Recent News

3rd Grade Stewardship

(December 21, 2022)  Third graders at St. Philomena are focusing on the corporal and spiritual works of mercy for their classroom stewardship this school year. Since the 2014-15 school year, our third graders have had a relationship with residents at Buehler Home.

Through the years they have prayed daily for the residents, made lots of decorations for doors and windows to brighten up their homes and recreation areas, gone caroling, played games and puzzles with residents, read stories together and even conducted interviews so they could get to better know their Buehler friends.

The pause to those visits during the COVID-19 pandemic made third graders all realize how much they really love going to Buehler Home. The teachers had to find ways to connect with them in the absence of personal visits. Things like sending the link for the Christmas program livestream so the residents can enjoy our students’ performance.

Mrs. Morgan Fehl and Mrs. Traci Heppard, third grade teachers, feel that the service to Buehler Home residents opens up the students’ eyes to the world around them.

“We become so focused on our own lives, we need to see that there are people suffering and lonely. People who receive no cards or visits from family,” shared Mrs. Fehl. This reality strikes a chord with the students when they think about a birthday or holidays without cards or family.

The teachers focus on the importance of keeping things simple, the service doesn’t have to be a grand gesture. “We’ve found that just reading a book is one of the residents’ favorite things to do,” said Mrs. Fehl.

One of the goals of Mrs. Fehl and Mrs. Heppard is showing and helping the students to learn and build a life of service at a young age. “A life of service is so important. A card seems small, but it can brighten someone’s day,” stated Mrs. Fehl. “We want them [students] to continue a life of service. Our hope is that they continue to grow in this way.”

Wizard of Oz Auditions: Spring 2023 School Musical

This school year our student musical will be “The Wizard of Oz.” The production will be March 24-26, 2023 at Peoria Players Theatre. Auditions will be held on January 4 and 5 after school. Audition forms must be completed by January 3. If your child in grades 5-8 would like to participate in the spring musical, you will need to fill out the online audition form and sign your child up for an audition time, (see links at the end of this post). 

The songs for auditions can be found on Mrs. Smith’s school webpage under the “Practice” tab, or click here. Please have your child choose a song and work on it over break. Students have the option to audition solo or in a group.

There is a closed Facebook group where information for cast families will be posted over the next few months. Please be sure to join that group to stay in the loop. The group is called, “St. Phil’s Wizard of Oz 2023,” click here.

If you have questions, please contact Anne Kennedy at anne.mw.kennedy@gmail.com

Click here: Audition Form
Click here: Audition Time Slot

Adoration Chapel Visits

(Dec. 6, 2022)  During the Season of Advent, all junior high students are making a weekly visit to the Adoration Chapel. During a recent visit, they prayed with the Sunday Gospel and meditated on the virtue of hope. We are grateful to have access to a chapel on our campus and to be able to offer this time with Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament to our students.

St. Philomena Items for Sale

(Dec. 2, 2022) We are happy to announce that we now offer St. Philomena branded and specialty items for sale through the parish office. Car magnets, license plate frames, umbrellas, stickers, ornaments and more. To see the list of items and prices, or to place your order, click here.

Sorry, we cannot ship items. If you are not in the Peoria area and would like to purchase something, please make arrangements for it to be picked up by someone local. Thank you.