The Personalised Mentoring System is the most distinctive means used by PARED Schools to achieve their aims. Families are assigned an individual mentor. The mentor meets regularly with the student, with the student’s teacher, and with the parents. In this way, parents progress in their interviews each term. The mentoring system assists each student’s academic progress and character development. The mentor’s rapport and friendship with the student and family are fundamental to the education process.

In order for the Mentoring System to work effectively, parents are expected to attend formal parent/mentor interviews. Appointments are scheduled every term with the student’s mentor and parents. Both parents are expected to attend interviews. Apart from formal interviews, the mentor is available to talk to the parents whenever necessary.

Mentor availability times for the parent-mentor meeting each term are published on the College website. It is in the interest of parents to book the meeting each term. We suggest a meeting early in the term allows goals to be set for the term.

To further assist parents,the rear of the College Diary has a mentor log to note the date and key focus/goals of mentor sessions. Parents are encouraged to check this regularly and to use this as a vehicle to reinforce mentoring goals/focus with their son.

Parents new to Wollemi College are required to attend a special Parent Orientation on Saturday, 31st January 2026 from 9:45am to 1:30pm. There will be guest speakers and workshops to help new parents get more acquainted with the philosophy of the school. For existing Wollemi families who have another child starting at Wollemi in 2026, you are not required to attend but you are welcome to come and listen again to some talks/discussions or meet the other new parents in your respective cohort.

Key Parent Functions are scheduled in the first three terms. Term 1 KPF focuses on an information session where class teachers explain their program outline for the year and their expectations. In Terms 2 and 3, there are presentations that can assist parents in the character, educational or spiritual formation of their children. Information regarding these Key Parent Functions will be communicated closer to the date.

The expectation is that both parents attend all Key Parent Functions.

Camps are organised by the school once a year for each year group from Years 2-8.

They are held at a camp site booked by the College staff.  These camps are a great opportunity for father and son to enrich their relationship by spending quality time together, and for fathers to observe their son’s interactions with other students.  Fathers also get to know and connect with other dads in the class better and have the opportunity to enhance their parenting by exchanging ideas and listening to talks relevant to their sons’ age group.

Class parents are appointed by the College to help foster friendship and unity and healthy engagement among the parents. They inform the class about the upcoming school activities, important news and reminders through a nominated chat platform. They also coordinate support for families when it is needed, such as in the case of illness or upheaval in the family.  Your support and cooperation with class parents is vital to the success of the school. Your son’s class parents will be in contact with you at the beginning of each academic year.

Wollemi College offers students a solid grounding in the Catholic faith as the basis for a simple and deep love of God. Students are encouraged to live their faith with a genuine spirit of freedom and commitment. The School emphasises the primary role that parents play in their children’s spiritual development.

Wollemi is open to children from all faiths.  The Chaplain of the School is a priest of Opus Dei. Mass and confession are available to all students each day. All student participates in the College’s religion program.

Sacramental programs are parish based but students receive thorough instruction in the sacraments as part of their religious education at school.

Mass is celebrated every day of the week at 10:30am by the School Chaplain.

The character development of the students is aided by the practice of virtues which are taught to students as part of the curriculum and should be reinforced at home. Students have a new “motto” every week which revolves around a key virtue. 

Parents are asked to encourage their son/s to put the particular virtue into practice at home.

IGNITE Program

The Ignite program is part of our virtues and character program at the College. The program is delivered to students in Years 5-10 on a fortnightly basis. Ignite focuses on the development of key skills around wellbeing, leadership, academics and study, practical life skills and service. 

Some families contribute to the school community by assisting in areas such as fundraising, sport, book covering, working bees and more. Opportunities are advertised in the Newsletter as they arise. The school relies heavily on parental involvement which helps in building the relationship between school and home as well as assisting the school.However, the principal involvement remains being effective parents in the home.

At Wollemi College we have four Houses, with each student being allocated to one of these houses:

Araluen Eagles (Gold)

Echuca Goanna (Blue)

Mundoora Crocs (Green)

Wyuna Sharks (Red)

In the secondary school, Houses are comprised of students from Year 7-12 and play an important role in the life of the College. Not only do boys compete in their Houses at a range of school carnivals throughout the year, the House system plays an important role in our pastoral care system. Each House is divided into smaller groups of approximately 18-20 students; together they meet four times a week (Tuesday to Friday) to develop a sense of belonging, understanding of school expectations and to discuss virtues and character. 

Academics play an essential role in the overall development of students at Wollemi.

The Primary Leadership Team and Secondary Stage Coordinators hold both academic and pastoral oversight for their respective year groups and should be the primary point of contact for specific academic concerns. They play a critical role in maintaining the academic profile of students, assisting them with elective choices, disseminating academic information relevant to their year groups, and organizing appropriate recognition and encouragement for students in their care.

Working collaboratively with mentors, house patrons, and class teachers, the Primary Leadership Team and Stage Coordinators provide a ‘security net’ to ensure all students demonstrate a positive attitude toward learning and well-being.

Primary Key Learning Areas

• English

• Maths

• Science

• History

• Geography

• Personal Development, Health and Physical Education

• Creative Arts (Music, Art, Drama)

• Religion

• Spanish

There are a range of academic courses offered at the Colleges to meet the breadth and depth of student interests and passions.

Year 7 and 8 study the following subjects:

● English

● Mathematics

● Science

● Geography

● History

● Personal Development, Health and Physical Education

● Spanish

● Music

● Religion

● Technology

● Visual Arts

In Year 9 and 10 students continue to study:

● English

● Mathematics

● Science

● Geography

● History

● Personal Development, Health and Physical Education

● Religion

With the addition of two elective subjects. These could include:

Commerce, Design and Technology, Information and Software Technology, Visual Arts, Elective History, Music, Drama, Spanish and Extension Mathematics.

The College’s Diverse Learning Department provides assistance to boys across all year levels in a variety of ways that seek to develop boys’ full academic, social and emotional potential. This could include such support as literacy programs, assignment support, smaller group sessions and social emotional support.

It is imperative that parents contact the College’s Diverse Learning Department and/or their mentor or Head of Middle and/or Senior School if they have any information that would assist the College to meet their son’s academic or pastoral needs.

The College provides a quality education for all students, including those who are academically gifted or talented so they may be given the opportunity to be extended and enriched. The Honours Program is an enrichment and extension program primarily designed for students who are already excelling in their normal class work. It provides wonderful opportunities for students to take their study to a much higher level, while pursuing an area of personal interest. The program is available in many subjects across Years 7-10, and all students may apply to participate.

As educators, the College's prime concern is to allow students to discover their gifts and develop those gifts into talents. The College acknowledges that there are a wide range of areas of excellence students may exhibit and we strive to assist those who are gifted in different academic domains.

Parents are encouraged to contact the Head of Middle School (Years 7-9) or Senior School (Years 10 -12), their son’s mentor or the Head of Diverse Learning, should they have information that indicates their son has particular gifts, or with specific queries.   

Students will be advised the day of their sports day at the beginning of the term.They come to school in their sports uniform on the day.

The sports uniform is the light blue Wollemi polo shirt and accompanying dark blue Wollemi sports shorts. In cases of cold weather students are to wear the College tracksuit only.

Students should bring their coloured House Shirt with them on sports days and change into it during sport lessons. The House shirt is also to be worn at the Athletics, Cross Country and Swimming Carnivals. It should not be worn for travelling to and from school.

‘Motto Talks’ are short school assemblies, separate for Primary and Secondary, that are held every Monday morning.At these assemblies, students learn about the weekly motto and other important announcements are communicated.

Secondary School Assemblies are held monthly throughout the term. These assemblies provide an opportunity for Years 7-12 students to come together to discuss issues pertinent to secondary students, showcase student achievement and to acknowledge and celebrate the diverse range of accolades. Primary Awards Assembly are usually held at the end of the term during which students are presented with Merit Certificates. Weekly Primary Assemblies are held each Friday at 2:35pm.

Engage Parent Portal is our school's Student Management System. Each family has a unique login to their portal.

Here you can find helpful instructions for using the Engage Parent Portal.

Below you can find how and when to use the Parent Portal related to your child's attendance at school.

The Government now requires parents to apply for all periods of leave for their son.There is a formal procedure for this.Please complete an extended leave form via the Parent Portal, Student Daybook.

A communication will follow informing approval or non-approval. All applications for leave need to be processed before departing on a holiday or any planned time off school.

Late Arrival

School starts officially at 8:40am. Students are always expected to be punctual, and the school keeps a record of late arrivals. Students who arrive at school later than 8.40am are required to sign the late arrival register in the Front Office. Late arrivals affect the learning outcomes of a student and are a disruption to other members of the class. Students who are repeatedly late in arriving at school can suffer long term affects to their learning.

Early Departure

Parents are to notify the school when a student needs to leave school early.

All students leaving early must report to the Front Office and fill in an early departure note.

In the case of parental pick-up, the office staff will arrange for the student to be called to the Front Office for collection. Parents are not permitted to collect their son from the classroom or other school areas.

If you make arrangements for another adult to collect your child from school, please notify the school office beforehand. Pick-up is from the Front Office, and an early departure note must be filled in and signed by the collecting adult.

Please ensure your child knows his travel arrangements BEFORE he leaves home in the morning.  If there is to be some change for the day please advise the child’s teacher in writing, giving details of the change.  Messages to the front office to change arrangements should only be sent in cases of emergency.

If you are dropping off or collecting your son by car we ask that you adhere to the following procedures to entire the safety of all staff, students and school community:

· Vehicular entrance is from Gipps Street off Werrington Road.

· Entry into the school is via the second gate only.

· The curb by the buildings is set down and pick up only – no parking.

· Do not alight from the right-hand side of cars in the set down lane. Please be especially vigilant with children not to alight on the right.

· In the morning after set down, boys should move straight to the classroom and not loiter on the footpath in front of the school.

· If you wish to park in the morning, drive through the gate and turn right into overflow car park just outside the College. In the afternoon, for safety reasons, the right-hand turn into the carpark is barred. If you wish to park, please drive around the pickup line, and enter the car park via the second entry point.

· Please do not double park in the set down lane but wait for space to be available on the curb.

·Please watch for young students crossing on pedestrian crossing from the school veranda entrance to the carpark.

·Students who wish to make their way by foot to Werrington station should depart the school via the pedestrian gate adjacent to the overflow car park.

·Students who wish to make their way by foot to Great Western Highway side of the school should depart via the pedestrian exit on the Primary fields adjacent the second gate entrance to the school

·After school, supervision will be provided for students at the grassed area near the Front Office and in the waiting area adjacent to the overflow car park.

NOTE : The pedestrian gate adjacent the overflow carpark will be closed at 3:45 pm. Students in the waiting area adjacent the overflow carpark will be redirected to the grassed areaoutside the Front Office to await collection after this time.

Please ensure every item of clothing and property is CLEARLY labeled with your child’s name.Please check items regularly as property belonging to other students is inadvertently taken home. Labelled items may be returned from lost property to the appropriate student.

Uncollected lost property without names will be either placed in the second-hand uniform pool for resale or sent to St Vincent de Paul for recycling.

Many boys including Year 6 and secondary band members are required to bring instruments to school.Instruments should be clearly labeled with:

(Student’s Name, Name of school and Phone Number)

All Secondary students are provided with a locker. This enables each boy to secure any and all available items. Boys are expected to keep their books, textbooks, and teaching resources in their locker during the day. Bags will not be allowed in the classroom and the expectation is that boys will change over their books and resources before school, at recess and lunch times for the preceding periods/classes. Boys are required to use a school issued lock on their locker. This lock will be issued on their arrival to the College. Replacement lock may be purchased form the Front Office.

Toys and trading cards from home should not be brought to school.

It is a parental responsibility to ensure students are dressed in the correct school uniform each day, including sports days.  Students are to arrive and leave from the College in their full school uniform.

UNIFORM REQUIREMENTS

Summer uniform is worn in Terms 1 and 4 .

Full winter uniform is worn in Terms 2 and 3 .

Primary students wear shorts all year round with short socks in the summer terms and knee length socks in the winter.

All secondary students wear long pants all year round.

A blazer, long-sleeved shirt and tie are worn by secondary students during Terms 2 and 3.  However, there may be some instances when students will be asked to wear their formal uniform for other occasions as advised.

School Shoes

Students are required to wear clean, black leather school shoes. Boots, joggers, or other casual shoes are not to be worn with the uniform. Black sneakers are not acceptable.

Joggers are only to be worn on sports day with sports uniform. All students are encouraged to bring a pair of joggers to school that they could change into during their lunch break to protect their shoes.

Hats

The Wollemi broad brimmed hat is compulsory for all Primary students and MUST always be worn outdoors. The Primary school has a ‘no hat no play’policy. Students may leave their school hats in their desks during the week and take them home on weekends if required.

In Secondary, the ‘no hat no play’policy applies in Terms 1 and 4 only.

Midford sells hats for Primary and Secondary students. These may also be purchased from the Front Office. It is also permissible for secondary students to wear a Wollemi sports club cap.

School Bag

Please click on the images below to view the correct Sports uniforms worn by Wollemi students.

Mobile Phones and Other Electronic Devices

Students are not permitted to carry or be in possession of a mobile device during the school day. Students found using their mobile phones during the school day will have them confiscated for a short period as per the College’s Mobile Device Policy.

If any student needs to contact a parent during school hours, he or she should do so via the Front Office. Parents who need to contact their child during school hours should telephone the School and leave a message with the Front Office, not via their child's mobile phone.

Laptops

Personal Laptops are not allowed at School. Students in Years 7 - 12 are issued with a school laptop. Only Years 10-12 students are permitted to take their laptops home. Years 7 - 9 students' laptops remain at school. All other students will be given access to the School network as required.

Games at School

Any student caught playing computer games on the school computers will have his school account temporarily suspended for a period of time to be determined by the school. As a further measure, the school may restrict a student’s access once his account is reinstated.

Student IT Agreement

Each student at Wollemi is asked to sign an agreement to become a registered user of the College IT network (including Internet access and use of all IT facilities in the school). Both parents and students need to read and complete the Wollemi IT Agreement prior to their son/s commencing at Wollemi. Link to these forms may be found via Parent Portal.

At Wollemi, we offer students a range of co-curricular opportunities to help foster student interest and personal growth. These include:

OUTDOOR EDUCATION PROGRAM

As part of the College’s character development curriculum, students in Years 4 - 10 participate in our outdoor education program. This program develops in length and complexity each year to help challenge and grow our young men. Through this program boys will develop skills in resilience, group work, leadership, character and essential camping and life skills. 

Competitive Wollemi sport teams are organised and run by parents on behalf of the school. School teams enter local sporting competitions such as football (soccer) and basketball. Competitive sport and training take place outside of school hours. Information will be made available during registration time for various sports.

The College offers a range of clubs and other co-curricular activities to students in both Primary and Secondary, including:

Chess, Debating, Public Speaking, Robotics, Board Games, etc.

Students at Wollemi are encouraged to give back to the community in which they live. To encourage this, the College has a Community Service Award program for students in Years 7-12, with students achieving a Bronze, Silver of Gold Award depending on the hours of service. Students are encouraged to give of their time to assist is such areas:

· Community improvement

· Disaster relief

· Elderly Assistance

· Environment

· Fundraising

For more details, examples, and requirements of the activities , please view this pdf file.

Year 10 students also participate in a weeklong service-learning camp in Term 4 in which they are involved in a range of community service activities including volunteering at a retirement villages, gardening and community beautification activities.

How does the program work:

a) In order to qualify for an Award in this Program, students must complete a prescribed number of Community Service hours according to their year group.

b) Students will need to record the community service hours they have completed each term by submitting this google form by Week 8 of each term.

c) Students who successfully complete their prescribed hours will receive their Award at Presentation Night in front of the entire School Community.

Students can start submitting from today any community service they have done during Term 1 this year.

If you have any questions about the Community Service Program, please do not hesitate to contact Mr. Jack Johnson, Director of Personalised Education - jackjohnson@wollemi.nsw.edu.au

All students are supplied with a College Diary. The Diary provides important day to day information, and is the common property of the student, staff, and parents. Accordingly, it serves as a very important communication tool between school and home. Parents, house patrons, mentors and staff are encouraged to write notes in the diary and inspect its contents regularly. Parents are asked to sign the diary each week in the space provided in the diary. Every student is expected to have his diary at each lesson. House patrons and mentors inspect diaries as a matter of routine during their regular meetings. At the rear of the College Diary there is also a mentor log to note the date and key focus/goals of mentor sessions. Parents are encouraged to check this regular and to use this as vehicle to reinforce mentoring goals/focus with their son.

Homework is to be recorded in the Diary. The ten-day cycle and general timetabling information, important school rules and procedures and advice on study skills and wellbeing strategies are all contained within the diary.

The College Diary also provides a range of useful resources and information including:

· key school policies

· prayers

· religious information

·range of planners including term, homework, study and assessment recorders

·wellbeing and study advice

·key school dates

Due to the busy nature of the College, it is sometimes difficult to reach staff by telephone during the day. For matters which are of a non-urgent nature, it is usually easier to email the teacher and ask them to call you back when convenient.

For urgent matters or emergencies, please do not hesitate to contact the Front Office directly on 9833-0499.

The Newsletter is distributed every second Tuesday of term via email. The Newsletter contains school news and information of interest to parents and communicates with home about administrative matters and upcoming events.

The Newsletter is emailed to both parents’ email addresses. Parents are directed to access the Parent Portal as a principle means of receiving information from, and communicating with, the school.  When submitting digital absentee notes and accessing other school-related documents, kindly go to https://paredwest.pared.edu.au/ to log in. You will need your Parent Portal username and password to access the portal.

Articles/photos for inclusion in the Newsletter may be emailed to admin@wollemi.nsw.edu.au

Messages for students and staff members may be left at the School Office and every endeavour is made to convey the messages as soon as possible. It is not always possible to pass messages to students that are received late in the school day.

It is imperative that parents notify the Front Office of any change of address, telephone number or emergency contact details as soon as they occur. Families should complete a Parent Daybook on the Parent Portalhttps://tinyurl.com/West-CONTACT-CHANGE-REQUESTas soon as possible.

One of the major objectives of the school is to foster friendships among the parent body. This is done through the various sporting and social functions. It is customary for personal details of school families (such as address and telephone numbers) to be made available to other families within the College.Should you not want your details to be made known please notify the Office.

To obtain details of your child’s class please enquire at the school office or ask your class parents.

For school excursions, permission forms detailing the student’s requirements and cost are sent to parents electronically, via email. Upon receipt, parents should complete and submit the Permission Form as soon as possible. Most Excursion costs are covered by the Curricular Materials and Activities Levy, which is charged on a family basis.

Parents are required to provide their children with a healthy recess and lunch to eat each day. There are no canteen facilities at school, so students should take responsibility for bringing their lunchbox to school each day. Please include a drink for both lunch and recess, particularly during hot weather. We encourage each student to bring their own water bottle to school. Please clearly label your child’s lunchbox and drink containers, including lids.

As we have children at school with severe nut allergies which can be very serious, please avoid sending to school all nut spreads such as peanut butter and chocolate nut spreads. Please check that children do not bring foods containing nuts to school.

From time-to-time articles about the school appear in the media.Often photos accompany these.An authorization is included together with the Student Medical Form.If you do not wish your child’s photo to appear, please notify the school office in writing.

This notice is a legal requirement concerning Privacy Legislation.Wollemi College, as always, respects the privacy of each individual.Parents are requested to sign the privacy collection notice during the enrolment stage.