RPS Chatter July 2026

Welcome back to Term 3!  The next 9 weeks will be action-packed (you’ll understand why when you see the “Dates for the Diary”) and before we know it, we’ll be in our final Term for 2026!

Industrial Action 
Those involved in education do not take the decision to take industrial action lightly. It is usually a last resort, made only after extensive negotiations have failed to resolve important issues such as pay, workload, staffing, and resources. While they understand the disruption it may cause, many believe that taking action is necessary to secure improvements that benefit both teachers and students in the long term.

As I am writing this, there is a possibility of a 24-hour stop-work action taking place on Thursday 23rd July. At this stage, I am unable to confirm which classes this will impact.  If anything changes in the next 12 hours, I will let you know….Otherwise, I will have this information to you on Monday.
Please also note that some of our “dates for your diary” which were sent out last term have had to be changed due to the industrial action.
As always, we appreciate your support, flexibility and understanding during this time.

NAPLAN 2026 
Today, individual students NAPLAN results were distributed to parents in Year 3 and 5.  NAPLAN is a national literacy and numeracy assessment undertaken by students in Years 3, 5, 7 and 9 across the country.  These tests are only one aspect of each school’s assessment and reporting process.  As they are held once every 2 years for each student, they cannot replace the extensive, ongoing assessments made by the teachers about student performance.  Your child’s teacher will have the best insight into your child’s educational progress.
Proficiency standards provide clear information on student achievement.  They are set at a challenging but reasonable level expected for the child at the time of NAPLAN testing, based mainly on what has been taught in the previous years of schooling.

There are 4 proficiency levels:
Exceeding:  The students result exceeds expectations at the time of testing.
Strong:  The students result meet challenging but reasonable expectations at the time of testing.
Developing:  The student’s result indicates that they are working towards expectations at the time of testing.
Needs additional support:  The students result indicates that they are not achieving the learning outcomes expected at the time of testing.  They are likely to need additional support to progress satisfactorily.

We know this is only one part of the unique individuals we teach every day, and our goal is always to educate the whole child.  Each one of them comes to the classroom with their own distinct personality, strengths, weaknesses, interests and learning styles.  Recognising and embracing the individuality of students is a fundamental aspect of what we strive to do every day and is crucial for their overall growth and development.  Overall, we were very happy with the results our students achieved in NAPLAN this year.

Should I stay or should I go? 
It may be hard to believe, but planning for the 2027 school year is already well underway!  To help us prepare, we kindly ask that if you (or anyone you know) are intending to be part of our school community in 2027 and are not yet enrolled, please ensure enrolment forms are completed and returned to the school as soon as possible.

That’s all from me as we try and stay warm and get ready for a busy term 3.
Stay safe.  Stay healthy.  Stay happy and remember to be kind to yourself and others.

Megan 😊

Thursday 23rd July – Possible industrial stop-work action (TBC)
Thursday 23rd July – Divisional AFL finals
Friday 24th July – Whole School Assembly 3 pm
Tuesday 28th July- Volunteer Course (9 am & 2:30 pm)
Tuesday 28th July- Somers Camp (July 28th – Aug 5th)
Thursday 29th July- Divisional Soccer finals
Friday 31st July- Special Whole School Assembly ICE BUCKET Challenge 3pm
Tuesday 4th August- Susan McLean Parent Seminar (6pm)
Thursday 6th August- 5/6 Excursion to Sovereign Hill
Friday 7th August- Principal’s Day
Friday 7th August- Whole School Assembly 3pm
Thursday 13th August- Student Free (students not required at school)
Friday 14th August- District Athletics
Monday 17th August- 3/4 Anglesea Camp (Aug 17 – 19)
Tuesday 18th August- 1/2B and 1/2D Excursion to Como House
Wednesday 19th August- Student-Led Conferences Foundation, Years 1/2, Years 5/6
Thursday 20th August- 1/2A and 1/2C Excursion to Como House
Friday 21st August- Whole School Assembly 3pm
Tuesday 25th August- Book Character Dress up day
Wednesday 26th August- Student-Led Conferences Years 3/4
Tuesday 1st September- Whole School Production
Wednesday 2nd September- Whole School Production
Friday 4th September- Whole School Assembly 3pm
Thursday 10th September- Pizza Day
Friday 11th September- Divisional Athletics
Friday 18th September- Last Day Term 3.  Students finish school at 2pm

Susan McLean is Australia’s foremost expert in cybersafety and young people. Her unparalleled knowledge leaves audiences shocked at the reality of the online world. It is a wake-up call to even the most switched-on parent and is delivered with Susan’s famous ‘no nonsense’ approach.

The session will cover the positive benefits of technology as well as what parents need to be aware of. Susan’s book, “Sexts, Texts and & Selfies” has been talked about in our RPS chatter a number of times, and we are very excited and privileged to be able to invite the RPS community to a parent session with Susan.

When: Tuesday, August 4th
Time: 6pm
Where: Community Hub

To confirm your spot, please book here through Try Booking: https://www.trybooking.com/DOAWT

We are incredibly excited about our 2026 whole-school production of Unless!

The production will take place at Melbourne Girls College (MGC) on Night 1- Tuesday 1st September and Night 2- Wednesday 2nd September. The Production will occur over two nights with the Year 6s performing on both evenings and the rest of the school only performing on one night. Please see the below table for an outline on the night your child/children will be performing.

Rehearsals are in full swing as students memorise lines, choreograph dances and learn lyrics, and we are already hard at work building the set and creating props. We can’t wait to share this special production with you all!

More information about specific timing, ticketing and costuming for our production, Unless, will be sent out in the coming weeks.

In STEM the students have been busy in a school Boat Builder’s Competition. Students have explored forces in Physics to design the most bouyant boat. They learnt to distribute their weight across their boat to avoid capsizing.

The winning boat was captained by Camilla and Ava from 3/4 D, which held an impressive 3,025 grams!