Filter Content
Our school is a place of faith and learning
“From the first moment that a student sets foot in a Catholic school, he or she ought to have the impression of entering a new environment, one illuminated by the light of faith, and having its own unique characteristics. The inspiration of Jesus must be translated from the ideal into the real. The Gospel spirit should be evident in a Christian way of thought and life which permeates all facets of the educational climate”.
Dear Parents, Guardians and Carers,
Winter has definitely arrived with colder temperatures and rain happening. It also means that the winter cold and flu season is upon us with both students and staff being impacted at the moment. Thank you for your support with keeping the children home when they are ill.
SCHOOL REPORTS
Semester One reports will be available to view on SiMON on Wednesday 2nd July.
Curriculum and reporting in Victorian schools continues to evolve. Victorian Curriculum subjects are now endorsed by the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) for national implementation. The content and achievement standards in this report are based on the Victorian Curriculum. In addition, four capabilities or learning skills are recognised and scored: Critical and Creative thinking, Ethical, Intercultural, Personal and Social.
The Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority (VCAA) recently published its revised Mathematics curriculum (Mathematics Version 2.0). All Victorian schools will start using Mathematics Version 2.0 in 2025. At St Thomas’, we are using the revised Mathematics curriculum for student reporting from Semester 1, 2025.
On your child’s previous report, the teacher reported against the three strands of the achievement standard for Mathematics (Number and Algebra, Measurement and Geometry, and Statistics and Probability).
Under the Mathematics Version 2.0 curriculum, your child’s teacher will report against the achievement standard as a whole, providing a single, aggregated score.
As the achievement standards reported on have changed, the first time you receive a report under the Mathematics Version 2.0 curriculum, it will only show achievement and not progress. For all reports after this, progress will be shown against the single achievement standard.
The VCAA made these changes to help teachers plan their teaching and learning programs in Mathematics, giving them more flexibility to support students to link ideas within Mathematics and also with other curriculum areas.
ROAD SAFETY REMINDER
Our crossing supervisors do a fabulous job in helping our children cross the busy roads around the school safely. They have asked that we remind the children that they need to walk when using the crossing so that they cross safely. Thank you for assisting us with this important message.
It is also important that you abide by the local parking restrictions around the school, in particular being mindful of the local residents' driveways. Clear access for them to use their driveway must be available at all times.
ST THOMAS FEAST DAY
We are looking forward to celebrating the Feast Day of St Thomas on Thursday. It is very rare that we get to celebrate it on the actual day as we are normally on school holidays atthis time.
You are warmly invited to join us at the Cathedral on Thursday 3rd July for a special liturgy. During the afternoon the children will be getting the opportunity to be a Pilgrim of Hope just like St Thomas as they take turns to undertake a pilgrimage around the school.
Thank you to our amazing Religious Education Leader Rosie Phillips for preparing such a special day for us.
"As we go from this pilgrimage, may we be pilgrims of hope — sharing Jesus' love in all we do."
Kind regards,
Jodie
2025 SCHOOL TERM DATES
Term 2
Tuesday 22nd April - Friday 4th July (2.20pm finish)
Public Holiday - Anzac Day - Friday 25th April
Term 3
Monday 21st July - Friday 19th September
Monday 21st July - Is a no longer a Pupil Free Day, Students will return Monday 21st July 2025
Term 4
Monday 6th October - Friday 19th December
Reminder you can also check the PAM calendar for important dates.
Friday 4th July Last day of term 2. Buses leave at 2.20pm instead of 3.20pm
Monday 21st July Student Free Day NO BUSES RUNNING
Tuesday 22nd July First Day of Term 3 for buses
Friday 19th September Student Free Day St Thomas
Last day of term 3. Buses leave at 2.20pm instead of 3.20pm
Monday 6 th October First Day of Term 4
Monday 3 rd November Student Free Day NO BUSES RUNNING
Tuesday 4 th November Melbourne Cup Day NO BUSES RUNNING
Thursday 18 th December Last day for St Thomas
| Foundation A - Mrs Goudie & Mrs Manning | Audrey Irving & Kaliah Hood. Nate McDonough & Toby Brown. |
| Foundation B - Mrs Brayshaw | Lane Boardman & Lachie Simmons. Alby Diamond & Emily Jones |
| Year 1 A - Mrs Morelli / Mrs Ray | Bronte Zidarich & Billie Hudson. Jasper Lange & Alora Pinto |
| Year 1 B - Mrs Phillips / Mrs Ray | Freya Stubbe & Billie Love. Grace Kennedy & Campbell Pini |
| Year 2 A - Mrs Marsh / Mrs Jones | Alex Collins |
| Year 2 B - Mrs Bennett | Mia O'Keefe & Pippa Safstrom |
| Year 3 A - Mrs Lee | Beau Bigham, Vinnie Horton |
| Year 3 B - Mrs Ko | Evelyn Edwards & Willow Smolenaars. Rayne Allen & Caleb McLaren |
| Year 4 A - Mrs Wilson | Eloise Wood & Isabelle Lee, Zaeem Junaid & Ettie Curtis. Thomas Irving, Xavier Kennedy, Lincoln Clancy, Josie Vatnsdal, Chloe Cook & Tommy Duffield |
| Year 4 B - Mr Brunt | Olli Finlay & Will Anderson |
| Year 5 A - Miss Cameron | Harmynie Lange & Bella March. Ally Skeen & Sam Pais-Bubb |
| Year 5 B - Ms Berry / Mrs Glover | Alex Karvelas & Lilly Bigham. Charlotte Francis & Skylah Parkinson-Hall |
| Year 6 A - Mrs Irwin | Ava Williams & Parker Jagielka. Jobe Walker |
| Year 6 B - Mrs Bradley / Mrs Fox | Ruby Edwards & Addi Finlay |
Soccer Report -
On Tuesday, we headed down to the Catholic College Ovals to compete in the Soccer Winter Sports Day.
In our first match, we played against Gippsland Grammar and were defeated by 14 points. Our second game was against St Mary’s, and although we didn’t win, we narrowed the gap and only lost by 5 points. In our final match against Longford, we put up a strong fight and came incredibly close—losing by just 1 point.
Even though we didn’t win any of our games, everyone gave their best effort, showed great teamwork, and enjoyed a fun day of sport together.
Football Report -
On Tuesday 17th June, the Year 5/6 AFL 9s team travelled to the Catholic College Ovals to compete in the Sale and District Winter Sport Competition.
The team played three strong games—losing one and winning two, including a nail-biting 5-point win in their final match! This hard-fought victory means the team has progressed to the Division Finals in Maffra next Tuesday.
Netball report -
On Tuesday 17th June, five of our school’s netball teams competed at the Gippsland Regional Sports Complex (GRSC) against a number of local schools.
-
The A Team had a fantastic day, winning all of their games including the Grand Final and progressing through to the next round at the GRSC.
-
The Mixed Netball Team, also had a strong showing—winning 2 games and losing 2—and will also move on to the next round.
-
The B Team impressively won all of their games and their final but, unfortunately, will not be progressing.
-
The C Team finished with 2 wins, 1 loss, and 1 draw, but will not continue to the next round either.
-
The D Team played 4 tough games and showed excellent sportsmanship and improvement throughout the day.
All students represented the school with pride, gave their best effort, and demonstrated wonderful teamwork and sportsmanship. Well done to all teams!
We have a number of items available in the second hand uniform shop. To purchase or check out what's available please contact Anna Baynes on 0419117649.
JOINT STATEMENT FROM
Bishop Greg Bennet & Mr Paul Velten
Catholic Bishop of Sale Director of Catholic Education
Diocese of Sale Catholic Education Ltd
Community Update 3: The Future of
Our Lady of Sion Convent and
former Sion Campus, Sale.
The Our Lady of Sion Convent building in Sale is a much-loved local landmark with historical and
educational significance for Catholics, the Catholic education community, and the broader community
in Sale.
In this third update, we want to bring members of St Mary’s Parish, St Thomas’ Primary School, and
other members of the Sale community, up to date about the significant progress that has occurred
since August 2023 in the redevelopment of the former Our Lady of Sion Convent site into an exciting,
state-of-the-art education facility, serving the mission of the Diocese of Sale.
A significant challenge in the redevelopment planning process is to ensure that the comprehensive
renovation of this iconic 125-year-old building will be done in ways that will (a) meet the needs of
students and staff in a contemporary educational context, and (b) comply with the more rigorous
21st-century building codes, while still retaining the building’s original beauty, grandeur and
character. This process requires meticulous planning and sensitive consultation with numerous
stakeholders.
The architects and consultants are progressing in the design and preparation works. The
Architectural team continues to meet with heritage advisors, specialist engineers and the St Thomas’
Primary School community.
There has also been ongoing consultation with the Sisters of Our Lady of Sion to identify how their
extensive contribution to Catholic education on this site can be acknowledged and celebrated, to
ensure their legacy endures among future generations.
We are happy to announce that, earlier this year, the Victorian Minister for Planning, through the
Department of Transport and Planning (DTP), granted a planning permit for the proposed works.
We can also confirm that we were successful in obtaining a Commonwealth Capital Grant from the
Federal Government for the construction of additional new student learning spaces on the site. These
proposed education facilities are an essential element of the overall St Thomas’ Primary School
masterplan and are separate to the redevelopment work on the former Sion Convent building.
While the planning process continues, it is anticipated that work will soon commence to bring the
property back to a clean site, as well as beginning some preservation of the former Sion Convent.
Community members may see the demolition of some non-heritage and ad-hoc structures that have
been identified as being unsuitable as contemporary learning spaces. These buildings are not
included in the proposed development masterplan. There will also be some associated groundwork
and temporary building maintenance essential to preserving the former Sion Convent building whilst
it is in caretaker mode.
While we are excited about the considerable progress that has been made in the past ten months, a
great deal of work is still to be done before a definitive announcement can be made to key
stakeholders about the approval of the project. Please keep this project, the re-development team,
and the St Thomas’ Catholic Primary School community, in your prayers.
Background and Timeline:
November 2020: The site became vacant following the formal relocation of the Catholic College
Sale Junior campus. Many expressed their dreams and hopes for the future use
of this treasured local landmark.
August 2021: The Bishop of Sale, through his Diocesan Committee chaired by the former
Member for Gippsland South and parishioner of St Mary’s Cathedral, the
Honourable Mr Peter Ryan, began exploring possible uses of the convent
building. The Diocese of Sale Catholic Education Ltd (DOSCEL) engaged
specialist consultants to explore the possible relocation of St Thomas’ Catholic
Primary School, Sale to the Sion Campus site.
November 2021: A community survey was undertaken to gather feedback on relocating
St Thomas’ Catholic Primary School to the Sion Campus site.
October 2022: It was announced that through the work of DOSCEL and the Diocesan
Committee, consideration would focus on the development of the whole site as a
state-of-the-art education facility with the Convent building which includes the
Chapel being the centrepiece of the school.
December 2022: Early conceptual designs for a Preliminary Proposed Masterplan were
developed by a project architect for consideration and assessment.
January - June 2023: Extensive investigations continued and a range of consultant specialists
including engineers, surveyors and a Heritage Advisor were appointed.
June 2022: Preliminary Proposed Masterplan moved to Detailed Design Phase. Architects
commenced engagement with Town Planning.
February 2024: Planning permit granted by the Minister for Planning through the Department of
Transport and Planning
February 2024: Commonwealth Government Capital Grant confirmed.
For Project Updates on Our Lady of Sion Convent and Sion Campus go to:
Swim trials will be occurring in June. Please complete form to express interest or if you would like to discuss further please contact New Parent Office Michelle Brewis on 0419395218 or new.parent.officer@