Principal's Message

Dear Parents/Carers 

As we reach the end of Week 2, I want to thank you all for a great start to the term and share a few highlights from what’s already been a very full fortnight at St Philomena’s.

Happy Mother’s Day! We wish all our mums, grandmothers and special women in our community a joyful and relaxing Mother's Day this weekend. Thank you to the many families who joined us for our Mother’s Day Liturgy yesterday, hosted by Kindergarten to Year 2. It was a beautiful celebration followed by a lovely shared morning tea. A special thank you to our wonderful Parents & Friends Association for preparing the Mother’s Day stall. Your work gathering, wrapping and organising gifts meant a lot to our students—and made many mums smile!

Year 4’s Dubbo Adventure Last week, our Year 4 students had a fantastic excursion to Dubbo! They visited Dubbo Historic Gaol, the Royal Flying Doctor Service Museum, Wellington Caves, Taronga Western Plains Zoo, and more. It was a trip full of learning, fun and new experiences.

Cross Country Success Well done to all of our Secondary students who participated in last week’s Cross Country. Your enthusiasm, effort and encouragement of each other were outstanding. We now wish our school representatives all the best as they prepare for the Diocesan Cross Country next week!

Celebrating Culture: Tracker Wall Mural We were honoured to have our Secondary Aboriginal dancers perform at the opening of the Aboriginal Tracker Wall mural at Moree Police Station last week. Invited by Aboriginal Community Liaison Officer Rod Tighe, our students danced in front of local Elders and high-ranking NSW Police officers. They represented our school and culture with pride and respect.

Building Project Update Yesterday, families received a letter outlining the current delays to our building project. The issue relates to the town water main on Boston Street, which is currently unable to meet the pressure requirements needed for our fire safety system. This is not due to any fault of the school, builder, or Catholic Schools Office. We’re working closely with Moree Plains Shire Council and the Armidale Catholic Schools Office to find a solution and will continue to keep families updated. Thank you for your patience and understanding as we work through this challenge.

A New Chapter for Our Diocese Last week, the Diocese of Armidale joyfully welcomed our new Bishop, Most Rev. Peter Murphy, during a beautiful Ordination and Installation Mass at Saints Mary and Joseph’s Cathedral in Armidale. It was a truly special occasion, filled with faith, community and hope. We look forward to Bishop Murphy’s leadership and pray for him as he begins his ministry across our Diocese.

Welcome Miss McConnellogue We are delighted to welcome Miss Holly McConnellogue to our teaching team this term. Holly joins us from Northern Ireland while on a working holiday and will be teaching in our Secondary department. We’re very pleased to have her with us!

Alistair Stewart

Principal

St. Philomena’s School, Moree