The Primary School has been busy preparing for a new and exciting year ahead and it has been wonderful to welcome returning and new students to our school. The playgrounds have been abuzz with sounds of play, laughter and friendship, and classrooms hum with concentrated engagement. A highlight of the term so far was the beautiful Year One Rose Ceremony on the first day of school to celebrate Year One students meeting their new class teachers. Likewise, we also welcome our new Kindergarten cohort into Primary School and congratulate Year 7 on their new adventure into High School.
School Values
This year we are refocusing our awareness and understanding of Orana’s four values, which underpin our relationships with ourselves, each other and the environment. The school values — Respect, Safety, Self-Responsibility and Participation — are interwoven throughout the school day by all staff and students, from lining up safely ready for Main Lesson and specialist classes, speaking and interacting respectfully with one another on the playground to learning new skills that help us become productive and conscientious global citizens. We encourage parents to have these conversations with their children at home as well.
Chief Minister’s Reading Challenge
The 2023 Chief Minister’s Reading Challenge (CMRC) has started this week and all students in Years 1 to 6 are encouraged to participate, regardless of their reading ability or level. A love of stories and language is fostered in children right from infancy and parents have long been encouraged to expose their children to a wide variety of books from many different genres. The CMRC is a months long endeavour which culminates in celebrating our students’ love of books and writing during Book Week, traditionally held in August (Term 3). This year’s Book Week theme is “Read. Grow. Inspire” which seems a perfect fit to encourage all our Primary School students to be inspired to challenge themselves in new and exciting ways.
We hope all our students and families had a restorative and restful summer holiday period, ready to take on new adventures and learning this year.
Sharaine Talip – Acting Deputy Principal / Head of Primary School K-6
