Recent News

Invest in Kids Advocacy

(October 3, 2023) – We have two important opportunities this month to speak up to our State representatives and senators about the importance of the Invest in Kids Scholarship Program and why its existence is so important to Illinois children. At St. Philomena School, 20% of our students receive an Invest in Kids Scholarship. If the program is not saved, it will end on December 31, 2023. What is Invest in Kids? Click here to learn more if you are unfamiliar.

TOWNHALL: On Thursday, October 12 at 6:30 p.m. a townhall meeting will be held at St. Mark Catholic School with Senator Dave Koehler and Representative Jehan Gordon-Booth. This is a BIG opportunity for us to speak directly to the people making the final decision. We NEED to show our support with numbers. Below is a link to RSVP for the event. Show up to show support. Show up to show them how important this is for us. Show up to support your school and community. You do not have to be a scholarship recipient to attend, or to express  how important this program is to our families. CLICK HERE to RSVP for October 12.

SPRINGFIELD TRIP: The Catholic Schools of Peoria, in conjunction with schools across the state and our scholarship granting organization, Empower Illinois, are organizing a bus trip to Springfield on October 24 when legislators are back in session. We need to be there. A charter bus will be provided along with lunch to take all those supporters to Springfield and back. Mr. Dippold has gone on two separate trips for this program. For all those worried, it is a easy trip and not much is asked of you outside of being there. If you are a family that does not receive financial support through this program, we still need you. This directly affects our families and our school and we need to rally together as many folks as we can to show our support. The more people we get, the better the trip will be. CLICK HERE to reserve your spot for October 24. 

If you have questions about either of these events, contact Mr. Jack Dippold in the school office: jackdipp@stphils.com or 309-685-1208.

PTO Fall Trivia Night

UPDATE (October 9, 2023) — The Fall Trivia Night has been cancelled. Please join us in 2024 for our winter event. Date TBA soon! Thank you for your support of the PTO.

Join the St. Philomena School PTO for a Trivia Night this fall. The event will be Saturday, October 14, 2023. Doors open at 5:30 p.m., with trivia games beginning at 6:15 p.m. Price is $15/person and includes light snacks and desserts, the Men’s Club will host a cash bar. Teams should be made up of no more than eight people. To register, click here.

Tiger Tales Podcast: Episode 10

Mr. Dippold does a reboot of his Tiger Tales Podcast. Listen in on Episode 10 as he discusses getting back on track, junior high electives and setting goals.

Click here. 

Golf Postseason 2023

(UPDATE September 20, 2023) Our boys and girls golf teams solidified a place in IESA history by placing in the first-ever team event for golf at the state finals. The boys came home with a 2nd place trophy and team score of 348, and the girls placed 6th with a team score of 450. Final scoreboards can be viewed on the IESA website: Boys   Girls

We had about 40 students in grades 5-8 participate in golf this year. Matt Coulter is our head golf coach. Paws Up!

(UPDATE September 8, 2023) The Tigers are going to the State Team Finals for golf, in both the girls and boys tournaments. This is quite an accomplishment and we are all so proud of their hard work. The boys won the C Sectional on September 6 and the girls qualified as the at-large team on September 7 after participating in the B Sectional.

On the girls team teeing off on September 14 it will be Bryn Coulter, Molly Gibson, Gloria Hayes and Norah O’Leary. Representing the boys on September 15 will be Joey Alwan, Andrew Best, Nolan Kenny and Alex O’Leary. For more information on the finals, visit iesa.org . Paws up, Tigers!

(August 29, 2023)  Congratulations to members of our golf team who qualified for the 2023 Sectional tournament. They are listed below with their qualifying scores. Boys will play on September 6 at Parkview Golf Course in Pekin. Girls will play September 7 at Madison Golf Course in Peoria. Paws up, Tigers!

Girls: Norah O’Leary – 40; Bryn Coulter – 43; Gloria Hayes – 44; Molly Gibson – 44; Betsy Hayes – 47; Caroline McKee- 50

Boys: Joey Alwan – 32; Alex O’Leary – 33; Nolan Kenny – 36; Charlie McKee- 41; Teddy Kress – 42; Andrew Best – 44