Today we welcomed our new College Principal, Mr Steven Mifsud, to the College for the day. Steven was taken on a tour of the College and spent the day meeting with staff. Steven looks forward to leading our community into the future and will begin with us formally at the start of Term 3.

Today is the first day of Early Start for the new semester. It's quite hard to think that we are almost halfway through the year and almost looking at subject selections going into 2023. Well done to all students on their efforts in concluding their Semester 1 classes and completing their assessment and classwork tasks and exams the best they can. Today we welcomed back from leave Isabelle Miller, Ashleigh Brown, Tamzin Perkins and Julian Petrie – it is fantastic to have them all back.

A new semester also brings new opportunities for students. I formally welcome to Damascus the 12 new students and their families who have joined us today and over the next week. May their time here be a rewarding and engaging one as they begin their journey with Damascus College.

I thank and acknowledge the fundraising efforts of Martin Ryan, selling beanies for MND. With the support of families, students and staff, the College has raised almost $7000 for MND – a fantastic effort. Students are permitted to wear their MND beanies at school leading up to the end of term.

On Monday, we will welcome past students and specialists in the Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Maths fields for the Year 9 STEAM expo, to be held in the Damascus Event Centre. Year 9 Students will have the opportunity to chat with an expert in a field of interest that may support them in their career path and journey ahead.

Next Friday (24th June) will be the last day of term, and we will see a school finish time of 2:17pm. Students have a casual day for the Vinnies Winter Appeal. Students are asked to bring $5, if it is within your family's means, to support the "Vinnies" Winter Appeal to support the homeless and at-need families. If your student has PE, Wood, Metal, Science or Food – please ensure that they wear appropriate clothing, notably closed footwear, for practical classes.

I remind families that Term 3 will commence with regular classes on Monday, 11th July.

We pray for all those who grieve.

Until next week…

Chris

Damascus College is delighted to inform the community that Mr Steven Mifsud has been appointed as Principal of Damascus College, and will commence his new role at the commencement of Term 3 2022.

Steven is currently Deputy Principal of Student Wellbeing at Mount St. Joseph Girls’ College in Altona, where he has been Deputy Principal with periods as Co-Principal and Acting Principal since 2014.

Prior to this, Steven was Deputy Principal at Santa Maria College in Northcote and has taught at MacKillop Catholic Regional College, Werribee, and Catholic Regional College, Melton where he held various leadership roles.

Steven said that he is both excited and humbled to be appointed to Damascus College and is looking forward to building on the rich Mercy Tradition, one that embraces courage, hospitality, learning and respect. He is passionate about walking the road to Damascus, alongside our community, as we continue to build and strengthen the work of our 140-year tradition and the many wonderful women and men before that have served this dynamic community.

“The College vision to “be my best,’’ resonates deeply with me. I believe that as educators, we work in partnership with students, families, staff and the broader community. The College will continue to support, challenge and nurture our young people to be the best version of themselves,” he said.

“I am impressed by the rich curriculum offerings and beautiful setting of Damascus College that imbues a strong sense of spirituality and the fullness of life,” he said.

Steven’s educational vision is one that promotes justice and service, and he believes that this can only be achieved through authentic and strong relationships. As we move into the 21st century, we need education that is relational, empowering and relevant to an ever-evolving world.

“I look forward to meeting the school community in particular our staff, students and families.”

“I am an avid cyclist and a true ‘foodie,’ who will never so no to a good coffee and discovering the hidden gems of our community. I am beginning to discover the many nuggets of Ballarat and am eager to embrace the life of this community,” he said.

Steven is committed to life-long learning as demonstrated by post graduate qualifications which include Masters Degrees in:

• Business Administration – Executive;
• Religious Education; and
• Educational Leadership.
• He also holds a Graduate Diploma in Religious Education and a Bachelor of Education (Secondary).

Steven is an innovative and passionate leader and his leadership style is one that is highly relational and visible. His personal educational vision is to work in relationship and in partnership with all members of the community to create a faith learning dynamic that celebrates, affirms, and challenges people to achieve personal excellence.

Damascus College wishes to thank Mr Christopher Grant, Interim Principal for the leadership he has given to the College, since the departure of Mr. Matthew Byrne at the end of Term 1 2022.

The Damascus College Intermediate Football team officially won the BAS competition and will go on to play the St Patricks College Year 10 side to qualify for the Herald Sun cup in the last week of term.

This year the Damascus College football program has had a revamp. PE and Applied Learning teacher Hamish Walsh volunteered his time to dedicate to putting together a football program, with new jerseys and equipment purchased, involving surveys and speaking to students individually to get more than 100 students to dedicate their time and efforts to the program to form a Junior, Intermediate and Senior Seconds teams. This was the first Senior football side the college has had in more than five years.

In conjunction with the Seniors, the Intermediate Football side looks to continue its dominance of the BAS competition, with its second win in the competition in three years.

The time and dedication that the boys have put in is not to be underestimated, with more than 30 players volunteering their time throughout the season to ensure that each week Damascus College fronted up with a full side.

Many of the weeks were tightly contested, with our Damascus boys being pushed to their limits in a couple of tight contests. However, the talent and comradery shone through, with Damascus finishing off the season undefeated. This ensured that the side will play the St Patrick’s College Year 10 side, who compete in the Senior Seconds competition, to qualify for the Herald Sun Shield competition, which is one of the most prestigious school football competitions in Victoria.

It has been an amazing effort from the boys all season and the College is very proud of what they have achieved this year. We wish them well in the game against St Pats. Well done!

This year’s annual performing arts production is Clue on stage, which is a hilarious farce-meets-murder mystery, on 20-23 July in the Valda Ward Auditorium.

Murder and blackmail are on the menu when six mysterious guests assemble at Boddy Manor for a night they’ll never forget. When their host turns up dead, they all become suspects. It is the classic Who did it, WHERE, and with WHAT!

Tickets are available at: https://www.trybooking.com/BZHFR

And now, we wish to introduce our community to these six mysterious guests…the second of these being Miss Scarlet, played by Year 10 student Inez Demiceviren.

“I have never done a Damascus show before and I was encouraged this year to audition by a friend, as I love acting and wanted to give a show a try.

For the rehearsals, I remember trying to do a scene where Megan and I had to yell at each other, and we just couldn't keep it together.

All of the characters in the show are much bigger than life and say some crazy things, Miss Scarlett is quite far from my personality as she is a bit out there. I think the challenges were just finding Scarlett's voice and personality.

As part of this experience, I value all of the friendships I have made, and the experience I've gathered which has developed my acting skills, has been fantastic.

Being a part of Performing Arts at Damascus is a super fun experience, and I would recommend it to anyone who wants to do it but is too nervous or scared.

Having completed their Semester One exams, Damascus College Year 10 students were challenged to build the tallest and strongest tower possible out of just masking tape and spaghetti.

Students applied their Mathematical knowledge to think about what shapes to include, but also used Engineering concepts to ensure their towers were strong and stable.

Staff and Students are invited to join in the fun and friendly competition.

Neale and Bec Daniher have recorded a message of gratitude to the Damascus College community, for the amazing support in purchasing beanies, for the FightMND cause.

The total raised so far is $5,500.00, what a wonderful effort by the organiser, staff member Marty Ryan and the Damascus community.

Congratulations to our Margaret Addicoat (née McDonald) who was recognised with an Order of Australia medal in the Queens Birthday Honours List for service to the community through volunteering.

Margaret was a boarder at Sacred Heart College from 1941 - 1952 where a sense of social justice was instilled in her. She was a founding member of the auxiliary for Peplow House crisis accommodation in Ballarat. Not only was she on a committee that helped raise valuable funds, she also volunteered one night a week of her time to the facility.

Other area's that she has provided support for have been Lakeside Hospital, for dementia or Alzheimer's patients and most recently Knit One, Give One (KOGO).

Thank you for all that you do for others Margaret, you truly are a Damascus College shining light and its wonderful to see your good works acknowledged with your Order of Australia medal.

The 2022 Soccer Country Championships for Victoria were held in Geelong over the weekend and four Damascus students helped secure the win for the Under 13 boys team. Congratulations to under 13’s. Liam Galvin, Tom Hodge, Finn Hoare and Jaylen Blomeley who played 7 games over 3 days ending victorious.

The Ballarat and District Soccer Association (BDSA) fielded seven junior representative sides from under 11’s to under 16’s to compete at the championships against some of the most talented regional sides across Victoria. Its not only an opportunity to compete but also to learn.

It was a long wait for the championship, as both 2020 and 2021 events were cancelled due to COVID.

Who knows, in a few years we may be tuning in to watch the World Cup series and see a familiar face or two?

#DamascusCollege #DamascusPride #ImReadyToTakeOnAnything

The annual Winter Fundraising Appeal plays a vital role each year in enabling the good works of the St Vincent de Paul Society and, with your support, we hope to achieve a strong result to sustain the varied programs into the future.

The theme of this year’s Winter Appeal is ‘Make it Stop’, focusing on the importance of providing safety to families and individuals fleeing domestic violence. During a time where the community has been routinely told to stay home in the interests of public health and safety, a perfect storm has arisen where women and children experiencing domestic and family violence have been put at greater risk of harm by being trapped with their abusers.

Reports of domestic violence have increased during the pandemic; between 2020-2021, the Vinnies Services team assisted almost 1,250 Victorian adults and children with crisis accommodation and case management support. While life has incrementally returned to normal in the wake of multiple lockdowns, the scourge of domestic violence continues to place vulnerable people at risk of harm and in need of assistance.

No one wants to be homeless. No one chooses to be cold.

Helen Smith from Vinnies wrote to our college.

We are writing to you regarding the current situation in Ballarat around rental stress and homelessness. … we have an increasing number of clients needing financial support because rising rents leave them with little or no money for any other expenses. On average one in five of our clients are homeless, this includes a growing number of single parents and aged pensioners. Clients inform us that they are in temporary motel accommodation, couch surfing, living in tents or cars.

This is not how life in meant to be lived and Damascus College can make a difference.

The Justice Action Group, supported by the SRC, are having an Oodie/Hoodie Day next Wednesday 22nd June to raise awareness of the need in our local community. Oodies and Hoodies keep us warm in Winter. Students are able to wear their Damascus College PE uniform to and from school this day and add a hoodie or Oodie over the top while at school. There will be fashion parade at lunchtime.

Our casual day on Friday 24^th June, the last day, offers a chance to do more. Help keep Ballarat’s most needy warm this winter with significant donation on the last day of term for St Vinnies Winter Appeal.

The smallest note in Australian currency is $5. It is the lowest amount that is considered significant enough to have as a note in our country. This is the beginning of significance. We can do something significant for the homeless through Vinnies.

If we all gave $5, there would be enough to make a huge difference to this problem through the work of St Vincent de Paul

Together, we can do it!

This year’s annual performing arts production is Clue on stage, which is a hilarious farce-meets-murder mystery, on 20-23 July in the Valda Ward Auditorium.

Murder and blackmail are on the menu when six mysterious guests assemble at Boddy Manor for a night they’ll never forget. When their host turns up dead, they all become suspects. It is the classic Who did it, WHERE, and with WHAT!

Tickets are available at: https://www.trybooking.com/BZHFR

And now, we wish to introduce our community to these six mysterious guests…the third of these being Colonel Mustard, played by Year 12 student and College Captain Megan O’Beirne.

“I got involved with “Clue” this year as I love performing, especially in the Damascus productions, and this show was another chance to give it a go.

My character, Colonel Mustard, takes the top spot for the funniest character I have ever gotten to play, for sure! The ridiculousness of Mustard, however, does make it exceptionally hard to keep a straight face in rehearsals, particularly when I make eye contact with one of my fellow performers as we all have a mutual agreeance over the hilarity of the scenes.

I love taking part in the Damascus productions as I get the awesome opportunity to work with talented people who have the same interests as me. Performing Arts at Damascus is absolutely incredible, as Andrew Seeary and Nicole Burness create a really welcoming and fun space to be in, and I love every minute we get in rehearsals and performances. As this is my last year with the College, I’m really making every moment count in this production. I hope you can come and watch the hilarious, ridiculous show that is “Clue”!”

Below are the criteria used to determine a student’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.

1. Complete the STUDENT/S DETAILS section for students at this school.
2. 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. Please submit your application prior to 3.00pm on the 24 June.

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