Executive Principal's Report

Spring has finally arrived and, after what feels like months of cold mornings and early sunsets. The first week of September always seems to put a little spring back in our step, slightly milder days, blossoms appearing on trees and the occasional glimpse of blue sky, bring along a renewed sense of optimism. 

This change always gives us a new energy reserve to carry us into the final fortnight of Term 3.

Science Night

Next Wednesday is our annual Science Night, running from 5.00pm to 6.00pm.

Students across each learning area have been busy preparing experiments and investigations and are now ready to showcase their learning to our community. The structure will be similar to last year, with experiments and demonstrations taking place every 15 minutes across the different learning areas. This gives families with multiple children the opportunity to move between areas, while also providing everyone with the chance to take a first-hand look at some of the science happening beyond their own child’s year level.

A huge thank you to Courtney, supported by Rita, for coordinating the evening. Starting at a new school partway through the year is challenging enough without immediately being handed a whole-school event involving multiple learning areas, experiments, timetables and several hundred moving parts. Courtney has taken it very much in her stride and it is shaping up to be a fantastic evening. We look forward to seeing everyone there.

Parent Opinion Survey

Details were sent via Compass last week inviting families to complete the 2026 Parent Opinion Survey, and the response so far has been fantastic. In fact, more families have already completed the survey this year than participated across the entirety of last year’s survey period.

If you have not yet had an opportunity to complete it, we would really appreciate a few minutes of your time. Your feedback helps us understand both the strengths of our school and the areas where we have opportunities to continue improving.

Survey results form one part of the broader picture we use when planning school improvement. They sit alongside student Attitudes to School Survey results, staff feedback, NAPLAN, teacher judgement data, attendance information and the many conversations we have with students, families and staff throughout the year.

After ten years as a principal, one thing I have learnt is that no school can be everything to everyone, nor can every improvement priority be tackled simultaneously. Good school improvement depends on identifying the themes that consistently appear across multiple sources of evidence, then making deliberate decisions about where our time, resources and energy can have the greatest impact.

Your feedback therefore matters enormously, particularly when it helps us see patterns, strengths and opportunities clearly.

School Review

That leads nicely into another major focus for Richmond West this year, our School Review, which will take place during Term 4.

Over the past few weeks we have been locking in dates and beginning to shape the review agenda. Yesterday, Amanda, Kai, Rachel and I met with our School Reviewer for our pre-review meeting.

Part of the discussion involved looking closely at a range of data from across the four years of our current Strategic Plan, as well as reflecting on the work that has occurred during that period. It was a valuable opportunity to stand back for a moment and look at what the school has actually achieved.

Strategic Plans are deliberately ambitious and, because school improvement happens gradually, it can sometimes be difficult to notice the progress being made while you are standing in the middle of it. Looking back across four years gives a very different perspective. There is a great deal that Richmond West should feel proud of.

I do not see a School Review as a punitive process, a checklist or a single judgement about whether a school is doing well or not. For me, it is a valuable opportunity to stop, collect our thoughts and evidence, look back at how far we have come, take stock of where we are now, and then readjust for the next stage of the journey. It also creates a structured moment for the people who are currently part of the school to have input into where we head next. Schools are busy places and it is very easy to keep rowing without looking up. A review gives us the chance to check our direction, make sure we are still heading where we intend to go, and decide together what needs to happen next.

This review is not about taking Richmond West from good to great. I see it as an opportunity to move our school from great to outstanding, and I am genuinely looking forward to taking that journey together.

Victorian Principals Association Conference

Last week I was fortunate to spend two days in Geelong attending the Victorian Principals Association Annual Conference.

Having the support of a strong leadership team that enables me to step away from school occasionally and take part in these opportunities is a privilege, and I am very grateful for their support in making that possible.

While many of the keynote speakers were not educators themselves, they shared experiences from their own lives and careers that gave us plenty of opportunity to stop, reflect and consider leadership through a slightly different lens.

Two speakers who particularly stood out for me were Gill Hicks and Jessica Gallagher.

Gill Hicks survived the 2005 London bombings and has since become a prominent advocate for peace, resilience and the way people respond to adversity. Jessica Gallagher is an Australian Paralympian who has competed across multiple sports, and her story similarly centred on adaptability, perseverance and making the most of opportunity.

Both were powerful reminders that resilience is not really about pretending difficult things are easy. It is about how we respond, adjust and keep moving.

Just as valuable as the formal conference program is the opportunity to spend time with principals and leadership teams from schools across Victoria. Hearing what is happening elsewhere, exchanging ideas and being able to share Richmond West’s own story helps keep our school firmly connected to the broader Victorian government school system.

Gleadell Street Market

A big thank you to all the parents, carers and staff who supported the Gleadell Street Market last weekend.

Our involvement in the market continues to be something valued both by our school community and the wider Richmond community. It is also an important part of the positive promotion work that happens every day across Richmond West. Whether it is speaking with local residents, prospective families, former families or people simply curious about what happens behind our gates, every conversation helps tell the story of the work taking place here.

Also... we may also have managed to spend some of Saturday’s fundraising money just before we had technically finished earning it. Last week we secured new televisions and mobile TV stands for our Year 1/2 learning area and the Prep Chinese classroom. Replacing outdated screens across the school has been a quiet but important project this year, and it has been great to see teachers already making strong use of the upgraded technology.

The next experiment will be in Prep, where we are expecting to trial an interactive television next term. Rather than committing immediately to a significant whole-school purchase, we have been offered the opportunity to test one first and assess how effectively it supports teaching and learning.

Over the coming term we will see how it performs and whether interactive televisions are something we may gradually introduce into other areas of the school in future years.

Numeracy and NAPLAN

Our 2026 NAPLAN results provide another useful snapshot of student learning across the school, particularly in numeracy.

In Year 3, 60% of students achieved in the Strong or Exceeding proficiency levels. While the cohort mean was slightly below the state average, the results give us a clear picture of the skills our younger students are demonstrating confidently, as well as the areas we need to continue strengthening through our teaching and planning.

By Year 5, the picture is particularly encouraging. 75% of students achieved Strong or Exceeding in numeracy, with 34% achieving at the Exceeding level alone. The Year 5 cohort also recorded a mean scale score of 523.0, compared with a state mean of 492.8.

These results are a strong reflection of the mathematical capability we are seeing in our older students, while also reinforcing the importance of continuing to build a clear and consistent approach to numeracy from the early years onwards.

School Uniform

The vast majority of Richmond West students wear their school uniform with pride each day and generally do a fantastic job of representing our school.

As terms progress, however, school uniform can sometimes experience a gradual decline. A different pair of pants appears here, another coloured jumper there and, if left unchecked, the days begin looking suspiciously like a casual clothes day.

A reminder that students are expected to attend school in full school uniform each day.

If your child has grown out of something, misplaced something or you are reluctant to purchase additional uniform this close to the end of the year, our pre-loved uniform shop has plenty available at bargain-basement prices and is a great option for filling the gaps.

It is also worth checking Lost Property, particularly before the end of term. Any unnamed items remaining at the end of the term will either be added to our pre-loved uniform stock or donated.

With the disruptions from swimming almost about the become a distant memory, the final fortnight gives us a chance to settle back into our routines, enjoy Science Night, celebrate the learning that has taken place and finish the term strongly.

Until next time,

Trevor.