Foundation 

Spotlight on Learning

Dear Families,

Week 5 has been a wonderful and successful week in Foundation! Our students have continued to build confidence in their learning, showing great enthusiasm during reading, writing, and numeracy activities. We are so proud of the way they are developing their independence, kindness, and teamwork skills. It has been fantastic to see their growing confidence and positive attitudes towards learning!

Religious Education Focus:  

This week in Religious Education, we learnt about why we pray, when we pray, and how we pray. We learned that prayer helps us connect, give thanks, ask for help, and reflect, and that it can happen anytime and in many different ways.

English Focus:. 

We read 'Oi Dinosaurs' by Kes Gray, a funny, rhyming picture book where dinosaurs must sit in the right place, leading to funny and unexpected situations. It’s a playful story that helps children enjoy language, patterns, and silliness while learning about matching and rules.

Phonics: During explicit phonics instruction, we focused on the c and i sound/s. We introduce sounds based on the Little Learners Love Literacy book, ‘Milo’s Birthday Surprise’.

Mathematics Focus: This week, we learned how to add ‘one more’ to a collection of objects and say the new total amount. Students practiced counting carefully, noticing how the number increases by one each time, and used a variety of objects and pictures to make it fun and hands-on. This helped build their understanding of number sequences, one-to-one counting, and the idea that numbers get bigger when we add.

SEL: This week, we explored big emotions and how they can show up in different intensities along a continuum. We practiced recognising where our feelings fall and learned strategies to manage and express them in healthy ways.

Integrated Curriculum: Geography 

This week, students learned that Country is more than just land – it includes people, animals, water, and stories. We talked about how everything in the Country is connected and why it is important to care for it. We also explored Australia’s states, territories, and key features, learning about where different places are and what makes them special.

AUSLAN: 

This week, students reviewed and practised the Auslan signs we have learnt, using them in simple sentences and games to build confidence and understanding.

Next  week we are learning about... 

Religious Education: Students will explore the Caritas story, make connections to places around the world, and participate in a Clean Up Australia Day activity.

Integrated Curriculum Focus: Next week we will learn about location and maps.

English Focus: Next week we are reading the book: 'Somebody’s Land’ by Adam Goodes.

Mathematics Focus: Next week we will be learning about dice patterns.

SEL: Next week we are learning about big emotions and strategies that we can use when we are feeling these big emotions.

AUSLAN Focus: Students will learn yes/no, lunchtime, recess, cross your legs, stand in a circle and sit in a circle.

Late last term all families were emailed links to some Welcome to Saint Thomas Newsletters.  

If you would like to revisit any of these they can be found at the links below.

Ways to engage with the newsletter:

• Read or watch the weekly book with your child at home (there is often a read aloud on you tube). Talk about what the book's most important ideas are. Point to words that begin with this week's sounds.

• Ask your child to retell the story using their own words.

• Talk about who the characters are, where the story is happening.

• Practise handwriting using the visuals provided.

• Take the idea around Mathematics and ask students to repeat an activity they did at school, with you.

  Important Reminders

• Please ensure that you are labelling your child's belongings.

• Can we please ask for a socks and underwear to be placed in the front zip pocket in case of a toileting accident. 

• Comprehension questions to ask when reading with your child to support early reading development.

  "Point to where it shows...." the .......sound

  “I wonder why…”

  "what makes you think...."

  “This reminds me of…”

  "Show me where it says"

  “I didn’t understand that part, so I’ll reread it.”

  Use a mix of Who, What, When, Where, Why, How questions based on the book.

Important Dates

TERM 1 KEY DATES — 2026

• Monday 9 March - Public Holiday — School Closed

• Thursday 2 April - Holy Thursday — Last Day of Term 1

   

  TERM 2 START DATE

• Tuesday 21 April - First Day for Students

   

Contact Us 

galilee@cranbourneeast.catholic.edu.au  all teachers