Welcome to Week 4. The highlight of last week was our Opening School Mass on Friday. This mass has many traditions including the parading in of town signs to signify the regional nature of the College. There was a strong sense of community and a unity of prayer and hope for the new year. Many thanks to Father Jiss for celebrating the Mass and to all those students and staff who contributed. A special thank you to Mr Miller for his work in organising the mass and Mrs Riordan for the talented choir and to Mrs Wright for organising the welcoming and badge ceremony after Mass.

Student leaders who were acknowledged included:

Year 10 Peer Support Leaders, Year 11 House Vice Captains, Gallagher: Lachlan Li, McAuley: Riley Noakes, Nagle: Zabir Alam, Rice: Isaac Brown;

Year Level Leaders Year 8: Daisy Van Leeuwen and Sebastian Silk, Year 9: Bonny Bromham and Ruby Holt and Year 10: Kobe Owen and Jessica Banwell

(Year 7 Leaders will be elected in Term 2 when the students have a chance to know each other better.

Congratulations to all these students and their families. It is wonderful to see so many students nominating generously to serve the Hennessy community as student leaders.

There was a strong attendance of parents, students and staff at the Year 11 Information Evening last Tuesday. This evening was a valuable opportunity for parents and students to learn about processes and rules for the Higher School Certificate and also to have the opportunity to meet staff.

Just a reminder that we are still looking for nominations to fill two positions on the School Community 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. 

Ash Wednesday is next week and marks the commencement of Lent. Students have been given information about Lent in both RE classes and at weekly assemblies. The Ash Wednesday Liturgy will be held in the College Hall at 9am. Parents are most welcome to attend.

As we settle into the new year, please do not hesitate to contact me or any staff member if you have queries or concerns.

NAPLAN 

In Week 6, Wednesday 12th March we will commence NAPLAN testing for our Year 7 and Year 9 students. NAPLAN is a national assessment to test students' individual ability in three areas; literacy - reading, writing and language conventions (spelling, grammar & punctuation) and numeracy. As a College, it helps inform our student's needs and abilities in which we can support them to grow and further develop in their learning. During the week of NAPLAN. 

Suggestions for parents/carers to assist your child with their feelings towards NAPLAN; 

• Have positive conversations with your child about the test
• Ensure that they eat well, a good breakfast the day of and a good night sleep before the exam
• Encourage your child to be active, spend some time in the afternoons outdoors away from screens
• If studying for the test, avoid cramming as it places further stress on them
• Celebrate your child's achievements no matter the outcome, the most important 

YEAR 11 INFORMATION EVENING

Thank you to the students, parents and carers who attended the evening and joining their child on the Stage 6 journey. Over the comings days, I will catch up the missed students from the evening and ensure they understand the rules and processes in terms of NESA and College requirements. 

YEAR 11 ASSESSMENT SCHEDULE - 2025

CLASS SPOTLIGHT – 7.3 SCIENCE WITH MR QUINN

This week, I have been walking around our classes and looking at more amazing lessons. This week’s spotlight was 7.3 Science with Mr Quinn. The students have been learning about velocity and how it is impacted by gravity, forces and mass. 

In particular, they were focusing on who would be a ‘faster driver’ and why. The discussions were rich, there was lots of depth and thinking around changing variables and the influence. There were a few comments, that I would be a ‘faster’ driver then Mr Quinn in which I do agree. 

Great work, 7.3 - what an engaging lesson. 

It has been an excellent two weeks as we have celebrated the opening mass to welcome in our 2025 theme “Pilgrims of Hope”. Many thanks to Fr Jiss who presided and Acolyte Brian Hislop. Our new students and staff were welcomed in during a ceremony and our new vice captains and year level captains were also badged at the ceremony.

Congratulations to:

Year 8 Captains: Daisy Van Leeuwen & Sebastian Silk
Year 9 Captains: Bonny Bromham & Ruby Holt
Year 10 Captains: Kobe Owen & Jessica Banwell

Vice Captain for Gallagher House: Lachlan Li 
Vice Captain for McAuley House: Riley Noakes
Vice Captain for Nagle House: Zabir Alam
Vice Captain for Rice House: Isaac Brown

We are incredibly proud of our community and the way our students engage in it.

This week I have met with our RCIA candidates, students who are wishing to become fully part of the Catholic church through baptism, communion and confirmation.  Please keep Lexie Fitzgerald, Ben Sweaney and Kaelen Dal Molin in your prayers. It has been an exciting time and we can not wait to travel through this faith journey together to finally have them welcomed into the church at the Easter Vigil Mass.

I have also met with the Year 11 Jersey Committee who are busy designing the jersey for our 2026 cohort which our students will be voting on very soon.

We have also been working hand in hand with the parish in Palm Cross Making on Thursday mornings and it has been lovely to share this time as a community.

Next week on Friday, our Year 7’s will have their annual retreat. This is a great day to take a step back from the everyday routine and take some time to reflect with God. Mr Miller will be leading the way with our Year 10 CSYMA students and we thank them for their work.

Next week we have Hennessy Parish Mass and Youth Group and I invite you all to attend on the 8th of March to be part of the community, please see Compass for the Google form - it is a house point event.

Next week is Shrove Tuesday which marks the beginning of Lent, a significant season in the Catholic Church dedicated to prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. Traditionally, it is a day of feasting before the solemn period of repentance begins on Ash Wednesday. Lent lasts for 40 days, mirroring Jesus’ time of fasting in the desert, and serves as a time for Catholics to reflect on their relationship with God, seek forgiveness, and prepare their hearts for the celebration of Easter. Through acts of sacrifice, prayer, and service to others, the faithful draw closer to Christ, embracing the hope of His resurrection.

Pancakes will be sold to raise funds for Caritas on Tuesday (please see Compass for your order from) and each House will be in charge of raising money for project compassion for the remainder of the term. I encourage you to give generously to all the great work that Caritas does for communities in Australia and around the world.

Finally our focus for the next couple of the weeks will be on the way we treat our environment and the way we speak to each other. We are reminded that we are respectful of our environment and that we are responsible for looking after God’s creation and thus our rubbish needs to go in the right places. We also remember that we are all made in the image and likeness of God and the words that we use to speak to each other matter and we should be mindful of the way in which we are speaking.