Principal's News

Dear Parents/Guardians,

ANZAC Day Service 

Students and families are encouraged to join the Rochester community and our School Captains on Saturday at the ANZAC Day march and ceremony. The March will leave the Shire/Town hall at 10:45am.

Tomorrow we will attend the ANZAC Day service at the Secondary College.

Helping Children Understand ANZAC Day

There are many meaningful ways parents can involve their children in ANZAC Day and help them appreciate its significance in Australia’s history. Building their understanding is a great place to start, and there are plenty of high-quality, child-friendly books that share the ANZAC story and the values it represents. These resources are often available at local libraries or free through the Department of Veterans’ Affairs.

Importantly, these stories highlight that ANZAC Day is not about celebrating war, but about reflection and remembrance. It is a time to honour qualities such as endurance, resourcefulness, courage, teamwork, loyalty and mateship. These values remain relevant today and are an important part of our national identity—ones we can encourage children to understand and carry with them beyond ANZAC Day.

Staffing 

This week we welcomed Jenna Harvey (Gr 5/6 support) and Jenna Oliver (3-6 Auslan). We are lucky to have you join the team at Rochester PS.

Inform & Empower webinar - Raising kids in a digital world

Thank you to the families who were able to join the webinar last night. If you missed it you can watch the replay using this link-

www.informandempower.com.au/schools-webinars/st-josephs-rochester

Events Payments - XUNO

Families are now able to pay for event when giving approval directly on XUNO.

Using the XUNO Family app

• Upcoming events will show in your Calendar on the dashboard. You can tap on the name of the event to view it.
• The Payments section shows all outstanding event or fee payments. You can tap on Pay Now to see all payments due.
• Check/Update credit card details and follow the prompts. 

Families can still opt to pay via direct debit or at the office.

Open Day

Education Week is the celebration of State Education in Victoria. 

We will be celebrating Education Week with our Open Day on May 22nd from 9am. Put this date in your calendar and take up the opportunity to see the school in action. This is a great opportunity for prospective families to visit our school, meet some of our teaching staff and leaders and also speak with our students. We encourage any families to come and visit us to learn a little more about Rochester Primary School. 

School fees/payments 

A friendly reminder, the voluntary school fees of $190 for this year can be paid online or at the office. The ongoing support of our families ensures that our school can offer the best possible education and support for our students. For further information on the Department’s Parent Payments Policy can be found on our website.

 Kate Whitford