Simon and Julie Doolan with daughter Jessica at the Doolan’s home in Ward Street.
Jess said “My score was 95.65, I was completely surprised and I didn’t expect it at all.” Jess Doolan is your average teenager, she plays sport, has a partner in Chris Fredericks and is quite competitive at everything she does, whether it be in the classroom or the sporting field. She said “Its about finding a happy balance between study and sport and friends and family” Jess kicked a field goal in the Hawkettes Grand final this year and helped them to their maiden premiership. She also kicked a goal with her HSC results this week. It is this balance and a lot of dedicated study and time management, which resulted in Jess attaining a ATAR ecore of 96.65.
The 18 year old Hennessy Catholic College student spent 9 to 10 hours a day during the holidays preparing for her exams and when at school she would do another 4 hours after she got home. Mum Julie said “We are thrilled for her, she worked so hard, every mark she got she deserved, every spare minute before footy, before the races, she was studying in her room. I just kept buying the pens and the highlighters.” Dad Simon said ” Jess had a happy balance which is needed to make study work. It was a long campaign for her. The interaction over the internet with teachers was great, to flick a question to a teacher at night and get a response was very useful for her.”
Jess did well in all of her subjects but P. E was her favourite with modern history a close second. Her subjects included community and family studies, advanced english, modern history, P.E, maths and religion and hospitality in year 11. She wants to go to university at the University of Canberra (UC) and study Exercise Physiology and Rehabilitation, however, she also has an offer for Physiotherapy in Albury to consider. Jess said “Mum and Dad were a big help stress wise. They would help do little things for me so I could focus on school, they never put any pressure on me. My older sister Samantha went through year 12 2 years ago and got a score of 94.” She said “Going to Hennessy meant there was a mixture of people and I was the only girl from Harden in my year. The relationships I made with teachers in year 12 was a highlight.” Jess heaped praise on Year Coordinator Jess McInerny, who she said was excellent in helping looking after her this year. Jess will continue to work at the Harden Memorial Swimming Pool and the Longtrack Pantry, 2 jobs she has held for 2 and 3 years respectively.
Dad Simon and Mum Julie have provided a great learning environment for Jess. Simon will mark 30 years with Harden Shire Council on January 12 next year whilst Julie has been a primary school teacher since 1989 with 2 years spent as Assistant Principal. Congratulations to the Doolan family and especially Jess for her excellent score.
Harden Results
Students from Harden have excelled in the 2016 High School Certificate, earning themselves commendable results, proving rural education is no hindrance to success. Also achieving an ATAR in the top 10 percent of students was Beau Hobba who commenced his education at Trinity. Beau achieved high Band 5’s in four of his subjects, including Chemistry, Studies of Religion II, English Advanced and Mathematics, an E3 in Maths Extension, and a Band 4 in Physics. These results gave him the excellent ATAR of 91.20. Next year will see Beau study a Bachelor of Engineering Honours (Mechatronic) at the University of Sydney, under the E12 Scheme. Cecily Ducksbury, a former student of Murrumburrah Public School, achieved a band 6 in Studies of Religion I, Band 5’s in Chemistry, Advanced English and Visual Art, and Band 4’s in Physics and Mathematics, giving her an ATAR of 83.10. Cecily gained early entry to the University of Wollongong in October, where she will study a Bachelor of Nutrition Science. Kaleb Madden, who like Beau and Jessica, attended Trinity School, was pleased with his results, and has accepted an offer to study Security Studies at Macquarie University in Sydney. Hennessy performed well overall, with more than 10% of HSC ATAR students receiving an ATAR above 90%, and 37% of students achieving Bands 5 and 6. “To have eight students over 90 and a third of those seeking an ATAR achieving over 80 is an incredible outcome,” said College Principal, Mr Chris Browne.
Murrumburrah High School was also impressed with their 2016 Yr. 12 cohort, with multiple Band 5’s achieved. The Yr. 12 advisor, Mrs Jan Young, was thrilled with the efforts of her students, saying that all of them have either been accepted into tertiary study, or have found employment. Jessie Abnett, Breanna Douglass, Teegan George, Emma James, Katia Manton, Will Manwaring, Keegan Morton-Manwaring, Rachael Pedley, Meg Perceval and Aritoula Raptis all received early entry offers to a number of universities through the School’s Recommendation Scheme.
