Yearbook 2021

Teaching and Learning

“Learning Dynamically...inspiring futures of hope” 2021 started out full of fresh beginnings with the hope that COVID and lockdowns would be a ‘thing of the past’. Unfortunately this wasn’t the case but we were extremely fortunate to only have 1 lockdown which did not impact on either Year 12 Trial or Year 11 end of Year examinations (which were able to be postponed to the start of Term 4). Therefore a great deal of foundational work was achieved before the interruption. Again staff and students went above and beyond what was expected of them, including shifting to MS Teams as our remote platform. Our capacity to utilise the many platforms at our disposal was again extremely useful and kept learning innovative and productive, not just while in lockdown but throughout the year. Staff continue to discover and develop new skills with these platforms to enhance pedagogical processes in the classroom which allows us the opportunity to ensure quality learning is occurring. This year 5 staff members commenced their Catalyst journey. Catalyst is a professional learning program and is a focus area for teacher development within Catholic education in the Canberra- Goulburn Diocese. Miss Buchanan, Mr Conor Quinn, Mr Mergard, Ms Keith and myself took part in a number of in person and online sessions that showcased different strategies to assist with a direct instructional approach. We then had to develop and use these with our classes to see if it impacted on student outcomes. While lockdown did interrupt both the course delivery and the opportunity to develop all the skills in the course, it’s clear that we all found some common areas to target next year across the College. These include full participation tactics and use daily review practices. Next year more staff will undertake the training as we continue to embed these High Impact Teaching Practices Strategies (HITPS) into the College. Congratulations to the class of 2021 who achieved excellent results in the Higher School Certificate. The College Dux was Bridie Minehan who gained an ATAR of 96.30.

Other outstanding results include: Shannon O’Brien - 93.60 Jayda Hall - 92.70 Ellie Silk - 89.95 Georgina Everdell - 86.60

Furthermore 16 students were placed first in their subject across the Canberra-Goulburn Diocese in 14 subjects and almost 30% of results were in the top 2 performance bands - an amazing achievement. The post school destination survey has shown that most Hennessy students received offers to university, TAFE or employment very soon after finishing their HSC exams (if not before). Mrs Parkman again is to be thanked for all her work in preparing students for their life beyond school.