From the Headmaster
United in Purpose - 2026-2030 Strategic Plan
United in Purpose - 2026-2030 Strategic Plan
Deputy's Dispatch
Values in Action
Values in Action
Before and After School Care - Coming to Wollemi College Soon!
Community Junction Children’s Services will be starting soon. Use the flyer below to enrol and secure your child’s place. By scanning the QR code, Community Junction will keep you updated on the upcoming commencement of Wollemi OOSH.
A massive thank you to Mrs Tamara Zahra, the office ladies (the engine room of the school) and their amazing team of mums for making our Mother’s Day Tea and Mass such a memorable event. Also, a special mention to our incredibly talented student photographer, Demir U, for spending his recess time capturing many happy snaps during the event. It was a joy to acknowledge the wonderful women of our community and witness the sheer pride on the boys' faces as they escorted their mothers through the Guard of Honour. It’s official: Wollemi mums are truly the best in the West!
Last week, the SRC (Student Representative Council - Years 6-12) met to workshop the Wollemi College’s Values in Action project . In a very short time, these student leaders transformed the theory of our core virtues—Excellence, Unity, Service, and Piety—into actionable steps. The depth of collaboration and alignment shown across mixed year groups was a testament to the quality of our SRC team. We look forward to using this data as a roadmap to help all students develop and live out these virtues daily.
I recently had the privilege of presenting to our new staff as part of their induction process on the theme of working together with parents. Taking on the role of presenter for this session provided me with a valuable opportunity to personally reflect on the PARED formula we commit to. It reinforced how unique our mission is ; we pride ourselves on a level of collaboration that is rare in education, ensuring that the strengths of both the home and the College are perfectly aligned.
By reflecting on this partnership, it becomes clear that when we grow our capacity as parents and teachers together, we directly improve outcomes for our students in both academics and virtue. This shared mission is why our community remains so tight-knit, looking out for one another with genuine mutual respect. It is this synergy that ensures our boys are not just receiving an education, but are being formed by a consistent, supportive village that shares the same vision for their future.
We are currently reviewing our contingency plans for scenarios such as localised flooding or required school evacuations. Next week, we will send home a digital form to collect information about your child’s transport options should an early departure be necessary in the future. We ask all families to review their arrangements and indicate whether students would be collected by a parent, travel via train, or join a carpool with another school family. Having these details organised in advance ensures that, should the need ever arise, we can manage student departures calmly, safely, and efficiently.
Mr Scott Williamson, Deputy Headmaster
Primary Matters
Week 4 Term 2 2026
Week 4 Term 2 2026
The Month of May - A time to thank all of the amazing women in our lives!
As we settle into Term 2 and our schedules begin to fill up with weekly activities, winter sports, homework and assessments, it is important that we all stop and reflect on the important role of all the amazing women in our lives. Our Mothers, Grandmothers, Aunties and Sisters all form the fabric that holds our lives together and the month of May presents us with an opportunity to remember all that they do.
It is in this reflection that I would like to thank all of our wonderful Wollemi office staff and our amazing Year 6 Mum’s who went out of their way to organise 2 wonderful events - the Mother’s Day Stall, Mother’s Day Mass and Morning Tea. These events were a great tribute to the amazing women in our lives and were both great examples of our strong community, working together for the benefit of all.
I hope all of the Wollemi Mum’s had a wonderful Mother’s Day!
Primary Pilgrimage 2026
The Junior Primary (Year 2-4) and Senior Primary (Year 5-6) Pilgrimages are fast approaching. These events will be held on the 29th of May - Friday of Week 6 - and are always a fantastic celebration to end the month of May.
This year, Junior Primary (Yr 2-4) will travel to Parramatta to pray the Rosary at St Patrick's Cathedral, followed by a fun afternoon of swimming at the Sydney Olympic Park Aquatic Centre.
Senior Primary (Yr 5-6) will pray the Rosary at the Wollemi Shrine followed by the PARED Cup sporting events with students from Redfield College.
Information and permission forms for the Pilgrimage will be sent out shortly.
Mr Luke Baxter, Head of Primary
From the Chaplain
Wollemi Family Pilgrimage
Wollemi Family Pilgrimage
Captain's Corner
The Paradox of Life
The Paradox of Life
As for this week's newsletter article, I figured I wanted to unravel a more philosophical topic, which is highly relevant to young boys. I hope to shed some light on it in the hopes that everyone gains a new perspective on life. This writing will be the first part of a 3-article series named Lessons That Shape Young Men.
Life has a strange way of teaching us. Doesn't it feel strange how paradoxical one's life is? Learning something new makes you feel helpless, dumb and distraught before you feel wise and sophisticated. Working out makes you feel weak before you emerge strong and in shape. Facing your fears makes you feel terrified before it makes you brave. In order to heal, you must suffer. In order to have peace, you need chaos; life disguises growth as failure and progress as pain. The reality is, if it feels hard, then it most likely matters. Becoming is messy; it breaks who you were to make room for who you're meant to be. One doesn't build strength by feeling powerful, you build it by showing up when you feel powerless. So if you feel tired, uncertain or behind, you might just be in the very middle of becoming, and that's exactly where you're supposed to be.
One of life's greatest paradoxes.
For young men at school, this matters deeply; there's always a lurking temptation to think that if something is hard, we're failing. If a Maths exercise becomes too hard or an essay takes too long to wrap our head around, we think we aren't smart enough. If we feel nervous before a speech or exam, we think we are weak and hopeless. If we fall behind, we see no coming back and the story being finished. If we make mistakes, we believe they define who we truly are.
Struggle is not a sign that something is always wrong, but a sign that something is being built in the background. The demoralising factor is that we don't see this being built.
Wollemi Boys don't feel disciplined by waking up and deciding to be motivated every day; they become so by choosing what's hard even when they don't feel like it. He does not become courageous by never feeling fear, but rather looking fear face on and walking towards it. Becoming is messy; it breaks and makes us feel weak, it cracks and breaks us. The reality, however, is that these cracks are filled and patched with gold, which makes us stronger.
Difficult moments in school should not be overlooked, the subject that challenges you, mistakes that humble you, corrections that sting, friendship issues that hurt and inevitable pressures that stretch every limb. These are not meaningless. They whisper, “Will you use this as an opportunity to grow?” “Who Are You Becoming?” Ultimately, the saying goes, “hard choices now, easy life later” If we choose to face our challenges and learn, it will be hard, but we will be equipped with the tools to face anything down the track.
Our goal should not be to make life easy; Wollemi's goal is never to create weak men who can't hold themselves outside. Conversely, Wollemi shapes men that push through, men that are “becoming”, men that are strong enough to meet life properly. Do not despise the season you've been placed in, everything happens for a reason, if you feel tired, exhausted, stretched and behind you may be in the core of becoming . Becoming rarely feels glorious while it's happening.
The struggle you wish would end is forming something in you that ease never could.
Thomas G, School Captain
Events
Year 7 Touch Football Competition
Year 7 Touch Football Competition
On Thursday, 30th April, a squad of twelve Year 7 Wollemi boys went out to take on our rival schools in the Hills Zone Touch Football competition.
With the chance for only a few training runs prior to the day, the boys very quickly learned to number up and slide as a defensive line. Combined with the natural athletic ability of these boys, and plenty of positive talk, the team was able to perform well.
By the end of the group stage, Wollemi had 4 wins and 1 loss, with a try differential of +15, topping Pool A.
Unfortunately, in the semi-finals, we were defeated by our PARED compatriots, Redfield College, who went on to win the competition. To the boys' credit, they bounced back in the playoff match to finish in third place out of eleven schools.
Mr Paul Garzaniti - Team Coach
Bill Turner Cup Round 2
Bill Turner Cup Round 2
In Round 2 of the Bill Turner Cup, our Wollemi College U15s team faced a tough challenge against Richard Johnson Anglican , going down 5-0. Even though the result didn’t go our way, the team continued to work hard and showed great effort throughout the match.
Unfortunately, this brings our 2026 Bill Turner Cup campaign to an end. A big thank you goes to Mr Dominici for coaching, Mr Johnson, Mr Williamson and Mr Tu'ipulotu for helping transport players to away games, as well as to all the parents who supported the team during the competition.
Matthew C, U15s Bill Turner Cup Captain
Young Healthy Minds Forum
Young Healthy Minds Forum
The Youth Mental Health Forum turned out to be a great opportunity for the Wollemi SRC to learn about and understand mental health . Throughout the day, many guest speakers, both young and old, spoke to us on different aspects of mental health. They didn’t just tell us facts, though; they connected to us through personal stories and short ideas. We learnt, through a story about a marathon, that you should support those close to you, especially through hard times, because they will also be there for you when you feel down. This is called a “support group”. It could be made up of friends, parents, siblings, even teachers or mentors sometimes.
Wollemi’s very own counsellor, Tim Helbano , also participated in a Q and A session, along with another psychiatrist and a physiologist, where he shared some wise words with all of us. For example, it's not often obvious when your friends go through depression, or even just “normal sadness”. They might change in small ways, like tying up their hair instead of letting it loose, or wearing a different colour of clothes. During the Q and A, many more little bits of mental health advice were shared, like “The worst thing you can do to a person is judge them”, “Simply letting a person know you are there to listen to them is often more effective than trying to fix their problems ourselves” and “You should be comfortable with being uncomfortable”.
The stress we go through at school, especially as teenagers, was addressed. We as teenagers are no longer children, but we are not quite adults yet. It is a very hard but rewarding time of transition. The habits we create now, our values and morals we decide on as teens, stay with us for the rest of our life. We also shouldn’t worry about what other people think of us. Do what makes you happy, and love yourself. Every one of us is unique, and we shouldn’t have to feel a need to change for others. Otherwise, we just become copies of them.
During our breaks, where food was supplied, there were many fun activities at stalls having to do with mental health, but also initiatives such as providing water purifiers to those in need in Kenya. There were tons of freebies, mostly fidget toys and armbands, which we all collected. Additional sheets of information regarding mental health, managing study time, and other resources were available at the counters too.
The story that stood out the most, in my opinion, was from guest speaker Matt Caruana . He was a very athletic-looking person and a friendly-looking person. However, he rolled into the hall in a wheelchair. He greeted us, and then the first thing he told us was that he was speaking about looksmaxxing. But, he commented, when he was younger, it wasn’t called that, but rather bodybuilding. In his early teens, Matt was a little insecure. He wasn’t in a wheelchair back then, and he wanted to be liked, to be popular. So as he grew, from around the age of maybe 13 or 14, he went to the gym every day. It was all he thought about. He would spend hours working out and ages styling his hair in the mirror, like so many of us still do today. Then one day, when he was 16, he took a shirtless photo of himself in the mirror, everyone’s seen one of them before, and posted it. A single photo. And as he looked at the comments, all he could see were things such as “You must be doing so well!” and “Good on you”. Everyone who saw the photo thought he must be doing great. He was jacked, handsome, and happy. But Matt only felt empty.
A short time later, Matt was involved in a serious accident, which left him in a wheelchair. As he slowly recovered, Matt struggled to adjust to life after his accident. For a while, he found it difficult to accept what had happened and to imagine what his future might look like. However, a conversation with a stranger on a train helped him to think differently. The man asked him, “What are you going to do about it now?” Later, during another hospital checkup, Matt told his doctor about the experience. From that point, he decided that he was going to pick up his life and stop pitying himself. He was going to stop worrying about what others thought of him and start focusing on what he could still achieve. Instead, he found purpose in life and achieved new goals. Matt went to break the record for most towel pull-ups in a minute. He was also recently honoured in 2025 as part of the Australian Para Climbing Team and placed 6th at the September 2025 World Championships. He went from being a paraplegic with no idea what he would do next, to a world-class athlete and a facilitator for good mental health in youths. His parting words to us were “Hope is hopeless, without action”.
Overall, I think we all enjoyed the day and learnt a lot, especially when we had to come together and create a new mental health initiative and plan for our school, which we shortly presented to the rest of the students there. Hopefully, the Wollemi SRC can use what we learned there to improve school life at Wollemi.
Ferdinand D.
General Notices
Wollemi Merchandise
Wollemi Merchandise
Wollemi is excited to offer a range of commemorative merchandise, including custom-designed hoodies, beanies, caps, cufflinks, and ties. These items feature unique artwork inspired by Wollemi's motto and vibrant community.
Visit the front office today to secure your favourite items, as they are in limited supply.
Visit the front office today to secure your favourite items, as they are in limited supply. To order online, click here.
Sports News
Career News
Midford Wollemi Uniform Shop News
Online Store & Fitting Appointments
Online Store & Fitting Appointments
Throughout the school term our opening hours are 1:00pm – 4:30pm on Fridays (by Appointment ONLY).
For Uniform Fittings/Appointments, please call: 02 8319 8487
Please Note: Pick-up and Returns MUST be made at the Midford School Uniform Shop during its opening hours ONLY - to minimise the risk of items being lost or misplaced. The Front Office will no longer accept Returns.
Collared House Shirts
Collared House Shirts
Community
Community Junction Children's Services - Wollemi College
Community Junction Children's Services - Wollemi College
2026 Eucharistic Procession
2026 Eucharistic Procession
St Joseph's Catholic Parish - 2026 Sacraments
St Joseph's Catholic Parish - 2026 Sacraments
Harmony Day Competitions 2026
Harmony Day Competitions 2026
Announcements
2026 Term Dates
Term 1: Mon 2 Feb to Thurs 2 April
Term 2: Tues 21 April to Fri 26 Jun
Term 3: Tues 21 July to Fri 25 Sept
Term 4: Tues 13 Oct - Wed 9 Dec
2026 Father & Son Camps
Year 2: Sat 21 Mar to Sun 22 Mar
Year 3: Sat 7 Feb to Sun 8 Feb
Year 4: Sat 7 Nov to Sun 8 Nov
Year 5: Sat 16 May to Sun 17 May
Year 6: Sat 29 Aug to Sun 30 Aug
Year 7: Sat 31 Oct to Sun 1 Nov
Year 8: Fri 18 Sept to Sun 20 Sept
Parent e-Handbook
Click here for more parent information about Wollemi College
Staff Directory
The Parent-Teacher Project
How Can We Support Kids in Owning Their Faith?
What's the Deeper Purpose of a Catholic Education?
Nurturing Positive Body Image: What Parents Need to Know
The Parent's Guide to Emotion Coaching
Netflix's Adolescence: A School Counsellor's Thoughts
How Educators Inspire Students to Grow
Diligence & Heart: Raising Kids Who Thrive & Give
Engage Quick Links
Click here to access Engage
Click on the links below to complete the relevant forms in Engage:
● Update your contact details
● Submit an Absentee/Early Leaver Form
● Submit an Extended Leave Form(for holidays, weddings, etc.)
For more information on using the Engage Parent Portal please go to our Parent Portal Resource Site
Parent Calendar
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