Principal's Message
Dear St Philomena’s Community,
What a fantastic and remarkably busy final week of term we have had!
Walking around the school over the past few days, the energy, joy, and enthusiasm across every classroom and playground have been truly inspiring.
It has been a busy week here at school, but it started with a wonderful Spring Fair last Sunday. Thank you to all of the volunteers who helped make it such a successful day.
Our Parents and Friends Association work tirelessly to promote our school and our school community. By joining in and contributing to these events, we are able to continue to build a strong, sustainable school community. Our P&F helps us raise funds that are used for the benefit of all our students.
Yesterday, our school community came together in faith to celebrate our Founders' Day with a special Mass. Founders' Day is a wonderful opportunity to reflect on our school’s rich charism, built upon the legacy of Catherine McAuley and the Sisters of Mercy who established our school in 1898. As we honour our heritage, we are reminded of the core Mercy values: hospitality, justice, respect, courage, and service. These values continue to guide our daily actions, inspiring us to follow Catherine's example through simple acts of kindness, inclusion, and care for one another. This concluded with our annual Founder’s Day boat race. Congratulations to Savio, who took out this year's honours, including best boat design and fastest boat, and congratulations to Goretti for best speech.
Our K-6 concert, “Dancing Through the Ages,” was an absolute highlight this week. Every student put on an amazing performance, lighting up the stage with talent and energy. It was also deeply special to welcome so many loved ones into our classrooms for Grandparents' Day. Seeing the proud smiles during their visits made the celebrations truly memorable.
We have so many student achievements to celebrate as we wrap up Term 3:
- Congratulations to all of our Primary Public Speaking finalists and winners! You spoke with clarity, confidence, and flair, doing an excellent job representing your classes.
- Huge congratulations to our Primary soccer teams, who competed with great sportsmanship and skill. A special shout-out to our Junior team, the Phillies Firehawks, and our Senior team, the Phillies Force, who both brought home Grand Final victories! All our players played wonderfully and represented our school with pride.
As this term ends, we also bid farewell to two valued staff members:
- We extend our sincere thanks to Annika Hall, who taught Secondary Science and Maths with us during Term 3. Annika will be continuing her teaching journey in Sydney next term, and we wish her every success in her next chapter.
This week we also say farewell to Maree Lovett, who begins her Long Service Leave next week before travelling overseas at the end of the school holidays. We wish Maree a safe and wonderful trip away, and we look forward to giving her a formal farewell at the end of the year.
I want to extend a heartfelt thank you to all our dedicated staff for their hard work, and to our parents and carers for your ongoing partnership and support throughout Term 3.
I wish all of our families a safe, restful, and recharging school holiday break. May your time away be filled with joy and quality time together, and we look forward to welcoming everyone back refreshed for Term 4!
Kind regards & Best wishes
Alistair Stewart
Principal