Welcome to Week 4. Happy Hennessy Day! Today we reflect on the life and work of Fr Jerome Hennessy and his contribution to Young and region. Our pre-COVID plans were for a Mass to acknowledge twenty years of 7 - 12 Catholic education in our region. We had invited special guests including the Archbishop and past principals. Please check out the short reflection for Hennessy Day which Miss Devlin has put on Compass. We are hopefully going to celebrate Hennessy Day in early September.

I received an email from Brother Christopher Peel who was principal of Hennessy from 2008 - 2010 on Tuesday. Brother Peel is now working in Papua New Guinea on the island of East New Britain Province. He had only just received his invitation due to his isolation and sent his best wishes to the Hennessy community.

Jerome Hennessy was renowned for his independent nature and for his many small acts of kindness. He is a fine example of our theme for 2020 to ‘Act Justly’.

Grant us, Lord God, a vision of your world as your love would have it: a world where the weak are protected, and none go hungry or poor; ... a world where peace is built with justice, and justice is guided by love. Give us the inspiration and courage to build it, through Jesus Christ our Lord.

This week we have returned to face to face classes. Student attendance has been very good. We have loved seeing so many smiling faces as students get to see their friends and teachers face to face after such a long break. Teachers have been asked to closely consider the needs for different students and where they are up to in their learning. Please do not hesitate to contact your son/daughter’s teacher if you have concerns about their progress.

We are beginning our enrolment period for 2021. We have various virtual, media and social media promotions but please encourage anyone you think may be interested in visiting the school and finding out what Hennessy is all about to contact the Front Office.

Please be assured that we are endeavouring to make Hennessy as safe as possible during the return to school. We are continually seeking advice from Catholic education based on state and Commonwealth guidelines to ensure that our practices are appropriate.

Stay safe.

Kathy Holding

THANK YOU

It’s been great seeing the students back in classes and engaging with their peers and we thank all parents for their support during the learning. This week teachers will be spending time in classes with students working out where they are up to and seeking assistance if they need it. Hopefully by next week, we will have a clear plan for the rest of the term.

YEAR 12 PARENT/TEACHER/STUDENT INTERVIEWS

A reminder that there are on next Tuesday (26^th May) from 3.30-6.30pm. Booking are as normal via www.schoolinterviews.com.au and the event code is: zrx6k.

These interviews will be via ZOOM and the links for the teachers will be available on Compass and the Year 12 Google classroom page that day. Year 12 reports are the first to be completed using the new Compass reporting platform so if any issues please let us know.

STAGE 5 SUBJECT SELECTION 2021

Year 8 and 9 will start selecting for 2021 in Week 8. There will not be parent meeting this term due to COVID-19 restrictions. However, we are planning an innovative way for parents to see what’s on offer – more to come. 

HSC TIMETABLE

The HSC Timetable has been released – please note these are starting on October 20^th now and will run until November 11^th. All students should log into Students Online to check their details are correct and will also have a personal HSC Timetable available for them to refer to.

 Year 12 should also be taking advantage of the free HSC Lectures offered by the University of Wollongong. These run and night from 7.30-8.30pm and are presentations by experienced HSC markers. They include exam tips and feedback from the 2019 examinations too. More information can be found at: https://www.uow.edu.au/study/events/hsc-support-series/

We are looking forward to the rest of the term and getting back to normal.

Assistant Principal - Teaching and Learning                                       Director of StudiesSHARON HIBBERT                                                                             ANDREW FOURACRE 

Thursday the 21st of May is out Hennessy Feast Day as it makes the date when St Mary Secondary School became Hennessy Catholic College and welcomed senior students from across the region in 2000. 

Until Monday the 25th of May you can find on Compass a link to the Hennessy Day reflection that the Students participated in here at school during PC on the 21st.

In Church News on the 15th May Father Anthony Percy, the Vicar General of the Archdiocese released an update on the COVID-19 Restrictions as they apply to Churches in both the ACT and NSW. Please find use the link to see the new measure for attending Mass and the sacraments. https://drive.google.com/file/d/1eBGjeirTkpnsgmEr3wpjCRS738E4iCAR/view?usp=sharing

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to affect Australians’ lives, including their worship, the Catholic bishops of Australian will entrust the country to the care of Mary Help of Christians on her feast day this week.

In a message issued by the bishops conference as “A word of encouragement to the Catholic people of Australia”, the bishops noted that the country “has certainly suffered because of the pandemic, but not as grievously as some other countries”.

“For that we thank God and we congratulate public health authorities and governments on their prompt and prudent responses,” the bishops wrote.

The bishops approved the entrustment of the country to Mary Help of Christians during last week’s plenary meeting, conducted using videoconference technology.

The motion read: “That the Australian Bishops entrust Australia to the Immaculate Heart of Mary under the title Our Lady Help of Christians, seeking her intercession for the safety of all our people especially in this time of COVID-19 pandemic.”

Mary Help of Christians has been the official patroness of Australia since 1844. Her feast day is celebrated on May 24, which this year coincides with the Feast of the Ascension. The entrustment of Australia to Mary Help of Christians can therefore take place on the 24th or the 25th, the bishops agreed.

Archbishop Christoper Prowse has asked for all the faithful to pray the entrustment prayer on both Sunday the 24th and Monday the 25th of May. The Prayer is included for you here:

O Immaculate Mary, Help of Christians, Queen of heaven and earth,

and tender Mother of humanity,

at this time when a pandemic threatens all your children,

we entrust to you our nation, Australia, and all who live in this country.

We commit to your intercession all the members of our community,

beginning with the weakest ones, from the unborn

to the sick, the disabled and the elderly.

We commit to you our families, our young and old, and all who

are vulnerable, those who are quarantined or anxious.

We entrust to your Immaculate Heart those who have lost their

livelihood or employment, our pastors and other essential

service workers, and our leaders at this time.

We implore your intercession especially for the protection of

doctors and nurses and those who minister to the contagious

sick in this crisis.

Reign over us, Mother of God, and teach us how to make the

Heart of Jesus reign and triumph in us and around us, as it has

reigned and triumphed in you!

Amen

With the return of the students this week  there has been a very positive vibe in both the classroom and playground. We have been trialling some very interesting things online, with our virtual assemblies and set challenges for the students in their homes. The large numbers of students engaged online in the house scavenger hunts, has been fun. It was great to see them share their stories and bring their pets along to the ZOOMs. We have seen cats, dogs, parrots, lambs and even a snake. Additionally, we have had a lot of College physical challenges, longest plank, highest number of push ups and cake baking skills, just to name a few. In the playground this week, a with social distancing in mind,  we have seen huge participation in the handball competitions. 

I would like to congratulate Eliza Taylor (Year 7) who is currently the leading all the students, winning many of the challenges. Well done Eliza.

Lots of fun things have been occuring in our classrooms as the online content transferred back to practice.  In CAFS they girls have been looking at the roles individuals adopt in groups and the leadership roles of individuals within groups. Year 12 Investigating Science has been looking at how performance drinks affect performance, they participated in the Beep Test. 

Current student challenges include the Bold4Gold, testing students aerobic capacity.  Declan Cashel is smashing it with a 12minute time for 3km and Isabella Grainger the current top female with a time of 14minutes, with Mrs Dunk leading the teachers. This challenge is still open till 31st May.

This weekend we see the social justice initiative of Hang out for the Homeless. We encourage students to particpate in these events to gain valuable House Points and also embody the College focus this year, to Act Justly.

Just a friendly reminder that all students who may need to leave the College during the school day,  MUST bring a written note or an email must be sent to the college office.  This is a legal requirment.  Text messages will no suffice.  We thank you for your cooperation in this matter.

Year 11 HSC Hospitality students are straight back into it and collecting evidence for their Certificate II in Hospitality. Here they are preparing Veal Parmigiana with Paris Mash and turned carrots.

At the end of 2019 the music faculty staff were successful in attaining a federal grant through the local schools community fund initiative to purchase much needed new equipment for the department.

All equipment, after a long period of application, approval and delivery, arrived at the school at the end of February. Both Mrs Riordan and Mr Foley are excited to see ourelective music students now using this equipment, as it sadly remained dormant during the recentisolation period we have experienced. This fantastic new equipment will support the performanceprogram at Hennessy in many ways by enhancing our school assemblies, liturgies, pop up performancesaround the grounds of the College, and especially in assisting the daily practical requirements of our music students.

Training has begun in all elective music classes on the correct setup, use and maintenance of the portable Bose PA system. This resource will allow our students to quickly and efficiently setup mobile performance spaces both within the grounds of the College and to engage the wider community in the coming years with the performance work of our committed and talented students.

We look forward to welcoming parents and members of the community to all of our performance events into the future, so that they can experience first hand, the benefits that these new resources will have on our current and future students. The music curriculum staff of Mrs Riordan and Mr Foley would like to pay special thanks to Mrs Trazel Lister for her ongoing support and help with the successful completion of this project. 

Pictured here are Year 10 elective music students Charlie Tuckfield, Tom McEvoy, Lily Payne and Taylah Allen.