This week Martin Ryan led the staff in prayer and provided our community with a text from Joan Chittister, an American Benedictine theologian. The piece challenged my thinking and provided some insights into the tradition of Advent.

Advent is one of the most difficult periods of the church’s liturgical cycle with all of the life questions the Scriptures bring. Why? Because Advent is all about waiting. And waiting is not easy.

As life goes on, the liturgical cycles seem to become more and more meaningful to me. Perhaps after you’ve done enough living you come to understand that every life waits, suffers, comes to new life and rejoices in the ordinary. Advent is especially meaningful because it teaches me to wait without complacency, to wait without compliance.

There is so much to wait for now in life: human development, love, peace in the church and in the world. And most of us do not wait well for what we want or what we are meant to be. We get impatient or we get depressed. We question or we doubt. We argue or we get alienated.

And now, we all wait, not for the coming of Christ—God took care of that—but for the coming of the Gospel, which we are delaying in the name of God.

The key to the contradictions must be in the waiting. The question is; What is there about the waiting that is redemptive?

The chosen people taught us how to wait and why. They waited for years and decades and centuries through captivity and the destruction of the temple and the Roman occupation. And they never gave up.

Now women must wait through the captivity of their full humanity by the church.

Now nations must wait through the mad planning for the destruction of the planet by governments sick with power and paranoid with fear.

Now the poor and uneducated and middle-class unemployed must wait, through occupation by the militaristic mind-set, for the return of social programs and high ideals for all.

But while we wait, we can learn and grow and become stronger than ever in our convictions. We can be conscientious and creative. And no matter who wants to suppress us or to silence us, we can be signs of hope that never, never go away until, someday, the star finally shines.

—from Life Is for Living: Advent Reflections by Joan Chittister (Benetvision), available as an eBook

Last week we had our first student-led College Assembly for the 2023 school year as we launched our Early Start program. It was a wonderful opportunity to be led by Sophie Busuttil and Xavier Byrne – our College Captains. It was important to assemble to celebrate the gifts of our students. A special thank you to Alex Western Alex Logan, Carina Drake and Harriet Murphy. Below is the speech l delivered to the community.

Today is an important day in the history of our College it is the day that we begin our new academic school year, it is the first full year we have completed as learners post the COVID pandemic. Each one of you in front of us has contributed to this historical moment. In years to come, we will be known as the learners who have been challenged, learnt new concepts, and worked at rebuilding our Damascus community after two awful years of the pandemic.

Today we re-set, start again and move forward. We can no longer make excuses but rather we need to be forward thinking, engaged in a learning program that challenges us to think, do and respond. We are to be people who no longer make excuses because of COVID, rather we move forward together – recognising how we can grow and continue to be better people.

Like Paul, on his road through Damascus, we are learners who Live by The Light of Christ and bring others to do likewise. Like Paul, we at Damascus College are to raise one another to become the body of Christ – we are the people who strive to be our best and work for a just and respectful community. We are a community that does not discriminate against race, gender or social standing. Paul knew he had to be a man that had grit, to be adaptable and to try to be courageous in a challenging time. At times Paul worked collaboratively, and at other times he moved forward alone. Paul was a great learner!

As we know, our College, whilst young here at Mount Clear, has a long and rich history that has been in the Ballarat community for over 140 years. Some of your parents were students at either, Sacred Heart College, St Paul’s Technical School, or St Martins in the Pines. Today we are one school – Damascus; the only Catholic Co-educational College in Ballarat. We, as a school, have always been shaping, contributing to, and growing Ballarat.

As a College our School has always been contemporary, celebrated the gift and talents of each student. We are a school that believes and knows that everyone can learn and grow! Importantly we want everyone to learn in an environment that is respectful, orderly and challenges us outside our comfort zone! Your parents, family and teachers believe in you! My wondering is do you believe in yourself! Do you come to school to be the best version of yourself each and every day.

Our school logo – celebrates this strong sense of pride, respecting our past traditions and a deep desire to work in the light of Christ. This morning l want to explain our logo.

The Light symbolising conversion, the five stars of the southern cross-linking us to something greater and stronger. The cross is our Christian tradition that reminds us that we are all made in the image and likeness of our God. As you wear that blazer and your college uniform you are reminded of who you represent. – and how we need to treat one another.

We are challenged to be our best – whatever our skills, our academic ability, whatever dream we have – be the best! Being the best means using every moment in this College to learn, grow and be a person of integrity. When l first began at the College, l met each of the year levels and spoke to you about what being your best means. I want to reiterate this as we move into our new academic year. RESPECT for yourself, respect for others and respect for your college community. Our classrooms are places of learning and today we reset what that learning looks like, feels like, and sounds like. Mr Robertson and Mr Pillai will elaborate on how you are expected to meet the expectations that we, as a learning community, expect of you as we commence this new academic year. These expectations are in place not to punish but to acknowledge that some habits, such as arriving to class late, not submitting work on time and wearing the school uniform inappropriately, are addressed. If you cannot meet the College expectations, l, encourage you to think about what choices you have.

As the College Principal, I do not apologise for our high expectations, and I expect that you will treat one another with the utmost respect, and you will treat all staff with total respect. I expect to see your behaviour and attitude to your learning continue to grow and for you to challenge yourself and set goals knowing that you are respected and admired by your family, the brilliant staff at this College and yourself.

So, as we move into our 2023 academic school year, today is the beginning of a new chapter, a new beginning and time for each one of us to be proud of being a Damascus learner. We want you to come to the College to form lifelong friends and to be lifelong learners. We only have one opportunity at being young, so celebrate each day and treasure one another, your teachers, and this community. Be proud and be an upstander; one who knows how to be respected and to respect oneself.

Until next week

Steven

On the evening of 17^th November, the Year 12 Students put on their heels and suit jackets for a final College celebration commemorating the triumphant end to their secondary school years by attending the Year 12 Graduation Mass and Dinner.

The Class of 2022 began arriving at St Patrick’s hall for the group photo, before parading into the Cathedral behind their School and House banners.

The Mass was celebrated by Rev. Ed Moloney to a packed congregation of family and friends. In his homily, Fr Ed encouraged the students to give themselves as a gift to the world. The Mass ended with House Leaders presenting the students with Certificates, before the students departed the Cathedral to celebrate their educational journey at the formal dinner with families and staff.

Congratulations to the Class of 2022!

On Thursday 17 November, the whole school community gathered to participate in the Early Start Assembly, where the Principal and Assistant Principals set out the expectations for all Damascus students, as they commence the 2023 academic year.

At the assembly students and staff were also delighted to be entertained by current students Alex Western as he sung ‘Stars’ from Les Misérables. Alex Logan played ‘Londonderry Air’ on the saxophone, and Harriet Murphy and Carina Drake sung ‘Proud Mary’ which got all those assembled, tapping their feet to the tune. It really was a wonderful celebration of student skill and ability.

It was lovely to come together as a whole school community, after two years of interrupted gatherings. Throughout the formalities there were many take away messages, particularly reminding students to:

• Be attentive

• Be responsible

• Be respectful

• Be organised

Congratulations to Adrian Newman who recently was award the prestigious Silver Emu Award as part of his continued work with Scouts Australia. This award is one of the highest awarded to adult members of Scouts. It is awarded on the following criteria: -

'Awarded for distinguished service to Scouts Australia by an Adult Member in an active Leadership role, for a period of at least four or five years since the Award of the Silver Koala. It is expected that such further distinguished service is at a consistently high level, over a number of assignments and at a number of levels within a Branch or at a National level, resulting in further significant contributions to the wellbeing of Scouting'

This award is on the back of a 25 Year Service award to Adrian.

Congratulations, we are very proud of you and your commitment to this wonderful organisation.

On Friday, the 2023 Damascus College Student Representative Council (SRC) had the opportunity to meet for the first time as a group to undertake the Student Leadership Day activities.

The SRC members met with Mr Robertson, Assistant Principal Student Wellbeing, House Leaders, and other members of the College Leadership team, including our Principal Mr Mifsud. The SRC members learned what expectations were had of them as leaders within the student community, but also had the opportunity to share their thoughts on our College. They were asked for ways to improve and expand on how we can keep our College improving, and it was wonderful to see how invested these students are in making the 2023 year a great one.

#DamascusCollege #DamascusPride #BeMyBest #ImPartOfSomethingGreater

Please find following an invitation for the 2022 Final Day Mass: -

Headspace National are hosting an information session for parents and carers in the Ballarat community on supporting the mental health of young people experiencing grief and loss. This is the second session offered by Headspace National and is a repeat of the earlier session this month. We are aware that many students in our local communities are struggling to work through the complexities associated with loss and grief. This work shop will provide an additional resources for families to consider in supporting young people under their care. Please note that attendance at this session is anonymous with the facilitators the only people being aware of your attendance.

To register for the event please click here.

Local and National Service Information

Please see below both local and national service information: -

To download this document click below:-

Ballarat Local and National Service Supports

This year, as a part of the Shining Light Award, we are especially excited to invite nominations for our Young Achiever Award.

Do you know a past student that has graduated from Damascus College within the past 15 years that has shined bright in their chosen field, and that you would like to see recognised for their achievements?

Why not nominate them for the Shining Light Award!

To complete the short nomination form or for more information about The Shining Light award please visit: https://www.damascus.vic.edu.au/community/alumni/shining-light-award

Nominations close: Friday 9 December 2022 at 4pm.

Conveyance Allowance – Last Claim for 2022 – Families who have not yet submitted their claim for this year please note the cut-off date to claim Conveyance for 2022 is November 24^th.

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 2236.

After a two-year hiatus it was so good to be back at Maryborough last weekend for the 2022 Energy Breakthrough event. Many big days, weekends and late nights in preparation meant we were all pretty weary but happy when we arrived at the site last Thursday morning. Heavy rain had resulted in mud, more mud and did I mention, mud, which made setting up camp rather interesting.

But by Thursday night we had all gathered as a team and were a happy bunch of muddy students, 2 staff and dedicated volunteers.

Friday saw us attend display, presentation, design and construction events where the students did well explaining to panels of judges the technology of our home built vehicles and what Damascus SRT is all about.

It was gratifying just to be there…many schools have cancelled their programs all together and many others had purchased commercially made vehicles: we continue to build all ours in house because the knowledge gained from having to create a machine capable of 24 hours of continuous operation is just incredible. It’s STEM in action.

The main trial began on Saturday at 1pm, but not before we had to shift our camp site completely by hand for 500 metres (2.5 tonnes of gear) because of impending storms. This was undertaken with good humour by all despite the inconvenience. Then on the Saturday night the race was stopped for 5 hours whilst we were evacuated to an indoor venue as large hail was predicted. Again our team showed great resilience and adaptability as we trudged through the rain to get to our designated shelter, and back again at 10pm.

Our students behaved and rode magnificently, especially considering how young and relatively inexperienced the team is. Waking up from sleep at 3am to walk through the mud and get into a wet cold trike and then ride their hour shift in the rain is not an easy task but our students responded so well.

The drama of the weekend continued on Sunday morning when the propulsion battery charging station caught fire and we subsequently lost a third of our brand new batteries and all our charging equipment. This changed the strategy of the race for us, but we managed to cross the line with all three machines still running, albeit in lower finishing positions than we might have achieved with a full complement of batteries.

The Maryborough Energy Breakthrough is not called a challenge for nothing… it’s a gruelling event without all the extra happening’s that came our way this year. But because of the great attitude and willingness of our team to go the extra mile, I think we have built some special bonds that will carry us forward into the future. Our grateful thanks to all who helped make the weekend happen.

The results are as follows: -

"Concorde" #37 5th overall EEV(hybrid). 1st in category. 379 laps - 599 km

"SpeedeeV" #338 7th overall EEV(sps). 3rd in category. 368 laps -581 km

"Tassie Devil" #38 8th overall EEV(hybrid). 4th in category. 344 laps - 544 km

Total- 1724 kms ridden between the 3 teams.

What an effort to embrace 'Be My Best'

Alan Strange and Rachael Beardall

Damascus SRT Program