It is great to see families moving around the College today for our Teacher Advisor interviews. As I indicated in the newsletter last week, Teacher Advisor interviews are a critical interface between the home and this school in supporting each young person’s best outcomes. Thank you to all those families who have prioritised the opportunity, and if for some reason you have not been able to, please reach out to your TA to arrange a time. Interviews will continue through this evening and will be available tomorrow remotely via Microsoft Teams.

Last week was a hive of activity around the College, as I indicated through the newsletter. I want to thank again all the staff who made these diverse opportunities available, particularly those who took organisational roles.

It was great to join the Year 10 students yesterday morning during TA time as our professional Careers Team; Georgia Shillito, Joanne Lawrence and Michelle Tapera talked to the Year 10 students about their upcoming Careers interview. All students in Years 10 – 12 are supported with a Careers interview to support subject selection and planning for student pathways beyond Damascus. The team have done great work in increasing the support for students and always welcome student enquiries.

We welcome new Learning Support Officer (LSO) Damien Harris to the Damascus staff this week. Damien has extensive experience in the LSO field and will be a great addition to the Damascus community.

Next Monday, a small number of students will accompany Mrs Prunty and I into St Patrick’s Cathedral as our diocesan community comes together to celebrate 200 years of Catholic education in Australia.

This week we are attentive to God’s presence in our lives and work. God supports us too, this week between the feast of the Ascension and Pentecost. The National Council of Churches in Australia invites us to a week of prayer for Christian unity. This year the council build on the recent scriptures capturing the work of the vinedresser in a theme “Abide in my love and you shall bear much fruit.”

We are all invited to abide in God’s love this week in a spirit of unity

I want to take the opportunity to promote our Bright Futures breakfast on June 3rd. This year Jocelyn Bignold (OAM) is our guest speaker. Jocelyn is the CEO of McAuley Community Services for Women, which supports women and children experiencing family violence and homelessness. Jocelyn has over 25 years’ service to the community and was recognised for her commitment to making people’s lives better with a Medal of the Order of Australia in 2020.

In holding this fundraising breakfast, the College seeks to extend the Bright Futures scholarship opportunity to offer it to more than one Year 7 student per year. Proceeds raised at the event will support this worthy scholarship fund to extend its reach to multiple students each year. I encourage families or students to get a table together for a delicious and enjoyable breakfast experience that the proceeds of will genuinely help others.

More information about Jocelyn, the Bright futures Scholarship and how to book tickets can be found here.

This week, we keep in our prayers the family of alumni Joel Coatsworth (Alumni 2001), may his soul and the souls of all the faithfully departed rest in peace.

I am attending a Principal’s conference in Healesville from Tuesday next week, so my newsletter will be sent from there.

Until next week ….

MATT

Last week our Year 8 students enjoyed their camp at Angelsea Village Lodge. Braving the elements, students participated in a variety of different activities, including surfing, canoeing, hiking, camping and more. It was great to see our students continuing to build their relationships and learning the value of teamwork and communication throughout their experience.

Well done to all.

At Damascus College all students are valued and encouraged to strive to become independent learners with our contemporary and innovative curriculum taught by staff who are informed and engaged. An area at the College where students are thriving in new ways is the Performing Arts – Music domain.

Last year, due to COVID restrictions we lost the ability for our students to sing, whether it was in the choir, or on stage in the school production. This year the voices of our students are raised again in joyful singing. Led by Mrs Russell and her team of talented professionals the students of Damascus are taking to the stage again. Rehearsals are well underway for this years College production. We have also been able to enjoy the return of our choir, bringing talented performances to events such as the Mother’s Day liturgy and opening mass.

On 3rd June Damascus College is holding the Bright Futures Breakfast here on campus. Along with a sumptuous gourmet breakfast and an inspiring talk with special guest speaker Jocelyn Bignold (OAM), CEO for McAuley Community Services for Women attendees will be treated to a performance by Aca-fellas! our all male singing group (pictured here) as well as senior music students providing live entertainment while breakfast is eaten.

You can book your tickets to the Bright Futures breakfast online at https://www.trybooking.com/BQGKK

christian Unity Week - Ecumenism in Action (Christians Working Together)

"Abide in my love and you shall bear much fruit" (cf John 15:5)

The Week of Prayer for Christian Unity in Australia is being observed from 16 - 23 May 2021 in the week between Ascension and Pentecost.

The following quotes are taken from the Biblical Reflections and Prayers for the Eight Days prepared for this week by the National Council of Churches in Australia

• · Jesus wishes that life and love circulate through us as the sap through the vine, so that Christian communities be one body. The recognition that we are loved by God moves us to welcome each other with our strengths and weaknesses.
• If we pray with Christians of other traditions, we may be surprised to feel united by a bond of friendship that comes from the One who is beyond all division. The forms may vary, but it is the same Spirit who brings us together.
• We are constantly called to renew our commitment to life, through our thoughts and actions. There are times when we already taste, here and now, the blessing that will be fulfilled at the end of time.
• Sometimes something as small as a kind look, an open ear, or our presence is enough to make a person feel welcome. When we offer our poor abilities to Jesus, he uses them in a surprising way.
• · Christ's will commits us to a path of unity and reconciliation. It also commits us to unite our prayer to his: "that they may all be one. . .so that the world may believe" (Jn 17:21).

2021 marks the 140 year anniversary of our college, and we are proud to celebrate this milestone throughout 2021. As part of our celebrations, key members of our community were asked to provide a personal reflection on our College and their association with it. Marie Davey RSM shares her story with us in this video.

Damascus College has a long and proud tradition, commencing with three foundation colleges, dating back as early as 1881.

• Sacred Heart College commenced in 1881.
• St Paul's Technical College commenced in 1948.
• St Martin's in the Pines (Sacred Heart Senior College) commenced in 1967.

These three foundation colleges amalgamated in 1995 to form Damascus College, the junior campus was in Victoria Street and the senior campus was located in Mt Clear. In 2011 these two sites came together on the one Mt Clear location, to form the current campus of Damascus College, located in Geelong Road, Mt Clear.

2021 marks the 140 year anniversary of our college, and we are proud to celebrate this milestone throughout 2021.

CPDA Year10 Introductory Program Explained

Christian Personal Development Award, which is for Year 11 & 12 students, is an attempt to help students to see the need to be proactive about personal development. The Certificate, through its structures and processes, hopes to bring together the many personal development opportunities open to students. By collating the possibilities and recording the student’s participation in them, students will be able to have a record of their Personal Development in the form of a certificate.

There are four categories that students must consider: Action of Mercy and Justice/ Community Service; Spiritual Development; Physical Development; Other Cultural Activities. The Certificate is presented to the student at the end of Year 12. At Year 10 level the students are introduced to the Award with a week of activities.

The Introductory Program at Year 10 runs opposite Work Experience and makes the connections for the students. The recent program was an amazing success. On Monday and Tuesday students were taken to Log Cabin Lodge, near Creswick, to consider the corporal works of mercy: feeding the hungry, giving a drink to the thirsty, welcoming the stranger, clothing the naked and visiting the sick and those in prison. This was considered both physically and figurative for at stages we all hunger and thirst and feel imprisoned. This experience led to an encounter with the homeless of Melbourne through the “Big Issue” organisation and noticing those who are making a difference for the needy in our nearest capital city. The experience of volunteering showed students that they too can easily lend a hand up. On the day at school personal physical development supported by human movement students from Federation University and recreational activities were experienced as part of a fuller understanding personal improvement.

As part of CPDA week, Year 10 students are using their craft skills in quilting for a worthy cause.

During the bushfires last year, Quilts for Australia put the call out for Australian quilters to make 'tree blocks' to form quilts, to then send to those who lost houses in the 2019/2020 bushfires.

There was an overwhelming response from around the world with over 15,000 tree blocks, enough to make 850 quilts! 350 of those quilts were made with the assistance of volunteer quilting communities and they now need to make the remaining 500 quilts.

Our Damascus students are responding to this need, and are enjoying learning the skill of quilting, whilst contributing to the goal of 500.

Well done to Damascus teacher Patricia Brown for leading this project, and to the students involved in this unique opportunity to give back to those experiencing hardship.

Please see below a list of valuable Parent Webinars:-

• May 5^th - Time Management techniques to align the family expectations on homework and achieve school-life balance.
• May 19^th - Memory and effective revision. Why rote learning is ineffective and our top strategies for effective revision.
• June 2^nd - Exam Preparation to ensure students are prepared and confident going into the exam room.
• June 16^th - Stress and Wellbeing. How parents can support their child in tougher periods and manage school-related stress.

Please click here to registrar for any of the above events.

Come and join us at Sovereign Knights Basketball. Please see following for more information:-

CSEF eligibility

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

Criteria 1 – Eligibility

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

• on the first day of Term one, or;

• on the first day of Term two;

A third eligibility date has also been added - On the first day of Term three – 12 July

• Be an eligible beneficiary within the meaning of the State Concessions Act 2004, that is, be a holder of Veterans Affairs Gold Card or be an eligible Centrelink Health Care Card (HCC) or Pensioner Concession Card (PCC) holder, OR
• Be a temporary foster parent, and;
• Submit an application to the school by the due date.

* A special consideration eligibility category also exists. For more information, see: www.education.vic.gov.au/csef

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 one of (a) or (b) above.

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

School is compulsory for all Victorian children aged between six and 17 years of age inclusive.

For the purposes of CSEF, students may be eligible for assistance if they attend a Victorian registered primary or secondary school. Typically, these students are aged between five and 18 years inclusive.

CSEF is not payable to students attending pre-school, kindergarten, home schooled, or TAFE.

Eligibility Date

For concession card holders CSEF eligibility will be subject to the parent/legal guardian’s concession card being successfully validated with Centrelink on the first day of either term one (27 January 2021) or term two (19 April 2021).

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 benefit of the eligible student.

• Primary school student rate: $125 per year.

• Secondary school student rate: $225 per year.

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**