Dear Parents and Carers,
World Teachers' Day
Today is World Teachers' Day, a time to pause and reflect on all the work Orana teachers do to educate, inspire and empower our students. All staff at Orana, including Education Assistants, OSHC educators, Office Staff and Support Staff, support our students' learning. I wish to thank our incredible staff team for everything they do. Thank you to the P and F for treating our staff to a morning coffee to celebrate World Teachers' Day and the generous parents who dropped in special treats. Your kind gesture to acknowledge our teachers is greatly appreciated.
Exciting News - Quality Catholic Education Awards Winners
Orana received a Quality Catholic Education Award for our connection to our parish, St John and Paul, Willetton. We also won the Student-Led Project section for Building a Cohort of Leaders and a Merit Award for this application in the Education section. This is a record-breaking outstanding achievement, winning two awards and receiving a merit award from a field of 89 applications. There is one Primary winner for each of the four pillars of Catholic Education and one Student-Led Award winner. I am so proud of our staff and students. Please use this link or visit our social media pages to view videos on the winning applications.
Catholic Identity Pillar
Sacrament of Penance
Congratulations to our Year 3 students who received the Sacrament of Penance last week and joined us last weekend to celebrate and receive their certificates. Thank you to all who attended and a special thanks to Fr CJ, Magdalene and Luanna from the parish, Mrs Alp, Mrs Ballem, Mrs Stock, Miss Rich and parish members.
Junior Community Mass
Thank-you to all the families that joined us at the Junior Community Mass. Congratulations to the Faith in Action award winners Amelia, Azalea and Ryder; the awards were well deserved. Thank you to the musicians, readers and servers.
Staff Prayer
Each Thursday morning, the Orana staff gather together to pray. Staff members take turns leading prayer; these people prepare a prayer based on a theme linked to the liturgical calendar, relevant feast days, school events (e.g., grandparents' day), or a need at the time. A prayer focus is set up. The staff room is filled, with 'standing room only'. It is an uplifting experience to come together for fellowship before and after prayer and to pause in busy school life to nourish our spirituality.
Education Pillar
Interschool Spelling Bee and Numero Competition
Congratulations to our Interschool Spelling Bee and Numero Team. Thank you to the students who represented Orana and to Mrs Jenner and Mrs Alp for coordinating the teams.
Music Instrumental Meeting
Parents of Year 2 students are invited to the Instrumental Meeting next Tuesday 29th of October, at 6pm. You will see the various options available and have an opportunity to meet the music tutors.
Community Pillar
Our P and F Needs You!
The P and F are important in creating our special sense of community. Priya Narsing, the P and F Treasurer, has led the executive team this year without a president. I wish to thank Priya for the countless hours she has worked behind the scenes on event planning on top of the treasurer's role. Our P and F team is spread thinly and needs volunteers for events to go ahead. Many hands make light work - please volunteer to help in a small way to contribute to the great community spirit at Orana.
Coming Events:
Colour Run - please sign your child up. Please volunteer to help on the day.
Disco - please volunteer to help with your child's session.
Contact the P and F.
Kindy Grandparents Picnic
The kindy students had a wonderful Teddy Bears' Picnic on Thursday. Thank-you to all the families that attended to make this such a memorable event for the students.
Stewardship Pillar
Staffing News
We welcome the following staff to Orana. Simon Martin has joined our staff in Year 6 Blue to cover Lynda Packer's long service leave for Term 4. Beth Keegan, Junior Music Teacher, will finish at Orana at the end of the year. Beth has been working one day a week to cover Ms Draper's Long Service Leave. We thank Beth for contributing to Orana and wish her well at her new school.
The following staff have been appointed to teaching positions for 2025:
- Adam Palmer; Adam worked at our OSHC for about 6 years. We welcome him back to Orana. Adam has been teaching at Mary's Mount in Gooseberry Hill.
- Brooke Waghorn; Brooke is an ex-Orana student. We welcome Brooke back as a staff member.
- Sienna Zugaro; Sienna will be joining us to cover Shania's parental leave.
- Simon Martin; Simon has been doing relief at Orana and is currently working in 6 Blue.
We will also welcome back Shelley Hardingham in 2025.
Annual Community Meeting and Nominations
The Annual Community Meeting (ACM) and Sundowner is scheduled for Thursday 14th November at 5.15. Please join us for the sundowner to meet our new staff and acknowledge and thank all parent volunteers for their contribution to our school community. Everyone is welcome.
The ACM for the P and F and the Advisory Council will commence at 6pm and is an opportunity to hear reports on the progress of the school in the past twelve months and to spend time together celebrating a successful school year and strong, trusting and collaborative partnerships. All parents, carers and friends are invited and welcome to attend.
Nominations are open for both the Advisory Council and P and F Committee. Please consider contributing to these parent leadership opportunities. At this stage we have one vacancy for the Advisory Council and 3 vacancies for the P and F Committee. If you wish to discuss the roles, please call the office or reach out to current Advisory Council and P and F Committee Members.
Class Requests
Next month, teachers will be compiling class groupings for 2025. Teachers consider various factors criteria when selecting class placements for students. The children’s best interests in our educational setting are the main priority. Students also get the opportunity to list classmates they work well with and would like to have in their class. We aim to ensure that at least one child from the list will be in the class for 2025.
If you have a valid class placement request (see criteria below), please complete this form. The form will be open to accept responses until Wednesday, 31st October. Requests cannot be made after this date.
Valid requests:
- Separating or keeping twins together.
- Providing insights into your own child’s personality or learning needs/style.
- Respectfully providing the school with insight into relationship issues a child may have with another student.
The following requests will not be considered..
a) Requests for a particular teacher will not be considered as staffing is not finalised.
b) Requests for a child to be in a class with a particular student will not be considered.
Term Dates
A term calendar detailing the events for this term has been updated and is on our website. It can also be accessed on the following link www.orana.wa.edu.au/calendar
Further updates and any changes will be uploaded to our online calendar also on the website. Knowing what is coming up in the term and planning ahead reduces anxiety for all community members and ultimately for our children.
Up to Date Contact Details
Please ensure you provide the office and OSHC (if you use this service) with your up-to-date contact details. It is vital that we have the correct phone numbers for parents and emergency contacts.
Kindy Enrolments for 2025 and 2026
Places are filling fast for Kindergarten in 2025. We are also taking enrolments for 2025 and 2026 for Pre-Kindergarten. If you have a child or have friends with children approaching kindergarten age, please refer them to our website or ask them to contact the office.
God bless and take care.
Kind regards,
Dee Johnston
Orana and Saints John and Paul; Integrating Faith, Life and Culture - Catholic Identity Award Winner
Orana Catholic Primary School received a Quality Catholic Education Award for Catholic Identity this week for the wonderful connection to our parish. The reciprocal connection to Saints John and Paul is a well-established relationship that has continued to flourish over more than a decade; enriching our Catholic community. Our priests are part of our school community; they visit weekly for Mass, liturgies and class visits, and attend our family events. The school families and staff are part of the parish community. Together we celebrate Community Masses and special events. A heartfelt thank-you to Father Thai for establishing the connection, Father CJ for continuing and Father John for our ongoing future connection. The outstanding work of Kathryn Alp in her role as Assistant Principal (Religious Education) is also acknowledged.
Cultivating a Cohort of Leaders - Student Led Award Winner: Orana Catholic Primary School
Orana Catholic Primary School received a Quality Catholic Education Award in the Student Led Project section. The Cultivating a Cohort of Leaders' award application showcased our student-led model of Year 6 student leadership. I wish to acknowledge the work of Sue Tormay, Emily D'Costa, Lynda Packer, Tayla Lake and Bonnie Lynch for supporting and mentoring the Year 6 leaders. We also received a merit award for this initiative under the education pillar section.
Schoenstatt Shrine For Families
Come and have a fun filled afternoon at Schoenstatt Shrine with like-minded families. The program includes faith inspired family activities - games, couple's session, as well as youth and children's programs.
- 3rd November 2-4.30pm
- 9 TalusDrive, Mount Richon
- Cost $5 per person (children under 7 are free)
- Bring along a plate of afternoon tea to share
- RSVP by 28th October to pd@theseira.family or 0417936757
2024 - Term 4 - Week 4 & Week 5
Monday 28th October - Young Engineers Club - 3.30pm
Tuesday 29th October - Interschool Athletics Carnival
Tuesday 29th October - Instrumental Music Meeting - 6.00pm - Music Room
Wednesday 30th October - Year 6 Transition Program
Thursday 31st October - Kindergarten Liturgy
Friday 1st November - Year 5 Liturgy - 9.30am
Friday 1st November - Senior Assembly - 2.30pm
Monday 4th November - Young Engineers Club - 3.30pm
Monday 4th November - P&F Meeting - 6.00pm
Tuesday 6th November - Year 6 Transition Program
Wednesday 7th November - P&F Colour Run 1.00pm - 3.00pm
Friday 8th November - Loreto Mass - 9.00am
Friday 8th November - School Photos - Pre-Kindy
Managing Interruptions
Engaging in adult conversation, for many parents, is a rare opportunity. With busy schedules, tag-team parenting and children in need of attention, brief connections with other parents and even your own partner, are often few and far between. Given the infrequency of such events, it is not surprising most parents are angered when children interrupt…on purpose…all the time!
Kind regards
Kath Warburton
Social Worker
