Today our Year 9 students switch over for their camp experience at Anglesea. It has been great to hear reports of students working together on physical activities and undertaking new challenges. Today's weather has been damp, but the forecast for tomorrow is fair, and I am sure students will be pleased just to be out and about. I am very grateful for the efforts that everyone has made to bring this to reality, particularly Assistant Principal of Student Wellbeing, Andrew Robertson and Xavier House Leader, Hannah Keating.

Thank you to all those families who have had to juggle isolation over the past fortnight. We are almost all back onsite from tomorrow, and I am very grateful for the response of all within our community.

Our Year 12 students' final exams are progressing, with many students undertaking their final exam each day this week. Indonesian is the very last exam, and it will take place next Wednesday, before the Year 12 Graduation on Thursday afternoon. Year 12 students have been remarkable in all they have achieved over the last 18 months, and we are very proud of them as individuals and as a cohort, and we look forward to celebrating this next week.

Year 11 exams are currently underway, and Year 10 students will undertake Mathematics and English exams over the coming days. Next Tuesday is our final day of classes for the 2021 academic year. Next Wednesday, 17th November, we have a student-free day before we commence our Early Start program with students moving up from one year level to the next from Thursday 18^th November.

Students progress to the next year level within the Early Start Program for the final two weeks of the College year. Students will commence their new pathways subjects and will be in their new core groups. I remind families that there have been booklist requirements for this period notified, predominately stationary and English texts. The purpose of the program is to ensure that learning opportunities are optimised to the very last day of the year for all students and that they are getting the best learning experience possible at Damascus.

Student timetables will be available through SIMON and PAM throughout the day on Wednesday. It will be important to note the days students have PE to ensure they are appropriately equipped for their classes.

Within the Early Start Program, where we have new staff starting at the College, we have tried to engage them for this period. Where that has not been possible, we have drawn on existing staff, particularly Year 7 teachers, to ensure that students begin their program with consistent and quality teaching, ready for the next staff member to pick up the learning program. These next two weeks are assessable learning and will contribute to semester one grades for 2022.

Damascus students will proudly represent the College at three different wreath-laying ceremonies tomorrow as we commemorate Remembrance Day. Students will also take part in a reflection here at school in the lead up to the 11.00am commemoration. I thank Humanities Leader, Gerard Macklin for his facilitation of this opportunity, with the support of Tony Haintz.

In a time when we see the growing secularisation of society, opportunities seem ever more evident to link the traditions of the College's foundational faith beliefs with the non-religious dimensions of society. This week as we approach Remembrance Day on 11^th November, we are also in the month of remembrance within our Church tradition. A third element of this alignment is that it is the anniversary of the death of Catherine McAuley (11th November), the founder of the Sisters of Mercy. As people of hope, and regardless of our place on a journey of faith, both Remembrance Day and our Church's Holy Souls tradition focus on the hope and joy of everlasting peace in unison with our loving God. The College hosted a liturgy of remembrance yesterday in our TA pastoral lesson to remember all those we have loved and lost.

We keep in our prayers this week, Zac McCarthy (Year 12) and his family on the loss of his maternal grandmother. May she rest in eternal peace.

Until next week ….