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Welcome to the last week of Term 3. It was
wonderful to see students face-to-face this week but also a cautious welcome back as Covid continues to be in the NSW community. The students were extremely impressive in the way they followed NSW Health Orders such as the wearing of masks and keeping in year groups in the playground.
On Tuesday the new Student Leadership Team for 2021/2022 was announced:
College Captains - Sarah Dillon, Damon Xia
Gallagher House Captains - Eliza Butt, Chelsea Cleverdon
McAuley House Captains - Charlotte Doldissen, Brianee Taylor
Nagle House Captains - Charles Tuckfield, Madeline Wegman
Rice House Captains - Nicholas Louttit, Trysta Willoughby
Congratulations to all these students and their families and we look forward to working with them in their new roles.
Several new staff appointments for 2022 were finalised this week:
Director of Studies - Ian Mergard
Science Leader - Conor Quinn
Science teacher - Maryann Schiller
Again, congratulations to these people and all the best in their new positions.
I would like to take this opportunity to wish all our families a relaxing and safe holiday period and thank them for their ongoing support and understanding as routines and rules needed to be changed throughout the term. Please remember that school for students begins again on Wednesday, October 6.
Stay safe
Kathy
YEAR 12
Our Year 12 students are to be congratulated on the way they have coped with an ever changing HSC plan. This now sees exams start on November 9 and conclude on December 2. The exam timetable can be found here: https://educationstandards.nsw.edu.au/wps/portal/nesa/11-12/hsc/key-dates-exam-timetables/hsc-written-exam-timetable
In Term 4 more information will be forthcoming but currently, the plan is for classes to be available as per the College timetable for revision during weeks 1-3. However, this may change yet again as the COVID situation changes.
The ATAR’s will be released on January 20 and the HSC results on January 24.
YEAR 11
Exams will go ahead during weeks 1-2; currently, they will be face to face, but should we go into lockdown, then exams on days during lockdown will be conducted online. Should the current situation change, this will be communicated via Compass and the Yr 11 Google classroom pages.
Students should be spending much of the second week of the break studying for their exams and many teachers have posted past papers for them to practice on. Study notes and re-watching ATOMI (where available) is also a good way to help revise.
YEARS 7-10
The holidays are a great time to wind down but also catch up on what they have missed. It has been impressive to be invited into online classrooms to see all the inventive learning taking place.
STAFFING CHANGES
We farewell Mr Fouracre and Ms Keith from the KLA team as they embark on leave in Term 4 and then onto new adventures. They have both made invaluable contributions to the College and will be missed. Mr Ian Mergard will be the Acting Director of Studies and Mr Conor Quinn the Acting Science Leader in Term 4 and both will also be taking on this role permanently in 2022. Mrs Schiller will also be full-time next term and working with Mrs Tyrrell in the Science department while Miss McLachlan will stay on teaching English.
Have a great break – a reminder Term 4 starts for students on Wednesday October 6th (Day 3).
Assistant Principal - Teaching and Learning Director of Studies
SHARON HIBBERT ANDREW FOURACRE
Thank you
As the term draws to a close I would like to thank the parents for working with staff in assisting their children with online learning during our recent lockdown. As always, one of the greatest strengths of Hennessy is the community and the lockdowns have allowed this community to shine through. I would also like to that all members of the College’s Wellbeing team who contacted families during the lockdown to check on the student and their family wellbeing.
Even though lockdown has been lifted I would like to encourage all members of the Hennessy community to continue to reach out and check on each other’s wellbeing. There may be long last effects on the well-being of some of our community. As always please contact any member of the College’s Wellbeing team if you need assistance. If you do need assistance across the break please reach out to some of the following organisations:
https://www.beyondblue.org.au/
Cyber-safety parent and student presentations
An area of concern for all members of the College community is assisting our students to navigate the ever-changing digital jungle. As you would be aware all students in years 7 – 11 completed a cyber-safety questionnaire and the information is being used to support the community and give direction to the Wellbeing Team at the College community.
Staff
The information that was gathered from the student surveys was shared with staff and was a real eye-opener to some of the challenges facing our students. It also has given a clear direction to the future direction of the Student Wellbeing Sessions (SWS) for 2022. A goal for the SWS is to ensure that students, staff, and parents are engaged in the program and using a common language, and able to support each other.
Students
The next steps are in week 1 of next term the students will have year group based follow up session based on their cyber-safety survey. These student sessions will be targeted to the specific issue highlighted by the year group. This will occur on Thursday 7th October.
Year 7 will then complete an inquiry learning unit. In this unit, they will identify issues relevant to them and address how to tackle them.
Parents
There will be an online parent information evening on Wednesday evening from 5:30 – 7:00 on the 6th October. This will also be part of the open forum of the Community Council. Please see the attached flyer for details on how to register for the parent evening. I strongly urge you to sign up for the online forum.
As always if you have any concerns please contact your child’s PC teacher or any member of the College’s Wellbeing Team.
Hoping you have a relaxing and safe holiday.
Mark Chifley
Assistant Principal
Mission and Student Wellbeing
7.2 Science spent their last lesson of the term visiting Burrangong Creek to explore a local ecosystem and learn about water quality monitoring techniques. They sampled the water to measure pH, temperature, salinity, turbidity and found living organisms that can act as bio-indicators of the creek's health. They also collected waste along the water's edge and saw firsthand the problem of microplastics in aquatic ecosystems.
11 Earth & Environmental Science also undertook some fieldwork in their final lesson., visiting the Spring St Council Reserve to observe human impacts such as soil erosion and invasive species at a site that is being rehabilitated with native vegetation by the local Landcare group.
Masks and social distancing didn’t stop the Year 10 Hospitality students from preparing lemon and lime meringue pies.
Year 7 PDHPE- The Distance Common Task
Year 7 has been very busy in the kitchen. As part of The Distance common task, students rolled up their sleeves and produced some delicious meals and snacks, as recommended by the Australian Guide to Healthy Eating.
Details of task
Task outcome PD4-7 investigates health practices, behaviors, and resources to promote health, safety, wellbeing, and physically active communities
PART 1 Meal Tracker
PART 2 Traffic Light - each meal, evaluating to Australian Guide to Healthy Eating.
PART 3 PEEL - your diet. Analysis of your meal tracker, and traffic lights.
PART 4 Meal/Snack-Prepare and Produce a meal or snack which is within the Australian Guide to Healthy eating.
Congratulations Hennessy for supporting Hangout for the Homeless & sleeping rough on the 28th of August. This year the Hennessy team included staff, students, and parents. As a College, we raised $405, and a big congratulations to Steph Clark who raised the most money with lots of donations from family and friends. Well Done Steph.
Participants included Charlotte Hudson, Madeline Wegmann, Chrissie Garlick, Jayden Hampton, Jorja Swanton, Alex Nowlan, Zarlie Smith, Eliza Taylor, Caleb Schiller, Sarah Miller, Emily Nowlan, Leonie Green Maryann Schiller, and Emily Coffee.
Where does the money go? Kids Under Cover. They support up to 21 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.
Mrs Emily Nowlan
Nagle House Leader