Principal's message
St. Bernard's Day
Today we celebrated The Patron Saint of our School St. Bernard with mass and then a sausage sizzle lunch.
St. Bernard was (1090–1153) a French saint. Bernard was born the third son of seven children at his family’s castle at Fontaines-les-Dijon in Burgundy.
He was one of the most powerful men of his time, he was the founder and abbot of the Abbey of Clairvaux, and led the Cistercian order of White Monks, to its greatest growth and the height of its influence. Bernard is considered the founder of the Cistercian order and the last of the Fathers of the Church.
Tens of thousands heard his powerful preaching, and he personally attracted and helped many hundreds of men to follow a call to monastic life.
Bernard had a great devotion to Mary our Heavenly Mother. He was a prolific writer.
Bernard also loved to escape to the forests and learnt much about God was contemplating there.
Book week
The annual book week celebrations are this Thursday beginning with the parade on the basketball courts at 9.10 am, the children will then enjoy activities throughout the day exploring the books nominated for this year.
Reconciliation for children in Grade three
A letter went home last week for the families of children in grade three outlining the timeline for the preparation and actual receiving of the Sacrament of Penance.
If you missed this letter please ask your child's teacher to send one home.
There will be a parent meeting on Tuesday 27th at 5.30 pm in our school chapel.
Father's Day liturgy
On Friday 30th August, as part of the Fathers Day celebration, you can arrive from 8.30 am to enjoy a coffee and biscuit for sale from the coffee van with your child then stay for a short liturgy at 9.00am - 9.30am in the hall.
Bishop Shane MacKinlay will join us for this.
All fathers and Father figures are invited to join their child for this.
Orima School surveys
Catholic Education Sandhurst Ltd conducts an annual process for providing feedback. One of these is the annual surveys to gather the thoughts and feelings students, families and staff have about how their school can improve which all schools participate in.
The three goals of the surveys are
• To provide insights to improve the safety and wellbeing of young people in the 52 Catholic school communities in the Diocese.
• To understand the experiences of students, families, and staff across the Diocese and identify areas for improvement.
• To establish a baseline for ongoing monitoring
Next week our students from grades three to six will participate in the surveys, our staff and a random selection of parents will also be emailed an invitation to participate in the surveys.
The surveys are purely voluntary however the more responses we have to the survey the better the data that can be collected and hence influence school improvement.
Parent and student voice is important and we urge you to please complete the survey if you receive an email.
Have a great week everyone
Patricia Boak
Principal