Orana Catholic Primary School
Term 4, Week 8, 2021.
TO GIVE IS TO RECEIVE
Generosity is an attitude of freely sharing our ideas and talents and giving our time generously. We show generosity by being welcoming, inclusive and promoting a sense of belonging.
Advent Prayer
To you O Lord we bring our lives
Troubled, broken or at ease
A sacrificial offering
For you to use
Take away our selfishness
And teach us to love as you loved
Take away our sense of pride
And show us the meaning of humility
Take away our blindness
And show us the world through your eyes
Take away our greed
And teach us how to give as you gave
Show us your ways
Teach us your paths
That we might walk with you more closely
Our hand in your hand
Our feet in your footsteps
From the baby in a stable
To eternity.
Amen
Dear Parents and Carers,
Orana Carols in the Park was a wonderful community event on Wednesday evening. On nights such as these, we come together as a Catholic community, filled with hope in our Advent season. Thank you to all families, staff and students for the effort that you have put into making this a memorable occasion in our children’s lives. Many thanks to Sarah Draper for coordinating the event along with our band, choirs, musicians and soloists. I am so grateful for the contributions of everyone.
I would like to share a story from one of our lovely neighbours who rang the office to express how much she enjoys living near our school. On Wednesday, she let us know how nice it was to hear our rehearsals and how much she was looking forward to listening to our concert. She passed compliments to our staff for the work they do and to our students for their beautiful manners when they ask for a ball to be thrown back. This neighbour is moving soon and says she will miss our bell and the sound of the children playing. It was a heart-warming reminder that the simple things in life can bring joy to those with a positive outlook.
Today our Pre-Kindy students spread the joy of Christmas at their concert. There were many smiling faces from the children and the parents. Thank-you Father Thai for joining the Pre-Kindy children and to the staff for their efforts.
On Monday, our Kindy students for 2022 will come for a ‘Meet and Greet Session.’ Children will visit the classrooms for one hour to smooth their transition to their new learning environment. Parents will have a morning tea in the hall to provide them an opportunity to meet each other and to hear from some of our staff, the P and F and support service providers. Thank-you to the P and F for hosting the morning tea.
On Tuesday, students will visit their classes for 2022 for a transition session. Class placements for 2022 will be sent to parents that afternoon. Whilst we have attempted to satisfy genuine parent/carer requests, it is impossible to accommodate all of them. Staff have worked hard to place children in the class in which they are most suited and have considered student friendship groups; challenges that students may face; student combinations that will allow students to grow academically and socially and parent requests. Sometimes parents have asked for students to be separated from a particular child due to past social issues and sometimes this is the best course of action in the short term; however, for students to develop their social skills and their ability to work with all people, as would be expected in high school and in the workplace, it is important that students work through these differences in a supportive environment. What can also occur is that a parent may request that a child is with a particular child and the parent of the other child may request that they are not together. This is a somewhat interesting circumstance. It is important that you are positive about your child’s class placement to give them the best opportunity to learn and to succeed in achieving the school values of Generosity, Respect and Excellence.
Reports will be available on SEQTA next Tuesday the 7th of December. When discussing and sharing these with your child, celebrate some strengths and growth and also identify an area of focus for 2022. Please acknowledge the effort you child has put into each area, not simply focusing on the grade.
As the year concludes, we have spoken to students in regard to ensuring that the same high standards are maintained for the entire year. This includes using manners when speaking with others and also wearing uniforms correctly. Please ensure students are wearing their uniforms proudly and correctly and that they are using manners at home and school.
Our P&F continue to provide wonderful community building occasions and excellent resources for our students. This year the P&F have contributed over $50000 to furniture and resources including the automatic gate, blinds, Science and English resources as well as outdoor projects such as the vegie-pods and redevelopment of the Harmony Garden. This is a fantastic achievement and it is great to see the efforts of our community benefitting our students and families.
We are very fortunate at Orana Catholic Primary School to have an outstanding community who put our students at the centre of everything we do. We will continually strive to make improvements to benefit our students. In 2022, we will be trialling assemblies on Friday afternoons. This is to preserve the valuable morning sessions for literacy and numeracy dedicated time. The value of uninterrupted sessions dedicated to the English and Mathematics learning areas, is supported by both research and experience.
Next year, when collecting students during the day, parents will wait in the office, whilst the students are called. This is also to reduce disruptions to teaching and learning time. Please allow a few extra minutes in your schedule for appointments.
Have a restful weekend.
Best wishes and God bless
Dee Johnston
Principal
Faith in Action
Thank you Mrs Tormay and the Social Justice Team
A huge thank you for all the donations made to create beautiful hampers for the St Vincent de Paul Christmas Appeal. A special mention to Mrs Tormay and her Social Justice team for all the preparation of these wonderful gifts for others. You really do make a difference!
This Sunday is the Second Sunday of Advent - the readings for the second week look at Peace.
Jesus came to bring peace. He tells people, over and over, not to be afraid. Peace begins at home - within our walls and within ourselves. The second candle is the Bethlehem candle. This represents the birth place of Jesus who brought the message of peace to our world.
Click here to watch a wonderful 2-minute video about Advent
Advent
The season of Advent is peculiar to the Western church. It has no counterpart in the East. Outside of Rome, it may have arisen as a three or six week period of preparation for baptism on the feast of the Epiphany. Administering baptism on this day would have appealed at a time when the baptism of Jesus was the primary “epiphany” being celebrated (along with other revelations of Jesus’ identity such as the visit of the Magi, the wedding feast at Cana and the transfiguration).
When the birth of Christ came to be observed in Rome on 25th December in the fourth century, Christmas was taken to be the beginning of the year. Thus Advent, once it took shape, served as the conclusion of the year. It was characterised by an emphasis on Christ’s coming in glory at the end of time rather than on preparation for his nativity. In the time of Gregory the Great (590-604), Advent was shortened from six weeks to four.
Eventually a four week season became universal in the Western church that combined three themes: spiritual discipline (arising from preparation for baptism) and preparation for Christmas (originating in places such as Northern Italy before being adopted in Rome). It was only in the 10th century with the merger of Roman and Frankish liturgical traditions, that Advent came to be understood as the beginning of the church’s year.
Assemblies 2022 - A new time!
Dates To Remember
Term 4 - Week 8
- Monday 6 December - Rossmoyne Senior High School Orientation
- Monday 6 December - Kindy 2022 "Meet and Greet"
- Tuesday 7 December - Reports Available on SEQTA
- Tuesday 7 December - Transition Day
- Wednesday 8 December - Year 5 Bike Education
- Wednesday 8 December - Last School Banking Program Day
- Thursday 9 December - Graduation Events
- Thursday 9 December - Kindy Christmas Party
- Friday 10 December - Last Day of School
- Friday 10 December - Year 6 Activity Day
Always check the Orana Website for the most up-to-date calendar.
From our Parish of Saints John & Paul
Reconciliation Talk - Saturday, 4th December 9.30-10.30am
Fr Vincent Glynn will present a session on Reconciliation at the Parish of Saints John and Paul. All are welcome.
Second Rite of Reconciliation - Wednesday, 8th December 7pm
You are welcome to the Church of Saints John and Paul to celebrate the Second Rite of Reconciliation in preparation for the Christmas season.
Please visit the Parish website for the latest information on weekend Masses.
From the P & F
Hello all,
I hope you all had a wonderful time on Wednesday night at the Orana Christmas Concert. I certainly enjoyed the company and the concert. I wish to express my thanks and admiration of the work that the teachers and staff at Orana to make the night a memorable one for all of us.
I wish to welcome the new incoming P & F Executive for 2022:
- President - Borhan Milani
- Vice President - Shehan Goonetilleke
- Treasurer - Priya Doolabh Narsing
Please welcome them and support our P & F in the coming year.
Kind Regards
Louie Sugiyanto
P&F President 2021
As our last fundraiser of the year, we have set up a Wine Fundraiser, where a portion ($36 per case or $3 per bottle) of the sales from the selected wines (see flyer below) are donated to the Orana P&F. Thank you for supporting Orana P&F. For further ordering information, please refer to the below flyer, or visit https://wacellars.com.au/fundraising/orana-pf-wine-fundraiser/.
Have a lovely weekend everyone!
Orana P and F
Sunscreen
On Site Speech Pathology at Orana – 2022
Talk the Talk Speech Pathology is concluding their services at Orana by the end of the 2021 school year. Orana Catholic primary School will still continue this service in 2022. The school is currently in discussion with possible providers to commence in the new year.
Kind regards
Kathryn Alp
Assistant Principal
SCHOOL PARKING BAYS
School Banking
School Banking day is held every Wednesday. We now have a new banking coordinator. Please send your banking books to the office on Wednesday morning.
School Banking will not be continuing at Orana in 2022. Please click on the link to view the letter from the Commonwealth Bank.
SOCIAL WORKER NEWS
How to Cultivate a Sense of Awe in Children
Children are born with a sense of wonder. The smallest leaf or faintest rainbow can elicit a wide-eyed response from little ones. Their curiosity and fascination with the world around them remind us to pause, listen and watch the wonders of the universe unfold. The crash of a wave, a starry night sky, the perfect sunrise — all of these experiences have the power to evoke feelings of awe.
Kind regards
Kath Warburton
Social Worker
Grounds / Maintenance News
Daughters & Dads - South Program
After a successful program at Hossack Reserve this year, the Daughters and Dads program is back for term 1 2022. The 9-week program is designed to help dads (or father figures) spend more quality time with their daughters, and at the same time improve her cricket skills, bravery, persistence and resilience. The program involves a 30-minute educational session focused on breaking down gender stereotypes and bias, followed by 60 minutes of cricket activities, including rough and tumble play, bowling, batting and game simulation. The program has been developed and endorsed by the University of Newcastle and Cricket Australia.
Daughters & Dads Details
Location: Hossack Reserve
Time: 5pm to 6:30pm
Date: Tuesday 8th February to 5th April 2022
Link to more information: https://www.cricketaustralia.com.au/daughtersanddadscricket
Please feel free to share through any newsletters, social media or parent communication platforms.
If you have any further questions or queries, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Kind regards,
Jessica Lees
Project Officer – Female Participation
WA Cricket
Jessica.Lees@wacricket.com.au
www.wacricket.com.au