Welcome back to Term Two! The holidays already seem like weeks ago and so much has already been happening around the school.

Walk-a-thon and Colour Explosion!

Well what a hoot we had on Wednesday for our annual ENPS Walk-a-thon and colour explosion. It was such a joy to watch everyone get so involved and excited throughout the day, and great to see so many parents watching on from the key viewing places around the school. Thank you so incredibly much to everyone who has supported and donated to our walk-a-thon fundraiser this year. Our Junior School Councillors are very excited to have such a prolific voice in the decisions for how our money raised will be spent this year and we can’t wait to make that come true!

ANZAC Day Dawn Service

As we do each year, Thursday’s ANZAC Day Dawn Service at Keilor East RSL with over thirty ENPS families was an absolute privilege to attend. Year Six students, Bella Barletta and Poppy Ritchie, laid the ENPS wreath along with Gordon Bell (McCulloch St Crossing Guard). The Keilor East RSL are so appreciative of our attendance and support at these symbolic events, and we recognise the importance for our students to have this opportunity too. I am so proud that we do this together as a school community, and while there are other school’s represented at the service, no other school (primary or secondary) gathers together in solidarity like we do with students, staff and families together. Thank you to all those involved.

Staffing

In some exciting baby news, we congratulate Hannah Clark on the safe arrival of a baby girl last week. Little Cecilia and mum are both doing well!

Over the past weeks we have welcomed some new faces to ENPS. We currently have two teachers, Sandra Turner (FMV) and more recently, Jaqueline Berkeley (FAM) joining ENPS as a part of the Teacher Reengagement Initiative through the Department of Education. Sandra and Jacqueline will be both completing 40 day placements as they return to the teaching profession. We also have Samantha Cook (5LR/AJ) joining us over the coming months on an Education Support placement. Having Sandra, Jacqueline and Samantha with us is such a fantastic asset and their support in our classrooms is very much valued.

Over the past week we have also welcomed Nic La Porta as a pre-service teacher from Victoria University in 3SM. In the coming week we will also welcomed four Masters of Education pre-service teachers from Melbourne University to ENPS. Brielle, Irini, Nicole and Fujia will be working alongside their mentor teachers in Years Two (2SZ), Three (3LD), Four (4CT) and Five (5LR) over the coming weeks and we warmly welcome them to ENPS for their teaching placements.

Student Toilet Works Update

Our fantastic new student toilet block is certainly getting closer to completion. We anticipate handover in the coming weeks! This coming week we hope to take some JSC representatives on a walk through so they can report back to everyone on just how fabulous these new facilities are. Here is a little sneak peek!

School Crossing Update

Our amazing Year Three students are currently collaborating with our ENPS School Councillors and interested parents to persuade the Moonee Valley City Council (MVCC) that our McCulloch Street school crossing needs an urgent upgrade. Over the past week I have been very impressed and persuaded by the Year Three letters that will soon be sent along with evidence of the needs for improvements, along with School Council endorsement in the hope that we can get a much needed improvement.

Our community may have also noticed recently that Gordon Bell (McCulloch St Crossing) has been on extended leave from his crossing supervisor duty. Gordon has asked me to let the community know that he is ok however is undergoing some medical treatment at the moment and hopes to return by mid-May. Helen has been replacing Gordon on McCulloch St and is very forthcoming in reminding everyone of safe road and crossing use!

You may have also noticed recently that replacing our Crossing Guards when Gordon, Rosa or Ernie are absent, isn’t always an easy task. Please be very mindful if there is no crossing guard on site in those cases. Wherever possible we will have ENPS staff head out as support however this is not always known by us at the time as we are not notified by the MVCC.

2025 Open Day and Foundation Enrolments

On Thursday 18th and Friday 19th April we held not one but two Open Days. Over the two days we had over 140 families visit for our Open Day sessions to hear about and see our school. The purpose of Open Day is to invite prospective families in to our school to see what we do and get to know who we are at ENPS. There were six sessions across the two days.

Our School Captains, Saanvi and Harry, did an incredible job hosting the Open Day sessions, while over 70 Year Five and Six students were our tour leaders showcasing our school across the day for our visiting families. They did the most amazing job and the feedback was super impressive, with the student-led tours being the highlight of the session for many families!

Enrolments have now opened for 2025 Foundation. A new state-wide enrolment process was introduced last year and that timeline is now in place for all government schools. We actively encourage families with sibling enrolments to submit their enrolment forms as soon as possible to the office. Enrolments across the state close on Friday 26th July 2024. This can be submitted via email: essendon.north.ps@education.vic.gov.au, or in person at our office.

Families will be notified of the outcome of their application by Friday 9th August 2024.

Uniform Reminder

As the cold weather is very quickly surrounding us, please remember that the expectation is that students wear our ENPS school uniform bomber jacket and jumpers. PSW do offer ENPS raincoats and puffer jackets too. We please ask that if warmer jackets or coats are required as layers, or the uniform is in the wash or misplaced, please ensure plain navy blue is worn only as a temporary replacement. Tracksuit pants and leggings are expected to be navy blue (not black). Our ENPS uniform identifies who we are and it is important that our students wear it proudly. Please view our Student Dress Code for further information.

Community Engagement

Check out the Community Engagement section of the newsletter for more event information and upcoming events for Term Two and the remainder of 2024! There are lots of ways to volunteer and get involved in our community events. Just this term we have our Mother’s Day celebration VIP morning and the JSC’s A Day in May. Keep an eye out for how you can help, as these events simply can’t happen without volunteers and donations.

Hope everyone had a fantastic weekend!

Kate Barletta

Principal