Welcome to 2022 at Don College. It has been wonderful to see students and teachers back on campus. Students are the life of the school. Students are our purpose and they inject life and energy to the buildings.

We have great pride in the achievements of our students from 2021:

• Median ATAR is over 83: Half of the Don College students who attained an ATAR have performed in the top 17% of students across Australia.
• 20 Don College students achieved an ATAR above 95.  20 of our students are ranked in Australia’s top 5%.
• 7 of our students were ranked in Tasmania’s top 100.
• The 7 students in the Tasmanian Top 100 ATAR transitioned to Don College from local government schools.
• Transition to apprenticeships, traineeships, further training and employment has been exceptional.

We thank our community members for their compliance and cooperation with the COVID-19 safety requirements. These simple measures are designed to keep us all safe and these will be the new normal for some time. We need to look beyond what is different and accept that the current era requires additional safeguards.

As we look across the globe and see the horrors of conflicts beamed into our living rooms, I pause and think how grateful I am to be Australian. I acknowledge that we have Ukrainian and Russian expatriates within our school and local community and other community members who have been deeply affected by war.

Attendance is a key to success. There is a direct relationship between attendance and achievement. We understand that for various reasons, students and/or staff might need to be absent but it is important to strategize and minimise any absences where possible. Of course, staff and students must comply with Public Health directions and stay away from school if unwell, are a Close Contact or test positive to COVID. Given the uncertainty of this era it is essential that students attend and participate in all classes when they can.

We look forward to working with our students to create purposeful and meaningful futures for all.