Mr. Christopher Grant - Interim Principal
As we move towards Mother's day on Sunday, we pray this week for our Mum's and the significant women in our lives. We offer a prayer of gratitude and ask that God bless and care for Mums and all women!
We pray for our mothers, who give life and count toes and tend to
our every need; May they be blessed with patience and tenderness
to care for their families and themselves with great joy.
We pray for our own mothers who have nurtured and cared for us;
May they continue to guide us in strong and gentle ways.
We remember mothers who are separated from their children
because of war, poverty, or conflict;
May they feel the loving embrace of our God
We pray for women who are not mothers but still love and shape us
with motherly care and compassion.
We remember mothers, grandmothers, and great-grandmothers who
are no longer with us but who live forever in our memory and nourish
us with their love.
Amen
Tomorrow morning, we will gather for the Mother's Day Liturgy and Breakfast beginning in the JSC at 7:15am, then following in the Damascus Event Centre for a lovely breakfast. I thank in advance Angela Carr and the Liturgy team, along with Sarah Boswell and the Development team, for facilitating this special and very popular event. I apologise to those families who are not able to attend due to limitations on size due to COVID-19 restrictions.
If you have a student in Year 10 who has Work Experience coming up and the paperwork has not been returned to the College, could you please attend to this as a matter of urgency. For any student who has not yet secured a place, there will be an expectation of attendance at school for the entire week to undertake virtual Work Experience opportunities. However, the preference is for all students to source and complete a work placement.
This Friday evening, 6th May, the Senior School formal will take place from 7:00pm to 10:30pm. This is a social opportunity that Damascus College facilitates for our community's Year 11 & 12 students. It has always been a very positive event on our calendar, but it is important that I reiterate that normal school rules apply. It is an alcohol, drug and smoke-free event; any student who is suspected of having consumed alcohol will not be let in. There are no pass-outs through the evening. Year 12 students are permitted to bring a guest on the condition that they arrive with the Damascus College student and that the guest abides by Damascus College rules. If you have any questions or concerns regarding the evening, please contact your House Leader. It is a social activity, and hair and make-up appointments are not more important than school on Friday. Any student who is away on Friday will not be able to attend the formal. I must reinforce my encouragement that parents support one another by not condoning after parties. If you say no to requests from your child, you're actually supporting other Damascus parents who are going to receive the same pressure from their student. If you have any questions or concerns regarding the evening, please contact your House Leader. Students are encouraged to bring a plate of food to share.
Students are required to be in full Winter uniform on Monday, 9th May – this means long pants, Winter skirts and tights and track pants with the PE uniform. It is not uncommon for students to have grown, which requires skirts and pants to be let down. Skirts should be knee-length. Following up on uniform infringements takes valuable school resources away from the core business of learning and teaching and creates awkward and unnecessary conversations with students and families. Please ensure all students come to school each day in the correct school uniform.
Parents may also be pressured to purchase a rain jacket. This uniform item was introduced to cover the expensive blazer as students walk to and from school or as they wait at rural bus stops. Students are allowed to wear the rain jacket in terms 2 and 3 at lunchtime and recess while outside as another layer and to encourage student activity. The rain jacket is not to be worn in class. It does remain an optional item of uniform.
I sincerely thank families for your support from home in enacting our Mobile Phone policy, where phones brought to school must be switched off and stored securely in student lockers without use during the entire school day. Your partnership in this change is appreciated.
There will be a PAM webinar on Wednesday 11th May at 6:00pm, run through Microsoft Teams. We strongly encourage all parents/guardians and students to join the PAM webinar as there are many new facets to the program that many families may not be aware of. The focus will be on communication and Learning Areas, given the absence of the Interim reports. It will provide a full overview of every aspect to which families will have access. A formal invitation will be sent out via email.
We keep in our thoughts James (Year 10) and Katherine (Year 9) Gorman and their family on the passing of their grandfather earlier this week. May he rest in peace.
Until next week…
Chris
Thursday 28 April was a great day at Llanberris Reserve for the Damascus Athletics Carnival.
Although the sun didn’t shine enough and there was a spattering of rain through-out, we made it through all events. It was great to see a number of students dress up in house colours, especially the Year 12’s.
Congratulations to McAuley house who finished in first place and a huge congratulations to House Leaders, Rachel Wallbank and Laura Kimm and the student House Captains of Tom Ashley, Shannon Craggill, Casey Hennig and Will McGifford in their efforts in getting their students involved.
McAuley House haven’t won the carnival since 2005 and most likely for a number of years before that. Age Group Champions will be finalised over the coming days and announced in due course.
The final results were:
1st – McAuley – 2478 points
2nd – Xavier – 2217 points
3rd – Rice – 1987 points
4th – St Martin – 1574 points
Damascus College will be hosting an online Information Session for all famiklies in relation to the ipcoming Year 8 Camp. This will take place on Monday may 9th from 6.30pm.
Please click here to access the meeting just prior to 6.30pm.
If you have any questions please contact the College Camp Coordiantor, Mr. Paul Briody via email - p.briody@damascus.vic.edu.au
Below are the criteria used to determine a student’s eligibility for the Camps, Sports and Excursions Fund (CSEF).
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:
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.
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.
A special consideration category exists for
For more information, see https://www2.education.vic.gov.au/pal/camps-sports-and-excursions-fund/guidance/eligibility
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).
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.
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
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.
Forms are available through the front office or online Camps, Sports and Excursions Fund (CSEF) application form (education.vic.gov.au)
Please see the information following on how you can assist in the upcoming 2022 Damascus College Year 9 STEAM Expo.
