Principal

Welcome back to the 2019 school year! In particular, we are always excited to welcome new families to our school community. Partnerships are wonderful arrangements, and as a school community, we look forward to each and every one. Thank you for your commitment to help make the start of our school year a smooth one.

All students returned to school and the business of learning last Wednesday, marking day one for our 2019  Catholic Learning Community. On my visit to the Kindergarten learning spaces last Wednesday, the process of learning to read was well underway with the letter I/i ( which is also a word), receiving great attention! Every minute of every day is a learning moment at St Philomena’s School. The Kindergarten cohort of 2019 will finish Year 12 (or its potential equivalent) in 2032, which seems such a long way from today! Year 7 students were managing timetables, books and movement, all of which they seemed to do with ease. 

With a phasing in period of two years, the take up opportunity for the new look school uniform has been strong. Feedback from the students is favourable.  We thank you for your patience with Uniform Shop queues (despite adding significant additional hours) and stock items as some articles ran out. Our large commercial supplier (for 95% of items) has a faster order response, allowing us to replenish stock in a timely manner.  Our new uniform line has been devised with NO dedicated winter uniform. Articles for colder days such as jumpers, trousers and jackets will be arriving soon. In 2019 and 2020, the older uniform still sits perfectly well in our uniform array and we recognise the blend of uniforms which will feature amongst our families.

Office staff officially returned to duties on Monday 4  February to continue the pre-commenced preparation for 2019. Teaching staff returned on Monday 4 February, engaging in learning team meetings, followed by professional learning on Tuesday around literacy. St Joseph’s School Warialda and Mungindi joined us.

The following teachers have joined St Philomena’s Teaching and Learning Team: Mrs Phoebe Lam (Secondary), Miss Anne Johnston (Secondary), Mr Joshua Ambrose (Secondary)  Mrs Brooke Drogemuller (Primary), Miss Sophie Arthur (Primary), Miss Isabelle Moore (Primary) and Miss Phoebe McGrath (Primary). New members to our Educational Support Team are Brydi Holmes, Bailey Bourke and Brittanee Nash. You will find contact details in Whole School News. 

As a school whose focus is keenly on both learning and faith, this week in our Catholic Community we celebrated our Opening School Year/ Leader Induction Mass. The term is now in full swing and all systems go! Congratulations to our 2019 leaders, noted in Whole School News. 

The school newsletter is published fortnightly in odd weeks. Term 1 publication weeks will be Weeks 3, 5, 7, 9, 11. Currently, we are in a Week 3 zone, aligning ourselves to the eastern school calendar of our diocese. Our use of supplementary communication tools will keep our community well informed in between formal newsletters. The school provides significant communication for our families, however, if it is not accessed by our parents, people fail to be informed.

Mark Real Talk Australia on your calendar. This is a great parent resource which was offered in 2018. Returning again in May, for the benefit of all parents / guardians; despite which year level. Find out more about this in Our Catholic Community section.