May goodness fall like winter snow
Around you everywhere you go
May the wintry moon above pour light
And peace on those we love
May gladness from each fireside
Shed warmth on all, both near and wide
May we, this cold, dark wintry night
Know we rest in Earth’s pure light
Yuma Orana Community,
As we walk the spiral, figuratively and/or literally, and enter the shortest day and the longest night, it signifies a turning point each year. It is a time to be introspective, to enter the darkness… and emerge, renewed, slowly… into longer, warmer days. I have found it helpful to acknowledge that, although we live in unprecedented times in some ways, there is a large and long cosmic rhythm that does repeat each year. We do feel the seasonal effects of winter at this time. Our body is reminding us that we need to rest and recover from tiredness and ailments and slow down along with other animals and plants. It can be a challenging time; a time to support each other and steel ourselves for the rest of winter. Our winter festivities, celebrated over two weeks around the solstice, mark these seasonal, external influences and the effect on our inner life. Having witnessed the Years 1 and 2 spiral walks, it is evident that we have a community supporting the children’s experience of reverence and introspection. There is also the experience of hope and planting the seed of new ideas as we emerge from the spiral. In these final days of term, as well as student-focused events such as spiral walks, lantern walks, singing and gathering there are also parent-focused events.
In our Class Parent Representative meeting on Thursday, we reflected on the way we have communicated in the past through email and chat groups and discussed the pros and cons of a new communication platform we are going to work with. More details to come.
Our first in a series of community conversations will take place next Thursday 27 June at 11am-12.30pm in the Overture Hall. Our hope is to set up a long-term rhythm where community conversations take place once per term for all those who are interested. This year, our conversations will be around helping to develop a new strategic plan for Orana. In the coming months we will be looking at who we are, where we are and where we would like to go. In our first session we will be focusing on personal and school-wide values and vision. All parents, carers and friends are welcome. There will be some staff and board members present in this session. All Orana staff will be engaged in a similar session in the following week.
Reflecting on Term Two, there has been much progress and community spirit. As well as all the many wonderful learning moments for students, there have been significant ‘governance’ moments such as our AGMs for the School and P&F that went very well. Orana is in a solid position with a bright future. I know that for many staff, parents and students, it has been a challenging term with much illness and tiredness, covering and caring for those who are unwell. School staff have been working behind the scenes on assessments and reports, providing the rich day-to-day learning program as well as preparing for larger events. Thanks to all the work from staff and parents in making Orana a wonder-filled learning environment this term. Let us bring a mood of kindness, calm, reverence and hope to our final week of term and I hope that in the upcoming term break, we will all have an opportunity to rest, relax and rejuvenate.
Warm regards,
James Goodlet – Principal
