St Philomena's School Newsletter Week 8 Term 3 2025
Principal Message - Ms Rosie Harrison
Celebrating Our Talented Performers at the Bathurst Eisteddfod! 🎶
What makes one student achieve more than another? This age-old question often is answered in a debate concerning the dynamics between a child’s personality and life experiences. Our role, as educators, is to ensure we are offering the optimal opportunity for each of our students to thrive and achieve their best. This priority is clearly articulated in our Annual improvement Plan.
In defining the ‘St Philomena’s Way’ which articulates our unique school culture, we have had some amazing opportunities to witness our lived culture and ethos via our whole school celebration of Book Week, our community BBQ breakfast for Father’s Day and our students shining on stage at the recent Bathurst Eisteddfod, participating in individual performances, duets, and speech choir events.
We are incredibly proud of all our students who took part in these days and represent our school with such confidence and creativity.
Congratulations to all of the St Phil’s students who have not only been wonderful ambassadors for our school performances, but have been successful in achieving an incredible gamut of impressive individual results at this year’s Bathurst Eisteddfod. From cleverly crafted solo items to breath-taking large-scale ensemble performances, our students have enthusiastically taken to the Bathurst Memorial Entertainment Centre stage to showcase their immense talents and successfully deliver an array of award-winning performances across the Vocal, Choral, Instrumental, Dance and Speech & Drama sections at this year’s Bathurst Eisteddfod. Your hard work and courage on stage were truly inspiring!
A heartfelt thank you to our dedicated teachers and parents for their unwavering support and guidance in preparation for both the Eisteddfod and Book Week events. Your passion continues to nurture the stars of tomorrow.
Father's Day Big Breakfast
Assistant Principal - Mrs Clancy Dowling
Book Week
Book Week 2025 was a roaring success, with the theme of Adventure inspiring a vibrant celebration of stories, imagination and creativity across our school. From daring explorers to magical creatures, students brought their favourite characters to life with an incredible array of costumes—each one more inventive than the last!
A huge thank you to all students and their families for the outstanding effort in dressing up. The quality and creativity of the costumes were truly impressive, and it was clear that a lot of thought and heart went into every outfit. The joy on students’ faces as they participated in themed activities and shared their love of reading was a highlight of the week.
A special thanks goes out to Ms Amber Bowman, our wonderful school librarian, whose planning and preparation made the day unforgettable. Her passion for books and storytelling continues to spark curiosity and adventure in every corner of our school. Here's to the power of stories—and the adventures they lead us on!
SRC Interest Groups
Week 7, students enjoyed an exciting afternoon of exploration and fun as part of our SRC Interest Groups initiative. With a wide range of activities on offer, everyone had the chance to dive into something they truly enjoyed—and the energy across campus was electric!
From the giggles echoing from the sandpit to the rhythm of dance moves in full swing, the afternoon was a vibrant showcase of student interests. Tech-savvy minds immersed themselves in technology time, while creative hands crafted colourful designs with perler beads. Strategic thinkers gathered around chess boards, and animal lovers gave our beloved chooks some well-deserved pampering.
Games, laughter, and a sense of community filled the air as students embraced the freedom to choose and connect. A huge thank you to our SRC for organising such a dynamic and inclusive event—it was a brilliant reminder of the power of student voice and the joy of shared experiences.
Fathers Day Breakfast
Friday week 7, we kicked off Father’s Day weekend with a heartwarming breakfast celebration that brought smiles, sizzling pans, and a whole lot of bacon to the table. Our dedicated staff were up before the sun, firing up the grills and cooking up a storm—serving delicious bacon and egg rolls to a hungry crowd of dads, families, and friends.
Thank you to everyone who joined us—and especially to our early risers behind the scenes who made the morning so memorable. We hope it was a wonderful weekend!
Library News - Book Week
Week 7 we celebrated Book Week with plenty of activities in class, as well as our Book Parade. Staff were blown away by the effort children went to with their costumes and we thank our parents and families for helping the children to dress up and for coming along to our parade.
Congratulations to all of our winners and to everyone for participating in such a great day.
Picture Book Creation - Congratulations Year 5 and 6
Year 5 and Year 6 need to be congratulated for the beautiful picture books that they created and read to their buddy classes during Book Week. Well done! Kindergarten and Year 1 were such a good audience and loved listening to the stories that were written for them.
Religious Education Coordinator - Mrs Rebecca Rizzo
First Eucharist Retreat Day
On Friday 29th August, our Year 3 students attended MacKillop College, along with Year 3 students from Assumption, Holy Family and Cathedral Primary schools, for an inspiring First Eucharist Reflection Day. The students spent the day deepening their understanding of the sacrament with prayer, reflection, and engaging activities that helped students connect with the significance of the Eucharist in their lives. We would like to thank the staff and students from MacKillop College and St Stanislaus' College for generously giving their time to plan and lead the day. Their guidance, enthusiasm, and support made the experience truly special for our students. A special thanks to Mrs Murdoch and Mrs Whieldon for assisting the students on the day.
Year 6 Seminarians Soccer Match and Faith Formation Day
The Year 6 students were very excited to be invited to be a part of the inaugural Burke Cup on Thursday, 11th September 2025, at the Cathedral Primary School. It was a very special event dedicated to community, faith and fun. The highlight of the day was the Burke Cup Soccer Matches, where Year 6 students from participating parish schools competed against the Seminarians for the Cup. Our Year 6 students began the day with Mass in the Cathedral, followed by an engaging day of activities such as seminarian testimonies, soccer matches and a shared lunch. This was a wonderful day and we thank the Cathedral Primary school for inviting us to be a part of this very special event.
Diary Dates for our Masses and Liturgies for Term 3
Mercy Sisters Feast Day Mass - Thursday 25th September – 9.30am – Girra Girra Gymnasium
A Prayer to St Philomena
We pray to Saint Philomena, Patron Saint of our school and young people, for anyone in our school community who is suffering from loss or illness at this time.
O St Philomena,
You were so young when you gave your life to protect your faith.
Through His compassion God granted you powerful intercession for those who seek your prayers.
O great Saint! We humble ask for your miraculous prayers and protection for us. We pray that you may be a light to us and our families.
Amen
Introducing Mr Max Martinez
With Miss Smith commencing Maternity Leave this term, we have welcomed Mr Max Martinez to St Phil's to assist with our Aboriginal Education. Here's a bit about Mr Martinez...
Name - Mr Martinez (Max)
Position - Aboriginal Education Officer
Favourite Colour - Turquoise
Favourite Music Artist - Chris Brown, Jason Derulo, Macklemore
Favourite thing about working at St Phil's - The students and staff it feels like one big family everyone is so friendly and love going out at recess and lunch and playing with the students.
Favourite past time - I love watching the NRL. Broncos and Queensland supporter favourite player is Kotoni Staggs. Love my running and doing anything active or sport related.
Sporting achievements - Running 5k under 16 minutes and 3k under 9 minutes on the track.
Aboriginal Education
This week Jo Anne-Wright came in to make Johnny cakes with our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students to wrap up her last session. The students had lots of fun making the dough for the Johnny cakes and once they were all cooked the students could put all different toppings of honey, cream, jam and maple syrup and ate them.
Mr Max Martinez, Aboriginal Education Officer
Term Planner
P&F News
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