Principal's Report
Last Thursday a group of students presented the Passion Play in the Hall to the whole school. This was part of a liturgy presented by Deacon Mark. The play was a very respectful and moving enactment of the death of Christ and I would like to thank Mrs Wright, Miss Coffee and Mrs Riordan for their work in this and also to thank Deacon Mark for his ongoing support of our school.
Year 12 are currently on their annual excursion to Sydney. This excursion involves visits to a large variety of venues such as Australian Institute of Music, Human Disease Museum, Allianz Stadium, UNSW Campus, and the Australian Museum to name a few. Students will also visit The Big Issue and have discussions surrounding homelessness and the disadvantaged. Another actvity students participate in is the Urban Challenge which is a problem-solving and team-building event. I would like to thank all the teachers who have given up their time to supervise and attend this excursion and a special thank you to Mrs McInerney for her organisation leading up to this and to Mrs Nowlan who has taken over the role of excursion leader in Sydney.
It was wonderful to see a small group of parents at the session Parenting in a Hypersexual Digital World on Tuesday night. This was part of a program also presented by Real Talk to Year 8 and 10 students. Parenting, and indeed being an adolescent, is not easy in the current digital age. Mrs Wright’s section in this newsletter has some useful links where parents can find more information on this important topic.
Last week I had the privilege of attending the Teaching Matters Summit in Hobart. This conference focused on the Science of Learning and was both informative and affirming that our archdiocese is on the track to providing quality learning which is based on sound evidence and research. I was particularly inspired by the table in this link from the Australian Educational Research Organisation which maps how teaching should align closely with how we know students learn.
https://www.edresearch.edu.au/guides-resources/practice-resources/teaching-how-students-learn-model-learning-and-teaching
Just a reminder that school attendance is the key to success, I realise that some absences are unavoidable but is important that students catch up on work missed if they are away.
We are currently seeking student names to attend Anzac Day ceremonies in Young and surrounding towns. Please encourage your son/daughter to represent Hennessy on this significant day.
