Category: School

Annual Food Drive a Success

School and church families worked together, under the coordination of the student council, to collect nearly 6,000 items for this year’s food drive. Items collected were delivered to New Hope Apartments (South Side Office of Concern) on Wednesday, November 14, 2018. Members of the student council, the seventh grade class and parents helped to load all of the donations into several school family vehicles. Student council members, faculty advisers and parent volunteers then caravaned to the South Side Office of Concern where the donations were unloaded and presented to the staff. While at the facility, students had a chance to visit with a Life Skills counselor and client of New Hope to learn more about what is offered there.

Couri Performs with ILMEA Band

On Saturday, November 10, 2018 St. Philomena School student, Eddie Couri, performed with the Illinois Music Education Association (ILMEA) District 2 band at Augustana College. Couri plays the baritone in the St. Philomena junior high band. He is the first student from St. Philomena to be selected to participate in this band. The junior band consisted of 149 students from 58 schools.

Eddie auditioned in October and upon his selection for the band was given the music for the five pieces that the band would perform. He rehearsed on his own until the day of the concert, when the entire band rehearsed together for the first time for about five hours.

The director for the concert was Jeremiah Johnson, a middle school director from Tipton, IA. The band performed the following songs: The Star Spangled Banner (arranged by Robert W. Smith), Adrenaline Engine (Randall Standridge), Resplendent Light (Tyler S. Grant), Moscow, 1941 (Brian Balmages), and Service Songs Medley (Jeremiah “Dusty” Johnson, the director).

Congratulations to Eddie and all of the students who participated.

Performance Choir

St. Philomena School music teacher and choir director, Miss Mary Rose Williams, directed our performance choir students at a wedding on Saturday, November 10 at the Cathedral of St. Mary of the Immaculate Conception. Miss Williams was hired as a cantor for the wedding and the couple, who both work at Children’s Hospital of Illinois, requested a children’s choir as well. The students were very well received and several told Miss Williams that they sounded like a choir of angels.

Veterans Day Mass

The students and staff of St. Philomena School invite all veterans of the parish and veterans who are loved ones of our parishioners to our annual Veterans Day Mass on Thursday, November 8 at 9:00 a.m. in St. Philomena Church. Following Mass we will have a veteran share his story with us and a special presentation prepared by our students.