Dear Parents/Guardians,

World Teachers Day

Tomorrow is world Teachers Day. On behalf of our students, families and the entire school community, I would like to say a huge thankyou for the support and guidance our teachers provide our students each and every day! THANK YOU

School Performance Report

The Department of Education has recently released the annual School Performance Reports which provide schools an opportunity to review outcomes, and to celebrate the work undertaken whilst, importantly aligning improvement priorities for the coming year.

Schools are categorised in four domains – (see below).

Our school has once again achieved a High overall performance rating which is a wonderful achievement and a great credit to the work that occurs in our school. Well done to everyone involved in this great result.

Attendance and Assessment In the coming weeks, as well as continuing with their teaching programs, staff are reviewing and assessing student’s performance and consolidating their learning in many areas of the curriculum. There are a range of scheduled assessments pertaining to reading, writing and numeracy which all students will be participating in. To ensure your child has the opportunity to be the best they can be it is important for your child to-

1. Be at school every day possible

2. Be well rested

3. Be at school on time after a healthy breakfast.

School fees/Contributions

A friendly reminder, school fees for this year can be paid online or at the office.

*Please note Rochester Primary School provide students with free instruction to fulfil the standard curriculum requirements and we want to assure you that all contributions are voluntary. Nevertheless, the ongoing support of our families ensures that our school can offer the best possible education and support for our students. More information regarding contributions was emailed to all families earlier this week or your can read the Department’s Policy on our website.

Classes 2027- Student Placements Staff will soon begin the conversations and work around class groupings for 2027. If your child will not be attending Rochester PS next year or you know of somebody who is yet to enrol could you please contact the office ASAP.

If you have any specific requests regarding the placement of your child for 2027 please make contact with Kate to discuss before Friday 30th October.

Our 2027 classes will consider parent request along with student needs from a social, academic, wellbeing and behavioural perspective. Teaching teams, Specialist staff, ES staff and Leadership review all classes to ensure the most appropriate placement of all students.

A range of factors are considered in the process of forming each class:

an academically and wellbeing compatible balance
a ‘social behaviour’ balance
Children need to be placed with familiar faces while at the same time acknowledging that some children work better with certain students rather than others irrespective of friendships.

School Closed

A reminder that the school will be closed on Monday November 2nd and Tuesday November 3rd for the pupil free day and the Melbourne Cup holiday. Each year schools are granted pupil free days and a Professional Practice Day by the Department. These dates may change each year depending on the needs of the school and must be approved by School Council.

Smart Devices

Under ministerial policy introduced in 2020, phones brought to school must be switched off and stored securely during school hours. This has resulted in many positive shifts in student behaviour in primary and secondary schools. This requirement continues.

From Term 1, 2027:

public school students are not permitted to wear or use smart glasses at any time on school premises (or at any school-organised event or activity). If smart glasses are brought to school, they must be turned off and stored during all school activities and securely stored during school hours.
wearable devices (such as smart watches) must have notifications, cellular connection and recording functions turned off during school hours or they will be stored at the office until the end of the day.
personal audio devices (headphones and earbuds) must not be used during school hours.

Restricting these devices helps to ensure:

school is a learning environment free from unnecessary distractions and disruptions
students can interact with each other face-to-face, without the distractions and social pressures these devices can cause
schools are safe environments for students, workers and visitors, where child safety, privacy and OHS risks associated with personal electronic devices are addressed by limiting their use.

End of year 'Hamper Raffle'

This year we are going with hampers and trialling ticket sales online for our Christmas Raffle. You can simply scan the QR code to purchase tickets, click on or copy this link https://www.raffletix.com.au/rochesterpshamper2026 or you can call into the office and pay by cash or card. (No need to write out or track physical raffle tickets!!)

Kate Whitford

Rochester Primary School Newsletter

Respect, Resilience, Responsibility

Term 4 Week 4 · 29 Oct 2026

In this issue