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 5^th 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

Social and Emotional skills are essential in enabling students to understand themselves and others, and manage their relationships, lives, work and learning more effectively. These skills involve students learning to recognise and regulate emotions, develop empathy for others and understand relationships, establish and build a framework for positive relationships, work effectively in teams and develop leadership skills, and handle challenging situations constructively.

At Damascus College we are working with students to develop these skills to assist them in improving wellbeing and student outcomes. They are intended to provide feedback on strengths and opportunities for growth. As we navigate a complex world the acquisition of these skills are critical.

Further to this on Tuesday March 29, during the TA period students will be undertaking a Social Emotional Well Being Survey. Please see more information on that below:-

All students at the College will be completing the ACER Social- Emotional Wellbeing Survey (SEW) during their TA Period.

Students respond to a series of statements confidentially indicating their level of agreement on a four-point Likert scale by choosing one of four alternatives: Strongly Agree, Agree, Disagree, Strongly Disagree.

The Secondary survey form also includes an additional set of questions that ask students to make judgements about aspects of their school, home and community that influence their emotional wellbeing, relationships with others and school achievement (e.g. 'I have a teacher who cares about me').

The online survey will take approximately 30 minutes to complete, and students are asked to ensure that they have their device charged.

Areas reported:

• Overall SEW
• Feelings & Behaviours
• Positive
• Negative
• Internal Strengths
• Social Skills
• Emotional Skills
• Learning Skills
• Values
• External Strengths
• Home
• School
• Community

The data from this survey will be instrumental in identifying and informing future student wellbeing programs and best practice targeting the specific needs of students moving forward.

The Wellbeing Team will then in turn report the findings of the survey back to the school community including staff, parents and carers.

If you have any questions and or concerns around this please contact Dan Jans or Hannah Keating, TA and Senior Student Wellbeing Project Leaders, at the College on 5337 2222.

Damascus College is raising money for Project Compassion this term by running a Baker’s Delight Hot Cross Bun Drive. The College makes $2 from each bag sold which goes straight to Project Compassion.

Flavours include Traditional Fruit, Choc Chip, Fruitless, Mocha and the ever-popular Apple and Cinnamon. Orders are due back on Wednesday March 30^th and delivery is on Wednesday 6^th April. McAuley students received an order form during TA this week. Forms can also be collected from the foyer in student reception.

If you missed out on a form please click on the link below to download a copy.

2022 DMAC Hot Cross Bun Order Form

On Sunday our Sustainable Racing Team put on a display at the Buninyong Sustainabilty Expo held at Royal Park.

6 of our SRT students proudly spoke to the public about SRT and their involvement in the college. There was also a practical demonstration of the energy taken to boil a cup of water by pedal power only.
It was a great day and we received very positive feedback about what the program is doing and how the students conducted themselves.

It was also a great way for students to practice their public speaking skills, which is an important role in our Maryborough event at the end of the year.

The students also proved to be great role models for the Buninyong Primary school who also had their program on display and both schools spent some time riding together on the soccer pitch.

Next Webinar – Wednesday 23rd March @ 7pm

Managing Technology & Focus​​

Here’s what we will be showing on tonight's night:

✅How to help your student manage social media and reduce technology dependence
✅Practical strategies and apps to minimise procrastination
✅How to help your student use technology productively to enhance their learning  

Please click here to register.

Last weekend the female students of the Damascus College Rowing Program headed to Geelong for the annual Head of the Schoolgirls Regatta, this season we had 41 students participate from Year 8 through to Year 12. This included 8 coxed quad scull crews and 1 single sculler. The regatta ran from Friday 18^th to Sunday 20^th March, each of the Damascus College students raced every day.

All crews performed extremely well with each crew producing a PB over the course of the regatta. Special mention to our Senior Girls Coxed Four who made the A Final for their event and posted a fantastic time while competing against some of the best crews in the state.

Another special mention to Paris Govan who after coxing at Head of the Lake decided to hop into a single scull for the final 2 weeks of the season and race at the Head of the Schoolgirls Regatta. Paris made the B Final of her event placing 3^rd, this ranks her 7^th out of the 16 girls who competed in the Year 10 Single Scull event.

Below are the criteria used to determine a stud ent’s eligibility for the Camps, Sports and Excursions Fund (CSEF).

Criteria 1 – General eligibility

To be eligible for the fund, a parent or carer of a student attending a registered Government or non-government Victorian primary or secondary school must:

• on the first day of Term one
• on the first day of Term two

For the list of eligible financially-means tested cards refer to the CSEF Policy:

https://www2.education.vic.gov.au/pal/camps-sports-and-excursions-fund/policy

Parents who receive a Carer Allowance on behalf of a child, or any other benefit or allowance not income tested by Centrelink, are not eligible for the CSEF unless they also comply with the above.

Criteria 2 - Be of school age and attend school in Victoria

For the purposes of CSEF, students may be eligible for assistance if they attend a Victorian registered primary or secondary school. CSEF is not payable to students attending pre-scho ol, kindergarten, home schooled, or TAFE.

Special Consideration

A special consideration category exists for

• Families on a bridging visa, temporary protection visa, in community detention or are asylum seeker families
• Student’s in temporary out of home care arrangements, including statutory kinship care

For more information, see https://www2.education.vic.gov.au/pal/camps-sports-and-excursions-fund/guidance/eligibility

Eligibility Date

For concession card holders CSEF eligibility will be subject to the parent/carer concession card being validated successfully with Centrelink on the first day of either term one (31 January 2022) or term two (26 April 2022).

PAYMENT AMOUNTS

CSEF payment amount

The CSEF is an annual payment to the school to be used towards camps, sports and/or excursion expenses for the ben efit of the eligible stud ent.

• Primary school student rate: $125 per year.
• Secondary school student rate: $225 per year.

The CSEF is paid directly to your child’s school and will be allocated by the school towards camps, sports and/or excursion costs for your child.

For ungraded students, the rate payable is determined by the student’s date of birth. For more information, see: www.education.vic.gov.au/about/programs/Pages/csef.aspx

HOW TO COMPLETE THE APPLICATION FORM

NOTE: ALL SECTIONS MUST BE COMPLETED BY PARENT/LEGAL GUARDIAN

1. Complete the PARENT/CARER DETAILS section.

Make sure that the Surname, First Name, and Customer Reference Number (CRN) details match those on your concession card. You will also need to provide your concession card to the school.

If you are claiming as a temporary Foster Parent or a Veteran Affairs Pensioner, you will need to provide a copy of documentation confirming your status as a temporary Foster Parent or provide your Veterans Affairs Pensioner Gold card to the school.

If you are seeking special consideration, mark this in the form and provide a copy of the relevant documentation.

2. Complete the STUDENT/S DETAILS section for students at this school.

3. Sign and date the form and return it to the school office as soon as possible. The CSEF program for 2022 closes on the 24 June 2022.

Forms are available through the front office or online Camps, Sports and Excursions Fund (CSEF) application form (education.vic.gov.au)

Conveyance Allowance

To be eligible for a conveyance allowance, individual students will be assessed under the following criteria:

1. Attend a school/campus located outside the metropolitan conveyance allowance boundary
2. Attend the closest appropriate school/campus at which admission is permissible
3. For students attending specialist schools, this will be determined by the specialist school’s Designated Transport Area (DTA) in which the student resides
4. For students attending government schools, this will be the closest school/campus appropriate to the age and gender of the student (e.g. primary, secondary, single sex)
5. For students attending non-government schools, this will be the closest school/campus of the recognised denomination for conveyance allowance purposes.
6. Reside 4.8km or more from the school/campus (shortest practicable route calculated by the school attended at the time of application from the student’s home to the school/campus)
7. Be of school age (between five and 18-years-old at the time of application), and a resident of Victoria
8. Be enrolled and travelling to school three or more days per week.

Students’ circumstances can change during their school years (e.g. moving residence or changing schools/campuses). Change of circumstances affects eligibility and a new application must be submitted with each change of circumstance.

Private car
A private car conveyance allowance is not available if the journey could have been made using a public transport service or free school bus.

• Where there is more than one student in the vehicle, there are two rates claimable: ‘furthermost’ and ‘additional.’
• Where there is more than one student in a vehicle, and they attend different schools, the amount claimable is based on the distance travelled to school by each student. That is each student must be the subject of a separate application and the student attending the furthermost school is identified as the ‘furthermost’ student; each of the other students must be claimed as ‘additional’.
• Rates are calculated according to the distance (measured in kilometres) from home to the campus attended using the Department’s standard measurement method; for details of the rates claimable, refer to Appendix 1 Conveyance Allowance Rates
• It is assumed that all students from the same family will travel in one car therefore only one family member may claim furthermost student allowance.

Pro-rata adjustment of reimbursement (time fraction)

Where students change school, transport mode and/or address that affect the payment of conveyance allowance, pro-rata payments are made, having regard to the number of days of actual attendance. It is the responsibility of each school to report any mid-semester student changes and the required pro-rata adjustments that are required.

Late payments
Late (past year) applications cannot be accepted or paid.

Any inquiries relating to this allowance or to any bus travel matter may be directed to Tracey Williams at the College office Phone: 5337 2222.

** FAMILIES ARE REQUIRED TO SUBMIT A NEW CLAIM FORM EACH YEAR** FORMS ARE AVAILABLE FROM THE FRONT OFFICE