From the Principal
21 July By Mr. Matthew Byrne, Principal
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 27th and Wednesday 28th and interviews all day on Thursday 29th. 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, 29th, 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 …