Principal's Message

As we come to the end of week 8, Spring has well and truly sprung this week!  As we look around the school grounds, the colours on the trees are in full bloom, which for the Wadawurrung people, was always an indication to check on those in their family with respiratory problems and their elders as the cold weather leaves us and the seasons changes.  We have all certainly enjoyed the sun shining this week in the playground this week!

It was great to see so many community members brave the cold and light rain to attend our Book Week Parade and family picnic last week.  The students (and teachers) did such a great job with the dress ups, and it was great to speak to the students about the choices they made on their costumes based on their favourite books.  This community involvement is such an important part of student learning and we all appreciate the families and community members who attended.

Curriculum Day Wednesday September 2nd

This week saw school staff hold a Curriculum Day.  These days are invaluable to schools and gave us an opportunity to drive school improvement and spend the day focusing on whole School targeted Professional Development. 

We began the day by welcoming James Symes from the department of Education Teaching and Learning Resources Branch and Curriculum and Teaching Practice Division.  James spent the morning unpacking the resources available to teachers, specifically the Victorian Lesson Plans with our staff. The Victorian Lesson Plans are a suite of high-quality, curriculum-aligned resources developed by the Department of Education to support the implementation of the Victorian Curriculum 2.0 and the Victorian Teaching and Learning Model (VTLM 2.0). The lesson plans provide a consistent, evidence-informed approach to teaching and learning, helping teachers to deliver explicit instruction, high-impact classroom practices and targeted support for all students.

We then spent time revisiting Professional Learning Communities and the role these play at Rollins Primary School to drive student learning.  Professional Learning Communities (PLCs) play a vital role in strengthening teaching and learning across our school. Through regular collaboration, staff work together to analyse student learning data, identify areas of need, share effective teaching practices and develop targeted strategies to improve student outcomes. PLCs foster a culture of collective responsibility, where teachers learn from one another, reflect on their practice and remain focused on ensuring every student experiences growth and success. This collaborative approach supports continuous improvement and helps us maintain high expectations for both learning and achievement.

We finished off the day looking into the inclusive practices which each classroom utilises to ensure that every student feels valued, supported and able to participate fully in their learning. Our teachers use a range of strategies to respond to the diverse needs, strengths and interests of students, including differentiated learning, targeted support and flexible teaching approaches.

School Parent/Carer Opinion Survey

Our Parent/Carer Opinion Survey opened last week and remains open until Friday September 18th.  At this stage we have 15% of Rollins PS and 3% of our Batesford campus families who have responded so far.  If you get a chance, we invite you to complete the Parent/Carer Opinion Survey. We take the results seriously and use the feedback to inform school-based decisions and future planning. If you have missed any of the information that has been sent home, please contact the school.

School Concert 

We’re all looking forward to the School Concert coming up next week.  It has been great to watch the excitement grow across the school and it will be fantastic to see the studenst enjoy the culmination of all of their hard work throughout the term. 

Alex WernerPrincipal