Welcome to Week 7. The year seems to be flying and I am sure families, as are we,  will be finding this a very busy time of year.

On Tuesday night we had our last Community Council Meeting for the year, the key topics were:

• The development of a uniform committee to take an overall look at our current uniform but particularly to explore getting shorts as an option for girls and a long sleeved blue shirt for girls. The uniform committee will consist of parents and students. If you would like to be a part of this committee please contact either Peita Payne or Natalie Turner.
• We discussed the notion of developing more of a sense of community in 2021. Currently we have welcome nights for Years 7 and 11 and community barbeques in our regional towns but we feel we would like to have another event which will bring parents together in a non-fundraising way. Any ideas on this would be much appreciated.
• Linda Cavanagh will be stepping down from the Community Council in 2021. I would like to take this opportunity, on behalf of the College, to sincerely thank Linda for her leadership, hard work and commitment over the many years she has served on the Hennessy Community Council and before that the Hennessy School Board.
• Peita Payne and Natalie Turner will also end their two year term on the Community Council and are eligible to nominate again for these positions. Linda’s resignation means that we are looking for a new Community Council representative. If you would be interested please complete the nomination form at the end of this newsletter and return it to the College no later than December 7.

This morning we had our Year 8 Mass celebrated by Father Jiss. This is the first mass in a series of class masses to end the year. We are very grateful to have both Father Jiss and Father Joe so willing to be a part of our community.

On Tuesday and Wednesday last week we had our Year 7 Orientation Days as we welcomed 78 students to experience high school life at Hennessy. Students had a wonderful time experiencing woodwork, science experiments, cooking, art, drama, sport activities and getting to know you games. 

Due to Covid guidelines, our Presentation Night will become a Presentation Day. Throughout the day, on December 9, each year group will have their own presentation ceremony in the College Hall. Parents of students receiving awards are currently being contacted and invited to attend. Unfortunately we will not have space for extra parents at these ceremonies. 

Year 12 have been taking advantage of extra study sessions as they move into their first HSC assessment period. This is a great opportunity for them to seek extra teacher support, to work with their friends and to share a pizza meal. A big thanks to Mrs McInerney for organising this.

Teaching and Learning News

Learning Dynamically…Inspiring Futures of Hope

Reports for Year 7-10

Teachers have been completing Semester 2 reports. These will be mailed during Week 10.

ANDREW FOURACRE                                           

Acting Assistant Principal - Teaching and Learning                                       

IAN MERGARD

Acting Director of Studies

Week 7 Wellbeing Report 

CAPTAINS REPORT 

• Year 12 formal 

In week five, the 2020 year 12’s celebrated their formal with their parents and guardians. Parents were invited at last minute due to COVID-19 and restrictions were put in place however it turned out to be a great night! The hall was kindly decorated by the staff and Bob which looked amazing and very colourful. 

A massive thankyou goes out to all the incredible hospitality girls in Years 10 and 11 for assisting in serving food, drink and volunteering their time to help clean up afterwards. Miss Worner and our lovely canteen ladies worked incredibly hard to prepare and cook all of the food and help out on the night. Overall, the night turned out to be great fun for parents, year 12 students and our other volunteers. Thank you to all, your hard work never goes unnoticed.  

• Year 6 Orientation Day 

Last week we had the pleasure of meeting a large group of year 6 students from several different schools! The house leaders and the leadership team got the opportunity to meet them all followed by a liturgy and some fun games. The year 6’s were given a tour of the school and took part in activities such as science experiments, cooking and sports which occurred over a period of two school days. It was great seeing all the new students interact with one another, they are such a lovely year group and we cannot wait for them to join us next year! We also have some very exciting news at Hennessy, which is that next year we will have the highest number of students since 2013, which is a great accomplishment. Well done Hennessy team!

• McAuley dine and donate 

On Tuesday 17th November, McAuley House held its Annual Dine and Donate initiative. The initiative is a community service project where the students prepare and donate meals to those less fortunate in the Hilltops community.  

Some of the meals were donated to the Young Crisis Accommodation Centre, which has evolved into a multi-purpose service centre offering tailored support plans for homeless people and those at risk of homelessness, including young people, women, men, individuals and families. The centre still maintains crisis accommodation for women and women with children. Without the help of our year 11 McAuley students, teachers and cleaning ladies we wouldn't have been able to donate all these amazing meals and assist those in need, so a massive thankyou to all of those who attended and assisted!

• PC challenges 

This term the leadership team has placed a strong emphasis on planning PC challenges and year activities to be introduced next year in order to foster inter-year and inter-house engagement. We plan to introduce a myriad of activities such as trivia, board games, handball, as well as music and sporting challenges. Last week we kicked off our first PC challenge - all houses have begun their respective Among Us challenges. We would like to thank Mr Quinn for making the trophies, keep a look out for the end result!

• Wellbeing 

Fairy Bread - In celebration of National Fairy Bread Day which was founded to combat mental health among Australia’s youth, on Tuesday 24th of November, with the help of Mr Chifley and Miss Worner a group of year 12 girls gave up their study and lunchtime to distribute colourful sprinkles, sugary goodness and lots of smiles.

Dolly - During the past couple of weeks, we have all had the pleasure of meeting Hennessy’s new wellbeing dog, Dolly. Mrs Stadmiller brings the adorable black lab to school on Fridays, we love her visiting our classrooms and saying hello in the playground. Working with the SWAG group, we hope this initiative will help support our students’ mental health and wellbeing in the future We would like to thank everyone’s support and cooperation in helping Mrs Stadmiller train her.

Written by: Olivia McLennan and Giselle Capra

MOVEMBER
As at the 25th of November, the Hennessy Movember team has raised $4,619 which has smashed the original target of $500. Fast approaching is the end of the month, where all funds are donated in order to support innovative world-class men's health projects in key focus areas – prostate cancer, testicular cancer, mental health and suicide prevention. 

Overall, Hennessy is ranked 9th in the school competition. Special mention to Mitchell Brown, Mr Chifley and Rylee O’Brien for leading the way in money raised.

HOUSE AWARDS 

Over the past few weeks Hennessy has been flooded with events and opportunities for students to be involved in a variety of activities. It is great to see so many students seizing the opportunity and reaching Level 1 and 2 in the House Awards System.

The Level 1 House Award requires students to show involvement in all 3 areas: Live Spiritually, Learn Dynamically and Act Justly. Congratulations to students who have attained this achievement in Weeks 5/6 of this term:

Bella Brownlie, Hayley Grotegoed, Eliza Taylor, Mia Hennock, Jesse Jewitt, Fergus Moore, Xavier Capra, Charlotte Cottrell, Madison James, Isabella Harrison, Charlotte Doldissen, Brianee Taylor, Lillian Williams, Josh Cameron, Ryan Blake, Nicholas Canellis, Zoe McRae, Charlotte Coddington, Harry McAtamney, Millie Davidson, Damon Xia, Breanna Ulrick, Zack Corcoran, Adison King, Elisabeth Hall, Emily Pratt, Rory O'Brien, Grace Gibson, Rylee O'Brien, Liam Jewitt, Imogen Noakes, Ethan Smith, Michael Perry, Mitchell Brown, Joy Cass, Holli Madgwick, Indyana Bedford, Emily Dillon, Sarah Dillon, Amy Knapman, Ellie Croker, Chelsey Terry, Alex Block, Charlotte Hudson, Mattea Tarce, Lily Coddington, Lachlan Reynolds, Sophie Barnes, Mollie O'Leary, Tessa Barnes, Isabella Turner, Anna Harden, Sebastian Hartman.

The Level 2 Bronze Award is attained by students who are involved in at least 10 activities (at least 2 in each set area). Congratulations to our first two recipients of this award, Hayley Grotegoed and Bella Brownlie.

     

YEAR 12 STUDY SESSIONS 

Year 12 students have been meeting as a group and working on assessments and spending some quality time together as a group. Enjoying each other's company and working with staff. Year 12 has one more session in Week 8. Continue working hard Year 12. 

YEAR 12, 2020 - RESULTS MORNING TEA

On Friday 18th December, we will be welcoming back the Year 12 class of 2020 to celebrate their achievements. 

LEAGUE TAG 

Yesterday, we took two teams to the South West Slopes Riverina competition held in Young. The girls were amazing, they conducted themselves with pride and showed their strengths on the field. It was fantastic to see the girls who have not worked together as a team before come together. 

Results were; 

Team 1: Game 1 draw, Game 2 win, Game 3 win and Game 4 win

Team 2: Game 1 win, Game 2 win, Game 3 loss and Game 4 win

Both teams came away from the day in first and second position. It is very clear that we have a lot of talented young football players here at school. 

Players players; Lizzie Sinclair & Tay Butcher.

Standout players from the day; Amelia Rowan, Emma Craig, Lydia Martin and Sara Collins. 

DATES FOR DIARY

Week 8 

• Year 10 Work Experience 

Week 9 

• 9th December, Presentation Day (in year groups)
• 10th December, Year 9 Activities Day
• 10th & 11th December, Year 10 Activities Days

Week 10 

• Tuesday 15th December, last day for students

Wellbeing @ Hennessy

The last couple of weeks have been busy as students and staff prepare for the end of the year and planning for 2021. As part of our planning for next year, the College’s Wellbeing team met and concerns were raised regarding the education of our boys and girls in today's society, especially as they navigate this digital world. Next year, we will conduct days for Years 8 and 9, where they will be separated into boys and girls, to undertake activities that focus on respect and responsibilities. The aim will be to have guest speakers and activities throughout the day, that will challenge stereotypes and empower our students to be responsible digital citizens. If you believe there is an area of concern that you think your child may benefit from please contact me and let me know.

Last week McAuley House hosted their Dine and Donate for senior students. Students and staff were able to prepare and share a meal together. We hope in 2021 with a Covid friendly world that parents will be again able to join us. Not only did we prepare and share a meal over 50 meals we prepared and donated to St Mary’s Parish and Young Crisis Accommodation Centre.

  

The College SWAG Team will focus on sustainability and getting a can and bottle collection trail going for the remainder of the year.  Red bins will  be placed around the College next week to collect and used as part of the Return and Earn program with all funds going towards College charities.

National Fairy Bread Day was celebrated on Tuesday. The seniors shared fairy bread with the other students to mark this  occasion and importantly focus on student wellbeing.

On 10th December, Year 9 Day will participate in an Activity Day. Students are to wear their College Sports uniform and bring appropriate swimwear. The morning will consist of a Mass and team bonding activities. Students will then be provided with a BBQ lunch before heading to the Young Aquatic Centre for the afternoon.

On 10th and 11th December Year 10 will participate in a 2 day incursion. 

As always if you have any concerns please contact your child’s PC teacher or any member of the College’s Wellbeing team

Mark Chifley

Assistant Principal – wellbeing and Mission

As the days begin to have a breath of heat in the mornings we are reminded that the Advent season is almost upon us. When the Church begins the season of waiting ahead of the Christmas Season. In fact this Sunday is the First Sunday of Advent. Over the next two weeks the junior school will be attending end of year Masses with Fr Jiss and Fr Joe in their respective year groups. Year 8 started the ball rolling this morning in Period One with Fr Jiss. The students showed wonderful reverence and a number of students volunteered for service roles during the Mass. 

The next Masses and liturgies are as follows:

•       Year 7 Mass – Thursday December 3, 9:00 am, at St Mary’s Cathoic Church
•       Year 9 Mass – Thursday, December 10, 10:00 am (as part of their activities day), at St Mary’s Cathoic Church
•       Year 10 Leadership Liturgy  – Friday December 10, at school.

In Parish news the Presentation Chappel that stands in the College ground is celebrating a special anniversary this year. 2020 marks the 100th anniversary of the laying of the foundation stone. On the 8th of December there will be a special Mass at 12 noon to celebrate the occasion. Fr Tony Percy, Vicar General of the Archdiocese of Canberra and Goulburn, will celebrate the Mass with the Presentation Sisters as guests of honour. The Mass is open to the public to attend and Hennessay will be sending two Nagle students to represent the College. 

The College is calling for nominations for its Community Council.  The council meets once per month and all positions are held for a period of 2 years. The council provides the opportunity for members to support the mission of Catholic education in the school. Working with the Principls, Parish Priest and staff, the members of the Council and its committees provide leasership to the wider school community.

The council has a decision making role in certain policy areas and an advisory role in others.

The Principal has responsiblity for the day to day leadership and management of the school.

If you would like to nominate for a position on the council please complete the form below and return it to the College either by email or delivery. 

Nominations will close on the 7th December 2020.

During the YEar 6 Orientation day the 6 students were able to experience an “Ocean Rift”, where they could choose to scuba dive with a species of their choice such as turtles, seals, dolphins, blue and great white sharks, orcas, humpbacks, sea snakes, extinct marine reptiles and a deep sea ecosystem. This experience is a gentle introduction to VR as the student has full control of their motion and location.