Welcome to the 2022 school year! It has been a pleasure to welcome back all students but especially to welcome new students across year groups, including our new Year 7 cohort and those joining us in Year 11. Our new Year 7 cohort is 83 students and we have 71 students in Year 11.

We also welcome new staff. Mrs Mary Wright joins us as Assistant Principal - Mission and Ministry, Mrs Helen Close joins us to teach English and HSIE, Mr Joe Kershaw will be teaching PDHPE and Maths and Mrs Mandy Hughes will be working as a learning support assistant. We are fortunate to have such experienced and quality staff joining our Hennessy community.

Each year we focus on one area of the Hennessy Vision Statement - ‘Live Spiritually, Learn Dynamically, Act Justly …inspiring futures of hope.’ This year our focus is on living spiritually. We want to encourage everyone in our community to develop Gospel Spirituality which means to treat everyone as Jesus did in the Gospel, our challenge is to make Hennessy a welcoming and inclusive community -

We invite everyone into the story of Jesus

and strive to make his message of compassion, justice and peace

a living reality within our community.

(ERA touchstone)

Over the next few weeks students will spend time in RE classes unpacking the notion of what it means to ‘live spiritually’ as inspired by the gospel and how our school practises inclusivity, forgiveness and compassion.

We seem to receive lots of bad news via the media so it is uplifting to have a positive story to share. The Class of 2021 performed exceptionally in the HSC; so many stories of high results, better than expected results and growth! One highlight was Amy Knapman being named as a NSW All Rounder for receiving the highest bands in all her subjects. Amy also earned an ATAR of 98.45 and was placed 6th in the state in Studies of Religion 1 - well done Amy!

Other impressive performances were from Ethan Smith (97.30), Rylee O’Brien (94.15), Ellie Croker (93.60), Rory O’Brien (93.25) and Charlotte Hudson (91.90). A total of 12 student results (including three accelerated students from Year 11) were placed in the Distinguished Achievers List for being awarded a Band 6 or E4 result which is equivalent to an HSC score of 90 or more and 2 students were awarded a notional Band 6 for Mathematics Extension 2. 

The Hennessy HSC results reflect hardworking and resilient students and excellent teaching from a caring and committed staff. The results are evidence of my mantra that ‘country kids can do anything’. 

You will have received correspondence concerning updated COVID guidelines. Today we distributed RAT kits to students again, if you have not received a kit please contact the Front Office or ask your son/daughter to collect a kit. Students and staff should have kits for two weeks and are encouraged to do tests twice a week. More kits will then be issued so testing can occur for at least one month. Please email or phone the front office and NSW Health if your child tests positive. If your child is showing COVID symptoms please keep them home. Do not hesitate to contact us if you have any queries. Our current positive covid cases are very low - fingers crossed.

COVID restrictions will affect many school events, especially in the first half of the term. We are permitted to hold our swimming carnival but will not have parents as spectators so we are able to separate students into year cohorts. The COVID restrictions are frustrating but their purpose is to make our community as safe as possible.

If you do not already do so, please follow us on Instagram and/or Facebook to see what is happening at our wonderful college. My email address is kathy.holding@cg.catholic.edu.au, please contact me if you have any queries or concerns.

Stay safe

Kathy Holding

FROM THE ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL

Welcome back to 2022. It’s great to be able to see students returning to classes rather than the online world. However staff are aware that students may need to isolate and as such it’s vital every student joins the Google classroom page for each subject they have and checks this daily if absent as this is where the work and resources will be posted. If they are not receiving work, please contact the class teacher directly. Staff will endeavour to respond by the close of the following school day. Staff emails are available on the College website.

Congratulations to the Class of 2021 and their outstanding results. Having the HSC delayed was difficult enough but to achieve such amazing results was truly impressive. We had a success rate of 9.1% (the median in all NSW was 5.47) with 27 Distinguished Achievers (Band 6/E4 results), a Top Achiever (top 10 of the State for a subject) and an All Rounder (10 units at 90% of above). There were also 2 notional Band 6 results in Maths Ext 2. Congratulations must also be given to the three Year 11 accelerated students who also achieved a Band 6 in their HSC subject. Overall 6 students received an ATAR of 90 or above which is more than 10% of the cohort and overall there were students who exceeded expectations in every subject. We wish all the wonderful young men and women the very best for what 2022 and beyond brings. Elective subject changes - Year 9, 10 and 11 may change subjects up until the end of week 3 this term where availability exists. They need to collect a form from my office and have it signed by the relevant KLA Leaders and their parents. Once done this needs to be handed to me personally and I will make the change as soon as I can. All students are to stay in their Compass class until the new class appears. 

A reminder that our Assessment policies and procedures can be found on the College website. I will be meeting with Year 11 to go over the senior assessment policy but unfortunately we cannot have a Parent Information Meeting this year. Instead I will be recording this and posting it to Compass and the website in Week 3. 

Afternoon study commences in Week 3 from 3.30-4.30 every Wednesday afternoon and Maths support is available during this time. 

A warm welcome to our new staff and leaders this year who will undoubtedly enhance the learning at Hennessy. Let's hope for a less disruptive year than the past two years and continue to support each other as we navigate our way through constantly changing circumstances. 

FROM THE DIRECTOR OF STUDIES

COMPASS PARENT PORTAL 

Parents! Are you on Compass yet? The Compass parent portal is the central way for you to keep in touch with school for day-to-day news, absence notes, student timetables and semester reports via a smartphone app or website. Login reminders were emailed out earlier this week. Please contact the Hennessy office if you need help accessing Compass.

Parent-Teacher-Student Conferences Semester 1

Thursday 31 March 2022

Assistant Principal - Teaching and Learning                          Director of Studies

SHARON HIBBERT                                                                     IAN MERGARD 

It has been so wonderful to welcome and meet the students of Hennessy this week. I feel truly blessed to be a part of this community. I have already witnessed high quality teaching and learning, incredible pastoral care and meaningful spiritual development. I have been truly welcomed by staff, students and parents and I am excited to work with you.

This week we are revisiting some key aspects of the college. Our behaviour expectations ensure that each student has the opportunity to learn in an environment best suited to achieving high level outcomes for each student. These expectations were explained by class teachers this week and are specific to each Key Learning Area.

The beginning of the year is an important time to ensure that students are in the correct uniform to set a solid foundation for the year. I was impressed by the amount of students in full and correct school uniform over the past few days. Our Uniform Policy has clear information on what is acceptable at the College. Our uniform distinguishes who we are as a community and promotes the values and mission of our school. Our uniform represents equality and unity within our school. The expectation is that students will wear their full school uniform to and from school (PE for sport days). Students who are in the incorrect uniform must have a note from their parents (either written or in email form to the PC teacher) with a time frame as to when the item will be corrected. Students who do not have a note will be withdrawn from Break 1 for 10 minutes. Uniform Policy is attached and I encourage parents and caregivers to read this with their students.

Mobile phones have become an integral part of our society and have many positive uses. However, during PC and lessons 1 to 5 students are expected to put their phones in the provided pouches at the front of the class. Students who do not place their phones in these pouches risk the phone being confiscated for that lesson in the first instance and if the matter is recurring will face other consequences.

Parents and carers are reminded to log all absences on the Compass portal or by calling the front office. Please contact your child’s PC teacher to discuss absences. 

We were delighted to welcome our Year 7 cohort on Tuesday with a well organised and informative day. Students were welcomed and introduced to their Student and Teacher House Leaders and attended classes. The day ended with sporting House competitions. Well done to all Year 7’s for their enthusiasm and participation in the day, you are already an asset to the College. Thanks must go to Mrs Jessica McInerney for her outstanding organisation of the day.

Mrs Mary Wright

Assistant Principal - Mission and Ministry

What an exciting start to the year for Nagle students.  It has been lovely to hear all of the interesting adventures they have experienced over the summer break. 

Our theme for our swimming carnival is Hawaiian and I look forward to seeing  students participate and the creative outfits they come up with. This is a wonderful way that students can live the Nagle motto, 'Not Words but Deeds.'

Hopefully later this term the senior students will be able to participate in Dine & Donate. This is an opportunity to give back to the community to those less fortunate by group preparing a large meal for 10 and dividing and packaging them into individual serves which are donated to Vinnies and the Parish.  The evening is great fun with the students cooking and then sharing a meal together. 

Year 8 enjoying the practical side of science this week.

Our Year 8 Agriculture class returned to a bumper crop of Corn.  Harvest has been in full swing this week.

Welcome to all new and existing Hennessy families. This is a short article this week to introduce myself and to let you know about my role as a support person for your child.

• I have been the Hennessy Careers Adviser since 2018 and work 5 days per fortnight.
• I completed the Graduate Certificate in Careers Education and Development at RMIT in 2017, after teaching in schools and TAFE for many years.
• Most of my time is spent assisting Year 11-12 students with their career choices, jobs and Uni/College applications.
• I also arrange Year 10 work experience in Term 4 – more on that next newsletter
• I provide information and support so that students and their families can make informed decisions about post school plans.
• I arrange excursions to Expos and school visits from Unis and Colleges so that students can speak one-on-one with key people and formulate their plans for life beyond Hennessy.
• I facilitate connections with employers and community supports outside of Hennessy so that the transition beyond school is as successful as possible.
• I assist younger Hennessy students wanting to apply for part time and after school jobs and can help them with resumes, cover letters and interviews – there are templates that they can use to get started.
• Each fortnight I include careers news in the Hennessy newsletter so that parents can keep in touch with jobs, tertiary courses and events, workshops, competitions, and amazing extracurricular experiences and discuss these with their child.

There are always lots of opportunities available in the careers space and I encourage all students to keep in touch and take advantage of anything that I promote that appeals to them. Obviously, COVID means that some events and experiences are being held online but they are still going ahead.

To make things easier, next week, I am inviting all students to sign up for the Careers Google classroom page where I will post all this information. Anyone and everyone is welcome to join

Class Code    

arypwld

As a parent/carer, feel free to phone me at the College 6382 1486 or email me leanne.parkman@cg.catholic.edu.au if you would like to discuss anything in the careers space. I am happy to arrange appointments after school if needed

My workdays are currently Monday, Tuesday and every second Friday but I can be flexible if needed. I look forward to meeting you in the coming months.

Information for anyone who has left school and going to TAFE or College

RASF Scholarships available

Please pass this message on to anyone you know who may benefit

Applications are closing on Monday 7 February 2022 for Royal Agricultural Society Foundation (RASF) Vocational Education and Training (VET) Scholarships, for study at TAFE and registered colleges for study on campus or via distance/online learning.
VET Scholarships support students with a passion for rural life and a determination to play a role in the success of rural and regional NSW.
Scholarships of up to $6,000 for full-time study and up to $3,000 for part-time study are available for those studying everything from child care to metal fabrication.
A VET scholarship will help ease financial pressure and allows students to focus on their studies.

For further information and to apply go to https://www.rasnsw.com.au/foundation/scholarships/ras-foundation-vet-scholarships/

Local apprenticeships currently available

There are a large number of local apprenticeships currently available – if you know of any school leavers looking for work, please ask them to contact me for more information.

Current Year 12 students

Charles Sturt University (CSU) – early entry applications – now open

On Monday I will be speaking with Year 12 about the CSU early entry program called Charles Sturt Advantage (CSA). There are 3 rounds of early entry and they are based on Year 11 results. The first-round closes at the end of March with offers being made in May. An early offer does not commit the student to CSU but gives them an opportunity that they can take up in 2023 or 2024. There will be many more early entry programs opening as the year progresses and I will keep students informed of timeframes and requirements. I encourage any Year 12 student who is contemplating Uni to give themselves every chance and apply, I will be there to assist.

Early offer warning – there are, of course, pros and cons of an early offer to Uni

Pros

• Students feel less pressure and anxiety because they have secured a place in their preferred course
• They are recharged and have a greater sense of direction and purpose in their final year at Hennessy

Cons

• They relax after their offer and cruise through the rest of the year and their HSC results are not as good as they might have been
• They relax and then change their mind about courses and need a higher ATAR
• Their ‘relaxed results’ impact on their success with Uni scholarship applications.

Year 12 students should continue working at their best regardless of any offers they receive in the coming months.

That’s all for this week!

Mrs Leanne Parkman

Careers Adviser