Spotlight on Learning

Dear Families,

What a special week it has been in Year 2. Our classrooms have been full of storytelling, problem solving, signing, reflection and celebration as students continued building confidence across all learning areas. In Writing, students showed growing independence by planning and creating their own narrative stories with detailed beginnings, middles and endings. In Mathematics, students demonstrated stronger understanding of place value by representing and rounding larger numbers using number lines and place value knowledge. Students also developed stronger communication skills in Auslan by using facial expressions, eye contact and signs to communicate meaning more clearly with others. It has been wonderful to see students showing increasing independence, creativity and kindness throughout the week.

This week we also celebrated the final placement day for Miss Bronwyn in 2C, while Miss Tiana continues her placement in 2A. The Damascus Community has been so fortunate to have such caring, capable and dedicated pre-service teachers working alongside our students and staff. Both teachers have shown kindness, professionalism and a genuine passion for learning, and students have loved building strong connections with them throughout their time in our classrooms. We feel very blessed to support future teachers as they develop their skills, and we know both have bright futures ahead in the teaching profession.

Mother’s Day Breakfast

Last Friday morning, we were delighted to welcome so many mothers, grandmothers, sisters and special family members to our Mother’s Day Breakfast celebration. Students proudly performed the song Cover Me in Sunshine and sang beautifully with confidence and joy. It was wonderful to see our community come together to celebrate the important people in our students’ lives. Thank you to all the families who joined us and helped make the morning so special.

Our Lady of Fatima Mass

Our Year 2 students did a wonderful job hosting our Our Lady of Fatima Mass this week. Students showed reverence, respect and confidence as they participated in prayers, readings and singing throughout the celebration. We are very proud of the way students represented the Damascus Community with kindness, responsibility and care.

Learning for the Week Ahead

Religious Education:

Students will learn about the Hail Mary prayer and explore why it is important in the Catholic faith. They will also begin learning about Pentecost and how the Holy Spirit gave the disciples courage to share Jesus’ message with others.

English:

Students will continue creating imaginative narratives by developing characters, settings and story events. They will practise adding detail to their writing, editing their work and building reading fluency and comprehension through a range of engaging texts and spelling activities.

Mathematics:

Students will begin exploring addition and subtraction strategies using hands-on materials such as dominoes. They will develop their understanding that the equals sign means “the same as” while building confidence in solving problems and sharing their mathematical thinking using different strategies and representations.

Integrated Curriculum:

Students will continue learning about the importance of Country for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. Through stories, discussions and outdoor investigations, students will explore ways people care for Country and consider how we can help care for our own school environment.

Auslan:

Students will continue building their Auslan vocabulary and confidence by learning and practising signs in interactive activities and games. We will also enjoy stories in Auslan and explore how facial expressions add meaning to signs.

Social & Emotional Learning:

Students will continue learning about help-seeking and identifying trusted adults who can support them. They will practise ways to ask for help clearly and kindly through discussions and role-play activities.

What you can do at home

• Read together each night and talk about the story. Ask your child to retell the beginning, middle and end of the story, or describe how a character solved a problem.

   

• Practise maths in everyday life by using simple addition and subtraction. Dominoes, cards, toys or snacks can be used to show that both sides of an equation need to be the same.

   

• Talk and share signs together by asking your child to teach you an Auslan sign or facial expression they have learned at school. Practising together helps build confidence and communication skills.

Important Reminders

Semper Dental Van is visiting St Thomas Cranbourne on May 25, 2026.

Eligible families may be covered under the Medicare Child Dental Benefits Schedule (CDBS), while affordable options are available for all other families.

 Please complete your child’s consent form here and submit on or before May 23, 2026.  https://semperdental.com.au/consent-form/  

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

• Please remind your child to change their reading books when they need to. 

Enjoy your weekend,

The Damascus Team

Contact Us @Damascus

damascus@cranbourneeast.catholic.edu.au  (all teachers) or