Year 2 

Spotlight on Learning

Dear Families,

Welcome back to a new school year! We are so excited to begin the year with our Grade Two students and families. The classroom has already been filled with smiles, enthusiasm, and a positive energy as we settle into new and old routines and reconnect with friends. This year will be full of learning, growth, and fun as students continue to build their independence, confidence, and love of learning. We look forward to working closely with you and sharing a wonderful year together.

Classroom Teachers in Damascus:

Friendly Reminder:  Please ensure your child is in the correct school uniform and has their name on items that come off and on during the day. This includes jumpers and jackets. We have a lot of lost property at school to check if needed. 

Remember: At St Thomas we are Sun Safe Champions! We must remember our hats in Term One 

This week we learnt about:

Religious Education: This week, we began our learning by exploring the different communities within our school and discussing why they have been given their specific names. We learned that each of these names is important to Jesus and reflects the values we share as a school. We also began learning about prayer and why it is an important part of our faith and daily lives.

Damascus is our community. Saul from the bible traveled to Damascus and became Paul. 

Mathematics: We are beginning the term by focusing on number, with students learning how to read, write, and represent numbers up to 1000. Through hands-on activities and classroom discussions, students are building their confidence with number knowledge and developing a strong foundation to support their learning throughout the year.

Structured Literacy:  This week we read the story, ‘The Family Tree’ and we  unpacked key vocabulary within the text. 

Auslan: In Auslan we are revisiting greetings and the importance of eye contact and facial expressions. Ask your child what kind of greetings we learnt. 

Social & Emotional Learning: In Social and Emotional learning we talked about what we call the St Thomas Way. This means revisiting our school wide expectations of Safety, Respect and Learning. We also looked at some of our school social stories to remind us of the St Thomas Way. 

Integrated Studies: We are learning about Geography this term and we are beginning the year with imagining how the Earth looked when dinosaurs roamed the planet. 

How you can support at home:

Families play an important role in supporting learning at school, and there are many simple ways you can help at home. You can ask your child about the book we read this week and how it connects to your family. They can also share what they thought of the book. 

For Maths, you can support your child by practising reading, writing, and recognising numbers up to 1000 in everyday situations, such as reading house numbers, prices at the shops, or page numbers in books. These small, regular conversations help build confidence and reinforce learning in a meaningful way.

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 @Damascus

damascus@cranbourneeast@catholic.edu.au OR