Welcome to Week 8! The school is becoming busier as COVID restrictions ease. It was so nice to have parents of Year 7 2022 attend their information evening on Tuesday night in person!

Year 7 2022 thoroughly enjoyed their two day orientation day experience on Tuesday and Wednesday, tried many new activities and met their new classmates. They participated in science, cooking, woodwork, sport, art, music and the ever popular virtual reality activities. Our current Year 7 enrolments for 2022 is 83. If you know of any families who are considering Hennessy please encourage them to contact the school.

Today we hosted students from Sacred Heart, Cootamundra, who will join Hennessy for Year 11 in 2022. They met the current year 10 students and had a preview of Stage 6 subjects. A highlight of their visit was joining the Hospitality class to cook for families needing support in our community.

The last Community Council Meeting for 2021 was held last night. Some of this meeting was dedicated to adding to our new Strategic Plan for 2022 - 2024. Plans to have a walkathon in 2022 were also finalised, this will be a fundraiser as well as an opportunity for students and their parents to meet in a social setting - watch this space for further details. The Community Council also visited the new Music Room and were very impressed with this new facility. The Music Room upgrade has been possible partly due to the financial support provided by the Community Council fundraising ventures; this support is greatly appreciated by all.

Schools in NSW are still at Level 3 Covid Guidelines which means wearing masks indoors is compulsory for students and staff. Level 3 will remain in place until the end of the year.

Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions or concerns.

Kathy Holding

FROM THE ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL

YEAR 12 2021

HSC exams draw to a close next week and many students have already finished. Well done on all you have and will continue to achieve and you are to be commended on the way in which you have kept going through it all. 

The ATAR’s will be released January 20 and the HSC results January 24. We don’t get the ATAR but always like to know how to work out our Dux but also to equate results with ATAR’s as the scaling can be a bit of a mystery. I’ll be emailing the students via the email I now have on Students Online to see if they are happy to let us know. It’s also great to know what they will be doing for 2022 and we are always available to help if they need anything further such as a recommendation. 

YEAR 12 2022

Well done to our new Year 12’s who are working their way through their first ;lot of assessments. Next Wednesday we will open afternoon study just for them during the usual time and several teachers have said they’ll be available. It’s also pleasing to see many are utilizing the drafting process and acting of feedback so they can do the best possible. Keep going - you will get a break soon!\

Please note that reports are now available through the Parent Portal on Compass. 

ELECTIVES

Elective changes - these are still possible - please come and see us. Remember you can also change right up to the end of week 3 Term 1 next year as well so if you wish to ‘try’ a subject first, that is sensible. 

FUTURE FOCUS - YEAR 10

Next week Year 10 students will take part in a Future Focus week. Mrs Parkman has put an enormous effort into this. On the first day we do need to complete the ‘All My Own Work;’ program which will take around an hour but is a NESA requirement for Year 11. If you don’t do it in Year 10, then we need to remove you from study in Year 11 to complete it. However it is fairly ‘painless’ and we will help you!

Looking forward to a great last few weeks of 2021. 

Assistant Principal -  Teaching and Learning                                          Director of Studies

SHARON HIBBERT                                                                                      IAN MERGARD 

The Hennessy House Awards system recognises student achievements in the following areas: 

? Live spiritually

? Learn dynamically, and

? Act justly. 

It has been pleasing to see a range of students reaching the various levels throughout the year. Level 1 is the House Award and is attained when students accumulate 1 point in each area. Level 2 is the Bronze Award and is issued when students accumulate at least 2 points in each area and at least 15 points altogether. Level 3 is the Silver Award and is given to students who have at least 3 points in each area and a total of 30 or more. The pinnacle of the awards system in level 4, gold, which requires students to amass 50 points, with at least 5 points in each area. 

Congratulations to our first gold recipient for 2021, Elisabeth Hall, who has been highly involved in all aspects of the college in 2021. Elisabeth has participated and excelled in sport at the college, including swimming, dance, cross country, netball and athletics.  Academically, she has participated in the Geography, English, History, Mathematics, Science and debating competitions, as well as applying consistent effort and achieving outstanding results in a range of subjects. Elisabeth has volunteered in various roles at school masses and liturgies and social justice causes. Elisabeth's list and range of achievements is very extensive, and she is a deserving recipient of the gold award.

Please find below our updated Fees schedule for 2022.  Each family has been emailed a copy for their reference.

Year 7 Orientation: Learning About our House Patrons 

By Beth Doherty, Religious Education Leader 

On 23 November, Year 9 students dressed up as our House Patrons as a way of creating awareness for the new Year 7 students of our Catholic Ancestry at Hennessy College. 

Our Catholic Identity guides us to “live spiritually, learn dynamically and act justly, inspiring futures of hope”, and each of our students, through learning about their House Patron, is given a unique opportunity to recognise that they are a child of God.  

Majella McGrath dressed up as Monsignor Jerome Hennessy and gave the following speech: 

Hello everyone, my name is Monsignor Jerome Hennessy. I was born on the 2nd of May, 1855. The College is named after me. I was ordained a priest at the age of 26 in 1888. I came to Young in 1889. This was the very first parish I served in. I, Monsignor Jerome Hennessy, am remembered as a tireless worker for the advancement of the faith in Young in the early 20th century. I would visit the rich landowners in the morning and collect food, which I would distribute to the poor in the afternoon. I also once gave away my bed to a poor widower and her children. I am also credited with leading the building of many Catholic buildings in the Hilltops area. These include the Sacred Heart Hospital, Mount St Joseph’s Old People’s Home, Southern Cross Hall, the Kindergarten and Infants school, and the Christian Brothers’ residence. I died on the 3rd of April 1941. I am buried next to St Mary’s Church (the big one next to our school!). The cross above my grave is the cross on the College crest. The Hall here at the College is actually called “the Jeromedome”. 

Jack Apps dressed as Bishop John Gallagher, the first Bishop of Goulburn and gave the following speech:  

Hi, my name is Bishop John Gallagher, peace be with all of you. Gallagher House carries my name. I was born in Ireland 1846 and I grew up in Castlederg. I was ordained on the 1st of November, 1869 as a Catholic Priest and was named as the first Bishop of Goulburn in 1900. I laid the foundation stone of the church in Cootamundra. I championed education across the local area. The Gallagher House crest contains a Bible, as I was a man of God. Our motto “Noble Victory” is from a speech I gave in 1919 and it encourages the Gallagher students not only to strive for a victory but to live a noble life. The lion on the Gallagher House crest is from the Gallagher family crest and represents pride, participation and purpose. The house colour is yellow which represents the canola that grows in abundance in the local area. I died aged 77 in 1923. 

Logan Apps dressed up as Blessed Edmund Rice and gave the following speech: 

Good Morning everybody. My name is Edmund Rice and I was born on the 1st of June 1762 in Ireland to my parents Robert and Margaret Rice. I was raised on a farm in Callan, County Kilkenny. I started a business with my uncle in Waterford, it was a merchant business and due to not attending school very much my uncle hired me to work with him. In 1785 I married a wonderful woman named Mary Elliot. She later had a child in 1789 named Mary but sadly my wife died while giving birth, due to a fever. I was a Roman Catholic missionary and an educationalist. I helped the poor by creating schools specifically for those who did not have resources. I was the founder of two religious groups, which were named: The Presentation Brothers and Congregation of Christian Brothers. There was once a Christian Brothers school on this site. The red of the Rice House Crest is symbolic of the local cherry industry, the cross is a symbol of Christ and the vine has seven leaves that represent the seven original Pastoral Care groups. Seven is also a very significant number in the Bible. The house motto is made up of the words of Edmund Rice and challenges the Rice House students to lay strong foundations and pursue excellence in all areas.   

Anna Harden dressed up as Venerable Catherine McAuley and gave the following speech: 

My name is Catherine McAuley and I was born on 29 September 1778, in Dublin, Ireland. I was an Irish religious sister who founded the Sisters of Mercy in 1831. The Sisters of Mercy have always been associated with teaching, especially in Ireland, where the sisters taught Catholics at a time of persecution when education was mainly reserved for members of the established Church of Ireland. The Mercy sisters have been caring for the sick and elderly in Young and the South West slopes since 1911, running the local nursing home. The sisters also taught in schools in Harden Murrumburrah, Boorowa, Harden, Cootamundra and Grenfell. The house colour of sky blue represents the blues skies above and reminds McAuley House students that the sky is the limit. The Mercy cross is the symbol of the Mercy sisters and speaks to us of God’s mercy. The house motto - “Good today, better tomorrow” was a quote from Catherine McAuley and challenges McAuley students to continue to improve each day. I Died on 1 November 1841, Dublin, Ireland.  

Cybele Hewitt dressed as Venerable Nano Nagle and gave the following speech: 

My name is Nano Nagle and as I am the patron saint of Nagle house. I was born in Cork, Ireland in 1718. My sister and I ventured to France in 1730 to further our education at a monastery. In 1745, following my father’s death I returned to Ireland and began my journey helping the poor. During this time, laws targeted Catholics and I helped those who felt compelled to turn to crime, or were poor and mistreated. Following the great frost of 1737-1741 I also assisted those who suffered from disease and starvation. I founded the Presentation Sisters, which is now an international order of Catholic women who aim to enhance and bring Catholic Education to all. The Presentation Sister taught at this very site for 103 years. I was known as the “Lady of the Lamp” as I carried a lamp through the dark streets of Cork helping the poor. The book represents my passion for education as the key to a better life. The Shamrock is representative of the Holy Trinity and my Irish home. The green is also reflective of Ireland but also symbolises the Hilltops farming region and the crops that grow abundantly here. “Not words but deeds” is my family motto and Nagle House motto. It challenges the students of Nagle House not to just live by words but to put these into compassionate action through their deeds. I died in Ireland on the 26 April 1784. 

The students participated in this activity with reverence and curiosity, and we are grateful to our Year 9 students for their leadership.  

Senior geography students and Mr Mergard visited Grove Estate this week to see the vineyard in action. Thanks to Brian Mullany for teaching us about how to growing grapes in the Hilltops region and sell wine nationally and internationally. 

Year 10 Arts students have been extremely busy creating the most amazing mosaics. 

12 Days of FREE Workshops

HYAG are running 12 FREE workshops this November/December.

Workshops are for YOUTH and are being run by YOUTH.

Each week we will release 4 new FREE workshops, check out the post images for more information and to see what else is coming.

We also have a few spots left in the workshops advertised last week. Check out our previous post to register.

Registrations now open for the following:

Day 5 - 6th December (Young)

Grazing Box workshop with Nibbles by Nai

Register here:

https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/205461981317

Day 6 - 7th December (Young)

Cake Pops with Isha and Khawlah

Register here:

https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/205462121737

Day 7 - 8th December (Harden)

Gingerbread House making with Taelia, Charlene, Tayla & Samantha

Register here:

https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/205463094647

Day 8 - FRIDAY 10th December (Boorowa)

 Sketching with Annhmaie

Register here:

https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/205463897047

All workshops will start at 3.30pm sharp

You must be double vaccinated & have a certificate to register.

 or have a double vaccinated member of your household come along on the day to observe

Limited spots, get in quick.