Welcome.

Our School Community Council has an important role at Hennessy Community College. Often the Council operates quietly in the background, complementing the wonderful work the school is undertaking. We act as a consulting platform for the governance of the school and aim to enhance parent and carer engagement at the school level. This can be done in many ways such as Community functions, fundraising, and a point of contact for school stakeholders to talk to in regards to enhancing the opportunities of the school community.

Our Current Community Council Members are:

• Fr Jiss – Parish Priest
• Kathy Holding – Principal
• Mary Wright – Assistant Principal - Mission & Ministry
• Jessica McInerney Acting Assistant Principal - Teaching & Learning
• Natalie Turner - Chairperson/Parent Representative
• Peita Payne – Vice Chair/Parent Representative
• Kerrie Murphy - Parent Representative
• Martin Sullivan - Parent Representative
• Vacant – Parent Representative

We are grateful for the knowledge, enthusiasm, and expertise that our current members bring to our School. I would like to encourage anyone who is interested in being involved with our Council, as either a member or as part of a working committee, please contact me via the school office.

Recently all our schools across the Archdiocese, have had their School Councils / Boards / P and C restructured, to a more cohesive, consistent, and uniform format. This has been brought about by the “changing expectations of parents, regulators, and governments about the role that parents, carers and members of school communities can and should play in the context of our schools.” [ Fox R, Director].

I have been fortunate to be involved as a representative for the CSPACG (Catholic School Parents Archdiocese Canberra Goulburn) who provided feedback for the Working Group that undertook the project of refining the framework for the new Community Council format.

The Working Group took into consideration the following

• The existing parent and carer models
• Challenges being experienced
• Modernise the operation of school boards/councils.

We now have a consistent and transparent model that will complement our school and community.

I encourage you all to be involved with our school community. It can be as easy as liking our pages on social media, having conversations with other parents and carers about our school, or attending a school event. There is evidence to support that parents and carers who are engaged with their child's schooling career, no matter what stage they are in, will have positive effect in the development of their child's future outcomes.

God Bless, 

Natalie Turner
HCCY CC Chairperson
August 2024