School Council

At this weeks School Council Meeting we discussed -

-Parent Opinion survey results

-Parent Contributions Policy / Booklist 2027

-OSHC Grant for 2027

-Fundraising (Raffle, Field Days)

-Upcoming building works/maintenance

-Professional Practice day

-Parent Teacher Interviews (date)

Tennis

This week Mr Nihill has been here running coaching sessions for our P-2 classes and training the grade 5/6 students who are representing our school at the team tennis regional event next Thursday. We wish them good luck!

Victorian Kids Get Active

Applications are now open for the Victorian Government's Get Active Kids Voucher Program, which helps eligible families cover the cost of getting their children involved in organised sport and active recreation.

What's on offer: Eligible children can receive up to $200 to put towards membership and registration fees for a sporting club or active recreation activity.

Who's eligible: Children aged 0–18 who are named on a valid, issued Health Care Card or Pensioner Concession Card, as well as a Medicare card.

How to apply: Families can apply directly online at- getactive.vic.gov.au/vouchers

This is a great opportunity for families who may be finding the cost of sport and activities a barrier. Please share this with anyone in our school community who might benefit. If you have any questions about the program, more information is available on the Get Active Victoria website.

Classes 2027- Student Placements Staff will soon begin the conversations and work around class groupings for 2027. If your child will not be attending Rochester PS next year or you know of somebody who is yet to enrol could you please contact the office ASAP.

If you have any specific requests regarding the placement of your child for 2027 please make contact with Kate to discuss before Friday 30th October.

Our 2027 classes will consider parent request along with student needs from a social, academic, wellbeing and behavioural perspective. Teaching teams, Specialist staff, ES staff and Leadership review all classes to ensure the most appropriate placement of all students.

A range of factors are considered in the process of forming each class:

an academically and wellbeing compatible balance
a ‘social behaviour’ balance
Children need to be placed with familiar faces while at the same time acknowledging that some children work better with certain students rather than others irrespective of friendships.

Uniform - SunSmart

If has been fantastic to see our students taking responsibility for having their blue school hats here this week. Please keep this up as all students need to have their school hat on to play outside at all times during term 4.

A friendly reminder, football shorts and football socks are not part of our school uniform.

School Closed

A reminder that the school will be closed on Monday November 2nd and Tuesday November 3rd for the pupil free day and the Melbourne Cup holiday. Each year schools are granted pupil free days and a Professional Practice Day by the Department. These dates may change each year depending on the needs of the school and must be approved by School Council.

Christmas Hamper Raffle

This year we are going with hampers and trialling ticket sales online for our Christmas Raffle. You can simply scan the QR code to purchase tickets, click on or copy this link https://www.raffletix.com.au/rochesterpshamper2026 or you can call into the office and pay by cash or card. (No need to write out or track physical raffle tickets!!)

Kate Whitford

Rochester Primary School Newsletter

Respect, Resilience, Responsibility

Term 4 Week 3 · 22 Oct 2026

In this issue