Families

If your child, or children, are going to be absent from school on any given day please email admin@orana.wa.edu.au before 9.00am on the morning of the absence.

The uniform shop is open every Thursday 8.15–10.30am.

It is located at the back of the school hall.

You can order online via this site:

Our school enjoys a strong relationship with the Church of Saints John and Paul in Willetton. Although the Church is not located within the school grounds, the Parish Priest or Assistant Priest visit the school regularly and once a term the whole school community attends Mass at the church in Pine Tree Gully Road.

The Sacraments of Reconciliation, First Communion and Confirmation are three special celebrations that involve collaboration between the Church and the school.

Extended absences during term for reasons other than illness are discouraged. Non-Attendance has a variety of effects on students both academically and socially. We acknowledge that this is not a decision for parents/carers to take lightly and ask that you consider the position of your child/ren’s education and the school when arranging holidays during term time.

The Education Act (1999) places the onus on parents/carers to ensure that their children attend school or engage in school-based activities during term. If students experience an extended absence, the following can occur:

• Students will miss out on important learning programmes. The school cannot accept responsibility for learning that is missed during extended leave taken.
• Students can find it difficult to re-adapt to school routines and continue to develop social groups when extended leave is taken.
• If important assessments are missed, then some areas of your child’s report may be incomplete.
• Extended absences cause extra-organisational concerns for in-class and co-curricula activities. Your child’s involvement in these activities cannot be guaranteed if essential preparation has not been undertaken or they are absent when activities are planned.
• Absences for some reasons may not be approved.
• Although every effort is made to set a school calendar of events, due to exceptional circumstances, these dates may need to be changed during a school year.

If you choose to disrupt your child/ren’s education, please fill in and submit the form below to the school office and contact your class teacher/s to access an overview of classwork 2 weeks prior to the leave period.

Leave of Absence Form Orana CPS

Where possible, student medication should be administered by the parent/carer at home in times other than school hours. If this is not possible, the following procedure must be followed.

Prescribed medication is to be presented to administration staff on arrival at school and must be in the original packaging clearly showing the name of the student, the name of the medication, the dosage and frequency. All medication is kept in the sick bay at Orana Catholic Primary School. Medications are not allowed to be kept in children's school bags during the school day.

Fill out the attached form and send to admin@orana.wa.edu.au if you require your child to be administered medication at school.

Student Medication Request

Orana Catholic Primary School is an inclusive school and aims to meet the needs of all of its students. It is committed to offering a range of opportunities that enable each student to experience success and to develop to their full potential. The Learning Support Programme offered, links closely with the school wide learning principles of ‘Connect, Engage and Challenge’.

Response to Intervention is a school based model that provides academic support for students. It is intended to provide an educational experience to all students, focused on delivering effective education and intervention programmes. It is a system that allows students equity in terms of access to and participation in the curriculum, and success to their potential.

A whole-school system is adopted to create an effective learning environment for students to achieve using a Universal Design for Learning. This model promotes the provision of educational intervention as needs are identified. Resources are used in a flexible, targeted and timely manner.

Frequent monitoring of student progress is measured so that interventions can be adjusted as needed.

Targeted Programs adopted are the MultiLit Program and a Mathematics support program.

The school wide approach at Orana, establishes a seamless connection between the following components:

1. A viable, standards-aligned curriculum and research-based instructional practices
2. A comprehensive assessment system
3. High level of communication between families and the school.

The school offers a programme, known as Quest. It provides ‘extension’ learning experiences beyond the classroom for students in Years 3 – 6. Selection criteria includes high scores in the ACER Australian General Abilities Test (AGAT). These tests are conducted at the end of each academic year.

Students who participate in Quest, are challenged to achieve across the domains of learning in a multi-age session. The students in this program may also be invited to participate in external competitions and academic days.

Participating students are not disadvantaged by their participation in Quest. Our teachers work together to meet student needs and attend to the WA Curriculum.

Orana is one of over 30 Catholic schools that utilise the services of a qualified and experienced Social Worker. It is a school-based service, providing counselling and support to help students and their families navigate social and emotional challenges relating to school, or affecting a child's academic performance.

The Social Worker works collaboratively with staff, parents and students to optimise the educational experience of students. The service is at no cost to Orana families.

Students can self-refer, be referred by parents or teachers. The Social Worker provides individual support, mediation, class programs, facilitates small group work, refers to outside agencies and provides information and support to the wider school community.

Kath Warburton is the Social Worker at Orana, and is available Monday to Thursday. Kath can be contacted by calling the school office on 9376 8300 or by email: kathryn.warburton@cewa.edu.au