Orana Catholic Primary School

🏃‍♂️💙 Cross Country Carnival 2026 💙🏃‍♀️

Last Wednesday, our students proudly represented their houses at the annual Cross Country Carnival. With the sun shining on the day and plenty of school spirit, the day was filled with enthusiasm, determination, and great sportsmanship.

From the first race to the final finish line, students gave their all - tackling the course with resilience and cheering loudly for their classmates. It was wonderful to see everyone supporting one another and striving for their personal best.

A huge thank you to our staff, parent volunteers, and supporters whose help and encouragement made the day run so smoothly. We truly appreciate you.

👏 Congratulations to all students who participated and represented their houses with pride.
🏆 And a special congratulations to Francis, crowned the 2026 Cross Country Carnival Champions! Their strong participation and impressive performances across all year levels earned them a well‑deserved victory.

Well done to everyone on a fantastic day of competition, teamwork, and Orana spirit. 💙✨

🎨 Crazy Hair Day brought colour and creativity to Kindy on Thursday and across the whole school on Friday - such a joyful display of imagination and positive spirit from our students.

👏 Congratulations, Orana! Your crazy hair created some truly crazy results, raising over $600 for LifeLink, the Archbishop’s initiative supporting vital Catholic agencies in our community. It’s not too late to keep the momentum going - donations are still open.

⛪ LifeLink Day helps students understand how the Church responds to people in need, encourages responsibility for supporting those less fortunate, highlights the work of Catholic social service agencies across WA, and invites schools to put faith into action through meaningful fundraising.

💰 Link to Donate:
https://teams.public.onecdn.static.microsoft/evergreen-assets/safelinks/2/atp-safelinks.html

🕵 Pre-Primary bring creative ideas to life 🕵

🎨 Our students have been diving into Design Technology, learning about different materials and tools that help bring creative ideas to life.

📦 After reading 'The Man Who Loved Boxes' during Literacy, the children took on their first design challenge: transforming a simple box into a brand‑new creation of their choice. They planned and sketched their ideas, selected suitable materials and tools, constructed their designs, and then reflected on their final product. Students discussed the challenges they faced, how they might improve their design next time, what they loved most about their creation, and even gave it their own personal rating.

🥸 Our next challenge was inspired by 'Pete the Cat and His Magic Glasses', where the children designed and made their very own pair of magical glasses. Using the same design process, they once again planned, created, and reflected on their work.

💫 These hands‑on learning experiences encouraged problem‑solving, supported critical‑thinking skills, and allowed students to express their imagination and creativity in meaningful ways.

🍂 Pre-Kindy Exploring Autumn at Orana 🍂

Over the past few weeks, our children have been joyfully exploring autumn through play‑based and sensory learning experiences. They’ve been noticing the seasonal changes around them, collecting and investigating colourful leaves, and using natural materials to spark imaginative play.

From leaf gathering and nature walks to autumn‑themed sensory tubs and creative art activities like leaf printing, the children have been fully immersed in the beauty of the season. These experiences have supported their language development, creativity, curiosity, and connection with the natural world - all while encouraging collaboration and rich imaginative play🍁✨

📚✨ Year 3 Poetry Magic! ✨📚

Our Year 3 students have been busy exploring poetry through cinquains, and we are so proud of their creativity. Using rich, descriptive vocabulary, they crafted vivid images of animals with carefully chosen words and phrases that truly brought their subjects to life.

Their imagination, attention to detail, and growing confidence as writers shine through every poem.

Well done, Year 3 - we loved reading your imaginative and expressive written work! 💙📝

Our Year Five and Six students represented Orana proudly at Tuesday’s VANS Carnival, competing in Volleyball, AFL, Netball and Soccer.

Their effort, attitude and sportspersonship were outstanding — and the weather even held off.

A massive congratulations to our Volleyball and AFL teams, who were triumphant in bringing home the trophies. What a moment for our school community.
So incredibly Orana proud! 💛💙

💫 What a moment.

📚On Wednesday, Orana joined thousands of schools nationwide for National Simultaneous Storytime - a celebration where students across Australia dive into the same story at the same time. This year, our students loved coming together to read Luna Roo, a joyful story that sparked plenty of smiles and imagination.

🌅This annual event celebrates the joy of storytelling and reminds us how powerful reading can be in building imagination, connection, and confidence.

📖Reading is a cornerstone of learning here at Orana, and it was wonderful to see our students so engaged and excited to share this experience together.

Year Six had an incredible time at camp last week! From crafting and flying their own kites to conquering the rock‑climbing wall, the energy was nonstop. The kites soared beautifully, and the kids were proud of their creations. We also had a full safety briefing before tackling the flying fox - and the smiles at the end said it all. What a week of adventure and confidence building.

🌏 Laudato Si’ Week at Orana

In week Five, we celebrated Laudato Si’ Week, honouring Pope Francis’s call to care for our Earth and all people who share it. Our students explored practical, meaningful ways to live out this message.

🖤 Black Cockatoo Incursion

We welcomed a special visit (Princess Rex), a black cockatoo - an endangered species here in Perth. Students learned how important these birds are to our environment - and how our everyday choices can help protect them.

Actions we can take:

✅Avoid leaving rubbish around - litter strengthens raven populations, which puts black cockatoos at greater risk
✅Plant native species - providing food sources helps cockatoos travel safely between bushlands

🎨 Tiny Art for Laudato Si’

Every student created a tiny artwork to contribute to our whole‑school Laudato Si’ display - a visual reminder of our shared responsibility to care for creation.

🌱 Earth Goals in Science

In Science, students set a personal Earth Goal and discussed how to be a GREAT Sort by:

✅Reducing landfill through gifting, recycling, and Earth‑cycling (worms, composting, etc.)
✅Avoiding unnecessary waste
✅Taking items to proper recycling stations

🔍 Sustainability Treasure Hunt

Students explored the school on a sustainability treasure hunt, discovering the many ways Orana is already being a GREAT Sort and how we can continue to improve.

❤️ We loved celebrating Salvado House Day on Friday!
Inspired by the bravery of Rosendo Salvado, Fr John encouraged us to be courageous in standing up for others.

🍎 We celebrated Mass together, and four amazing students received a Salvado House Award for showing true Salvado character strengths.

🌹 To finish the day, Salvado enjoyed extra playtime and a refreshing icy pole! What a fantastic day for our house!