It is great to have everyone back onsite here at school from yesterday. We are fortunate to be able to be together as Term 3 starts and for students and staff to be able to meet with one another in new elective and pathway classes and in those other studies that continue this semester.

In the absence of the regular Sunday Mass which I have participated in for 50 years, I have found that parts of the liturgy echo through my thoughts at strange and unusual times. Today, as I sit writing the first newsletter of a new term, the words of the introductory rites of the Mass come to mind “May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all.”

Grace, love and communion/community are all concepts that sustain me. This blessing used at the start of Mass references St Paul’s greeting to the Corinthians (2Cor 13:14). One of the challenges of our present time is to ensure that grace, love and community are the lived expressions of life as part of Damascus College. That we are not overwhelmed by fear of harmful viruses, bushfires, division, hatred or violence. My prayer for this uncertain time is that we are able to find God’s sustenance through one another in grace, love and community to embrace the challenges that we face.

Over the holidays our community was touched by the premature death of Mrs Kerryn Wehrung. Many of our student population would have had contact with Mrs Wehrung as a casual relief teacher or short term contract teacher.

Kerryn was a beautiful person, who loved this community and the students, staff and families of it. We remember Mrs Wehrung and pray for her children Nathan, Dan and Abbey, her Mum and sister and her extended family. We ask God, who is our comforter and our friend to bless our community in our time of loss, and bring us peace and hope in the time ahead.

We ask this in Jesus name

AMEN.

Our Lady of Mercy Chapel is open for student reflection, and there are school cards and writing paper on the bench inside the Chapel if students want to write a memory or send a note to Mrs Wehrung’s family. Students can go to the chapel any time this week if they want to leave a message and we will make sure the family receive it.

If Mrs Wehrung’s death brings up feelings of loss for students please encourage them to talk with their TA, House Leader or contact the College counsellors for support.

It seems a defining feature of the last two school holidays has been a changing social climate and spikes in COVID cases, I imagine it has been difficult for everyone to switch off with the escalation of community concern and the restriction on Melburnians and Victorians as a result of the growing number of cases. It is all part of the challenge that 2020 is presenting.

As we return this week, we are continuing to be vigilant in social distancing and personal safety here at school. We are currently fortunate in Ballarat, but that has been achieved through the responsibility of the broader Ballarat community and may change.

I ask that families please continue to communicate with our young people about the importance of social distancing, personal hygiene and sanitising. The priorities for the Damascus community throughout the pandemic continue to be;

• Maintaining the safety of the entire Damascus community
• Ensuring we remain connected and support one another
• Ensuring continuity of quality learning and teaching
• Being willing to adapt, change and try new things, recognising that we will make mistakes at times.

We have continued to work to educate the student population to the 5 S’s and we need family support with this messaging at home.

Metropolitan school's are having thermometers rolled out this week to temperature check students. This is not expected of schools outside the metropolitan and Mitchell Shire areas. Damascus College is not temperature checking at this stage.

There has been a substantive change in the media commentary around the use of face masks. There is no expectation that they be worn by students or staff, however if staff or students feel safer wearing them, then they are encouraged to do so.

As a staff team we are looking at what worked well and what were our challenges through last term’s period of remote learning, we are also looking back to the feedback that we collected from students and families to inform what may occur in the future. We are hopeful that we will not need to revert to remote learning, but we must also be realistic that the prevalence of the virus and the situation in Melbourne means that there is a chance that this may occur. I will obviously maintain communication if there are any changes to the current government policy.

In this period where regional and metropolitan Victoria have different frameworks for operations, we are keeping our priority on safety and trying to contain our educational activities to our community as much as possible. For the immediate future we will run sporting opportunities within the Damascus community, however on the advice of the Catholic Education Commission, we will not participate in BAS Sport. We are currently working up a schedule of activities and we will share that with students over the next week. Sports Coordinator, Nikki Hexter will communicate with students the inter-house opportunities that will exist.

One of the significant risk minimising factors that we continue to adhere to for the safety of our community will be prioritising students and staff on campus. Our advice specifies the importance of limiting adult to adult contact, so I ask that parents not exit their car when onsite. If you believe there is a legitimate need to come into the College office, please contact the office via phone, and we will work through the specifics of your need individually. Attendance on campus by non-essential visitors and parents will be limited.

Our senior drama students are currently finessing their ensemble pieces and they will perform these to select drama students next week. We wish them well with this critical piece of assessment. The College will record these performances and make them available to families.

The canteen remains available to supply lunch orders utilising the app or online ordering. Orders can placed up to 9.30am daily through www.quickcliq.com.au. More information can be found here.

If Year 12 students have study lessons at the start or the end of the day and can get to school safely, we will continue the opportunity for them to arrive later or leave early for the immediate future. If students come late or leave early they must sign in or out through the office and still connect with TA in the morning.

Supervised study spaces are available for all students onsite. If students sign out, they must go home. Those students who abuse this privilege will be denied the opportunity, although our experience last term was that our senior students treated this very responsibly.

The safety of the Damascus community is the key priority in this period of time. It sits alongside our commitment to continuing our provision of quality education and maintaining a connected and supported community. In ensuring we are able to provide the support families need, please contact fees@damascus.vic.edu.au if your family is experiencing financial duress. Young people’s education must not be a victim of this global pandemic and we are here to help.

It is great to be back, until next week …

MATT

To kick off Term 3 we spent some time with McAuley House Leader, Rachel Wallbank and she shared with us a valuable insight in to who she is, so we hope you enjoy this Q&A.

Interestingly, Rachel was also a past student of Damascus College, Class of 1998, so she has a long and proud history with our wonderful community. Pictured below is a baby photo, a high school photo and a current photo of Rachel – such beautiful blue eyes.

• What is your favourite food?
Homemade Lasagne and Hazelnut chocolate (not together)

• Do you have a hobby/play a sport?
I love to read and have been doing plenty of it in isolation. I also enjoy running and taking my dog for a walk. I do a little bit of running coaching too, however I’m still finding my confidence with that as it’s fairly new.

• What is your favourite holiday destination?
Anywhere with a beach, it’s my happy place. We love getting away to Apollo Bay and Anglesea. We were looking forward to going to Tanzania next year but that has been put on hold for now.

• If you had one day left on earth, how would you spend it?
At the beach with my family, including the dog.

• Where were you born? Size of family, where do you come in the order?
I was born in Ballarat, the eldest of four children. Both my sisters live in Ballarat and my brother lives near Geelong.

• What value/s do you live by?
As much as I can, to treat others as I’d like to be treated. If we all did a lot more of that, the world would be a happier place.

• What do you enjoy about working at Damascus College?
We have great staff and great students. Everyone is always looking after each other. I’m continually blown away by the compassion our students show for others. It’s the Mercy values, I think.

• What stand out thing, do you think a student gains from a Damascus education?
A Mercy education! They understand that they’re part of a bigger picture: there’s more to life than their immediate surroundings. The opportunities for students here are so vast that there’s something for everyone. When I interview incoming Year 7 students, the pastoral care that the College offers is something that is mentioned almost every time. It’s something that we can all be proud of, that students are known, cared for and they belong.

• Why do you love the job you do? Why do you love teaching? I love being a House Leader. Some days it can be really tough and require a lot of emotional energy but being on a team with 290 amazing students and some equally amazing staff is a good trade off. Almost all of the students we interviewed for House Captain for 2020 talked about how they feel like McAuley is a big family and that made us incredibly proud and is testament to the culture created by staff and students in the mighty yellow house.

The best part of teaching is being able to see young people grow into themselves and take their place in the world. Being able to meet a young person at their point of need and go on to see them flourish is so rewarding.

The Careers team is excited to launch their first ever Subject Selection Expo at Damascus College. The expo is happening at lunch times in Building 7 from Monday 20th – Friday 24th July.

Students from Years 9-11 are invited to come and speak to the experts about their subjects and pathways.

•Mon - Tues – year 9 going into 10
• Wed – Thurs – year 10 going into 11
• Friday – Everyone welcome (including 11s going into 12)

We hope to see you all there!!!

Despite the cold and gloomy weather this morning, it was a pleasure to see our bright and chipper students returning to campus ready to begin learning as Term 3 commenced.

#InThisTogether

Vladimir "Val" Perovic, Class of 1968 was spotted on campus today assisting with the construction of our new Gathering and Exam Centre.

During his time at St Paul's Technical College, Val began his illustrious football career and was a key player in the 1967 Premier team captained by Peter Howren with Daryl Maher as Vice-Captain. Val was later recruited from his North Ballarat team to play with VFL team St Kilda in 1973 as a wingman and was widely regarded as one of the recruits of the year.

After 77 league games for the Saints, he moved to Carlton at the end of the 1979 season. While with the Blues he played some of the best football of his career, earning state selection once more, and playing in a back pocket in both the 1981 and 1982 premiership wins. In the 1982 Grand Final defeat of Richmond, he was one of the best players on the field.Val was noted for his long left-foot kicks. During his time at Carlton, fans would shout "woof!" every time he kicked the ball. He was the first Carlton player whose kicks were acknowledged in this way.

Val retired from football in 1985 and is looking forward to retiring from construction later this year.

#TogetherWeAreDamascus

I just wanted to showcase some of the amazing work our VCAL students have achieved this term. With a range of assessments taking place in and around the Community, we have had students; making care packages to thank our ‘Frontline’ workers during the pandemic; students sending books to remote schools (Canteen Creek in Alice Springs); students offering elderly neighbours gardening services and baked goods; providing sporting and gardening activities to schools/footy clubs to encourage primary-aged students to get moving; gathering donations for the Shower Bus etc.

The way in which our students conducted themselves and represented the College is a true testament to the dedicated and compassionate young people that they are.

It was also really lovely to see the VCAL cohort undertaking testing of key Employability Skills workshops during the week, by participating in the ‘Burger Warz’ (see pic) and the ‘Murder She Wrote’ activities. We have some amazing students undertaking a rigorous program in VCAL which is led by a wonderful staff. Thanks to all involved.

Please find below the most update Career News:-

Careers News 13 July 2020