Yesterday we had a very busy but successful day as we ran our five year-based awards ceremonies due to COVID restrictions on numbers. It was such a privilege to recognise so many students across Years 7 - 11 for their talents, hard work and generosity. It was good to see so many parents were able to attend throughout the day.

At the ceremonies we formally farewelled Miss Caroline Devlin, Miss Marie Payne and Miss Clare Grantham. Each of these teachers have made a real difference both inside and outside the classroom and Hennessy is a better place for having them on staff. I would like to thank them for their contributions to Hennessy. Miss Caroline Devlin has taught at Hennessy since 2015 and has  been in the role of Religious Education Leader since 2017, during this time Caroline has shown herself to be a person of great faith and generosity and she has worked tirelessly to deepen the spiritual lives of both students and staff. Marie has been at Hennessy for eight years and has been Rice House Leader for the last three years , in this role she has been a strong support and advocate for the students in her care. Miss Grantham has taught French and worked in the Library this year and her gentle professional manner has been much appreciated. I wish each of these three all the best as they move on to the next stage in their careers.

Years 7 - 10 reports are being sent home today. Please take the time to read the reports with your son/daughter and to discuss feedback as a platform for further improvement in 2021. There is an opportunity for Parent Student Interviews on Wednesday, December 16. Please contact the front office if you would like to book  suitable time.

It would be easy to reflect on lost opportunities in 2020 or frustration concerning the frequently changing COVID guidelines but why not reflect on the positives to come from 2020?

The greeting at the Front Office remained as welcoming as ever and the playground continued to be a place of laughter and friendship on the beautiful shaded lawns. Students quickly moved on from initial disappointment when an event was cancelled or changed to embrace the ‘new version’ of the event. At the start of 2020, we welcomed the largest Year 7 cohort for many years as well as new students in Year 11. Throughout the year many more students joined the Hennessy community.

One of the big positives for me was the way the staff worked together to develop quality online learning with very little warning. Staff took this opportunity to develop new skills and to look for ways to value add for their students. All staff worked very hard to keep in touch with students and their families and to reassure them that we were doing all we could to make Hennessy a safe place.

I really missed was not being able to have parents and carers attend meetings and events. For this reason I felt the Year 12 Formal was an occasion which I will always remember very fondly. It was so wonderful to be able to invite parents and carers (at very short notice) to share in this last very significant Hennessy event with their sons and daughters.

What did 2020 teach us? - to not take our lives for granted, to see that things can be done in new ways, to be grateful, to be kind to others.

Thank you to everyone for making me feel so welcome in my new role and thank you for all you do to make Hennessy a place where we strive to:

‘Live Spiritually, Learn Dynamically, Act Justly … inspiring futures of hope.’

Wishing all our families a Happy Christmas and a safe and restful break where there will be time to catch up with loved ones and to recharge for 2021.

God bless

Presentation Day 2020

It was pleasing to see so many students receiving awards that reflected their achievement throughout the year. Thank you to the many parents who attended during the day.

ANDREW FOURACRE                                                                                         IAN MERGARD 

Acting Assistant Principal - Teaching and Learning                                        Acting Director of Studies

TERM 4 HENNESSY AWARDS

Level 2 Bronze Award recipients:

Congratulations to the following students who have achieved a bronze award in Weeks 8/9. These students have displayed involvement or achievement in at least 10 areas this term, encompassing the 3 key areas; live spiritually, learn dynamically and act justly.

Rory O'Brien, Elisabeth Hall, Emily Pratt, Eliza Taylor, Olivia McLennan, Mia Hennock, Rylee O'Brien.

Level 1 House Awards:

Well done to the 23 students who have reached our first level House Award over the last 2 weeks. 

Jannat Bakri, Jimmy Cronin, Isabelle Mesa, Harry Dymock, Ella King, Justin Garlick, Izabelle Cartwright, Sophie Manchester, Ailish Moore, Molly Glover, Grace Sweaney, Kate Murphy, Jaydon Millar, Jorja Swanton, Tyler Lacey, Ayon Peiris, Reagan Griffin, Giselle Capra, Sarah-Louise Hector-Steed, Hannah Hewitson, Macklay Brownlie, Kyle Price, Erin Ferry.

2020 House Cup:

The winning house for 2020 will be announced next week. In 2020, Gallagher House, McAuley House and Nage House have all won a term, so it is going to be a close finish.

STUDENT LEADERSHIP REPORT 

On the 3/11/2020 the Leadership Team had a meeting about the following topics:

• Yr 12 common room- We have discussed how to have a hot water system in the room without breaching hazards. We are still deciding as to how we cannot have a kettle in there, so we will further build onto this idea in future meetings. 
• Presentation Night- Each period on Wednesday will be allocated a year group and two leaders will be presenting for every year group. 
• PUZZLES!!- We have discussed having 1000 piece puzzles in PC’s in order to increase participation in PC discussions. We will have to discuss where to get them from and where we will place them in the rooms. 
• CANDY CANES!!- Handing out candy canes before school ends to get students into the Christmas Spirit. 
• Vinnies Hampers- in order to increase items we have decided to take around the baskets to PC’s. 
• Bottle Tops- As inspiration from our Yr 12 Business excursion the leadership team have discussed having buckets in the canteen area for kids to place their milk bottle tops from home and for Bec to place milk tops. These bottle tops will then be taken to a man who melts them and turns them into prosthetics for people. 

Hennessy had the annual awards on Wednesday the 9th of December but because of the impact of COVID, it has been changed to an awards day. During the day each period on Wednesday will be allocated a year group and two leaders will be presenting for every year group. The purpose of this will be to allow parents of children receiving awards to come as well as other peers in the cohort. As an initiative to promote student wellbeing and celebrate christmas, the student leadership team are hoping to hand out candy canes in hope that it will bring a little bit of happiness to their day. The aim for the rest of the term is for everyone to end on a good note and have a safe and happy holiday. 

Student Leaders 

Jannat Bakri & Alice Stuart 

WHAT HAS BEEN HAPPENING? 

Year 12 have been having regular study sessions of an evening. Additionally, they have had a trivia session. 

DATES FOR YOUR DIARY

Week 10 

• Tuesday 15th December - last day of school 
• Wednesday 16th December - Parent Teacher Interviews by appointments. 

Week 1, 2021 

• Friday 29th January, 2021 - Day 1 Years 7, 11 & 12 - students are going to the Pool on this day and are asked to ensure that they bring their swimmers and a BBQ lunch will be provided. Students are encouraged to wear their PE clothes if they 

Week 2, 2021

• Monday 1st February, 2021 - All students will return.

On Tuesday 1st December the Year 11 Hospitality students prepared morning tea for the Young Crisis Accommodation Centre. These opportunites provide invaluable work experience for our students. The morning tea was individually boxed, consisting of freshly made sandwiches, wraps, slices and fruit, before being delivered.  The feedback from Young Crisis Centre was overwhemingly positive.  Congratulations Year 11 on a fabulous job.

Year 10 Hospitality students are busy with Work Placement this week. Students have been demonstrating both their front and back of house skills. We are, once again, very fortunate to have our local businesses take on our students particularly in light of COVID and the restrictions that it brings.

"On Tuesday 1st December students from Year 9 attended the "Power of Engineering" day at Temora Aviation Museum. The excursion was aimed at Year 9/10 girls in order to show them the possible career opportunities if they were to pursue a career in STEM related subjects. During the day they participated in various challenges, heard presentations from QANTAS and explored the museum learning about the aviation history of Temora. The day was funded by Queensland University of Technology and the girls took a lot from the experience."

Hennessy College would like to congratulate Year 8 student Sarah McDonald for recieving a scholarship to continue her music studies in Piano at the Young School of Music in 2021.  Well done Sarah, your hard work and dedication has paid off.