RPS Chatter November 2025

5 weeks down….6 weeks to go!  The term is flying, and with so much happening, let’s jump straight into it.

 

Extra, Extra, READ all about it!

We recommend that children read at home as often as possible (in an ideal world that would be every day).  Sometimes it can be a fine line between providing the challenge for your child’s reading to improve and making the reading task too arduous so the child loses interest.  We want to ensure that your child develops their reading skills to their greatest level whilst maintaining a love of reading and literature.  Some of the books your child chooses will be books that they are able to read by themselves, some will be more suitable for you to read together, and some will be best suited for you to read to your child.  All these situations are valuable reading experiences for children.

As teachers, we are often asked by parents how they can help their children become better readers.  The answer is simple……. READ MORE!  Research has shown that the benefits speak for themselves:

·         On average, a student who reads at home for 20 minutes per day will be exposed to 1.8 million words per year and scores in the 90th Percentile on standardised tests

·         On average, a student who reads at home for 5 minutes per day will be exposed to 282,000 words per year and scores in the 50th percentile on standardised tests

·         On average, a student who reads at home for 1 minute per day will be exposed to 8,000 words per year and scores in the 10th percentile on standardised tests.

Don’t get me wrong, I struggle to find the time for myself to sit and read for 20 minutes a day…especially if it’s reading for pleasure…. and don’t get me started on the difficulties of trying to “encourage” a teenager to sit and read (rather than watch the movie).  When I work out the solution to that issue, I’ll be sure to let you know 😊.

 

Rumour has it

Word on the grapevine is that we still have some members of our community who have either not enrolled their child for the 2026 school year yet, OR they are intending on leaving our RPS community and haven’t officially informed us.  If you know of any of these people (or are one yourself), could you please contact the office as soon as possible.  That way we can ensure that we have appropriate staffing and resources in place to begin the 2026 school year.

 

2026 Class lists

Speaking of 2026…it’s that time of year when you have the opportunity to contact me in writing regarding student preferences for next year.  This communication between us is completely confidential and not discussed with other community members.  Requests are not a guarantee, but we do consider them when putting our classes together.  Please have all requests to me by Friday, 21st November.

It is probably also a good time to start speaking with your child about what makes a positive learning partner (rather than their besties).

 

Still to come this term:

·         Kids Roar incursion

·         Foundation Transition sessions

·         Working Bee (Sunday, November 30th)

·         2026 Planning Week

·         Colour Run

·         Moving on up day

·         Year 6 Graduation

·         Year 6 pen Water excursion

·         Meet the teacher

·         End-of-year reports released

It does remind me that with so much going on, it’s easy to forget or misinterpret information.  If you ever need clarification, be sure to check the website or call the office so we can set you straight.

 

Last day of the School Year

As December 19th is a student-free day, our last official day with students is Thursday, December 18th.  Our day will commence with a final whole school assembly on the netball court at 9:10 am.  As it is a “normal” school day after that, students will be dismissed from their learning spaces at 3:30 pm.

 

Colour Run

Friday, 5th December is an exciting day on our school calendar… It’s our COLOUR RUN!  Please remember that the fundraising for the Colour Run closes on Friday, 21st November.  Anyone who raises funds by this date will go into a draw to SLIME a STAFF MEMBER!  Next week, we will announce which staff members are willing to be slimed.

 

The Resilience Project Check-in Question:

What has made you happy today?

 

 

That’s all from me this week

I look forward to seeing you around the school grounds.

Stay safe.  Stay healthy.  Stay happy and remember to be kind to yourself and others

Megan 😊

• Friday, 14th November – Whole School Assembly
• Friday, 28th November – Whole School Assembly
• Friday, 5th December – Colour Run
• Wednesday, 10th December – Year 6 Graduation
• Friday, 12th December – Whole School Assembly
• Friday, 19th December – Student Free Day

We are excited to announce the upcoming Young Author’s Award at RPS! This is a wonderful opportunity for our students to showcase their creativity and storytelling skills through narrative writing.

 

What is the Young Author’s Award?

 

Students who choose to participate will write a narrative, typically no longer than two pages. They may work on their writing piece at home, or during Writer’s Workshop at school. We always welcome creativity when it comes to presenting their writing.

The students’ teachers will then select outstanding entries from each year level, resulting in shortlisted stories to be reviewed. From these, a final winner will be chosen for each year level, making seven winners in total.

The shortlisted stories will be reviewed by our special guest judge, Alice Foulcher. We feel very fortunate to have Alice’s expertise and enthusiasm guiding the selection of the winning pieces!

Entries have closed. The winners will be announced and awards presented during our whole school assembly on Friday, 14th November.

If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with your child’s teacher.

We are very proud to celebrate our young authors and look forward to seeing their wonderful work!

 

Chess Club – Fridays, 8:00 – 8:50 AM

Hot Shot Tennis – Fridays, 8:00 – 8:40 AM