This Saturday evening, members of our community gather together in the Damascus Events Centre to proudly celebrate 140 years of Catholic education, building on our shared Mercy and Diocesan history since 1881. Whilst this event was scheduled to be held in 2021, this is the second time this event has been postponed and we are very much looking forward to joining together in celebration. The evening will be full of entertainment from Damascus students and staff, where guests will be treated to canapes on arrival, a sit-down sumptuous two-course meal including beer, wine and soft drink. Tickets for this event are still available, and can be purchased by clicking on this link. We look forward to welcoming our community to join us in celebrating our 140-year history.
Across the College community, it is great to see so many young people and families making the most of the opportunities that the College has to offer, and our steps back to gathering together in larger groups. It has been evident over this past week, the diversity of opportunities available. We had a substantive cohort of students attend the Head of School Girls Regatta in Geelong from Friday to Sunday. Last Wednesday, we participated in the BAS Swimming carnival, and we were very proud of our students’ representation. Students, Staff and Volunteers from our Sustainable Racing Team, presented a display on the progress and ongoing development of the program at the College, at The Smart Building and Living Expo in Buninyong. BAS Term 1 sport is back in full swing with students competing in a number of sports across the week.
Principally, all these opportunities exist outside classroom learning, which is the heart of a Damascus education.
In our return to assembling in larger groups, we are working through a plan that will support the safe gathering of our entire student and staff cohort together once again. It has been 768 days (outside of swimming and athletic sports), since we have joined together as a full school community, and we feel now is the time. The next occasion that we are scheduled to meet as a full school, will be our End of Term prayer on the last Thursday of this term. Also within this event, students will have the opportunity to farewell Matthew Byrne, as he concludes his time at Damascus. Contingencies will be put in place including air purifiers and the encouragement for all students and staff to be wearing masks. Prior to the end of term, we will also gather together for our House meetings in our respective house areas.
Another move towards a COVID normal, will see families welcomed back onsite through School Tours beginning this week, and parent spectators in the John Shannon Centre for the BAS sporting competitions, commencing in Term 2. Spectators that enter the John Shannon Centre must be able to provide a valid evidence of vaccination. We have certainly missed the many opportunities that welcome our families into the school, and look forward to your return.
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. Reflection days for students in core groups 7.3 and 7.5 are postponed however, due to staff availability.
We are nearing the conclusion of our Enhancing Catholic School Identity (ECSI) project survey time, and still require more families to complete the survey. Can I kindly ask families to consider completing this survey to support our understanding of our current Catholic identity and where the school community might like to see it, in the future. Families have received an email from the College with information on how to access the survey, including login details and an information sheet. The College is very appreciative of the time that you are committing to complete the survey. Your responses, along with the responses of Students and Staff, play a vital role in our self-understanding as a Catholic Education provider. For more information please click here.
The End of Season Rowing Dinner will take place on Tuesday 5th April, in the Damascus College Events Centre from 6:30pm. Tickets can be purchased through the College office.
Families are reminded that there is still a requirement for students to carry a mask at all times, if they are travelling on public transport. This includes any off-campus activities/excursion throughout the day.
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. We keep in our prayers today Kitty Burton (Xavier, Year 8) and her family, on the passing of Kitty's mum Shelley Burton – may she rest in peace.
Until next week…Chris