The Road Autumn 2021

Patrick Western
2020 VCE SEASON OF EXCELLENCE
DAMASCUS COLLEGE
Four Damascus College students received the honour of being
invited to showcase their work at the 2020 VCE Season of
Excellence, presented by the VCAA.
Year 12 2020 students Jack Davidson and Patrick Western were
asked to audition for Top Acts, where they performed their drama
solo performances in Melbourne.
Jack was also lucky enough to be accepted into Top Designs for his
podcast piece, which was on display at the Melbourne Museum.
“It is an exciting opportunity and I enjoyed checking out the fellow
exhibitors’ work and possibly inspire VCE Media and Arts students
to create a podcast or audio product,” said Jack.
Patrick said that at first, he was shocked to hear he was invited
to audition for Top Acts. “This shock was soon overshadowed by
excitement and joy to be able to share a piece of what I have
created throughout remote learning with next year’s cohort,” said
Patrick.
Year 12 2020 student Elyssa Wiffen was also successful in being
invited to perform her VET contemporary solo dance at the Top
Class Dance concerts at the Melbourne Recital Centre.
Elyssa has been dancing since she was aged three and is currently
teaching junior Ballet and Jazz (ages 2-6) at her dance school,
Kerry Moore School of Ballet. Elyssa is also doing her Bachelor’s
degree in Nutrition Science at Deakin University.
Year 11 2020 student Charlotte Grimes was also successful in
having her Studio Arts photographic artwork accepted into Top
Arts, and her work was featured in the exhibition at the National
Gallery of Victoria in March. This exhibition showcased the best
artwork from the state selected by the VCAA.
Charlotte said that in Year 10 her class visited the Top Arts
exhibition, and it ignited a passion in her; she soon realised that she
wanted to work towards her work being celebrated in this way.
“It feels awesome to be able to achieve this two-year dream,” said
Charlotte.
Damascus College Principal, Mr Matthew Byrne said that it is
a wonderful accomplishment for these students, especially in a
year that has been so challenging with remote learning due to
COVID-19.
“Jack, Patrick, Elyssa and Charlotte are exceptional young people
with significant gifts and talents that have been nurtured and
challenged throughout their time at Damascus. It is wonderful to
see that they are being appropriately acknowledged state-wide for
their creativity and passion,” said Mr Byrne.
“This acknowledgement also pays tribute to the hard work and
dedication of our Arts and Performing Arts learning areas, in
achieving such sustained success amid the challenges of running
practical subjects throughout remote learning.”
The VCE Season of Excellence is a five-month annual festival
showcasing the work of outstanding senior secondary students
from Victorian schools in the fields of design, technology, research,
multimedia and visual arts. Their work is presented in Melbourne’s
major cultural venues from February to June.
“I am very proud of these accomplishments and it really has been
the ‘cherry on top’ for finishing my time at Damascus and VCE,”
said Jack.
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