selamat jalan! (‘Safe travels’) on their journey to Indonesia.

Thank you, our incredible families for supporting your children to participate in this excursion and for your support of the school languages program more broadly.

Staff acknowledgement

Margaret McIntyre will conclude her teaching contract on Friday 4 July. As a highly experienced and accomplished teacher in multiple languages, Margaret has been a highly valued member of the languages team in the time that she has served the College in 2024 and again in 2025; students in all her French classes and colleagues alike have benefited by Margaret’s inspiring attitude as well as the wisdom that she has consistently been able to impart others.

The school says merci beaucoup to Margaret for her work, and we wish all the very best with her travel plans as well as getting to spend more time with her family during the remainder of 2025.

Year 7 students recently enjoyed an engaging and educational excursion to Sovereign Hill, where they explored significant aspects of Australian and Aboriginal history and culture. As part of the day, students participated in an interactive scavenger hunt, which saw them navigating different parts of the historical site to uncover clues and answer questions.

This hands-on experience deepened their understanding of Australia's past in an exciting and memorable way. A highlight for many was the chance to indulge in the iconic raspberry drops, adding a sweet touch to a day rich in learning and cultural discovery.

From Monday 23 June, all Damascus rain jackets will be able to be purchased from Noone’s Uniform Shop, located at 4 Armstrong Street North, Ballarat.

A reminder that the onsite Dobsons uniform shop will close next Friday 27 June.

Year 10 Students Engage in ‘Expect Respect’ Program

Recently, Year 10 students at Damascus College took part in the Expect Respect presentation, held in the Damascus Events Centre and facilitated by Ballarat Community Health.

This valuable program engaged students through live theatre and an expert panel discussion, encouraging them to reflect on respectful, safe and equitable relationships. Key topics included consent, challenging gender stereotypes, help-seeking, and how to be an upstander within their community.

It was a powerful and thought-provoking experience. Our students showed great courage and maturity as they engaged with these complex but essential issues. Damascus College is proud to support our young people in developing the knowledge, empathy and confidence they need to navigate the world around them.

We thank Ballarat Community Health for their ongoing partnership, and our dedicated staff for supporting this important learning opportunity.

As our 2025 Indonesian students prepare to leave for Indonesia next week, we are delighted to report on two of our graduate students who have returned to Indonesia recently. Alex Turner and Madison Rosenhart were part of the Indonesian touring group of 2023.

They are currently in Jakarta working as volunteers in a local school. They organised this themselves and with the help of our Sister language school (Bloombank), were able to secure a 6 week placement assisting and teaching in the primary school. They have also visited a university, attended a wedding and undertaken many day trips for sightseeing and swimming.

We are very proud of Alex and Madison and hope to see them continue to work in the area of languages in their future career choices. They are certainly an inspiration to our current Indonesian students.

In celebration of World Day for Grandparents, Damascus College warmly invites Year 7 students and their Grandparents or Grandfriends to attend a special celebration on Thursday 24 July.

Grandparents and Grandfriends Day offers the unique opportunity to see the day-to-day life of your Year 7 student at the College and the chance for students to show their appreciation and gratitude to the significant ‘grand’ people in their lives.

Bookings are essential as spots are limited, via this link: https://www.trybooking.com/DCNCG

*Please note if Year 7 students are not attending the Grandparent and Grandfriend event, students are required to attend their regular class schedule.

We look forward to seeing you there.

Some of our Year 8 students have worked collaboratively to share a glimpse of recent activities at St Brendan’s, Dunnstown.

FOOTBALL AT THE DUNNSTOWN OVAL

By Levi Dunn & Jobe Blazko

Football in the Damascus community is rising in popularity. Here at St Brendan’s, the recent football games have become extremely competitive.

Students are begging for another match, to play with or potentially against their peers.

Football is a very engaging activity among the St Brendan’s peers, bringing us together for matches. This is not only building teams, but friendships as well.

BUTTER MAKING AT ST BRENDAN’S

By Keeley Gillett

A few weeks ago, my Action Habits group made butter. Mrs McMahon put on a video so we’d know how to make it ourselves. We grabbed some jars, poured cream into them, and had to shake them until the cream turned solid. Then we put the jars in ice. That’s how we made butter!

But Mrs. McMahon thought it would be fun to give us a side challenge. We had to pedal on a bike to heat up a cup of water. It was super challenging! Everyone had to take a turn pedalling and, by the end of it, we were all sweaty and tired.

The butter we made was used for the scones we ate. Making the butter was fun, but heating the water was challenging because it was so tiring. We learned lots of interesting things.

SELF-DEFENCE

By Lily McDonald & Lucy Watt

Once a week, one Action Habit group goes to the Dunnstown Football/Netball Club recreation room. That’s where we learn about self-defence. During these sessions we learn lots of new skills, like kicking, punching, yelling and lots more.

The people who ran our session were very kind and inclusive. They supported our learning and encouraged us to try our best. They taught us useful actions that we may need to use in our lives. They were also very funny, often making jokes. They even used a pool noodle to teach.

Most of the time we were there we practised how to back off from someone intruding into our personal space in an aggressive way. We learnt how to kick, punch and yell to keep them away.

Overall, we loved doing this activity and we would do it again. It was lots of fun.

LAL LAL WINDFARM

By Rye Hately & Tom McCarty

Last week the Environment and Lifestyle groups visited the Lal Lal Wind Farm. It was a very interesting excursion.

At the wind farm there were around 60 wind turbines. Each one had a height between 60 and 120 metres.

The average build time for a wind turbine is about a week. But it takes a bit longer for the technical equipment to be put in.

The average output for a wind turbine is two to three megawatts (2000 to 3000 kilowatts). That is enough to power at least 1500 households.

We thought that the Lal Lal Wind Farm excursion was very suitable for the Year 8 students at St Brendan’s. We learnt lots of information about sustainable power.

BALLARAT TRAIN STATION

By Lachy Lund & Callan Reeve

Yesterday the Creative Cultures group visited the Ballarat Train Station and the surrounding precinct. Our excursion focused on some of the famous historical sites and buildings of Ballarat.

The Ballarat Train Station had lots of old buildings surrounding it. It was built in 1862 on the opened on the 11th of April. The train station was renovated between 2016 and 2021 and there is another renovation going on as of now.

The Ballarat Train Station was used for transporting people and gold to Melbourne in the Gold Rush era. It even has a place where gold was stored safely from 1862 before it made its way to the city.

By visiting the Ballarat Train Station precinct we were able to learn more about life in the past. This gave us more appreciation of our local history and architecture.

Visiting the lambs

By Ruby Cookson and Jess Westlake

At St Brendan’s, we recently had a session where three little lambs visited our campus. For many students, it was one of the highlights of the term.

Freddy’s parents brought the lambs to St Brendan’s. They set up a small black pen at the back of the oval to keep the animals safe.

When we arrived for our session, the lambs were introduced to us by Freddy’s parents, who told us a bit about them before letting them out for feeding and cuddles. Then we had the chance to bottle-feed the lambs milk. We also fed them hay.

One of the lambs tried to drink all the milk before the others had a turn. Another lamb, named Wonder, wore a blue harness and was the smallest of the three. Wonder quickly became everyone’s favourite. After their feed, one lamb began bleating like it wanted more milk, while another tried to wander out of the pen!

We were lucky enough to hold the lambs too. We didn’t expect them to be so cuddly—but they were! One of the lambs was wriggly at first, but after a little while, it settled and enjoyed a cozy cuddle. As we held them, we noticed how incredibly soft and fluffy their fur was. It almost felt fake because it was so soft.

Overall, it was an excellent experience, and we hope the Term 3 and 4 groups get to enjoy this amazing opportunity as well.