Whole School News

Schools and Family Breakdowns

A Guide For Parents

Each Catholic school strives to support every student and every family within its school community. The reality is that some family relationships can be complex and the school endeavours to be sensitive to these. 

As a Catholic community our starting point is the understanding that each of us is made in God’s image and our deep respect for the innate dignity and uniqueness of each and every person. A Catholic school community immersed in the Gospel of Jesus and filled with his Spirit is committed to the values of compassion, tolerance, forgiveness and reconciliation.

To continue reading please open the attached PDF for more information.

NAIDOC Week - Week 10

Next week, as well as participating in our own school based activities for NAIDOC Week,  we are also participating in the Moree Brolga Festival. Indigenous dance and drumming artists will be 'in residence' at school from Monday - Thursday. All students will have the opportunity to join in workshops with both artists. From these workshops, children will be invited to perform as part of the Brolga Festival Spectacular on the evening of Thursday 30th at the Town Hall. During the week, performers will walk with staff to the Town Hall for rehearsals. Stay tuned for updates next week via Facebook or the Skoolbag App.

School based Events

Monday 10am

> Liturgy and Flag Raising - St Joseph's Warialda visiting

Wednesday 10am 

> Naidoc Week and End of Semester Awards                  

> 11.30am -1.30am - Years 3 - 10 at Greenbah Oval for games day supported by Clontarf Foundation

> 2.00 -3.00 - Staff v student games

Thursday - All Day

> Primary Athletics Carnival

SCHOOL SURVEY:

As part of our ongoing commitment to continuously improving the school, an opportunity will be extended to all parents and guardians, seeking opinions on a range of issues relating to St Philomena’s. Your feedback is very important to us as we continue to build a successful

school and strengthen our reputation as an ‘educator of choice’. This survey will also be extended to students in years 4, 6, 8 and 10. 

As such, to assist schools in this process, the Catholic Schools Office has engaged the professional services of MYP Corporation (MYPCorp) to undertake a strictly private and confidential School Results Survey on St Philomena’s behalf. 

The Parent Survey should take approximately 10 - 15 minutes. There are no right or wrong answers and we ask that you respond honestly to each statement. Please note that this survey will be confidential. No member of the leadership team at St Philomena’s will have access to your individual responses. The school will be provided with a summary of collated results only. This survey is completed online, an email with a corresponding link, will be forwarded to the nominated email address you have provided the school. There will be an opportunity for families without internet / email availability to complete the survey at school, using a temporary email address.

Please contact Danielle Heffer via the school office should you wish us to set up a temporary email address for you to undertake this survey.

Upcoming Federal Election

The upcoming Federal Election is an important time to be engaged in the debate around the funding of non government schools. We can never take government funding for granted and it is important that we are aware of the issues impacting non government education.  

Catholic Education in Australia is a valued resource. 764,000 students attend 1,731 Catholic schools, which employ more than 91,000 staff. Therefore, 1 in 5 students in Australia attend Catholic schools. We are providing a balanced and holistic education with the ability to influence Australian society. We are educating minds and hearts, and along with parents, producing fine young people.  

One of the greatest future challenges for Catholic education is the provision of new facilities and the upgrading of existing schools. The following comments from Ross Fox, (Director of the National Catholic Education Commission)  highlights this problem as we approach the election.

> Catholic school parents are set to cover more than 85 per cent of the cost of a $3.4 billion capital expenditure program over the next five years if government support for the construction of new schools and the upgrade of existing schools isn’t increased.

> More than 70 new Catholic schools are planned for the next five years, based on information provided by state and territory Catholic Education Commissions. That will cost almost $1 billion, with an additional $2.4 billion earmarked for the maintenance and upgrade of hundreds of Catholic schools across Australia to accommodate additional students.

> The demand for new schools, and as many as 180,000 additional places in new and existing Catholic schools by 2025, is being driven by a sharp increase in births between 2004 and 2008, strong migration and growing interest in Catholic education.

> These needs will place a significant demand on Catholic school communities and could raise doubts about the ability of Catholic education to continue to be the provider of education to the traditional share of enrolments of one in five Australian students.

> While governments provide significant funding to support the ongoing cost of education in Catholic schools, parents have paid the majority of capital costs. And with the main source of government funding for capital expenditure in Catholic schools falling in value, demand on school communities may well increase. 

> If capital funding remains as it is over the next five years, school communities will need to cover more than 85 per cent of the cost – about $3 billion by 2021.

> Governments know that Catholic schools in Australia are a great partner in the education system, providing choice for families, and that is one reason why they contribute significantly to support the education of all students, regardless of which school they attend.

> It is important that governments also recognise the significant contribution of school communities in funding the vast majority of the cost of building new Catholic schools and upgrading and expanding existing schools to meet growing demand.

The following links NCEC (as part of the work done in collaboration with state & territory CECs and Catholic School Parents Australia) promote  the good work of Catholic schools across the country.

Partners in Australia’s Future  1, 2 3 & 4

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qIXOIqFPVRw

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fuzPWktIZxI

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kT75A6EwCN8

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CkywhIO7DCI

Harmony Day Poster Competition 2016

This art competition attracted more than 3500 entries from schools across New South Wales. The following students from our school have received a certificate of participation and are to be congratulated on their efforts;

> Charlie Rogers

> Camille Maunder

> Charlie Boydell

> Harry Playfair

> Kaatje Dean

> Jayk Salis

> Jacinta Webb

> Emily Di Donna

> Hayley Swan