From the Principal
11 May By Mr. Matthew Byrne, Principal
Tomorrow, 13th May is the feast of the Ascension of Jesus into the full presence of God, 40 days after his resurrection on Easter Sunday. I have been grappling this week with the scripture of Ascension Sunday (Mk 16:15-20) and have found it challenging. It has been the last two verses that I have found most accessible;
19 So then the Lord Jesus, after he had spoken to them, was taken up into heaven and sat down at the right hand of God. 20 And they went out and proclaimed the good news everywhere, while the Lord worked with them and confirmed the message by the signs that accompanied it.
The place of Catholic Education “to proclaim the Good News everywhere” is our mission. The evidence, the signs that accompany this proclamation, have been all around me this week. If we project back 12 months, our school activity was curtailed to only that which we could achieve remotely. This week we have Year 7 and 9 students undertaking NAPLAN, Year 9 students working with community members on career opportunities in Science, Mathematics and Technology; Year 10 students engaged in Work Experience or their retreat and CPDA learning opportunities, Year 11 and 12 VCAL students have been receiving micro-credentials as baristas and working on problem-solving skills, Year 8 students have been camping at Anglesea and building their friendships, knowledge and skills, Year 12 VCE English students have been building and refining their creative piece for their second SAC. The diversity of learning and the strength of engagement has been a wonderful testament to the presence of God in our lives. A presence more fully appreciated when you consider none of these things proceeded this time last year.
So, as I grapple with the mystery of Jesus coming into the fullness of God’s presence, I am again grateful for the gifts of so many within this community in creating enormously diverse learning opportunities. I am also mindful of the challenge and uncertainty that students and families may struggle with as we enter unfamiliar learning practices and acknowledge the courage required by students and families to undertake new experiences.
Thank you to those families who were able to take part in the Mother’s Day Mass and Breakfast last week. I thank Sarah Boswell and Cathy Prunty and all those who supported them in bringing the morning together.
I congratulate Luke Gallagher, Charles Snare, Monique Vereker, Gemma Daly, Olivia Daly, and Ethan Rae, who represented Damascus College at the 2021 Victorian School Associations Swimming Competition on Monday, and I thank Health and PE Learning Area Leader, Brett Stone for his support of these students.
Next week we have TA interviews. The Damascus College Teacher Advisor program is one of the key mechanisms that we use to partner with families in the educating of young people. The College, the student and the family need to work together to maximise the learning opportunity for each young person in this community.
These interviews are at the forefront of our spiritual, pastoral and academic communication with families. It is expected that students and parents engage with this opportunity. The interview next week will include a review of movement towards achieving goals set in the first term and acknowledging any concerns to this point, and navigating the educational experience over the next few months.
We believe the best engagement is face to face. Being onsite allows the ability to support families to check lockers or gain IT assistance if devices need updating. We are also refining our learnings from 2020 to best support maximum family engagement and connection. Therefore, the MS Teams software will continue to be an option for this interview cycle. Provision has been made for the option of online interviews through the MS Teams software on the student devices as per remote learning in first term.
Tuesday and Thursday afternoons will be remote appointments. On Wednesday, families are encouraged to meet onsite. If this is not possible, families can engage via MS Teams if needed, as we want to maximise family engagement. Information has been sent to families regarding booking through the Parent Access Module (PAM). I remind families that next Wednesday, 19th May, is a non-teaching day and students are only required at school with their family for their interview.
We pray for all those who are grieving at this moment.
Until next week…
MATT