RPS Chatter May 2026

Term 2 is flying by and what a Term it has already been!

 

New Building

It has been fabulous to see all our students settling into the new building and surrounds. Our students are loving the newly created play areas, with the particular highlight being the waterplay area. I have loved seeing senior and junior students co-operatively and creatively playing together in this area.

Another highlight has been our new specialist spaces for STEM and Performing Arts. How exciting to be the first classes in these brand-new areas! The fabulous Community Hub area has also allowed for the return of some of our extra-curricular activities including DramaTime and KellyDance, with others to follow!

We loved seeing so many families and community members take a tour through our new building on our first day and we will have plenty of other opportunities to take a walkthrough throughout the year. I know our School Captains are looking for any excuse to take people on a tour.

 

School Cross-Country

We had an unseasonably warm day for our cross-country last Friday, but that didn’t stop some huge efforts from students (and teacher!) on the day! I know there were a lot of exhausted foundation students at the end of the day! Congratulations to the 60-odd students who qualified for the district cross country on Wednesday the 13th of May at Kevin Bartlett Reserve.

A big thanks to Julian and team for the smooth running of the day.

 

NF DAY

Yes it’s been a whole year! NF Day is back this Friday the 15th of May. Time to don you blue and green for a fantastic cause!

See the attached flyer and read on about Jack for more information and links to donate! Ribbons are also available from the front office for a $5 donation.

 

Education Week Open Morning

Education Week is an annual celebration of public education in Victoria.

In 2026, Victoria celebrates Education Week from Monday 18 May to Friday 22 May.

The theme of this year’s Education Week is Showcase your school, encouraging school communities to celebrate what’s great about their school.

We will be hosting an open morning on Friday the 22nd of May from 9-10am. Students across the school will be partaking in an inquiry lesson on their unit topic for parents and loved ones to come along and get involved in. A coffee cart will be in attendance on the morning as well.

More information is on the attached flyer.

 

Pick Up and Drop Off

A reminder that students should not be dropped off before 8:45am in the morning as there is no supervision at this time. If you need to drop your child off before this time, please register them at OSHC.

It is great to see so many students and families using our yard area outside of school hours. However, between 4:00pm and 5:00pm, OSHC have exclusive use of this space to run their program. Students who make their own way home must be out of the school grounds during these times.

 

Industrial Action

As you may have heard, the AEU has paused the half day stop work actions for this week and next week as a sign of goodwill in negotiations. Currently the half day stop work action scheduled for our region is Wednesday 20th of May, which at this stage falls outside the pause period. We will let you know as soon as we can if any arrangements will need to be in place for this day.

 

I think that is all from me this week. I look forward to seeing you all around the traps.

 

Russell

 

Jack was born in 2017 in Melbourne, Victoria and is our second child after his sister Edie, who is 2 years older. Jack has NF1 and a rare outcome of the disease, Tibial Dysplasia.

At 7 months of age, following a trip to the GP and a subsequent referral to an Orthopaedic Surgeon, Jack was diagnosed with NF1 and Tibial Dysplasia – a rare outcome of NF1 occurring in around 1 in 150,000 births.

Apart from a few Café-Au-Lait spots which were thought to be birth marks, Jack did not display any other symptoms at this time. The initial diagnosis was a shock as there is no family history if NF1.

“We had never heard of the condition like most people, we immediately Googled NF and were met with the shock and sadness after reading of many families who deal with the impact of Neurofibromatosis.”

After the initial, confronting news, we started the process to understand the disease and book the multitude of appointments – Jack was off to see a Paediatrician familiar with NF, Ophthalmologist, Neurologist and continue to see his Orthopaedic Surgeon and Orthotist as we prepared for surgery once Jack was old enough.

As soon as Jack was old enough to stand and began to walk, he required an AFO (Ankle Foot Orthotic) to support his tibia – at this stage Jack had a 65-degree bow in his leg and his bone was weak.

We had one task – to ensure he did not fracture his leg as this would have resulted in surgery much earlier than expected, his body needed to be bigger to support the procedure.

By the time Jack was almost 3 years of age, in between COVID-19 Lockdowns in Melbourne, our Surgeon felt it was time to operate and correct Jack’s tibia. His leg now had an 85-degree bow and if the bone fractured it would not heal.

The recovery was long; following almost a week in hospital with his leg iced to reduce swelling and on strong pain relief, Jack spent 12 weeks in a full-length cast.

Jack is now 8 Years of Age and since the initial procedure, Jack has had a further 7 surgeries on his leg and ankle. The last round of procedures between 2025 and start of 2026 has seen Jack restricted to a wheelchair and crutches, following an ankle correction with 3 surgeries in the space of 6 months.

Jack continues to have regular Physiotherapy, and we try and get him in the pool once or twice a week to help with recovery. Whilst the major focus has been on Jack’s leg, there are a lot of other appointments and things to monitor and stay on top of. Jack also has some challenges with eyesight and there are regular MRIs scheduled to monitor severe spots on his brain and optic nerve.

We are incredibly fortunate to live in Australia with access to some of the best medical care in the world and to be supported by The Royal Children’s Hospital and the NF Clinic supported by CTF. Through this support, and the support of our community, Jack has been able to live a relatively “normal” life attending our local primary school and even participating in sport when he is able to.

“When our son Jack was diagnosed with NF1 we were not familiar with the condition and shocked to learn that 1 in 2,500 births are affected by the disease – making it one of the most common genetic conditions. We want to help bring NF out of the shadows because more awareness and vital funds are required to help treat and ultimately find a cure for Neurofibromatosis”.

RPS is proud to have NF Day on Friday, May 15th, where everyone is invited to dress in blue & green to raise awareness for NF & show our support to Jack and his family. 

By Anna Walsh and Izzy Corker

This week, we were fortunate enough to attend Anzac Day ceremony at the shrine of remembrance.

We learned stories of courage and bravery such as soldier Jim Martin, who, despite his parents’ wishes, joined the army at just 14 and unfortunately passed away at Gallipoli just before his 15th birthday.

It was an amazing experience where we learnt the true meaning of remembrance. We thank the ANZAC’s for fighting for everything we have today. We were honoured to have this opportunity to learn more of Australia’s history.