We started the week with colour, noise, excitement and, in a personal first, being offered lettuce by a lion. Of course we accepted... for prosperity, for the school and for our collective financial future.

Monday’s Lion Dance, organised by Kai, was a joyful way to welcome the Lunar New Year and a powerful celebration of culture, belonging and community. The energy, the drumming and the smiles on students’ faces made it a very special way to begin the week.

A special mention to our Preps, who were seated right up the front and showed incredible resilience. It’s a lot in your first month of school to come face to face with a Chinese lion and we didn’t see a single tear, although there were definitely a few wide-eyed moments as they held their ground. We were very proud of them.

A huge thank you to everyone who helped bring this experience to life for our learners.

Our Newsletter – Your Feedback

We’ve had a fantastic response to our new newsletter platform, with a record number of families signing up and plenty of positive feedback, thank you. We’re glad you’re enjoying it and even happier that more of you are actually opening it.

This fortnight’s edition includes updates from our learning areas, giving you a snapshot of the many exciting things happening in classrooms and in your child’s learning. Our goal is for the newsletter to be a genuine window into life at Richmond West, with more photos of learning in action, more work samples and fewer updates that can be shared through other channels.

As always, we welcome your feedback as we continue to refine it together.

Strengthening Teaching & Learning

Across the school, our Leadership Team are undertaking some whole-school curriculum mapping work. This work will sit at the centre of our Annual Implementation Plan for 2026 and will be a focus of our School Review later in the year.

The work is about making learning more connected and purposeful for students by reducing unnecessary repetition, creating a smoother learning journey across year levels and strengthening consistency across our language programs. It’s an important and exciting piece of work that will continue to build across the year, even if it doesn’t always make for thrilling dinner table conversation.

Minimum Standards Update

As part of our School Review, we are currently undertaking a minimum standards assessment in relation to our policies, processes and the documentation we have in place. This ensures that our practices continue to reflect the high expectations we hold for student learning, wellbeing and supervision.

A reminder that all parents and carers must sign in at the office using Compass before entering learning spaces. This is a legal requirement and a key part of maintaining clear and consistent processes across the school. If you’re ever unsure, the office is your first stop, (our office staff are very good at knowing where to send everyone). Thank you for your ongoing support with this.

Attendance Matters

This week, families of students whose attendance has fallen below 60% received an early notification. We understand this may feel early in the year, however our aim is to work in partnership with families to establish strong attendance habits from the beginning and to offer support where it may be needed.

Regular attendance makes a significant difference to learning, wellbeing and a student’s sense of connection to school. If mornings are starting to feel more like an obstacle course, your child's classroom teacher is the first point of contact. The teachers are supported in this space by Kathryn, who can work to develop more individualised plans for students where the need arises.

Access Changes – Looking Ahead

Due to the upcoming Vere Street upgrades being undertaken by Homes Vic, there will be some temporary changes to access points at the rear of the school.

At some stage in March, the back gate will be temporarily unavailable and the side gate will be used instead. We will share confirmed dates as soon as they are available and thank you in advance for your flexibility.

School Council 2026

Information regarding the upcoming School Council elections will be shared shortly. Once the election process opens, a Compass notification will be sent to families with further details.

Under updated Department of Education requirements, all nominees must hold either current VIT registration or a valid Working With Children Check. If you are considering nominating, now is a great time to begin that process.

Get Involved - Subcommittees

A reminder that the parent expression of interest form for School Council subcommittees is available for those who would like to express interest in supporting the work of the school.

Follow Us on Instagram

If you’re not already following us on Instagram, we'd love for you to jump on board at @richmondwestps. It’s another way for you to see what’s happening across the school in real time and to celebrate the learning, achievements and everyday moments that make our school such a special place.

Our 5/6 students are getting ready to head off to camp in the coming weeks, so keep an eye out for the stories of gold rush adventures, the suspicious quantities of raspberry drops and the inevitable parade of Sovereign Hill–era fashion moments.

Until next fortnight,

Trevor.

TeamKids - OSHC