Principal's Report

A gentle reminder for families moving on from our school in 2026 to please notify the office and/or your class teacher as soon as possible, if you haven't done so already.

Young Leaders Forum Final Day & Presentations

Wednesday of this week saw the final day of the Respectful Relationships Young Leaders Forum, hosted by our school in the hall. Schools from throughout our Respectful Relationships network, lead by Nick Kong from Roberts McCubbin and Sarah from Blackburn Lake, have been participating in a range of leadership activities over 3 days this term. Between each session, each school has been working on a project related to Gender Equity.

Yesterday's program culminated in a sausage sizzle, followed by presentations by each school. Please read the next section of this page to read more about what the Robbie Mac team have done as part of their program!

Thank you to the students and schools who participated in the program, as well as the large crowd of parents, carers and guests who came to see the presentation.

Thanks also to Nick Kong for coordinating the program, along with great support from Mollie Trounson, Margie Strickland and Stephen Roche.

Young Leaders Forum - Student Action

Over the past few weeks, our Year 5 Respectful Relationships student leaders have been exploring an important question - Are some sports seen as “for boys” or “for girls”, and what happens when we challenge that idea?

They noticed that many boys were choosing sports like soccer and basketball, while girls were more likely to select netball or volleyball. This pattern reflected common gender stereotypes, so the group set out to test whether those preferences were based on genuine interest or simply habit and expectation.

To explore this, students took part in a three-week activity where they played two different sports every Tuesday. In the first half of the session, students played the sport they originally chose. In the second half, they swapped to a sport they hadn’t selected. This simple switch encouraged students to step outside their comfort zone and try something new.

The results were powerful.

At the beginning of the trial, 75 percent of boys said they did not want to play netball, and many girls felt unsure about playing soccer. However, by the end of the sessions, almost every student was willing – and even excited – to give all sports a go. Many realised they enjoyed a sport they had never tried before. One student summed it up perfectly:“Netball is actually really fun!”

Students shared a range of reasons for their original choices – from not knowing the rules, to thinking a sport “wasn’t for them”, to simply following what their friends were doing. These honest reflections highlight how easily stereotypes influence choices without us even realising.

This project has sparked great conversation across the cohort about confidence, inclusivity and giving new things a try. It also supports our school’s commitment to Respectful Relationships and gender equality.

What’s next?

Our student leaders are now planning to:

• Create lessons to help younger students understand why gender stereotypes in sport are not helpful

• Work with our PE teacher to continue promoting gender-diverse participation

• Share their learning with other classes

• Write more reflections about the positive impact of trying new things

We are incredibly proud of the initiative, leadership and open-mindedness the students have shown throughout this project. Their work is helping us build a school culture where every sport is for everyone, and every student feels encouraged to participate fully.

Thank you to our Year 5 leaders for inspiring our community to think differently, challenge assumptions and celebrate diversity in all areas of school life.

2026 Transition & Staffing Plan

Next Tuesday is our annual "Meet the Teacher" transition session, where all students spend the morning with their 2026 class and teacher. With 300 students all being shuffled into new classes, it is inevitable that across the school, students will experience a wide range of emotions before, during and after the session. It is very normal for students to feel some worries about their new class - in the vast majority of cases they quickly see how wonderful their new teacher and friends are going to be. As always, please reach out to your class teacher, Head of Wellbeing Steve Roche, or myself, if needed.

For any who missed it, the following is a re-print of the email that was sent to all families via email on Monday regarding staffing in 2026:

With teaching staff busily preparing for next year with planning week this week, as well as continuing to prepare 2026 classes, I am now in a position to be able to announce staffing allocations.

Foundation: Lorna Say, Nick Kong

Year 1: Cheryl Ryan, Courtney Witney-Brown

Year 2: Mollie Trounson, Bella Norman

Year 3: Kate Pickburn, Kirsty Davies

Year 4: Anne Seymour, Bessie Caldwell-Garcia

Year 5: Irene Barbati, Cameron Batt

Year 6: Micah Gonzalez, Melinda Browne

Claudia Collins will be teaching one day per week in Nick Kong and Cameron Batt's classrooms to facilitate leadership roles for both.

Art/Art Therapy/Foundation STEAM: Katrina Cassidy

Japanese/1-2 STEAM: Kelly Vimpani

PE/3-6 STEAM: Tim Fearn-Wannan

Performing Arts: Lena Zappia

Tutoring: Jess Lipscombe/Finn Corbett-Davies

Principal: Peter Watson

Assistant Principal/Disability Inclusion/Mental Health & Wellbeing Leader: Steve Roche

Business Manager: Mel Khoury

Admin part time: Heidi McArdle

Admin part time/First Aid/OHS support: Lisa Ralling

Classroom Education Support: Ash Jansz, Marcelle Abrahams, Sophie Posselt, Heidi McArdle, Lisa Ralling, Finn Corbett-Davies, Esker Li.

We wish Renae Greer, Michael Zukier, Carly Feng, Natasha Robb & Margie Strickland all the very best in new roles elsewhere in 2026 and thank them sincerely for their passion, skill and dedication as teachers while members of the Roberts McCubbin Primary School Community.

I would also like to extend a big Robbie Mac welcome to Courtney Witney-Brown, Bella Norman, Bessie Caldwell-Garcia and Irene Barbati who will be joining our teaching team in 2026.

You may also note the sharing of the STEAM role in the plan; with Tim, Kelly and Katrina combining to take this subject next year. First and foremost, these skilled and experienced individuals will do a fabulous job, supported by former STEAM teachers still active in our community. However, solidifying this decision has been the very limited availability of part-time STEAM teachers in the job pool in recent times.

As noted in recent newsletters, we generally do not consider requests for specific class teachers except for in the most exceptional of circumstances. If you do believe such a circumstance exists for your child, please email peter.watson@education.vic.gov.au as soon as possible, or contact the office to request a confidential meeting with myself or Assistant Principal, Steve Roche.

While focused on a great finish to 2025, we're already excited about the wonderful times ahead in 2026!

Peter Watson

Principal