Orana Catholic Primary School

Hail Mary

Hail Mary full of Grace, the Lord is with thee.
Blessed are thou amongst women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb Jesus.
Holy Mary Mother of God,
Pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death
Amen.

Dear Parents and Carers,

Catholic Identity Pillar

The Hail Mary is a traditional Scripture-based Catholic prayer of praise for petitioning to the Mother of God, based on the Gospel of Luke. The special dedication of the month of May to the Blessed Virgin Mary has long been a tradition of the Catholic Church, where we, the faithful, engage in a more prayerful and deeper reflection of Mary, our Mother. The month of May is the opportune time to look once again on Mary’s “yes”, and what her example teaches us.

Pentecost

This Sunday is Pentecost. Pentecost, concludes the Easter season. "The word Pentecost is Greek and it means ‘50th day’. Fifty days after Easter Sunday, we celebrate the coming of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles and their followers, and the beginning of their Earthly ministry to make disciples of all nations." https://www.catholic.org/

Farewell Father Thai

As communicated last week, Father Thai will soon leave the parish of Sts John and Paul Willetton.

Last Friday, we farewelled Father Thai and honoured his contributions to Orana at a Thanksgiving Mass. Father Thai has served the parish and school community for 15 years, building a vibrant and thriving parish community. Father Thai will be fondly remembered for his special ministry to the Orana community over the years. Father Thai has always strongly supported the students, parents, staff, Advisory Council and the P and F. We wish Father Thai all the very best and will pray for him as he continues his vocation in Kalgoorlie.

Junior Community Mass

The Junior Community Mass was held last Saturday evening. This Mass was dedicated to Mothers and was also one of the Commitment Masses for the Year 4 First Holy Communion candidates. Congratulations to Sebastian in Year 3, the Faith in Action Award winner. The students also signed the school prayer showcasing their learning of the inclusive Auslan language, under the guidance of our Auslan teacher Brit Lilly. Thank-you also to Kathryn Alp for preparing the Mass; Sarah Draper and the musicians for their music ministry, the choir and all those students and staff who attended.

First Holy Communion

Please pray for our Year 4 First Holy Communion candidates. The parent-child workshop went well last night and the students will have their retreat day in June.

Welcome Father John

Father John Daly visited Orana with Father Thai and Father CJ last week; he will be the new parish priest at Saints John and Paul Willetton. We warmly welcome him to the parish and to Orana and look forward to working with him. Father John is currently Parish Priest at Sacred Heart Parish in Mundaring. Prior to this, he was at St Anthony's Parish, Wanneroo.

Education Pillar

iPad Conference

Our annual Year 6 iPad conference was a huge success. Year 6 students from 4 other Catholic schools joined our Year 6 classes for a conference style learning experience. Rachel, City of Canning Coordinator of Sustainable Development, was the keynote speaker, sharing several sustainable initiatives. Breakout sessions followed; students rotated in groups to engage in collaborative learning activities on sustainability. Many thanks to our team of Apple Coaches and Apple Teachers, Hallie Purio, Kathryn Alp, Ana Johnston and Nick Patat, for planning and coordinating a fantastic day and showcasing what Orana has to offer - excellence in education.

Swimming Lessons

Next week, our Swimming programme commences for Year 1 – 6. Swimming is part of the Western Australian curriculum, and it is expected that students participate in the daily lessons. In Australia, learning to swim is vital as we spend much of our leisure time in and around water. Swimming skills build quickly in sequential daily lessons and it provides an active daily learning experience. Please label all items of clothing and accessories.

Catholic Performing Arts Festival

This year, Orana has 100 entries into the 2024 Catholic Performing Arts Festival. This is a fabulous opportunity for our students and I thank the parents for their support of their children. Many thanks for the countless hours Ms Draper has spent processing entries and preparing students.

Flute Students

Congratulations to the our talented flute students who have participated in the WA Flute Competition and the Fremantle Eisteddfod over the last 2 weeks. We are very proud of our music students and thank Sarah Draper for her leadership of our music program. Please see the information from Sarah below.

Community Pillar

Mothers’ Day Breakfast

Last Friday, the P and F hosted the annual Mothers’ Day Breakfast. Thank-you to all that attended and supported this event. Many thanks to Shehan Goonetilleke for coordinating his team of willing helpers to honour the mothers and grandmothers in our community. It was a lovely event for our community. Please refer to the P and F section for more news on this event.

Stewardship Pillar

Teacher supervision commences at 8.35am. Classrooms open at 8.35am (Pre-primary to Year 6) Students are expected to use this time to prepare for the day and then they have the option to move to the basketball courts and oval area. This promotes physical activity and social development in games through turn taking and negotiating rules. It has come to our attention; however, that several students are unattended at school well before 8.35am. Supervision is not provided in the school grounds before 8.35am and students should not be dropped off at school prior to this time, for their safety and wellbeing. If you require supervision before this time, please contact our OSHC service for before and / or after school care.

2025 and 2026 Kindy and Pre-Kindy Enrolment

Enrolments are open for 2025, 2026 and beyond. Places are filling, so ensure that if you have a younger child, or you know someone wanting to attend Orana, that the enrolment expression of interest is completed as soon as possible.

Best wishes and God bless.

Dee Johnston

PRINCIPAL

Important Dates for First Communion Preparation - Year Four

• Student Retreat at Saints John and Paul Parish - 8.30-2.30pm 6th June
• Rehearsal at Saints John and Paul Parish - 5.30-6.15pm OR 6.15-7pm 6th June
• First Communion Mass at Saints John and Paul Parish - 5.30pm 15th June OR 10.30am 16th June
• Thanksgiving Mass and Celebration at Saints John and Paul Parish - 5.30pm 22nd June OR 10.30am 23rd June

Our Orana musicians are constantly busy over the year with exams and performances.

Congratulations to the Orana flute students who have participated in the WA Flute Competition and the Fremantle Eisteddfod over the last 2 weeks. The standard was very high. Congratulations to Sophia Cheng who received a highly commended in the 10 and under solo section at the WA Flute Festival. Mila Petta took out 2nd place in the Grade 2 solo section at the Fremantle Eisteddfod. A big thank you our flute teacher, Jo Robertson, for preparing the students so thoroughly.

A number of classical guitarists will be completing their AMEB music exams in the next few weeks. Good luck to those students.

Dear Orana P and F Community,

The P & F would like to thank all the Mothers / Grandmothers/ Carers / Mother figures who were present at the Mothers' Day Breakfast and made it an enjoyable occasion. Our special thanks go out to Fr. C.J for blessing everyone present, our fabulous volunteers; namely Mahesha De Silva(Flyer design), Victoria Saar(Photo backdrop) , Andres Saar, Damien Kelly, Sailesh Narsing, Arvin Seeva, Calvin Chen, Steve Moughan, Trent Fry, Mark Myers & Shehan Goonetilleke.

Our school P & F still require the following positions to be filled:

P & F Chair

Coordinator of Classroom Reps

Please consider how you can assist your child's school through the P & F. It is by filling these positions, that community events can take place. You can also join the committee as a general member. If you have any queries, please contact the P & F - oranapandf@gmail.com

Canteen Update

In Term 2, we will trial three days of Canteen service per week. Orders can now be placed for Monday, Wednesday and Friday. For this trial to be successful, volunteers are now needed three days per week to sort the orders. Please use this link for the SignUp roster: https://signup.com/go/dXdgNWV

Thank-you all

Orana P and F

The Uniform Subcommittee continues to meet and work with the new supplier, One World Uniforms. We hope to roll out the new summer sports uniform either later this term or early next term. Early released items will include the reversible bucket hat (house colour on the underside), the new Orana school polo, shorts and socks. All new items will become available in Term 4 when the onsite shop opens. The current uniform guidelines will also be reviewed in readiness to be released with the new uniform in Term 4.

We understand that some items are running low at our existing supplier. Track tops and parts will be available at Uniform Concepts in May. Socks are in limited supply in some sizes, so please wear plain white socks until the new socks arrive, if the required size is unavailable. We have some old uniform stock for sale. Look out on Seesaw for a list of available items.

Here is a preview of our new house shirts.

Wedding Anniversary Mass - Sunday 4th August at 10.30am

Calling all couples celebrating significant wedding anniversaries this year - 1, 10, 25, 30, 35, 40, 45, 50 years or more! Register in the church's foyer no later than 26th May. Hand in your wedding photo by 31st May.

Will you take up the Challenge? What does it feel like to be Homeless?

When Sunday 2nd June, 6pm - Monday, 3rd June, 7am

Where Saints John and Paul Catholic Church

What to Bring Sleeping Bag, Pillow/or Blanket, Comfortable and warm sleeping attire, own cardboard to lie on and you with fun and enthusiasm

soup will be provided on the night as dinner. Various guest speakers from homeless agencies will be there.

All money raised from sponsoring sleepers go towards our parishes - St Vincent de Paul Sleep Out.

for further information talk to Fr CJ Millen ap@willettoncatholicparish.org.au or Fr Thai Vu pp@willettoncatholicparish.org.au

Term 1 - Wednesday 31st January - Thursday 28th March

Term 2 - Monday 15th April - Friday 28th June

Term 3 - Monday 15th July - Friday 20th September

Term 4 - Monday 7th October - Thursday 12th December

WA Day - 3rd June

Pupil Free Day - 4 June

Pupil Free Day - 15th July

Pupil Free Day (Catholic Day) - 26th August

Pupil Free Day - 7 October

2024 - Term 2 - Week 8 and 9

• Monday 3rd June - Western Australia Day
• Tuesday 4th June - Pupil Free Day
• Wednesday 5th June - Life Link Launch Day 10am Newman College
• Thursday 6th June - P&F Executive Meeting 7.45am
• Thursday 6th June - First Communion Retreat - Year 4
• Thursday 6th June - Rehearsal in the Church 5.30pm-6.15pm or 6.15pm-7.00pm
• Friday 7th June - Year 4 Reconciliation
• Friday 7th June - Year 2 Caversham Wildlife Park Excursion
• Friday 7th June - Senior Assembly - 2.30pm
• Monday 10th June - Kindy Parent/Teacher Interviews
• Monday 10th June - Young Engineers Club - 3.30pm
• Wednesday 12th June - Cross-Country Carnival Yr 3 - Yr 6 11.30pm - 2.30pm
• Thursday 13th June - Kindy Liturgy & Pre-Primary Liturgy
• Friday 14th June - Year 5 Class Mass
• Friday 14th June - Social Justice Team Fundraiser - Free Dress
• Friday 14th June - Junior Assembly
• Saturday 15th June - First Communion Mass 5.30pm
• Sunday 16th June - First Communion Mass 10.30am

The National Reconciliation Week theme for 2024, Now More Than Ever, is a reminder to all of us that no matter what, the fight for justice and the rights of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people will —and must —continue.

There have been many moments in Australia’s reconciliation journey that make us want to turn away. But when things are divisive, the worst thing we can do is disengage or disconnect.

Now more than ever, we need to tackle the unfinished business of reconciliation. We know that the 6.2 million Australians who voted YES are committed to better outcomes for First Nations people, and are with us.

https://shorturl.at/g56lr

Kind regards

Kath Warburton.

Social Worker