02 June By Mr. Matthew Byrne, Principal
There is an enormous sense of relief to be able to plan to return to onsite learning from Friday, 4th June for all year levels. This is the case for all regional and rural schools in Victoria. We will return to our regular timetable here onsite this Friday.
One of the requirements of returning to onsite learning is that all members of the community must wear masks unless legitimate exemptions apply. I ask that families please equip students with masks to wear and spare masks to enable them to engage with their learning and school activities. Students will be required to wear masks to be able to access school buses and public transport.
I admire the efforts of all those within our community to adjust to the interruptions that this time of lockdown has brought. Our students and staff have moved from onsite to remote learning with minimal warning and have gone to extraordinary lengths to continue quality learning and teaching. Our families lives have been disrupted, and yet opportunities for young people are always prioritised. Thank you! If your young person is nervous about returning to onsite learning, could you please liaise with your TA or House Leader to address those concerns.
As we planned at the end of last week, we will proceed with the condensed timetable for tomorrow, Thursday, 3rd June. This condensed timetable allows students some time to finish off work before returning onsite or to take the opportunity for some activity time outside. It allows our staff a chance to return learning equipment onsite. The timetable for the day tomorrow is listed below and will be in student messages in SIMON tomorrow.
TA |
8.55am |
9.09am |
Period 1 |
9.11am |
9.46am |
Period 2 |
9.48am |
10.23am |
Recess |
10.23am |
10.43am |
Period 3 |
10.45am |
11.20am |
Period 4 |
11.22am |
11.57am |
Lunch |
11.57am |
12.27pm |
Period 5 |
12.30pm |
1.05pm |
Period 6 |
1.07pm |
1.42pm |
Staff preparation and planning |
1.50pm |
3.20pm |
The College is providing onsite supervision again tomorrow, but we would ask that families arrange for student collection or written permission to leave the campus at the earlier finish time of 1.42pm. For families that require it, supervision of students will be available until 3.17pm.
Matthew Hallowell communicated with Year 11 students this morning about a delay in the exam timetable to enable students to have at least one face to face session with their teacher prior to their exams. Year 10 exams will also continue, and both Year 10 and Year 11 exams will now take place on June 10, 11, 16, 17 and 18. Students will shortly receive their revised exam timetable.
The last day of Semester 1 will now be Friday 18th June, and we will commence Semester 2 with Early Start on Monday 21st June, for the last week of this term. These extra few days of classes will support students within practically based subjects to conclude work. The end date for tasks in SIMON will also be adjusted to reflect the end of the semester as Friday 18th June. Unit 3/4 teachers will be discretionary as to when they move from the content of Unit 3 to Unit 4 for our senior students. Reports will be available to families in the first week of Term 3.
Tuesday 15th June will remain a non-teaching day for students to enable staff to prepare for Early Start and continue to provide feedback on end of semester assessment.
The Government and the Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority (VCAA) have not been definitive on whether the General Achievement Test (GAT) for those students studying a Unit 3/4 sequence will proceed next Wednesday, 9th June. At this stage, it is scheduled to proceed; however, this may change, and we will inform students and families in due course.
There are a number of activities such as Music recitals scheduled next week and the middle school formal the week after. At this stage, we are awaiting formal advice to inform whether these events can proceed and, if so, in what format. We will keep students and families informed as this information becomes available.
I am aware that some families may have had their income affected due to this current lockdown. As a Catholic school, in the Mercy and Diocesan tradition, our position is very clear that families are supported in times of need. The school’s immediate priority is to provide as much stability as possible for your young person/people. With this in mind, we are committed to providing flexible and confidential financial assistance to support you with managing your school fee commitments for 2021.  If this is an issue for you, please get in touch with us to discuss the options. We do care, and if you need help, please reach out by contacting fees@damascus.vic.edu.au
The uniform shop and canteen will both be open from Friday. We encourage students to order lunches online to reduce congestion.
This communication replaces my regular Wednesday newsletter and is available on the website.
We keep in our prayers this week all those who have struggled with the uncertainty of this time. We particularly pray for those in metropolitan Melbourne who continue their lockdown. All do not share our good fortune, and we remember those for who these challenging times continue.
We also ask that our loving God be with Damascus families experiencing grief at this particular time. We remember Blake and Matthew Powell (Year 8) and their family as they mourn the loss of their grandfather. We also remember Jessica (Year 12) and Hamish (Year 11) Sainsbury and their family as they grieve the loss of their maternal grandfather. We also extend our prayers to the Principal of St Patrick’s College, Stephen O’Connor, as he grieves the loss of his father this week. May each of these families find comfort in the presence of our loving God!
Until next week …
MATT