Mrs Scott is currently on leave until March 12 and Mr Chifley and I will be acting in her role while she is absent. We wish her well during her study leave.

I wrote to the Hennessy community earlier this week regarding the loss of Lexie Adam. The staff and students have been incredible in their support of each other, which honours Lexie’s life. We are also very appreciative of the support from all of the primary and central schools nearby. Details regarding arrangements for the celebration of Lexie’s life will be made available in consultation with her family. However it is indicated that the celebration of her life will be at the end of next week and we would appreciate an indication of which students will be attending. Advice from Catholiccare is that parents/guardians need to accompany their children. Students attending will be marked as an explained absence for the day and deemed to be in the care of their parents/guardians.

Many thanks to those families who came along to the various community BBQ’s and Information Nights - it’s been wonderful to see you all there. Several parents have asked us during our BBQ’s and Information Night about access to student technology.

• Compass - this is student management system and thus only students can login to this using their Hennessy login and password.
• Google classroom - parents must provide an email the College which is taken from the enrolment form initially but changed if this has been advised. Once ‘invited’ to a class, parents will be linked to all classroom pages to receive an email summary. If you have not received a summary please check your ‘junk’ email or confirm your email address with the House Leader in case of a typographical error.
• Parents should download SZapp (which will slowly replace Skoolbag) as well as QKR for payments to the College.

Next Tuesday, March 5, is our Annual Open Day. This will run from 12-4pm and everyone is invited along. Classrooms are always open at Hennessy so please come along if you can and see us. We will be running the normal school day with some activities planned during break 3 for visiting students.

On March 14th, our Year 7-12 Parent/Teacher/Student interviews will take place. Parents should login via: https://www.schoolinterviews.com.au/. The code for the event is: te4xp. Year 12 will have classes during that day and should make appointments before and after school and during study where possible. No other classes will be running that day and students should attend interviews in full summer uniform with their parents. Supervision will be available in the library throughout the day.

I informed parents and student at the Year 11 Information Night this week that students who had not met the minimum standard for the awarding of the Higher School Certificate will be contacted by either Mr Smith (Numeracy) and/or Mrs Tyrrell (Reading/Writing) to make arrangements for them to attempt the next opportunity for the online test. Choosing to attempt these online tests is optional but students will be given the chance to do this if they want to. If you do not want your child to attempt these tests please contact Mr Fouracre. If you were unable to attend the Information Night for Year 11 I have loaded a copy of the presentation onto each House Google classroom page for your child to access.

Parents were informed via email of attendance and the need to provide a more specific reason for an absence, rather than simply writing the student was away. Please take the time to read this letter so that you understanding the legislative requirements when providing absence notes. Furthermore I outlined that there are no flexible attendance arrangements for seniors to leave during study.

Next week, the Police Liaison Officer will here to talk to students about cyber safety. He will also be available to discuss other issues relating to teenagers such as safe partying. The following link may be useful if you have any concerns regarding this:

Cyber safety - https://kidshelpline.com.au/kids/issues/being-safe-internet;

Safe Partying - https://kidshelpline.com.au/teens/issues/partying-safely; and if you are having a party https://www.police.nsw.gov.au/online_services/party_safety/safe_party_tips

Finally, congratulations to Mrs McGrath and her husband Ben on the birth of their daughter, Eadie, and Mrs Dewhurst and her husband Tom on the birth of their son, Edward. We look forward to meeting these two new additions to our Hennessy family.

Mrs Sharon Hibbert

Principal (Acting)

Cochlear Autumn School of Engineering  - applications are open and positions fill quickly

15-18 April 2019

This is a 4 day program for Year 11 & 12 School Students - studying Maths, Science & Engineering. Enjoy workshops at USYD, UTS, UNSW and Macquarie;

Go behind the scenes at RAAF Richmond, ANSTO & Cochlear.

Meet current young engineers at the Careers Night!

Price $330 per student / Email: nswregistration@engineersaustralia.org.au  or see Mrs Parkman if you are interested

Come and Explore Charles Sturt Uni (CSU)

Explore Day is the perfect opportunity for students in Years 10-12 and their parents to choose their own adventure and select from dynamic workshops in a broad range of study areas.

Explore Day dates

You can check out and register for an Explore day at https://futurestudents.csu.edu.au/events

Discover Engineering Days – for Years 8-11 students

A great day of presentations and hands on activities highlighting Engineering - the practical application of Maths & Science!

12 June @ Charles Sturt University;

Price: $20 per student/ Email: nswregistration@engineersaustralia.org.au or phone: 02 94105617

Steps to Becoming an Australian Apprentice! 

Apprenticeships are a great way to earn money while learning a trade!

Getting started in an apprenticeship can seem a little daunting, but it can be broken down into four easy-to-understand steps.

Research; Preparation; Job Hunting and Sign-up.

If you would like to learn more about each step, plus heaps more useful information, visit www.aapathways.com.au/steps.

UNSW Civil & Environmental Engineering Work Experience Week 27-31 May The School of Civil & Environmental Engineering, UNSW will be holding its annual work experience program in Week 5 of Term 2: from Monday 27th May to Friday 31st May.

Year 10 students across NSW are welcome to apply but this process is very competitive and are due on 10th April 2019. Application forms and further information can be obtained from Tricia Tesoriero (tricia.tesoriero@unsw.edu.au) or Mrs Parkman

LETZ LIVE | 2020 UK Gap Year Program Working in a Boarding School 

Gap Year Applications are now open for current Year 12 students interested in working at a UK boarding school in 2020. Participants receive full accommodation, food & full training. All positions are paid positions. Full support from our Australian & UK offices. Applicants to apply online via https://www.letzlive.org

P.S Mrs Parkman is currently planning a school visit from letzLive later this year.

Meaningful Schoolies Experiences in Sri Lanka, Thailand and Samoa

Projects Abroad’s Alternative Schoolies Projects are perfect for students who want to mark the end of their schooling with a worthwhile volunteer trip. These fully supervised group trips will allow students to make a positive and lasting impact in a developing country. This year our projects are running from the 30 Nov- 13 Dec 2019. More information: https://www.projects-abroad.com.au/

An interesting article….

The best and worst subjects to study to further your job prospects

As students return to school or start university in the next couple of weeks, one of Australia’s smartest people has revealed which subjects are useless and which are important.

Australia’s Chief Scientist has given them some down to earth advice.

Responding to a letter sent to him from a Year 10 student, Alan Finkel took the time to offer his sage words that apply to anyone contemplating what to study.

The student, Julie, wrote that she was anxious about her subject choices for Years 11 and 12, but the “incurable engineer” reassured her she wasn’t alone.

Dr Finkel got straight to the point — “build a solid foundation to keep the doors of opportunity open” — which he said meant expertise in two fundamental subjects, English and maths.

“Neither can be picked up easily later in life,” he wrote in the letter published in this month’s Cosmos magazine.

“They are best learned layer upon layer, from prep school through to Year 12.

“Mastery of language is crucial to succeeding in whatever you do — whether it’s writing a report to advise the government on electricity markets or a job application.

“Your ability to ‘win friends and influence people’ will only be as good as your language skills. The best way to hone them is to read a lot, and read some more. Novels, histories, science-fiction — it doesn’t matter, just read!”

Dr Finkel went on to say maths is the language of science and commerce.

He said maths was the beginning of everything and overemphasised its importance for many tertiary study fields including medicine, science, engineering, economics and commerce.

He then recommended choosing subjects that stretch you.

In his case he added economics which helped him in business and policy development, something that’s been crucial in his role leading Australia’s science policy.

“What’s left? We’re not just intellectual robots,” he said.

“We are a complex fusion of mind, body and emotion. Besides English and mathematics, there are two other fields that you should keep up as long as you can, even if you don’t do them as formal subjects. These are music, the language of the emotions, and sport, the language of the body. Music and sport complete us as human beings, and like English and mathematics they are incredibly difficult to pick up later in life.”

Mr Finkel said well-meaning advisers who suggested students picked easier subjects so they could get a higher raw score were wrong.

He said students who did that would only diminish their long-term prospects.

“Every time you drop an enabling subject — bang! A door of opportunity slams shut,” he said.

Taken from:

https://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/real-life/news-life/the-best-and-worst-subjects-to-study-to-further-your-job-prospects/news-story/6d101ab9621086991da9a0e1fd760c91

The Hilltops Community Hub want to learn about the respite needs of the community and people's experiences with respite services.

This survey is not disability specific – they want to hear from all parents and carers.

Takes only 5-8 mins of your time

Please follow the link to complete the survey: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/Hilltops_respite_survey

At the end of the survey you can enter a draw to win a $50 Big W gift card.

The survey closes 9am Monday 11 March so don’t delay!

Dear parents,

Parent/Teacher/Student interviews will be held on the 14^th of March.

Interviews are strictly 5 minutes and spaces are limited. If you require more time with a particular teacher, please arrange a separate meeting by telephoning the school on 63821486

Go to www.schoolinterviews.com.au and enter the code  te4xp
 

     Enter your details

       Select the teachers you wish to see

     Select the appointment times that suit your family best

When you click FINISH your selected bookings will be emailed to you immediately. If you not receive your email, please check your junk-mail, or enter the event code again and check your email address spelling. Update your details if email address if incorrect.

DO NOT DELETE the email you receive. Keep it somewhere safe. You may need to refer back to it at a later date.

REMEMBER TO ADD YOUR APPOINTMENTS TO YOUR CALENDAR - reminders will not be sent home.

Bookings must be finalised by 13th March at 4pm

If you need to view, cancel, change or print your bookings:

• Click on the link in the confirmation email you received after you made your bookings
  
  
• OR return to schoolinterviews.com.au and enter the code and the email address you used when making your bookings.