Orana Catholic Primary School
Term1 Week 10
TO GIVE IS TO RECEIVE
Our community values an attitude of enthusiastically applying energy and effort to become better learners. Excellence is evident when:
• we do our best to develop our talents and share them with others
• we have high expectations of what we can achieve
• we take risks and experiment with the way we learn
• we work hard to do our best work
• we celebrate our achievements
A Prayer for Holy Week
Merciful God, as we enter Holy week, turn our hearts again to Jerusalem, and to the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Stir up within us the gift of faith that we may not only praise him with our lips, but may follow him in the way of the cross.
Dear Parents and Carers,
As we conclude another unique and somewhat trying term, we must also acknowledge the magic moments that lighten our days when we work with children. Some of these were:
- Blessing our new Year Six leadership group.
- Our Pre-Kindy and Kindy delighting in the joy of play.
- The gaping mouth of a child totally mesmerised by a story being read to them.
- The excitement of each House as they cheered on a swimmer in a race.
- The pride of a student in receiving a medal for their achievement at the swimming carnival.
- The act of saying sorry and restoring a friendship when things go wrong.
- Acknowledging that other people require our help and offering to assist in Project Compassion.
- The smooth transition of our new students into our school community.
- The joy of dancing in Make a Move and the resilience demonstrated when having to adapt if friends were missing.
- Praying together as community at the Parish Mass.
- Students, staff and parents working as a team to assist in our homeless food roster.
- Music continuing in our school despite not being able to rehearse in groups.
- The tireless efforts of our parents who contribute to the school in so many ways such as our lunch days.
May you find joy in spending time with your family as you celebrate the great Easter mystery, in spite of the enormous challenges facing our society at this time. Turn to God in prayer and give thanks for the gift of life, God promises us at Easter.
May you and your family return refreshed and well from this break, ready for Term Two and new beginnings on Tuesday 26th April.
Kathryn Alp
Assistant Principal
Covid-19 Update - Week 10
There were 18 positive cases of Covid-19 reported to the school this week (Saturday 2nd to Thursday 7th April). The positive cases and associated close contacts are in isolation, as per WA Health requirements.
It is vitally important that parents and carers inform the school if their child tests positive for COVID-19. To help streamline this process, parents and caregivers can now inform the school of their child’s positive or close contact negative COVID result via this link. The information will go directly to the Principal, prompting our COVID response. The self reporting link is also available on the website.
Please do not underestimate the importance of informing the school of a positive COVID case. Your actions will ensure the risk to others is minimised and that we do our very best to limit the spread of the virus across our community.
All updates are located on our website for ease of reference. Please refer to the Latest Updates tab. There is also a section for WA Health Advice.
Condolences
Faith in Action
Palm Sunday - Sunday, 10th April
Palm Sunday is the final Sunday of Lent, the beginning of Holy Week, and commemorates the triumphant arrival of Christ in Jerusalem, days before he was crucified.
Palm Sunday is known as such because we receive palm fronds which we use to participate in the reenactment of Christ's arrival in Jerusalem. In the Gospels, Jesus entered Jerusalem riding a young donkey, and to the lavish praise of the townspeople who threw clothes, or possibly palms or small branches, in front of him as a sign of homage. This was a customary practice for people of great respect.
Palm branches are a widely recognised symbol of peace and victory, hence their preferred use on Palm Sunday.
The use of a donkey instead of a horse is highly symbolic. It represents the humble arrival of someone in peace, as opposed to arriving on a steed in war.
A week later, Christ would rise from the dead on the first Easter.
PROJECT COMPASSION 2022
Thank you to everyone who has donated so generously to Project Compassion. We raised $797.
Congratulations to the 5B class who raised an amazing $182. They were closely followed by 4W with $105 and 6W with $84. We raised enough money to provide awareness sessions for 50 community members to access government entitlements in India OR provide two-day Disaster Risk Reduction Training for an entire Rural Training School in the Solomon Islands. Well done!
To Give Is To Receive.
CEWA Childsafe Framework
https://childsafe.cewa.edu.au/introduction-key-concepts/
What is the Element - Human Resources?
Assisting our schools and care centres to identify the most suitable people to work with children and young people, and to provide appropriate training.
What does this Element look like?
- Child safety is emphasised in recruitment practices. There is a focus on obtaining a wide range of appropriate information concerning potential employees, including working with children checks, criminal history, performance in previous employment, character checks and, in the case of temporary residents, evidence of their right to work in Australia.
- There is professional supervision to address the developmental needs and performance of staff in processes and procedures associated with child safety.
- The skills, knowledge and practice of child safety is regularly evaluated, supported by a performance management system that addresses the practices in child safety.
- CEWA supports professional development and learning opportunities.
Dates to Remember
Friday 8th April - Pupil Free Day (Staff Professional Development Day)
Monday 25th April - Anzac Day Public Holiday
Tuesday 26th April - Term 2 Commences for staff and students
Friday 29th April - Francis House Celebration Day
Officer Visitors Carparks
2022 Professional Development Days Reminder
The following dates are pupil free days for 2022. For your future planning OSHC will offer a full day program on these dates.
8th April - Staff Professional Development | Promoting Literacy Development
7th June - Staff Professional Development
18th July - Staff Professional Development
29th August - Pupil Free Day | Catholic Day
10th October - Staff Professional Development
From our Parish of Saints John & Paul
KISS AND DRIVE
P&F News
The Canteen Lunch day was a HUGE SUCCESS everyone. Thank you so very much to our wonderful volunteers who created yummy lunch packs, especially Claire Murray, Deanne Lee Maughan, Janet Kearney, Marie De Alvis, Tara Goode, Denise du Plessis and Shehan Goonetilleke. All the food was ready to eat as soon as the children came in from playing. What a way to finish the term!
SOCIAL WORKER NEWS
Developing Optimism
One of the best things parents can give their children is a healthy attitude to living. There is a sense of satisfaction and achievement for parents who feel confident that their child is equipped to handle difficulties and challenges. We live in a world of uncertainty and change where many things are beyond our control. How we manage often depends on the way we see situations. Helping your child become an optimist and ‘look on the bright side of life’ is a step towards preparing your child for a strong future.
Kind regards
Kath Warburton
Social Worker