Principal's Message 

What a hoot the past two weeks have been at ENPS! I absolutely loved playing gaga with FKJ earlier this week as a part of their Health and Wellbeing lesson, while I was certainly in my element (and channelling my inner Ms Trunchbull!) reading a chapter of ‘Matilda’ to 3VM on Wednesday. Thanks to Zac K for handing me my very own role model token in appreciation of my storytelling skills. I will certainly pop that in the token box. Imagine if my name gets pulled out to win the free lunch order!

Last week I also had a great time doing a neighbourhood letter drop to our local residents regarding our future capital works project. I had some very handy helpers from Year Four, Five and Six. In fact we underestimated just how many neighbours we have in our immediate streets and had to come back to the office and print off an extra load of letters, stuff them in envelopes and hit the streets again! Well done to my letter drop gang for their assistance. Who would have thought walking the streets with the principal could be so fun! 

I have also had some great Thursday lunches over the past two weeks too! Last week I had a wonderful lunch with Lewis (6AI) along with and Xavier (4CT) and friend Luca (4CT) as our Week Seven Student of the Week token recipients, while yesterday had lunch with Evie (1MV) and Charli (4AK) and their friends Shishira and Evelyn. They have all had some great ideas for improving our school too. Charli is very keen on a disco while Evie thinks we need some more dedicated time for eating our lunch. Well done to our recipients for demonstrating our school values and being safe, kind, respectful and/or role models!

Staffing Update

As communicated previously, 4AK were anticipating the return of Jon Kent from Long Service Leave at the start of the upcoming term. I can now confirm that Jon Kent has instead submitted his resignation and will be leaving ENPS and the teaching profession. Jon has spent just under twenty years at ENPS and his contributions to our school and community over the years have been truly amazing. We take the opportunity to wish Jon all the very best as he takes on a new career in the business world and thank him for his time, efforts and impact at ENPS. We have invited Jon back for a farewell morning tea in August, as we know staff and students would value the opportunity to say goodbye. 

As a result, I am excited to let you know that Sarah Groves will now remain in 4AK for the remainder of the year. While Sarah had very kindly agreed to go full time for Term Two (from her two day position in 2026), Sarah will now teach 4AK for four days each week (Tuesday - Friday). This will mean stability and continuity for 4AK and we are very grateful to Sarah for this. Joining Sarah and in 4AK on Mondays will be Ruby Mills. Ruby will also take over Sarah’s original position in 4CG, working alongside Angela Collins on Tuesdays and Fridays. Ruby has been at ENPS earlier this term working in our Year Six cohort and already has some knowledge of our school, curriculum and students. We are thrilled for Ruby to be joining our Year Four and ENPS staff team for the remainder of the year. Ruby will actually be starting at ENPS from next Monday and will spend time over the coming two weeks, working alongside Sarah, Ange and the Year Four team, getting to know everyone, settling in and preparing for a productive start from Term Three. 

In some very sad news, today members of our staff have attended the funeral for Paul Antonini, beloved husband of our new Facilities Manager, Megan. Paul very unexpectedly passed away two weeks ago. Megan, and their three children, Logan, Riley and Zane have been in our thoughts and prayers as we have come together with condolences for them and the extended family. Megan is currently having some extended leave at this difficult time.  

Semester One Reports

With Term Two coming towards the end, teachers have been very busy moderating learning and assessment in preparation for Semester One Student Reports. An absolutely huge amount of work goes into these reports and at ENPS we pride ourselves on the breadth and depth of vertical and horizontal moderation (within and across year levels) that is undertaken to ensure student outcomes are accurate and consistent. Multiple sources of data (qualitative and quantitative) are analysed and reviewed to provide an evidenced based outcome for your child’s learning. As communicated on Compass earlier this week and throughout the media, this year the reports have been impacted by the Australian Education Union’s industrial action, meaning no written comments will be provided. The Semester One Student Reports will be published on Compass in on Monday next week. You will receive notification when reports go live, information on how to access the reports, as well as a comprehensive explanation and outline of what the report covers. 

Home and School Partnership Meetings

In line with our Semester reports going home, our Home and School Partnership Meetings, Student and Learning Support Group (SSG/LSG) meetings will also be held next week. Our Semester One Home and School Partnership Meetings will be held on Wednesday 17th June. Student and Learning Support Group meetings for students funded through the Disability Inclusion (DI) Reform, Program for Students with Disabilities (PSD) or as identified by the school as requiring additional support, have been scheduled and communicated with those families and will be held across Week Nine and Ten this term. 

Parent/carers have been provided with either in person or an online interview option for Home and School Partnership Meetings. If you would prefer an online interview, please make contact with the classroom teacher/s to arrange that at your allocated time. Translation services are also available.

Please remember that there is an early dismissal on Wednesday 17th June at 12pm to enable the Home and School Partnership meetings to take place. 

Student Attendance

Also aligned with the coming Home and School Partnership Meetings, your child’s individual attendance will be highlighted as we continue to prioritise and reinforce the importance of being at school and on time every day. 

At Essendon North Primary School, we acknowledge the impact that absences can have on a child’s education and as a part of our school’s priority towards student learning, wellbeing and engagement, it is a goal for us to actively work with families to reduce the number of days individual students have away from school. 

Our Attendance Policy provides extensive information, reiterating that every day counts. There is no set point at which absence becomes a concern; however, the following categories can help to identify patterns of absence:

• Regular attendees: miss less than 10 days a year (less than 5% absence)

• Risk of chronic absence: miss between 10 and 19 days a year (5-10% absence)

• Chronically absent: miss 20+ days (10%+ absence; average 1 day per fortnight)

Classroom teachers will be provided with absence and late data for your child for Semester One, 2026. Based on your child’s attendance in Semester One, this may be raised with you through your Home and School Partnership Meetings for your attention.   

We certainly acknowledge that there are a number of significant reasons for a child to miss school, including your family circumstance and medical reasons. However, we also recognise how quickly days absent here and there can add up, and for whatever the reason, before you know it a child has missed a significant amount of school. You can find more information and supportive tips in this Attendance Resource.

If you call or visit the office next week, you may have the privilege of one of our School Captains answering the phones or greeting you at reception. Each year we love providing our student leaders with the opportunity to be interns in the office during break times. Keep an eye out for Georgia or Ethan in the coming weeks, and our House Captains next term! 

Wishing everyone a lovely weekend and we look forward to seeing you all next week. 

Kate Barletta

Principal