From the Principal
18 May By Mr. Christopher Grant, Interim Principal
This week, we have Year 7 and 9 students undertaking NAPLAN. Year 10 students are engaged in Work Experience or their retreat and CPDA learning opportunities. Year 8 students have been camping at Anglesea and building their friendships, knowledge, and skills. The diversity of learning and the strength of engagement has been wonderful to witness, considering over the last two years, not all of these activities could occur.
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 educating 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 2021 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 previous interviews.
Information will be sent to families regarding booking through the Parent Access Module (PAM). I remind families that next Wednesday, 25th May, is a non-teaching day and students are only required to be at school with their families for their interview.
Next Tuesday, our Ballarat Associated Schools Athletics carnival will be held at Llanberris Oval. I thank Rod Matthews, Nikki Hexter and the PE team for supporting our students to attend. I wish all our athletes well for their participation throughout the day.
The Victorian Government will continue to provide Rapid Antigen Tests (RATs) for use by students and staff for the remainder of Term 2. However, from Monday 23rd May 2022, it is recommended RATs are used by students and staff only when symptomatic. From Monday 23rd May 2022, it is not recommended that non-symptomatic students or staff continue to conduct RATs twice a week in schools. Students and staff must continue to notify the Department of Health and their school if they return a positive RAT result. Face masks can also continue to be used by any staff or students who wish to do so, including medically at-risk students.
Can I please ask families for your support for your young person when returning to school, where there is a positive case within the house. Students and staff who are household contacts of a COVID-19 case are no longer required to quarantine. They can return to school as long as they undertake rapid antigen tests (RAT) 5 times within their 7-day period and wear face masks indoors if they are aged 8 and above unless they have a valid exemption.
If any household contact returns a positive RAT result during this period, they must isolate for 7 days and not attend school.
We keep Lillian Richardson (Year 7) and her family in our prayers on the passing of her grandfather this week. May he rest in peace.
Until next week… Chris