From Leadership
Dear Families,
It has been wonderful to see our students settle back into the routine of school and engage in new learning opportunities. Term 4 is always an exciting term, where students consolidate their learning and have the opportunity to demonstrate their many gifts and talents in the range of activities and events that we have planned.
This term is also a term where we celebrate our wonderful Year 6 students who will soon be graduating from Galilee and embarking on their secondary school journey. We feel very fortunate to have had the opportunity to work with our Year 6 students these past seven years. Watching them grow and develop into the outstanding young people that they are has been a privilege. We look forward to celebrating their final term of primary school with them as they prepare to transition to a new school and new chapter in their lives.
Term 4 - Whole School Events and Activities
We have a number of whole school events and activities planned for this term that we would like you to take note of:
- Swimming Lessons for all students in Week 3 and 4
- Cyber Safety Parent Information Night - Thursday 24th October at 6pm
- Wellbeing Parent Information Night - Thursday 7th November at 7pm
- Art Showcase - Wednesday 6th November from 3.45-4.45pm
- Prep - Year 2 Athletics Carnival - Friday 6th December
- Prep - Year 6 Swimming Carnival - Friday 15th November at MSAC
- Galilee’s 25th Anniversary Celebration on Monday 25th November
- Family Christmas Event with Carols Friday 6th December from 5pm
- Term 4 ends at 1.30pm on Tuesday 17th December. Year 6 students finish the day before on Monday 16th December.
More details about all of these events will be published in the Newsletter, on Dojo and in the School Calendar closer to the date.
We encourage you to continuing reading communication in the School Newsletter on Dojo and on the School Calendar to make sure that you have the most up to date information about upcoming events and activities.
Swimming Lessons at Galilee
All students will participate in Swimming Lessons over the next two weeks. Please see the email sent to all families about Swimming Lessons earlier today that includes important information about upcoming lessons. Thank you to the parents who have volunteered to help with our swimming program this year. We feel very lucky to have such a wonderful parent community who volunteer their time to support programs such as this.
Swimming Caps
All students will be given a new swim cap in their house colour on the Monday morning in the week they commence swimming. Some of you may not know that Galilee's school branding changed in last couple of years, the new caps reflect those changes. The purchase of these was was partially sponsored by a donation from a past Galilee Running Group. We would like to thank them very much.
This Semester Galilee has implemented the new Victorian Curriculum F–10 Mathematics Curriculum Version 2.0
At the beginning of 2024, the Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority (VCAA) published an updated Mathematics Curriculum (Mathematics Version 2.0). This update has been published on the VCAA website.
The revisions to the Victorian Curriculum F–10 Mathematics were based on feedback from Victorian educators, including through the formal monitoring the VCAA has conducted over the past 4 years, the significant consultation conducted by the Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA) in reviewing the Australian Curriculum Foundation to Year 10, and advice provided by Curriculum Area Reference Panels made up of Victorian teachers from across school sectors.
It is believed that the revised Victorian Curriculum F–10 Mathematics will give Victoria’s students the best opportunity to thrive in a world of increasing change and rapid technological advancement. F–10 Mathematics Version 2.0 reflects the expertise and feedback of teachers to make the new curriculum more streamlined for them to understand, plan, teach and assess student learning.
Changes made to the Foundation to Level 6 Mathematics Curriculum include:
- Introducing play – exploration and investigation-based learning from Foundation to Level 2 to help students develop proficiency in, and positive dispositions towards mathematics and to improve alignment with the Victorian Early Years and Development Framework.
- Moves content for the initial introduction to probability from Level 1 to Level 3, permitting students to master foundational ideas.
- Resequences key mathematical facts and procedures associated with counting and operations, emphasis on developing mastery both with and without assistance from technology.
Schools across Victoria have been given two years to implement the curriculum changes. At Galilee, we have implement these curriculum changes this semester and we are proud to announce that all year levels are now using and reporting against the revised Victorian Curriculum - Mathematics 2.0.
Semester Two Student Reports
This term teachers will be working on preparing Semester Two student reports. Student reports will be available on Monday 16th December through the online portal. Information about how to access student reports will be shared closer to the date.
This Semester you will notice changes to two areas of the student reports: Mathematics and the Capabilities. All changes are inline with updated requirements from the Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority (VCAA).
Changes to Student Reports in Mathematics:
Changes to the student reports in Mathematics are in line with the new, updated Victorian Curriculum F–10 Mathematics Version 2.0. As explained above, all schools are required to implement and report on the new Mathematics Curriculum 2.0 by the end of 2025. Galilee has elected to implement and report against the new Mathematics Curriculum this semester. This means that the way we report on student achievements in Mathematics needs to change.
What will change about our student reports in Mathematics?
From Semester Two, students will receive one progression point for all areas of Mathematics.
In previous reports students received a progression point for Number and Algebra, a progression point for Measurement and Geometry and a progression point for Statistics and Probability. From this semester, all students will only receive one progression point to demonstrate student achievement in all areas of the Mathematics Curriculum (Number, Algebra, Measurement, Space, Statistics and Probability).
Teachers have been directed to assess student achievement in Mathematics based on student assessment data, moderated work samples and observations of students working in the classroom.
In the Semester Two student report, you will notice that the dotted line to indicate growth in Mathematics will not appear because students are being assessed against the new curriculum.
Please note that because students are only receiving one progression point for Mathematics student reports will look different. If your child achieves above standard marks in Number and Algebra, below standard marks in Measurement and Space and at standard marks for Statistics and Probability, the overall progression point will be averaged out and they will receive an ‘At Standard’ progression point. You will be able to use the checklist to help understand the areas of Mathematics that your child is achieving at, above and below standard.
Changes to Student Reports in the Capabilities:
In the Victorian Curriculum, students are taught and assessed on four Capabilities each year: Critical and Creative Thinking, Intercultural Capabilities, Ethnical Capabilities and Personal and Social Capabilities.
What will change about our student reports in the Capabilities?
In previous student reports the Capabilities have been reported within the STEM based inquiry units.
This Semester, the Capabilities will be reported on in a separate page. We believe this will make it clearer for families to understand and see the progression their child is making in these areas.
Please note that two Capabilities are reported on in Semester One and the other two Capabilities are reported on in Semester Two.
All other areas of the student report will remain the same.
2025 Prep Transition
This week we welcomed back our 2025 Prep Students for their third transition session. It was wonderful to see them all so settled as they completed activities in classrooms and started to explore some of the routines that we have at school.
This term we will see our 2025 Prep students onsite for more transition sessions as the prepare to start their primary school education with us next year.
Mathematics at Galilee
Over the past two years we have been focusing on the pedagogical approaches we use to to teach Mathematics. As part of this journey we have partnered with James Russo and Jane Hubbard who are experts in Primary Mathematics Education. They are both based at Monash University. James and Jane have extensive experience working with primary school students, undergraduate and graduate tertiary students, classroom teachers and school leaders. They have both published an impressive amount of research papers that are highly regarded around the world. We feel very fortunate to be working with them and learning from them this year.
Earlier this year Jane and James introduced staff at Galilee to ‘Sweaty Brain Time’. This is an apporach where students are challenged through challenging tasks. Challenging Tasks require students to problem solve, think critically, think creatively, reason, justify and work flexibly. Student’s brains ‘get sweaty’ as they apply their mathematical knowledge and skills to solve challening tasks based in real-world situations. Students and teachers have raved about their experiences working with Jane and James this year. We look forward to welcoming Jane and James back to Galilee tomorrow to work with our Prep and Year 1 teachers and demonstrate Sweaty Brian Time in Year 1G.
School Uniform in Term 4
It has been fabulous to see most students walking through the front gate each morning proudly wearing their Galilee school uniform correctly.
It has also been wonderful to see the number of students who have remembered to bring along their hat each day to wear outside.
Please note that in Week 1 and 2 of Term Four, students are able to wear either full summer uniform or full winter uniform depending on the weather. From Monday 21st October all students will need to wear the full summer uniform.
In Term 4, all students are required to wear their Galilee hat to play outside as we are a SunSmart School. We encourage all students to wear sunscreen to school each day in Term 4 and bring along sunscreen to reapply at recess and lunch. Please note teachers do not apply sunscreen and the school does not supply sunscreen, students will need to supply and apply their own sunscreen.
A few more things about the the student uniform that you need to be aware of:
- Stdents are not allowed to wear socks that have a logo
- Students are not allowed to wear makeup
- Student are not allowed to wear nail polish/varnish
- The old uniform is being phased out and will not be accepted from the beginning of 2026
- If your child is not able to wear the school uniform particular day, please write a note to the classroom teacher to explain why they are not able to wear the correct uniform
- Students are allowed to wear casual clothes on their birthday
Thank you for your support in ensuring all students are dressed in the correct uniform each day.
Cyber Safety Parent Information Night
We are pleased to invite you to our upcoming (parent only) Cyber Safety Information Night, which will be held next week:
Thursday October 24th
Time: 6:00pm - 7:00pm
Location: Galilee Primary School
This informative evening aims to address your queries regarding how children engage with technology and the online environment. We will provide practical tools and strategies to support your children in navigating these spaces safely and responsibly.
The session will cover:
- Understanding the current cyber landscape
- Safe social media practices
- Managing screen time effectively
- Tips for fostering open communication about technology use
We strongly encourage parents and guardians to attend this important session so that we can work together to create a safe and supportive online environment for our children.
To make it easier for all parents to attend, we are pleased to offer child minding services for children during the session. Please let us know in advance, using the link to register below, if you will be utilising this service so we can ensure appropriate arrangements are made.
Please RSVP using the QR code attached or the link below.
Stadium Update
You will have noticed lots of movement in our stadium over the past two weeks. Since the holidays, the walls of the stadium have been plastered and painted and the timber flooring has arrived and is now seasoning in the space to ensure it can be successfully installed.
We would like to thank everyone in our community for your continued patience and flexibility. We understand the frustrations that have been caused by not having access to our stadium this year. We are not far away from once again being able to use the space again.
Year 5/6 Dendy Cricket Tomorrow has been cancelled
Tomorrow, a select group of students from Year 5 and 6 were due to compete at the Dendy Cricket tournament, however this event has been cancelled by event organisers because of the predicted wet weather.
Sporting Achievements
Over the last two weeks we have had a large number of students competing in regional sporting events. To progress to a regional level competition is extremely impressive and we are very proud of these students for making it to this level of competition. Results have been published on the School News page. We encourage you to read about their sporting achievements. We would like to especially congratulate the students who performed exceptionally well at the regional level and are now progressing through to the next level of competition. We wish them every success.
STEM Mad
Earlier this year we had two teams invited to present their STEM designs at the STEM Mad competion in Melbourne. At this competion select students from around Victoria presented their designs. Over the school holidays we recieved exciting news that one of our Galilee STEM Mad teams has been invited to present their STEM design at the National Comeptition in Brisbane. Please read the School News section of this Newsletter to find out more. We are extremely proud of these students who have had their STEM design recognised at a national level.
We wish you and your family every blessing in the coming weeks.
- Simon Millar, Amy Burns and Richard Harding