Principal's Message
Good afternoon parents and carers
St Philomena's has been a hive of activity over the past fortnight with staff, students and parents involved in a range of school events.
Last Tuesday we celebrated our Opening School Mass, where our primary and secondary school leaders were formally introduced to the school community. Thank you to Father Damian, Mrs Cath Moylan (Leader of Mission and Evangelisation) and Miss Melita Roache (Leader of Religious Education), along with Mr Stuart King and the school band for preparing such a beautiful celebration. Thank you to the many parents that were in attendance, your participation in the Mass was very much appreciated.
St Philomena's annual Meet and Mingle was held last Wednesday, providing families with the opportunity to come together to meet their children's Leaders of Learning, explore their learning environments and most importantly meet some of the many new families in our school community.
The P&F Annual General Meeting (AGM) followed the Meet and Mingle event. Congratulations to Mr Scott Antees on his re-election to the position of P&F President.
On Monday we formally welcomed our Kindergarten and Year 7 families to St Philomena's with a Parent Information Evening. The sessions provided families with specific information relating to both Kindergarten and Year 7 in respect to:
- Routines and Learning Structures
- Communication (and the Compass Portal)
- Supporting your children at home
- Our Rules for Learning; I am Safe, I am Valued Respected and Cared for and I am a Learner
- Importance of attendance
- St Philomena's Contemporary Learning Design
Thank you to the many parents that joined us on the night and participated in the evening. Unfortunately, parent numbers were lower than expected which was disappointing due to the important information that was communicated on the night. I warmly invite and strongly encourage our families to take full advantage of the information sessions and workshops offered by the school. These sessions/workshops are designed for our families as a way of communicating invaluable information, along with nurturing strong positive school-family partnerships.
The McKechnie Shield has returned to St Philomena's for 2023. Congratulations to our primary students who represented the school at the McKechnie Shield Swimming Carnival in Narrabri on Wednesday. Our students showed incredible determination and sportsmanship throughout the carnival.
On Thursday our secondary students were provided with access to Box of Books which is a new initiative to our secondary school for 2023. Box of Books (BoB for short) is a digital textbook platform that provides our students with 'at point of need' access to all their subject textbooks on their iPad or Chromebook. BoB can be used either online or offline (in the event of internet challenges). The introduction of BoB is a response to parent feedback in secondary regarding the need for better access to learning resources to support and encourage learning at home. It is an exciting platform for both our students and staff in leading and supporting learning. Please encourage your secondary student to give you a demo of the platform. We are still in the early days of introducing the programme but are extremely excited about the value it will provide to our students.
Thank you to all the staff and students for how they have engaged and responded to learning over the past fortnight.
Enjoy your weekend
God bless
Jamie McDowall
Principal