Principal's Report

School Fair is getting closer - don't forget to keep an eye on all the news and updates!

2026 Classes

As noted in the last newsletter, 2026 class planning has begun. Parent who have requests for specific placements were requested to make these via email to peter.watson@education.vic.gov.au by today, so please send these through as soon as possible if you have a request that you haven't sent as yet.

Please note that if you have made requests in previous years, it would be appreciated if you could communicate if you would like this request to be considered again in 2026.

A gentle reminder also that we would greatly appreciate early notification if your family will be moving on from Roberts McCubbin PS for the 2026 school year.

Principal Forum

On Wednesday, Steve Roche and I attended the Area Principal Forum, where school leaders from across our network came together to discuss key updates and priorities for Victorian government schools. The day began with a presentation from our Area Director, Karen Money, who shared an update on the current state of education in Victoria, highlighting both the challenges and opportunities ahead for schools.

We then explored new developments in the data and reporting tools provided by the Department, which will help schools better analyse and respond to their NAPLAN results, as well as student, parent, and staff survey data. These updates will allow us to gain a deeper understanding of our school’s strengths and areas for growth.

The day concluded by reviewing our Differentiated School Performance Report, which measures school performance across key domains. We were very pleased to see Roberts McCubbin Primary School achieve ratings in the High category for both learning and wellbeing — a reflection of the strong, consistent work of our staff, students, and community.

Survey Strengths

Speaking of our school surveys, we recently received the results of the annual staff survey. The vast majority of our results were outstanding and very reflective of the professionalism and skill of our teaching and support staff. As documented in media reports, teacher workload is an issue across the profession at present, with some areas of our staff survey reflecting this state-wide trend.

Some particular highlights were:

• Collective focus on student learning (96% positive endorsement, significantly higher than 'similar' schools, schools in our network, and schools across the state)

• Collective responsibility (96% positive endorsement, significantly higher than 'similar' schools, schools in our network, and schools across the state)

• Guaranteed & viable curriculum (92% positive endorsement, significantly higher than 'similar' schools and schools in our network)

• Instructional leadership  (91% positive endorsement, significantly higher than 'similar' schools, schools in our network, and schools across the state)

• Teacher collaboration  (88% positive endorsement, significantly higher than 'similar' schools, schools in our network, and schools across the state)

• Collective efficacy  (93% positive endorsement, significantly higher than 'similar' schools, schools in our network, and schools across the state)

A further statistic from this survey is great confirmation of how highly our staff value their relationships with our wonderful parents, carers and students; with the survey factor "Trust in students and parents" being 15 percentage points higher than the state average, and around 10 percent higher than similar and network schools.

SunSmart Reminder – Hats Required Throughout Term 4

As part of our school’s SunSmart policy, the official SunSmart period is now active. We expect that all students will begin wearing their hats, with our 'no hat, no play' system currently in place. Please ensure your child’s hat is clearly labelled and brought to school each day. Spartan Uniforms have hats in stock for purchase if needed. Thank you for helping us keep our students safe in the sun.

Peter Watson

Principal