The June Solstice has passed and each day we are seeing slightly more daylight. June also marks Mid-Year Assessment at Don College. Feedback from Mid-Years will provide students with an understanding of what they need to do to improve their learning. Feedback can be confronting, but responding positively and taking action can accelerate student achievement.

Different people flourish in different circumstances. “Flow” is where you get completely immersed in an activity, the focus is intense, creativity increases and time just disappears. We encourage all students to explore their strengths and find what it is that allows them to achieve this state of flow. We need diversity in our community. We need people with a range of interests and strengths. At Don College, we value achievement across a full range of activities and most importantly we value respect and kindness to others.

Listening to the diverse goals and aspirations of the Don College students is a highlight of working at Don. For some, dreams will take them across the globe, some will remain close to home. Some will excel in the arts, in a trade, in academia or in communications. Just this week, two local past students have achieved their dream of being drafted to AFLW teams. Congratulations to Meghan Gaffney and Lily Johnson.

2022 has been a challenging year. In the midst of a pandemic, we are experiencing an outbreak of influenza. We appreciate everyone’s efforts to stay well and keep others safe. Getting vaccinated, wearing facemasks, physical distancing, hand-washing, and staying home and testing for COVID if you have symptoms, are our best protections. We understand that COVID has created a number of unavoidable absences. We urge students to attend all lessons if they are well enough to do so. Whilst teachers will support students to learn at home if they are unwell, physical presence and participation in the classroom is the best place for learning.

We wish all students and their families a safe and restful holiday break.

We acknowledge and pay respect to the Tasmanian Aboriginal people as the traditional and original owners, and continuing custodians of this land on which we gather and learn each day at Don College and we acknowledge our Aboriginal staff and students and their families and Elders – past present and future. Don College is situated on a beautiful bush scape, on land where the river meets the sea, that was cared for, for centuries by Tasmanian Aboriginal people. We thank specifically, Elders Hank Horton and David Gough, who have shared their deep knowledge of local Tasmanian Aboriginal culture and history.

National NAIDOC Week celebrations are held across Australia in the first week of July each year (Sunday to Sunday), to celebrate and recognise the history, culture and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. NAIDOC Week is an opportunity for all Australians to learn about First Nations cultures and histories and participate in celebrations of the oldest, continuous living cultures on earth.

Today celebrates the launch of Devonport Elder Dave mangenner Gough's new children's picture book, 'luwa tara luwa waypa' which he authored and was illustrated by Samantha Campbell. Congratulations to Dave on this achievement and on providing cultural links for local children and our community to learn from. 

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Students in English Writing have been exploring short stories. Student, Ena Nichols, wanted to explore the idea of connection and disconnection with indigenous culture through a fictionalised piece of writing, using their own experience to inform the text. As part of the research process, Ena interviewed their mother who highlighted the rift caused by past treatment and colonisation of the palawa people in Tasmania/ lutriwita. This helped Ena gather thoughts and feelings to include in their short story. To better understand the indigenous narrative in a modern setting Ena read fiction written by celebrated indigenous writers, Ellen van Neerven, and Adam Thompson.

Here is Ena's story: 

The Midden

Jack’s steps were clumsy, slipping on every wet rock and root possible, but Darcy moved as if he had studied the grooved track his whole life. On walks like this, Darcy would tell childhood anecdotes. His memory was impressive. Every branch reminded him of how trees spoke to one another and every bush, the story of why Tassie devils sound the way they do, which his uncle would tell. Jack hung onto every one of his words. Darcy began to speak of his time out on country with his folks.

    “Did you ever—?”

    “No.” Jack replied sharply, the mix of jealousy and yearning clear in his voice. His throat tightened and stomach clenched; if he spoke another word, he wouldn’t have been able to hold back tears. Darcy paused for a second, the only silence for that whole walk, but it didn’t last long.

     “No worries, I’ll have to take you,” he responded with his usual enthusiasm.

     “Alright.” Jack could have cracked a massive smile, but he didn’t want Darcy to see his desperation.

     The walk continued with Darcy’s stories, Jack found it hard to tell if Darcy was oblivious to his ‘outburst’ or if he was intentionally not addressing it. He was glad that Darcy continued.

     It began to spit. Light drops made the leaves tremble. They began to make their way back to the car park, but despite his best efforts, Jack still tripped on every branch, slipped on every rock and almost collided with a fleeing wallaby.

*      *     *

    The sun was like an alarm; Jack’s eyelids glowed orange as if at boiling point; this morning starkly contrasted last week’s damp weather. He began his usual commute to university, deciding to take advantage of the good weather and walk along the patchwork path by the road. The uni came into sight; on the rooftop, a refuge of shrubs and grasses praising the sun. His phone vibrated; it was Darcy. He asked Jack to go up to Woolnorth with him to check out the coast; of course he would go.

     The road was secluded and long, but Darcy kept the conversation going the whole way. They were going to visit the middens along the back of Woolnorth. Darcy had been there many times, but for Jack, this was completely new. Once they got to Bluff Point, they met with Darcy’s uncle who worked at the place. He warned the two to be careful; the property was privately owned, and he was not meant to let them wander alone. He made them promise to stay on track, leaving them to go back to work. Darcy began to lead the way to an overgrown track in the bush surrounding the wind farm, this was the closest Jack had come to turbines; a strange horror and excitement fell on him as they passed the towering, white pillars. The surrounding land was fields of green and yellowed grass, littered with patches of dense bush and trees.

     The coast was walled by the same dense bush that was further inland, and past the wall was a thin strip of sand against the water. The midden was massive. Shells littered the ground. The abalone shells were bigger than anywhere else; Jack was careful not to tread on any. The area felt strangely comforting, familiar. It was his history, despite only hearing it through Darcy’s stories.

     “You know, the women used to get the shellfish. All this woulda been their work,” Darcy said, making a grand gesture toward the midden, “bones here too.” He tiptoed over the bits of shell and bone and picked up a massive abalone shell that was the size of his hand. He swiftly made his way back to Jack and handed him the beauty.

     “You found this?” Jack asked as he cradled the shell in his hands.

     “Yeah, just over there.” Darcy replied triumphantly, his arm stretched out.

     “Could I keep it?”

     Darcy hesitated at the thought, noticeably avoiding eye contact for a few seconds. Darcy rubbed at his neck and looked back to Jack.

    “Aw yeah, guess so. Should be right, I reckon.” He replied with uncertainty woven between each word. They gathered a few more shells that were intact, but none the size of the first one.

    Once Jack got back to his house in the late afternoon, he fetched some old string and driftwood from his small shed. He decided to make a wind chime with the shells collected from the midden earlier, something to hang outside his bedroom window. He finished the piece after a couple hours of delicate work and went to bed early.

    That night, the wind was harsh. His windows rattled in place, and the wind chime clacked violently. Clack clack clack, like the sound of bones, lasting the whole night. The next night was the same, clack clack clack, continuously echoing through the night despite the wind being completely still.

     For the following week, the clacking was constant, wind or not, the sound of colliding bone rang in Jack’s ears all day and night. That evening, the shells were still, their clacks dulled. His stomach sank. The biggest abalone shell was broken. A bit of the thin rim had broken off and fallen to the ground. The horrid feeling, almost like the guilt of breaking someone else’s belongings, sat in the back of Jack’s mind for the rest of that evening. The feeling was like a weighted blanket, tiring him out and lulling him into restless sleep.

     Jack’s blackwood door creaked open, followed by the silhouette of a looming figure. It was tall; an elongated body that was humanoid, long spindly limbs, and ears that drooped almost to its shoulders. Jack heard the groan of the door and woke up. It was just there, standing at the end of his bed, but he wasn’t frightened. He acknowledged it was there, he knew he had disturbed it. It was like it was curious, Jack understood what it wanted, as if it was saying ‘gonna fix this?’ He knew.

     There was still that sense of dread the next morning, but it was met with relief too. Jack now understood Darcy’s hesitation when he asked for the shells; he wished he hadn’t asked at all. Jack grabbed a musty old shirt from his drawers and carefully wrapped the shells as if they were discs of the thinnest glass. He called Darcy and told him that he needed to go back to Woolnorth. So, they made their way to Bluff Point, Jack nursing the folded shirt in his lap, his hands cupping the sides as he retold the dream in vivid detail on the long drive.

    “Sounds like a quinkan I think, a mischievous spirit, seen it in a book back at mum’s. Funny, they are.” Darcy concluded, his tone wasn’t dismissive, but understanding. They met the uncle at the gate again.

     “Back already, boys! Trying to get me fired, are yous?” the uncle said with a comforting smile.

     “Something like that.” Darcy chuckled, ‘Jack seems pretty fond of this place.’ He glanced beside him and smirked. Jack’s face started to burn. He struggled not to feel affronted, but Darcy’s words were true.

    “Aw nice, the midden really is amazing, huh?” The uncle stretched out his arm and waved it in the direction of the turbines. “Right on the other side of the farm you’ll find another gate, through that is the coast, very rocky. You’ll see some hut depressions. You might take an interest in it, Jack.”

    Jack smiled and firmed his grasp on the wrapped shells.

    “Definitely, thank you.” Jack beamed; he could’ve gone in to hug the uncle if he was willing to put the shells down. Darcy glanced at Jack, then turned to his uncle.

    “Well,” he started, slipping his hand across Jack’s shoulder, “reckon we should get to it, Uncle. Shouldn’t be too long, right Jack?” Jack nodded.

    “Alright boys, I’ll see you later then.” The uncle turned to leave. “Ah right!” he exclaimed, swiftly spinning back to look at the boys, “Jack, make sure you don’t hesitate to ask anything, right? You’re keen to learn, keep at it.”

     By the time they got to the beach, the sky had shifted from clear to a blanket of grey. The midden was there waiting, the uneven ground flowing beneath Jack’s feet. I’m here, he thought as he kneeled slowly, the shirt cradled delicately in the crook of his arm. He slipped the shells out and onto the mixture of fine sand, shell and bone. Above, the turbines rotated under the pressure of the maelstrom winds, and the land sat as it always had.

Thanks to the initiative of current students, Don College are planning to introduce ‘Class of 2022’ Hoodies and t-shirts for students to purchase as a memento of their time at the College. These will be available for purchase by both Year 11 and 12 students. Students will be able to individualise their shirt or hoodie by having a name printed on the back.

Prices and sizing:

Hoodies - $52.80 - Unisex sizing 12, 14, 16, Small, Medium, Large, XL, XXL, XXXL

T-shirts - $30.80 - Ladies 10 to18 + Men’s Small to 3XL

Samples sizes will be arriving before the end of term for students to try on.

Orders and payments will be due to Don College Administration Office by Wednesday, 3 August (Term 3, Week 2).

Further information will be communicated to students via the Daily Memo.

Above: Anne Morrison, The Narrows, 40 x 56 cm, 2018, digital print on composite aluminium, , (1/5 ed and 1 AP )

Don College Art Department, teacher Lisa Garland, and assistant Anne Morrison, have generously donated artworks to an auction which will raise funds for UNICEF.

The Butterfly Effect online auction, featuring works donated by 100 artists, will be held live and closes on August 18 at 7pm. The money raised will serve as emergency relief funds to help families and children who have been displaced in Ukraine due to the ongoing war. 

Launceston Church Grammar organised the event and the artworks will be exhibited at Piomena Gallery August 22– September 2.

Works can be viewed here and if you would like to bid on a work or make a donation, you can do that here too:  Stand With Ukraine - The Butterfly Effect Art Auction | AirAuctioneer

Anne Morrison's ‘The Narrows’ 2018, is part of a suite of artworks titled ‘The Crossings’, comprising of paintings and digital prints created in response to historical and contemporary photographs of women, boats and artefacts associated with the sea, rivers and waterways. Watercolours are layered with detailed drawings and digital manipulation techniques. People and places seem to fade in and out of view, suggestive of the experience of sifting through recorded history. Fluid watercolours flood the surface of primed paper and as the water evaporates Morrison works back into the patterns left behind seeking to evoke a sense of presence through absence as the figures and objects remain visible only as a subtle trace, a watermark. Droplets of pigment disperse through streams of water creating tributaries relating to the ebb and flow of the tides, nets and networks. Fine line drawings of and references to historical maps, bathymetric charts and photographs are layered behind and over the figures and objects. This process of layering and re-layering visual information digitally, echo how easily fragments of history can be lost and buried, and yet sometimes something is found; a trace, an object, an image that reconnects the past to the present.

This body of work is also an extension and further exploration of ‘beneath the waterline’ a project carried out in 2017, where Morrison responded to the absence of female voices in Tasmanian maritime history, through exploring the collection of the Bass Strait Maritime Centre.

Lisa Garland's 'Roger' can be viewed on the auction website or as part of her wider collection of art here:

Lisa Garland - online exhibition - Despard Gallery (despard-gallery.com.au)

Above: Grade 11 student, Clara Ruffels, holding the under 17 piano championship solo trophy of Ludwig van Beethoven. 

Above, l-r: Don College student Harvey Lee in third place, Thomas Clayton from Launceston Christian School in first place, and Finley Girling from Launceston Grammar School in second place. 

The 2022 Tasmanian All Schools XC MTB Championships brought success for Don College student, Harvey Lee, who placed third in the competition's under 19s category. 

After a strong start out in front of the other riders, Harvey landed some bad luck with a flat tyre. With a quick repair, he was off again and Harvey soon made up for lost time, making his way back among the top competitors in the race.

The competition was held on May 5 in Launceston. 

Well done to Harvey, this is an excellent achievement and demonstration of resilience and determination. 

These artworks are some examples of what the students do for their art exam. The task was to create a visual poster;  an artwork that profiles an artist who has influenced their students' own artwork. Students research and write about the artist's artworks and include images of the selected artist's artworks in a creative and interesting way. 

These exam works are all so individual and unique and reflective of the wonderful creative talent of the students in the Art Department at Don College.

Sonia's students include:  

Brooke Riley – Artist, Christine Wu

Paige McMillan  - Artist, Frida Kahlo

Bailey Fitzpatrick – Artist, Nasty Neck Face

Courtney's students include: 

Dani Grey – Artist, Basquiat

Laina Alexander – Artist, Tuoer

Pearl Morris – Artist, Dana Terrace

Lisa's students include: 

Kate parker  - Artist, Georgia O’Keefe

Milly Dallimore - Artist, Trisha Anastasia

Elouyra Hoving - Artist, Rembrandt

Caitlin Lumman - Artist, Tim Burton

Maddie Low - Artist, Sandy SK Glan

Isaac Bieman - Architect, Sam Javanrouh

Levies Reminder

Please note levies are due to be paid in full.

If you meet the requirements below, you are eligible to apply for Student Assistance (STAS). This will allow you to have your Levy Invoice cancelled. Please read below and consider your options. The Student Assistance Scheme (STAS) provides assistance to low income families towards the cost of levies for students enrolled in a school from Kindergarten through to Year 12. STAS is provided through School and College resourcing rather than payment direct to families.

Eligibility

Parents who have a current concession card as listed below can apply for dependent students for assistance under STAS:

• Centrelink Health Care Card
• Centrelink Low Income Health Care Card
• Pensioner Concession Card or
• Department of Veteran Affairs Pensioner Concession Card

Payment of 2022 Levies

If you are not eligible for STAS and would like to discuss options for levy payment, please phone the Administration Office on 6424 0200 and ask for Business Support Officer, Rachel Applebee. There are many options available for payment.

Nay Lowery, a student from the Don College Food, Hospitality and Enterprise class was awarded first place for her 'Bold and Brave' entry in the Tasmanian Schools Cooking Competition earlier this term. 

Nay's recipe caught the judges' attention, the only savoury entry in the competition. She prepared lamb loin chops marinated with garlic and pepper-berries, served with berry mint sauce.

Well done Nay, we are so proud of your commitment and effort

Lamb loin chops with berry mint sauce

Ingredients:

• Lamb loin chops
• 2 tbs crushed garlic
• 1 tbs olive oil
• 1 Tbl Pepper berries, crushed

Berry mint sauce:

• 1 cup frozen blackberries
• 1 cup frozen raspberries
• ½ onion, diced
• 1⁄3 cup sugar
• 1 tbs olive oil
• ⅛ ground cayenne pepper
• ¼ cup fresh mint, chopped

Method:

1. Rub lamb chops evenly with garlic. Coat with olive oil and sprinkle pepper berries evenly over the top.
2. Sauté onion in olive oil over medium heat in a saucepan until soft. Stir in berries, sugar and cayenne pepper.
3. Continue stirring over medium heat until berries are mashed, and mixture begins to bubble. Set aside to cool.
4. When cool, puree berry sauce in a blender or food processor. Add mint and blend until evenly distributed. Set aside.
5. Preheat oven to 150 degrees.
6. Once heated, place chops on a tray and cook for 15 minutes. Keep on the same temperature and slow cook in 15 minute intervals until cooked through.
7. Serve

YOUth LEADing Tasmania is on in Penguin on July 9 &10 and July 24 (both ends of the school holidays). 30-50 young people will be able to participate to learn and take action on the big issues of our time including climate change, social justice, waste and poverty. 

Registrations are now open for youth aged 12-25 to participate. 

You can register here: YOUth LEADing Tasmania 9, 10 & 24 July 2022 Participant Registration (google.com)

Above: Don College Fashion student Ayla Lake with her hoop act, and Pearl Morris with her team project, headwear design. 

Above: Elouyra Hoving backstage at the Paper on Skin Gala. 

Students from Shanli Perkins' Fashion and Design class supported the international wearable art show, Paper On Skin, at their Gala evening. 

On June 17, Don College students Elouyra Hoving and former student Sif Svendsgaard volunteered as models, and Don College VET Fashion Design class designed paper wear for Slip Stream Circus stilt walkers as part of the evening.

Paper on Skin is on exhibition until July 30 2022, at the paranaple arts centre's main gallery. 

In the lead-up to the mid-year exam period, several ex-Don students were invited into Bron Sidebottom's current Legal Studies 3 and Studies of Religion classes to share their wisdom on how they achieved highly while they were at Don.

On the first visit, three students who achieved an Exceptional Achievement in either Legal Studies 3 and/or Studies of Religion, Zoe Chipman, Jessie Gibson and Tia Brown spoke about study techniques that worked for them. Zoe is now in her first year of Law and International Relations at Deakin University, Jessie is in first year Economics at UTAS and Tia is studying Occupational Therapy at Southern Cross University in Queensland.

On the second visit, Sam Watchman, Zara Maddigan and Mason Wright shared their tips on effective study and the expectations of university study. Sam is in second year of his Bachelor of Justice Studies at UTAS, Zara is in second year Law and International Relations at the ANU and Mason is in third year Arts/Law at UTAS. Shayla Newall who is doing a Psychology Honours degree at Griffith University sent a video message as she could not be in Tasmania at this time.

The current classes learnt much about study techniques and the transition to tertiary study from all seven ex- students and we thank them for taking the time and trouble to speak with current students.

Above: pictures from Marcus' Cert II and Cert III classes enjoying the UTAS experience at Don. 

The UTAS MILE  “Mobile Interactive Learning Experience” visited Don College earlier in the term allowing students to take part in learning sessions that could help them discover what they wanted to know about future careers. Many classes participated in the sessions which provided a broad spectrum of study options for students including Agribusiness and Ag Science, Drones, Virtual Reality, Nursing, Events Management, Sports Management and Business.

Teachers received positive feedback from students from these sessions. Marcus Wynwood's Cert II and Cert III IT class spent some time with the UTAS MILE Truck said it was absolutely fabulous. They took part in drone races, and defusing bombs in Virtual Reality. The students were excited, and engaged, and it showed them a Uni pathway without an ATAR via the Associate Degrees.

Don has already made enquiries about next year's visit from the MILE truck following such a positive experience for students. 

An update on face masks

Public Health has advised that from Monday 27 June 2022, face masks are no longer mandatory in schools and Child and Family Learning Centres. This is because of reduced COVID-19 cases in our community.

It’s important to continue to:

• stay at home if unwell, and get tested
• practise COVID-safe behaviours such as frequent handwashing and sanitising
• be up to date with your COVID-19 vaccinations.

Students, staff and visitors are supported to continue to wear face masks if they choose to. Face masks are still available at our office if you need them.

When face masks are required

If you’re a close contact, you are still required to wear a face mask indoors as per current Public Health advice.

From time-to-time Don College might identify activities or situations where masks are required to be worn. We ask for your support when this happens and know that it is in the best interests of our students and staff at Don College.

Our staff will continue to wear masks when working closely with students who are vulnerable to COVID-19.

If you have any questions or concerns, please contact us directly to discuss.

For more information about COVID-19, please visit the Tasmanian Government Coronavirus website or contact the Tasmanian Public Health Hotline on 1800 671 738, or Department of Education COVID-19 Support Hotline at COVID19support@education.tas.gov.au or on 1800 816 057.

If you need support translating or interpreting this information, contact the Translating and Interpreting Service on 131 450.