Dear St Philomena’s School Community,

Welcome to this fortnight's newsletter. I would like to begin by sincerely thanking our St Philomena’s community for the remarkable support and dedication shown over the past two weeks.

This past week, our school community took part in Wellbeing Week, a dedicated period from 8-12 September focused on the mental and emotional health of our students and staff. This initiative was purposefully scheduled to coincide with R U OK? Day on 11 September, creating a meaningful opportunity to emphasise the importance of open conversations and mutual support. Throughout the week, students from Year 6 and above led various activities during recess to foster a positive and connected school environment. On Thursday, we were pleased to see many students and staff wearing a touch of yellow to support R U OK? Day. A special thank you to our guest speaker Charlie Shearer, who spoke to our Year 6-10 students about resilience.

Last week, our school demonstrated its strong community spirit by holding Supporters Day. It was wonderful to see our students proudly wearing the colours of our local Moree footy teams—the Moree Boars, Moree Bulls, and Moree Boomerangs—to wish them well in their finals campaigns. Such events offer a great opportunity for our students to connect with and support their local community.

We also want to express our deep appreciation to our community for the compassion and support shown to the Hikaru family during Rapunzel’s funeral last Saturday. Your presence and kindness truly reflected the values that define our school community.

In our classrooms, we continue to embed our Living Well Learning Well flowchart process into our daily routines, reinforcing our commitment to nurturing both the academic and personal growth of every student. This tool helps students understand how we live out the diocese-wide Three Rules for Living: I am Safe; I am Valued, Respected and Cared for; and I am a Learner. The flowchart offers a clear framework that ensures predictability, reflection, redirection, and re-engagement with learning. Our aim is to establish a consistent approach to help students manage unsafe or unproductive behaviours. This process upholds our shared belief: "People have a better day because I am here as part of the school team!"

As communicated earlier this year, Monday 13 October and Tuesday 14 October are scheduled School Closure Days. One of these days is for the new syllabus preparation, which is being held in all Catholic and NSW Public Schools. The other day was originally planned for professional learning linked to our 2025 Annual Improvement Plan. With our new building almost ready, we will instead use one of these days to complete our move and the other for syllabus development.

To ensure we still have time for our important professional learning, Armidale Catholic Schools has approved an additional School Closure Day on Friday, 5 December.

Please note:

Students will return for Term 4 on Wednesday, 15 October, as advertised.

The only new date to be aware of is Friday, 5 December, which will now be a School Closure Day.

We had not advertised this extra date earlier as we were awaiting the Occupancy Certificate for the new building, which we anticipate will be issued in the upcoming school holidays. I wanted to provide families with as much notice as possible so you can plan ahead. Thank you for your support as we take this exciting next step in St Philomena’s journey. We look forward to welcoming our students into their new learning spaces next term.

It has been a pleasure to meet many of our new Kindergarten families for 2026. This week, we have also commenced our Year 7 enrolment interviews. If you or someone you know has a child who is looking to apply to join St Philomena's for 2026, we encourage you to contact the school as soon as possible to begin the enrolment process.

On Sunday 14th September, bring your family and friends and join us for our annual P & F Spring Fair! Get ready for a day of fun, food, and fantastic entertainment. With exciting activities, delicious treats, and a variety of stalls, there's something for everyone. It's the perfect opportunity to connect with friends and family and celebrate Phillies. We can't wait to see you there!

With only two weeks remaining in the term, I encourage all families to speak with their children about the importance of finishing the term with a strong and focused effort. This is a key time for students to concentrate on their assessment tasks, classroom learning, and maintaining positive relationships with their peers. Please remind them of our core rules for living: I am Safe; I am Valued, Respected and Cared for; and I am a Learner.

Thank you for your continued support of St Philomena’s School.

Alistair Stewart

Principal

Community News

PCYC Spring Holidays