Executive Principal's Report

We’re officially past the halfway mark of the term, which feels like a good time to pause, reflect on what we’ve achieved so far, and look ahead to everything still to come in the final part of the term.

Swimming: Rinse and Repeat

Schools have been running swimming programs almost since the dawn of time, yet somehow the disruption they bring always manages to catch us slightly off-guard each year.

For our Years 3–6 students and staff, the past couple of weeks have meant timetable changes, interrupted routines and the daily migration of bathers, towels, goggles and swimming caps between home, school and pool. Add to that the washing, drying and inevitable collection of unidentified socks, underwear and soggy towels that will probably remain in classrooms until Christmas, and swimming makes its presence known.

Amongst all of this, though, it is worth remembering why we do it. As we move closer to summer and spend more time around pools, beaches, rivers and waterways, giving children the skills, confidence and awareness to be safe around water is enormously important. A couple of disrupted school weeks feels fairly insignificant when viewed through that lens.

A big thank you to our Years 3–6 students, staff and families for the flexibility, resilience and adaptability shown throughout the program. Fortunately for them, they’ve almost wrapped up. To our junior school, your turn is coming.

As always, we’ll continue reviewing how swimming operates and looking for ways to reduce some of the disruption each year. 

Interschool Sport

Our Years 5–6 students have been on a roll lately, with last Friday seeing them head off to compete against other local schools at the district athletics carnival.

I remember a time, actually not all that long ago, when I would almost hold my breath whenever a large group of our students ventured beyond the school gates for a competitive event. Bringing together students from different schools, backgrounds and personalities always adds a few variables to proceedings.

I’m pleased to report that I no longer hold my breath. In fact, these days I expect our students to represent Richmond West positively, regardless of whether they win, lose or finish somewhere in the wonderfully broad territory in between.

The maturity, encouragement and responsibility our students show at these events has become something we can be genuinely proud of. It has also been noticed by families, staff and the students themselves, reflecting our school value of Striving for Personal Success particularly well.

This week, a staff member reflected on just how far this has come:

“I remember when we used to go to winter and summer gala days and many of our students didn’t even know the rules of t-ball or netball. Some would tell me, ‘We suck at sport.’ To now see our students placing in these events, including coming third at athletics this year, is such a huge achievement.

 

Jacqui has slowly and strategically built our students’ skills and confidence over the years, and it is really starting to show. What touches me most is seeing the kids cheer not only for students who have a strong chance of winning, but also those who are simply brave enough to give something a go. They celebrate and encourage each other regardless of the outcome, and I think that says a lot about the community we are building.”

We’re proud of all of our students, but a particular shout-out goes to our Years 5/6 students who continue to do an outstanding job of leading the way for our younger students and modelling the attitude and behaviour we want to see across the school.

Brass Band State Champions

A very big congratulations to our Brass Band, who competed in the Victorian Bands’ League State Championships in the Primary School section and came away as State Champions.

In the interests of full disclosure, they were also the only band competing in their section. However, they scored an outstanding 134 points out of a possible 150 and, according to adjudicator Richard Shirley from the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, they effectively “blew the adjudicator’s mind.” So I think we can comfortably take credit where credit is due. 

The result is a wonderful reflection of the work that has gone into our brass program over many years. What begins with students learning an instrument at Richmond West has grown into something that gives them the confidence, skill and experience to perform at this level, and importantly, to see themselves as musicians.

Congratulations to Lachlan, Hildegard, Sarah, Adrienne, Xavier, Warren, Grace, Oscar, Aiden, Norrie, Odette, Haroun, Alison, Stephanie, Enid, Lev, Tara, Kingsley, Cara, Bella, Max, Leo, Teddy S, Seb, Perry, Bowie, Gerard, Henry, Dylan, Elroy, Felix, Juliet and Louis.

A huge thank you as well to Adam and everyone involved in teaching, rehearsing, organising and supporting the band. 

State Champions has a rather nice ring to it!

Discovery: Looking Ahead to Term 4

We are approaching the end of our very first “Discovery” unit, and at last night’s professional learning session, staff reflected on the successes, challenges and lessons from our first term working within this new approach.

I’ll acknowledge that introducing a curriculum shift halfway through a school year is probably not advice I would enthusiastically give another principal. Sometimes, though, it is better to begin, learn and refine than wait indefinitely for the perfect moment.

In many ways, our staff have approached Discovery in exactly the way we hope our students will. Collaboration is growing across year levels and languages, staff are supporting one another, and having a common whole-school theme is helping us increasingly see our curriculum as one connected journey rather than separate schools operating alongside each other.

Next term we’ll build on this work with a whole-school Geography focus, with sustainability providing an underlying thread across much of the school.

In Foundation-2, students will explore the places around them, how places change, and ways people can share and care for them. In Years 3/4, this expands to environments, vegetation, natural resources and different perspectives on how resources can be used sustainably. By Years 5/6, students investigate how people influence places, how places change over time and how environments and spaces can be managed sustainably.

Each Learning Area is now looking closely at the curriculum for its students and asking a fairly simple question: what could our students discover about sustainability at this age?

That might look quite different in Prep than it does in Year 6, and that is exactly the point.

Looking Even Further Ahead: 2027

Alongside planning for next term, we have also begun the annual process of looking towards 2027.

This is the time of year when we start modelling enrolments, possible class structures, staffing requirements and any positions that may need to be advertised before the end of the year. It is a puzzle that takes almost six months to complete and has a persistent habit of changing shape every time you think you’ve solved it.

The good news is that we are starting from a strong position. At last count, we have 29 Foundation enrolments for 2027, a very healthy number for RWPS. Even more excitingly, this group is currently set to become the largest bilingual cohort in our school.

That doesn’t happen by accident.

To the parents who have connected us with local kinders, the staff who have attended kindergarten information evenings, handed out brochures and promoted our programs, those who show up at Gleadell Street Market with enviable devotion, and everyone who advocates strongly and passionately for Richmond West within the broader community - thank you.

School promotion is rarely one big campaign. More often, it is hundreds of small conversations over several years and it is lovely to see those conversations starting to add up.

Parent Opinion Survey

Shortly, families will receive details about the 2026 Parent Opinion Survey.

The survey forms one part of the broader picture we use to understand how Richmond West is travelling, alongside student achievement data, Attitudes to School Survey results, NAPLAN, attendance data and the many conversations we have with students and families throughout the year.

Last year our response rate was lower than we would have liked, which made it harder to confidently interpret the results as representing our wider parent community.

When the survey arrives, we’d therefore really appreciate families finding five or ten minutes to complete it. Whether your feedback is positive, constructive or somewhere between the two, hearing from a larger number of families gives us a much stronger picture of your child’s experience of learning and school life.

Mathematics Results

I did say I was going to share some of our NAPLAN Mathematics results in this newsletter.

Term 3 has done exactly what Term 3 tends to do and escaped from me slightly.

So, maths results next newsletter. Promise.

There is plenty still ahead of us this term, but also plenty worth pausing to recognise. 

Thank you, as always, for the many small contributions that you all collectively make Richmond West tick.

Until next fortnight,

Trevor.