Welcome to our first newsletter of 2025! We have had a busy and very positive start to the year welcoming back current students and staff and 120 new students and 6 new teaching staff.

Our Year 7 cohort is 84 and we have 26 students in Year 11 as well as students across other year groups. Our new staff are:

• Miss Elaine Zukauskas is on the College Executive Team and has taken up a new role as Director of Student Growth. Miss Zukauskas has taught in many Sydney schools and will be teaching Physics and Science.
• Mrs Imogen Gallagher is our new Mathematics Leader and has most recently worked in Adelaide. She will be teaching across all maths levels.
• Miss Nicole Thompson has moved to Young from northern NSW and is an experienced English teacher who will also be teaching Work Studies.
• Mrs Molly Costello has previously worked in Wagga and is joining the Hennessy staff to teach Religious Education, Food Technology and Visual Arts.
• Mr Brad Thompson and Mr Shane Astill are also joining our staff as Contract Relief teachers.

We are very fortunate to have such highly qualified and experienced staff join our community.

The Catholic Church has declared 2025 a Jubilee Year - Pilgrims of Hope. The College is focusing on this theme which fits nicely into our Vision Statement ‘Live spiritually, learn dynamically, act justly … inspiring futures of hope’. This theme will be unpacked in RE classes and assemblies throughout the year.

Our annual swimming carnival was held under very hot conditions last Friday. Mr Brendan Croese and his very capable team need to be congratulated for this well organised and fun day. Student participation was very high and previous records, some very long-standing were broken. Rice stepped up to win their first carnival in some time - congratulations Rice!

On Tuesday we hosted Year 7 parents for a Meet and Greet. This was a wonderful opportunity for parents to learn about what is happening at Hennessy for Year 7 in 2025. They were also able to meet their child’s teachers and to socialise with other parents.

Mrs Natalie Turner, the School Community Council Chairperson, spoke at the evening about the role of the Council. She also asked for nominations for two vacancies that we now have on the Council. Please return the Expression of Interest at the end of this newsletter to Mrs Nadine Woods, Council Secretary, if you are interested in taking on one of these important roles. The Council meets once a term and is looking to run more fundraising and community events in 2025. 

A big thank you to the Community Council for funding a new seating area in the playground. This has been very popular with students during break times. 

Once again, we are focusing on safe and orderly classrooms with consistent routines. We are proud of our students and their achievements and want to ensure that every student has the best opportunity to learn. If you have any concerns please do not hesitate to contact me,  one of the KLA (Key Learning Areas Leaders, House Leaders of your child’s teacher. A full list of staff and their roles appears in this newsletter.

Wishing everyone all the best for a happy and successful 2025.