Dear Families,

We are so proud of our 2026 Foundation students who have settled in so well in to their very first year of 'Big School'. Here are some snapshots from last week's first day of school. Thank you to all the grown ups who have supported a smooth transition to St. Thomas and for continuing to be an integral part of their education journey!

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.

Friends and Playtime	Pick Up and Drop Off
A Catholic School	Learning and Teaching
School Uniform	Being Child Safe
Food at School	Pick Up and Drop Off

Religious Education Focus:

This week in Religion, we learnt about our community name Galilee and its' importance in the Bible.

English focus: .

We read "The invisible string" by Patrice Karst, such an empowering story for children who find separation from familiarity difficult. You can access a link to the read aloud below:

Phonics: During explicit phonics instruction, we focused on the m and s sounds. We introduce sounds based on the Little Learners Love Literacy book, 'Milo's Birthday Surprise.

Mathematics focus: This week learnt about counting, using our fingers to guide us in the same order. Here is an activity you can continue with your children.

SEL: This week we started to learn about the first of our schoolwide expectations 'Safety'.

Integrated Curriculum: Geography

This Semester we will focus on places that we are connected to. This might be as simple as home and school or as broad as where does my family come from? This is a conversation you can continue at home, "What are the places you like to visit and why?"

AUSLAN:

This week we learnt the signs:

Next week we are learning about...

Religious Education: Students will learn about who Jesus is and prayer table.

Integrated Curriculum focus: Next week we will learn about how different places have different names around us.

English focus: Next week we are reading the book: 'Oi Frog' by Kes Gray. A book about rhyming and rules! A frog must sit on a log you see :)

Mathematics focus: Next week we will continue focusing on counting and number.

SEL: Next week we are to learning to identify what Respect looks and feels like.

AUSLAN Focus: Students will learn greetings and facial expressions.

Term 1 Week 3	Specialists Lessons
Monday	Yellow room Art, Blue and Pink rooms Sport (please wear sports uniform and runners)
Tuesday	Green room Art (Please provide a labelled art smock if not already provided), Yellow room Sport (sports uniform and runners)
Wednesday	Blue room Art ( Art smocks, if not already provided)
Thursday	All rooms STSS (Science, Technology and Sustainability)
Friday	Green room Sport (Sports uniform) Pink room (Art) (Please provide a labelled art smock if not already provided).

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. Pont 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
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
Tuesday 17 February - Shrove Tuesday
Wednesday 18 February - Ash Wednesday Start of Lent
Thursday 19 February - Open Afternoon & Family Catch‑Up 4:30pm – 6:30pm
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

Staff Members	Email Address
00A - Shuangshuang Liu	sliu@cranbourneeast.catholic.edu.au
00B - Emily Stecca	estecca@cranbourneeast.catholic.edu.au
00B - Rochelle Smith (Fridays)	rsmith@cranbourneeast.catholic.edu.au
00C - Nimanthi Perera	nperera@cranbourneeast.catholic.edu.au
00C - Brittany Madders (Tuesday)	bmadders@cranbourneeast.catholic.edu.au
00D - Cathy Song	jsong@cranbourneeast.catholic.edu.au

Community News

What's happening in our wider community?

School Reminders: