From the Principal
24 March By Mr. Matthew Byrne, Principal
As we move through the last full week of term 1, we are reminded by the media of the uncertainty and fear of this time last year when we first moved into lockdown. I am sure that there are people within our community for whom that trauma remains very real. We are fortunate to be in a position of relative safety compared to the rest of the world, but we also remember those who continue to struggle with that fear and trauma both here and abroad.
The fear and uncertainty that the pandemic continues to illicit resonates with the experience of Holy Week that commences on Sunday. Jesus life changed dramatically and tragically in a very short space of time. Jesus resurrection provides the ultimate expression of hope. We are people of hope, and the lifting of further restrictions on Friday could be seen as a subtle Easter massage.
For our community, Easter is the key celebration within our calendar. We mark the celebration of Holy Week and Easter in a variety of ways. The 30th anniversary of the production of The Final Hours is a wonderful expression of our Christian community. I congratulate those students involved in the production and thank Andrew Seeary and Nicole Burness and all those who support them for their facilitation of this contemporary retelling of the Holy week scripture.
We will also come together as a whole school community on Holy Thursday for our Easter liturgy. It will be the first time we have all gathered in the John Shannon Centre since the 2020 Opening School Mass, and I am excited that it is in the context of Easter that it will occur next Thursday at 1.45pm to conclude our term. I acknowledge the work of our Liturgy Leader, Cathy Prunty and Assistant Principal of Catholic School Culture, Tony Haintz, for their preparation of our liturgy.
This Friday, we will move to the Llanberris Reserve for our Athletics carnival. The athletics carnival is a great opportunity for our young people to team together in their Houses to compete. As with any school day, this is a compulsory school day for all students. There are a broad range of events to engage students of different abilities. Please make sure students have suitable sun protection and food and water for the day.
Our Year 7 students have been out on reflection days this week, supporting them to settle into our Catholic Christian community. I thank the RE team and Adrian Newman for their preparation for this week.
Yesterday, Jacob Hanrahan, Keira O'Beirne, Gemma Gale and Jack Sproull represented Damascus at the BAS Golfing championships.
I congratulate Gemma as she was crowned the Junior Girls 9 Hole Champion - Well Done! Further congratulations to all students on their participation during the day and thanks to Tony Haintz for facilitating the opportunity.
Just a reminder that immunisations will occur next Wednesday morning, 31st March, for Year 7's. All Year 7 students are to return their immunisation card to the College, whether they are being immunised or not.
A gentle reminder for parents of Year 10 students in core groups 5, 6, 7, 8. Work Experience arrangements for students need to be finalised by the first week back of term 2. If your child has not yet found Work Experience, please encourage and assist them in doing so over the coming few weeks. The school holidays may be a perfect time to contact and visit potential employers.
Spare Work Experience forms are available from the Careers Hub in the Library, or alternatively, the Damascus Web page has printable copies Work Experience and SWL Forms - Damascus College
Contact a member of the Careers Team if you have any questions
The annual STEM Career Expo will also take place this year on Monday 10th May from 9.00am – 1.00pm. The Science department are seeking past students, present and past parents, families and friends of Damascus College that work or study in the area of Science, Maths, Medicine, Allied Health, Technology or Engineering careers to chat to small groups of students. If you are interested please see the flyer here
This week Damascus students Alex Western, Caspian Linayao, William McKechnie and Riley McCarthy are in Tasmania competing at the Rowing Nationals regatta. The boys are competing in a range of different events for community clubs across the week, and we wish them well for their competition.
Our counselling team has been stretched over recent weeks, which will mean that their ability to support students in the preholiday period will be difficult. If families are looking for counselling support and it appears to be unavailable until next term, please speak with your House Leader or contact Kids Helpline.
Families are reminded that there is still a requirement for students to carry a mask at all times whilst at school and the further requirement that if they are travelling on public transport that they wear a mask; this includes any off-campus activities/excursion throughout the day.
I remind families that Thursday, the 1st April is the last day of term, and school will finish at the earlier end of term time of 2.17pm. We will work an adjusted, shorter lesson timetable throughout the day, with lesson 6 given to our Easter Liturgy.
In our prayers this week, we remember those who are affected by the floods. Many within our community have connections affected up the east coast, and we keep the members of those communities in our prayers. In our prayers today, we remember staff member Jessica Wong and her family as they commemorate Jess' mum's life.
Until next week …
MATT