Whole School News
ICAS Assessments
The Parent Payment System is a simple and secure online payment service specifically for parents to purchase ICAS Assessments. All orders to be done online only. Online payment closes on 31st July 2019.
Parents can access this service by typing unsw.global/parentpay into a browser.
Parents will require a unique access code to purchase assessments that were registered by your school.
Your school's unique access code is: d3c8007f5b
ICAS is designed to target students’ higher-order thinking and problem-solving skills in English, Mathematics, Science, Writing, Spelling and Digital Technologies.
2019 NAIDOC Week Celebrations
St Philomena's School is celebrating NAIDOC Week from Monday 1st July to Friday 5th July. These commemorations are intended to recognise and appreciate the history, culture, and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
Monday was packed with events, beginning with our flag-raising and official opening. This event featured performances from our Gamilaroi dance group and Secondary musicians, who played We Are Australian in English and Gamilaraay language.
Following on from this, we acknowledged the achievements of the students in our school during our Semester 1 and NAIDOC/Reconciliation Awards Ceremony. This event demonstrated the capacity of our students as not only bright academics, but showed their strengths as thoughtful and compassionate Catholic youth.
Stage 1 then participated in a storytelling session as part of their activities. Reading from texts selected from our Learning Centre, members of our community, staff, and fellow students helped convey the incredible stories and knowledge of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
Stage 2 spent their Monday afternoon developing their creative abilities, with the help of some Secondary students and our Aboriginal Education Assistants. The girls tried their hand at weaving; the boys painted boomerang designs.
Tuesday saw our Secondary students participating in off-site excursions to deepen their understanding of the history of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Peoples, particularly in our local area. Year 7 visited the Aboriginal section of the Moree Cemetery, learning the history of the diggers who have been buried there. Year 8 attended the Myall Creek Memorial Site and were moved both by the experiences of those affected by the tragic events of 1838 and the restorative work done since towards reconciliation. Years 9 and 10 walked to the Moree Artesian Aquatic Centre and used the Soundtrails application to hear personal accounts of the Freedom Rides. All groups reported that they had learned something new about their local area and how they fit into the continuing history of Kamilaroi Country.
Thank you to all members of our community who have attended or contributed to events so far this week. Your support for our school events is much appreciated. The schedule for the rest of our week is attached below. All members of the St Philomena's community are encouraged to attend our Community BBQ Lunch on Thursday 4th July at 1:10pm, and stick around and grab a gurnsey for our Teacher/Community vs Students games from 2:10pm. There will be opportunities to play touch football and netball for volunteers.
Mary Mackillop Award
The Mary MacKillop Award is designed to reflect the Christian values of our school and of Mary MacKillop and is awarded to someone from each class in the K-6 department who has helped others.
Week 9 recipients of the Mary MacKillop Award :
Tarryn Mumford, Ronak Nair, Darcy Osborn, Matilda Ward, Annabelle Hansen, Max Karam, Mitchell Swan, Demi Green, Hugh Reardon, Lily Key, Lisanna Thompson, Lucy Chaplin and Maryann Otieno.
