Message from the Principal 

Week 1&2 Term 3 2025 

Dear CNPS Families,

Welcome back to Carlton North Primary School for Term 3 2025. It has been an incredibly busy period over the last two weeks as we decanted the administration, staff centre and library areas of our school. Can I please acknowledge the entire team for their flexibility and hard work. I do need to highlight Kim, Janai, Gaby and Trish for their tireless efforts in relocating into the temporary library and office spaces. The students of CNPS have done a wonderful job in transitioning to our new normal on CNPS grounds. The move to Curtain Square is going well and we will continue to review which students attend the greenspace in the weeks ahead. 

School Operations

School Grounds 

You will have noticed significant changes to the school grounds. FIMMA group (VSBA appointed contractor) have established their work compound and cordoned off areas around the karawun building. These sites will be in place until the project’s completion. 

Recess and Lunchtime Breaks 

As a result of the capital works, there will be changes to recess and lunch arrangements. Recess will now be a 20 minute break, commencing at 11am and concluding at 11.20am. Lunch will be extended, commencing at 1.20pm and concluding at 2.30pm. The change will support students using Curtain Square during the lunch break.

Curtain Square 

Students in Year 5 and 6 have the opportunity to go over to Curtain Square (with the consent of Yarra City Council) for lunch breaks. Students will be supervised at all times (including walking to and from Curtain Square). We will be continually reviewing our usage of Curtain Square and may open up the opportunity to Year 3 and 4 students to use the greenspace. Consent must be granted by parents/carers via the local walking excursion event on Compass for students to attend Curtain Square. 

School Office 

The school office has officially relocated. The temporary office (and temporary staff room) operates out of the old Year 5/6 classroom space. To access the office, please use the main door on the Lee Street side of the school, turning left down the corridor. 

Student Wellbeing 

Student safety and wellbeing is our priority. On occasions when student safety or wellbeing is impacted at school, we have clear processes and policies we follow to manage such occasions. As a school we are committed to clear and timely contact with families to discuss incidents or concerns relating to student behaviour. We also regularly liaise with the Department of Education and Student Support Services (SSS) to seek support and assistance as necessary. If any parent/carer has questions regarding student safety and wellbeing, I invite them to make contact with Jane, Erin or myself. 

Community Survey 

Thank you to those members of the CNPS community who completed the school-based survey. We will be reviewing this data in the weeks ahead, communicating this information to school council and sub-committees before sharing the information more widely with the community. 

Parent/Carer – Teacher Interviews 

In Week 10 (Monday 23 – Friday 27 June 2025) parents/carers were invited to attend the mid-year interviews. Thank you to those families who participated in these important meetings. Moving forward and in the interest of professional respect, if parents/carers have a change of circumstance and are unable to attend the interview, please reach out to the office to reschedule, move to a telephone meeting or cancel accordingly. This will avoid teachers waiting into the evening for scheduled meetings that do not eventuate. 

NAPLAN 2025 

On Tuesday (29 July 2025) Year 3 and 5 students took home their 2025 NAPLAN individual student reports. Teachers have been reviewing the student reports and will be available, should any parents/carers have any questions. CNPS will continue to review the 2025 NAPLAN in the weeks ahead. 

Attendance

Regular attendance at school is essential to support the learning, wellbeing and safety of children and young people. CNPS works hard to support student attendance. Recording accurate attendance of students on a daily basis is essential. A reminder to the community that school starts promptly each day at 9am. Supervision of students on-site at CNPS commences at 8.45am each school day. Since the start of the year, CNPS has introduced a new procedure for any student who arrives to school between 9am – 9.10am. Students arriving at this time, are asked to go straight to the classroom where teachers will update the 9am (morning) roll. Any student who arrives after 9.10am, will need to go to the office to sign-in.  The Compass Kiosk is available at the new temporary office counter for parents to sign their child in. Students arriving at the office without their parent will be signed in by our Admin team. 

Roof Maintenance 

On Friday 18 July 2025 the roof maintenance program moved into the ‘practical completion’ stage of the project. James Dean Architects with Landbuild and CNPS attended the school in the holidays to inspect works and discuss finalising the project. We now move into the ‘monitor and defects’ stage of the project. 

Modernisation and Building Upgrade Project 

The capital works project (modernisation and building upgrade) has commenced in earnest. FIMMA group have finalised setting up the CNPS temporary office, staffroom and first aid room. This has now allowed us to move out of the east side of the karawun building, in-readiness for the demolition works and reconstruction to commence. Trish and I attend regular meetings with the building team. I will continue to update school council and the community as the project progresses.   

Professional Learning 

Yesterday, Wednesday 30 July 2025, Jane, Erin and I attended the first network meeting for Semester 2 2025. These important network meetings allow for cross-school collaboration and planning. The meeting focused on the Victorian Teaching and Learning Model (VTLM 2.0) resources, regional/area updates, network and school planning and a school finance presentation by Robert Pyers, the school strategic financial management advisor. 

On-Street Parking 

There have continued to be complaints about vehicles parking illegally on Lee Street and O’Grady Street during peak times. Parents/carers are encouraged to park their vehicles legally, observing council regulations. CNPS does not enforce parking restrictions around the school, however, we do continue to engage with council regarding improvements to pedestrian safety. 

Dogs in Buildings 

We continue to remind the community that dogs (other than fully certified therapy dogs) are not allowed in buildings. If you have any questions regarding this matter, please contact the office. 

School – Home Partnership 

The hallmark of a strong school-home partnership is open and respectful dialogue, that embodies the school values.  Please feel free to reach out to Jane, Erin, Trish or I should you have any questions or queries. 

I look forward to a busy and productive Semester 2 with the students, staff and community of CNPS.  

Warm Regards, 

Matthew Ferguson

Principal