Welcome to Week 6. Last Sunday was Pentecost Sunday when we officially end the season of Easter and reflect on the Holy Spirit in our lives. Mary Coloe has a great reflection:

The signs of the Spirit in our lives

When you stand in an underground train station,the first sense you have of an approaching train is the wind as the train pushes the air in front of it. You cannot hear or see anything yet, but the wind announces the train is on its way. I liken this to our experience of the Spirit.In both Hebrew and Greek, the word for spirit is the same as ‘wind’ or ‘breath’. 

Like the wind,we do not see or hear the Spirit,but we experience its effects:

• the urge to respond to an issue of justice
• the move to compassion at the sight of suffering 
• the ongoing, subtle sense of God’s presence in our lives
• the ability to discern what is right from what is wrong.

These are the signs of the Spirit in our lives – prompting, encouraging, guiding and empowering us to live from Jesus’ vision of the reign of God

 - Mary Coloe

Even though students have returned to school and COVID-19 seems to be decreasing in Australia, we need to continue to follow guidelines to help prevent a second wave. The most recent guidelines from Catholic Education can be found at this link below. Please read them and do not hesitate to contact the College if you have any questions.

https://cg.catholic.edu.au/covid-19-information-and-updates/

During lockdown and in the first few weeks returning to school, we have given some leeway on our uniform due to difficulties in getting to the shops. Hennessy is very proud of its uniform and students wear the uniform with a sense of belonging. Please ensure that your son/daughter is in the complete uniform from next Tuesday. The uniform guidelines from the website are in this newsletter. If your son/daughter cannot wear the correct uniform for some reason please supply a note.

I am currently doing enrolment interviews for Years 7 and 11. I absolutely love that I can take families anywhere in the school at any time of the day and I know I will see engaged well-behaved students. This is testament to our wonderful students, their teachers and their families.

Take care

Kathy

STAGE 5 SUBJECT SELECTIONS

In Week 8 we will commence subject selections for electives for Years 9 and 10 2021. Unfortunately due to COVID restrictions we will not be able to have a Parent Information Evening but I shall put information out via Compass to parents about this. The KLA Leaders are currently working on presentations and we have some different thoughts about the best way to do this in the current climate. More will come next newsletter about the process.

YEAR 12 HSC TRIAL TIMETABLE

This will be available to students next week and they need to ensure they are available for every exam. However students will ONLY need to attend when they have an exam, although should they have a morning and afternoon exam the same day, they are expected to remain at school. A letter outlining the requirements for Trial exams and the timetable will be emailed to all parents after the timetable is released. 

YEAR 12 PTS INTERVIEWS

A big thank you to students and parents who made this online ZOOM version a success. Teachers also found this to be highly valuable and any feedback you have is appreciated and can be emailed to me at Sharon.Hibbert@cg.catholic.edu.au If you missed this event and would still like to make contact with your child’s teacher’s, all staff email addresses can be found on our website.

It’s been wonderful to see the students back in classes, engaging with learning and getting back on track. They are to be commended for working as they did in the remote environment which is challenging. A few students may still be finding it difficult to transition back to class and should seek help if needed. Our teachers have done an amazing job in transitioning quickly to a remote environment and utilising the technology we had but are happy to be back in the classroom too.

I will be sending out a survey to students next week to complete via their house pages to provide some feedback for us as to what they liked and disliked about remote learning. There is certainly some merit in examining closely different methods of delivery that students enjoyed to see what we can utilise in the classroom for the future. As Mr Einstein says…

Please continue to check the Compass Parent Portal over the coming weeks for more information about what is happening in regards to subject selections.

Assistant Principal - Teaching and Learning                                   Director of Studies

SHARON HIBBERT                                                                             ANDREW FOURACRE 

As we continue to transition back to “normal”  schooling we are aware that some families are struggling with the transition back to face to face teaching. If this is the case please contact your child’s Pastoral Care Teacher or House Leader and the College can explore options to take to assist with the return to school. As part of the transition students will be required to change for PE lessons from Tuesday 9th of June. Staff will also be paying closer attention to uniform issues and student presentation. We appreciate that sometimes life gets in the way of the best placed plans. If a student has a uniform issue please send them with a note or contact the College before 9am. Please refer to the College uniform expectations.

 Next Tuesday as part of the Student Wellbeing Sessions (SWS) students will be participating in a positive behaviours survey. This survey will be looking at the issue of bullying at Hennessy. We are aware that bullying occurs at Hennessy and endeavour to address the problem. To address the problem we need to hear from students and empower and assist them to tackle bullying.  Students in years 10 – 12 will also be taking part in the Mission Australia survey. This survey not only gives feedback on national concerns for teens, but the College also receives a Hennessy specific report with valuable information on the issues that our older students are facing as they transition from school. We also use the information gathered in both surveys to direct the SWS program for 2021. The Wellbeing team will be using some of the resources from reachout.com to put in to place programs to assist the students. I recommend that you take a tour of their website there is useful information for both parents and teens.

Rice House will be hosting this terms Dine and Donate. Due to Covid-19 the format will be different this term with the event open to only staff and students. Dine and Donate allows the College to practically put into place this year’s theme of “acting Justly”. Please contact Ms. Marie Payne – Rice House Leader for more details.

Year 10 immunisations are now on Thursday 25th of June

Mark Chifley

Assistant Principal - Wellbeing

HOODIES FOR THE HOMELESS 

This Friday 5th June, students are encouraged to wear a hoodie of their choice with their school uniform and this is to raise awareness for those Youth who are currently homeless in our communities. Students are asked to bring a gold coin donation for this and all funds raised will go towards St Vincent de Paul’s winter appeal. 

WHAT’S HAPPENING IN THE CLASSROOM

Over the last fortnight I have been to many classes which have allowed students to showcase their skills and talents. Some of my highlights include; in STEM - the students are currently working on their bridges and have been utilising with the new 3D printer.  In Year 9/10 Food Technology students have been cooking for special occasions - this week was an Indonisean dish. In 9/10 Timber students are working on their coffee tables,  Year 9/10 metal  have been making rings and working on their individual projects. Year 8 has been busy in French, learning about the different countries and their connections as well as, pronouncing the names of colours in French. Year 12 Art have been working on their major works and Year 12 Music busy practicing for a school concert. 

HOUSE CHALLENGES 

This week the students' challenge was to draw a black and white cartoon of their choice. We have had several nominees and some amazingly talented young individuals. We would like to congratulate all involved. 

The winners are: 

1ST Mackenzie Fliedner 

2ND Bridget Summerfield 

=3RD Fergus Moore & Ryan Blake 

Additionally, we had a Year 11 & Year 12 Basketball challenge during the breaks. Year 11 was strongly contested with many involved, McAuley took the win and Liam Stuart took out the Most Valued Player on court. Year 12 things certainly heated up, each team was out to ensure that they could take the win. The competition was no match for the student combination of Nelson Hall & Nick Jenkins who were the ultimate duo in terms of combinations and setting up the baskets, the Rice team blitz the court and take the win easily over the other houses. 

BOLT4GOLD 

We have recently had an initiative where the students/staff challenged their aerobic capacity, with 40 students/staff testing themselves we have a clear winning. Declan Cashel Year 12 took the 3km run with a time of 11:02:01 closely contended by Sean Thompson Year 8 with a time of 12:33:67 and in third Samuel Fuller Year 10 with a time of 12:34.51. The girls were just as fast with the top female going to Isabella Grainger Year 8 with a time of 14:42:55, in second Elisabeth Hall Year 9 with a 15:08:25 and closely behind her Eliza Taylor Year 7 with a time of 16:23:55. Congratulations to all the students and staff involved, we certainly have some talent. 

HANGOUT FOR THE HOMELESS

On the 23rd of May 2020, students and staff of Hennessy Catholic College took part in ‘Hangout for the Homeless’, an initiative where people, young and old, sleep outside of their beds in an attempt to raise awareness for youth homelessness In Australia. Due to COVID-19, we were forced to take a different approach and work within our homes to ensure we were following the social distancing rules. However, it was still a huge success. As a College community, we were able to raise a combined total of $2040 with over 90 staff and students participating in this great event. The money raised has been utilised effectively providing funding for 13 scholarships for youth aged between 13 and 25 years old.

Many thanks to Mrs Emily Nowlan for organising and being the driving force behind the success of ‘Hangout for the Homeless’, and to the Year 11 Vice Captains for their promotion and participation. We hope to see this level of enthusiasm surrounding such an amazing initiative in the coming years at Henessy.

Liam Jewitt - McAuley Vice Captain 

HOUSE POINTS UPDATE 

Nagle - 264 

McAuley - 230 

Gallagher - 214 

Rice - 198 

There are so many things happening here and it is great to see the students involved and engaged in their learning. A few reminders; 

• That students are to be in the correct College winter uniform - policy is attached and also available via the student House pages. 
• Students who are driving to school need to ensure that they have completed a drivers forms
• If your child is late to school/has an appointment or needs to leave early, they are to ensure that they have written permission and their House Leaders/Pastoral Care Teachers need to sign the note before they go to the front office. 

Have a lovely week, 

Mrs McInerney 

Director of Students

Congratulations Hennessy - we raised over $2000! 

On Saturday 23rd May over 85 students and 7 staff slept rough for the night. Rough sleep can be from sleeping on the lounge to outside in the cold. Students slept in tents, swags with a fire for warmth and others on the lounge. 

The money raised goes towards 29 young people at risk of homelessness will receive an education. The ripple effect of this is endless. Not only have you helped that person directly, but you have also helped their family and anyone else who benefits from that one person receiving an education. 

Things to ask yourself -  

Did you wake up at home?

Did you brush your teeth this morning?

Did you eat breakfast?

What did you eat?

Whilst these may seem normal for most of us, people who are homeless may answer NO to many of these questions.

Thank you for taking up the challenge to Act Justly.

With thanks, 

Emily Nowlan                                                                             

Nagle House Leader - Not Words but Deeds 

Hennessy Catholic College

LATE / SIGNING IN / SIGNING OUT / SICK

A friendly reminder!

-        When you are late to school you are required to have a note to explain your lateness.

-        If you have an appointment and need to leave the College early you need to ensure you have a note and PC Teacher/House Leader or myself needs to sign it before you sign out.

-        If you are feeling unwell, you are to go to the front office and then they will call your parents/caregivers. You cannot just call and tell them you are sick and sign out.

-        You cannot just walk to the machine use your card and sign in/out.

-        If you are absent from the College for any reason, you need to ensure you provide a reason for your absence, this can be done with a note/QKR/Compass or email from your parents/caregivers. It should be brought in on the first day of your return.

This is a legal requirement and not a Hennessy rule.

Thank you for your assistance.

Hennessy has some amazing artists in residence.  Here is a sample of some awesome work submitted for our recent Art competition.

Congratulations to the following students;

1st Place - Mackenzie Fliedner

2nd Place - Bridget Summerfield

= 3rd Place - Fergus Moore and Ryan Blake