There has been some great spirit in the air in the past two weeks at Orana, with sports excursions, incursions, The Duke of Edinburgh, Urban Hike Camp, Book Week, High School Twilight Concert, Year 9 Coastal Camp and an assembly. The remaining two weeks of term will continue to be busy and action packed! We hope the students are enjoying the many activities on offer to them.
Staff and students got into the spirit of Book Week by dressing as their favourite book characters on Friday 26 August. Book Week, which is organised by the Children’s Book Council of Australia, is a national celebration of books and Australian children’s authors and illustrators. Each year group had a particular theme to guide their costume creativity! It was wonderful to see so many students and staff getting into the spirit. A range of activities were held across the school during the week, but the most popular activity in the High School was the display of each year group in Friday’s assembly.
Year 12 students have completed the ACT Scaling Test (AST) this week. Thank you to all the staff, particularly Steve McKinnon who has prepared the students for the AST to be undertaken by all tertiary students in the ACT this week. The tests require close critical reading, high levels of literacy and the capacity to express a point of view on yet to be seen stimulus. The test is designed to measure a range of general skills considered to be relevant to success in a variety of courses and to studies at university. The AST scores of those students who complete a T package provide the basis for scaling course scores awarded to students by the colleges they attend. A student’s scaled course scores are used in the calculation of that student’s ATAR. Whilst Orana has never believed that defining oneself in such a narrow measure is healthy, this is a challenge that can be best met with thorough preparation and a competitive spirit. Students at Orana have certainly been well-prepared for these exams and the students are celebrating the completion of this milestone this week.
Congratulations are in order for all our Year 12 students who completed applications for early entrance to the Australian National University and the University of Canberra. All students who applied for early entrance received notification this week that they have been successful in receiving early entrance to both universities.
Parent-teacher interviews will be commencing in Week 10 and further information on booking arrangements will be sent early next week. Staff look forward to connecting with you on the progress of your child’s studies.
Kelly Armstrong – Deputy Principal
