Welcome to our Week 4 newsletter. The College was an absolute buzz last Wednesday as we hosted our annual Open Day. Dolly the Wellbeing Dogwelcomed families before being allocated a student tour guide to show them around the wide variety of activities and displays. 79 families came through the gates and their tour guides showed them around the school to see what high school life was like. There was a large number of engaging displays and activities and many families commented on how impressive our students were.. A big thank you to the students and staff who contributed to such a successful afternoon. Enrolment interviews commenced this week and bookings for enrolments can be made by phoning Mrs Hardy.  Please encourage anyone who missed out on Open Day to ring the school and a tour can be organised.

At our weekly assembly, we were very proud to announce that Josh Cameron has been awarded the Helen Handbury Award. The Award recognises Year 12 students in rural and regional Australia who have shown outstanding community leadership. The award winners will receive funding towards an international trip to experience community development in another culture. Congratulations Josh!

Year 7 - 12 students eagerly donned their costumes for Hennessy Day on Friday. This year's theme is a book or movie character and students always enthusiastically embrace the opportunity to dress up. Mass was held in the Hall followed by activities and funds raised will go to the Vinnie’s Winter Appeal.

I thought I would share a bit of history about the name of our College and Monsignor Hennessy:

• The former St Mary’s Secondary School became Hennessy Catholic College in 2000. 
• The school began catering for Years 7 - 12, and it took on a regional flavour as students from neighbouring towns were welcomed.
• The College logo was chosen based on a competition and a student from CSU from Wagga was the original designer of our beautiful logo.
• Monsignor Jerome Hennessy (1855  - 1941) became a priest at the age of 26 in 1881 and came to Young in 1889.
• He is remembered for his outstanding generosity, particularly towards poorer families in the district. There is a story about him giving his own mattress to a poor mother and her family as an example of his kindness towards others.
• He is credited with leading the development of many important Catholic institutions in Young, including the Sacred Heart Hospital, Mount St Joseph’s Old People’s Home, Southern Cross Hall, the kindergarten and infants school opened in 1934, and the Christian Brothers’ residence. 
• He was much loved by Catholics and non-Catholics alike and all shops in Young closed for his funeral procession as a mark of respect. His grave is outside St Mary’s Church.

Monsignor Hennessy is someone who should be an inspiration to all our students as a man who cared for others in a quiet, unassuming way and did not want recognition for his actions.

Just a friendly reminder that absences from school do affect progress. Catholic Education encourages all its students to attend school for a minimum of 90% of each school year.

Finally, we thank God for the beautiful rain to nourish our dry landscape.