Principal's Message

And just like that, this is our last newsletter for the year! And what a big two weeks (and year) it has been! It is truly remarkable what we manage to fit into a year! 

We celebrated student learning with the remarkable Student Led Conferences! What a highlight that was to see just how proud our students were in sharing their learning and growth with family members. Such a special moment for them all! Thank you parents and carers, for making that so special for them and sharing in their joy! The showcase exhibition from our specialist teachers was also fantastic to see! 

Last week was a huge week carrying on from our ENPS Movie Night. Thank you again to everyone who supported our school again last week as we had our BBQ and raffles following on from the rain spoiled event. And we raised a phenomenal $25,000!!! All that money will go straight back into our classrooms with new literacy texts, home readers and TV upgrades already in place for 2026. We will also be upgrading our gym TV for our assemblies!

Our assembly last Friday was also something really special! As a follow up from the Movie Night, we had performances from our three ENPS Talent Show category winners. Wow! How impressive they all were! Head over to the Talent Quest page in this newsletter to read more. 

I also finished off the year with the last two Thursday lunches with our token recipients! What a treat it has been each week this year to have lunch with our students lucky enough to have receive a free lunch order and share with me all of their amazing ideas for improving our school. Last Thursday I had lunch with Aston and Stella (with Jude and Mia), while yesterday it was Leo and Florence (with Billy and Isabella).

Our Year Sixes also had their Year 7 Orientation Day to begin their to secondary school. We have a great 6-7 Transition program at ENPS and regardless of what secondary school our students are heading off to in 2026 we know they will be as prepared as possible. 

This week we have also had the gym floor resurfaced. The gym is already looking fantastic and will be ready and back in action by Tuesday. We also look forward to the 5/6 playground works finishing up this week. 

However two of the greatest highlights from this week (and are every year) were my lunch with our 2025 School Captains and the speeches from our 2026 School Captain candidates! Having lunch at Chapta 4 with Engy, Astin and Sam was an absolute privilege. Their reflections on their year as our school leaders were inspirational. While the speeches from our 16 School Captain candidates were phenomenal! I am so incredibly proud of them all and I am blown away by the truly remarkable young people they all are. Our world is in great hands with these kids as our future.

And that was just the past two weeks! How about the year…..

With just one more week to go, it really seems like we only just got started! The end of the school year is such a bittersweet time. There is so much to reflect on. So much to be proud of and so much we have achieved together. We look back at what has been this year, while there is also so much to look forward to for our holidays and new year ahead. However, it is also a time to say goodbye; a time of endings and farewells. 

While we get excited for our new Foundation students and families to start in 2026, it is also the end of the primary school journey for a number of our ENPS families. For some, an end of an era.

With the last week of our school year ahead of us next week, we acknowledge our Year Six students with their Graduation this coming Wednesday. We will bid goodbye to families that have been within the family of our school community for years - some less than others, and some (with older siblings attending ENPS in the past) much more. We say goodbye to students and their families moving to new places and starting new adventures together. We thank you all for your contributions to ENPS and we are grateful for our time with you. Our school community is richer because of you all. 

In 2026 we will have new students, families and staff join our ENPS community too. We welcome them with open arms. 

2026 Staffing Updates

A belated congratulations to Sian Wilson who got married recently to partner Taylah. We are thrilled for them both. Ms Wilson will become Mrs Watson on the new year! 

Jon Kent will also be taking Term One and Two of 2026 as Long Service Leave, returning to ENPS in Term Three. 

As mentioned in our last newsletter, the end of 2025 will see a number of staff finishing up at ENPS.

We will say goodbye to a staff members who have become such a special part of our ENPS community. This year we say goodbye to teachers Claire Eadington, Joshua D’Souza, Zarah Draper, Laveena Kukanesan and Anthea Christofi. Lana Thomas will begin her family leave in the new school year. We thank these staff members for their endless contributions to our school, to our students and to our staff.  It is always a bittersweet time of the year when we farewell and thank staff leaving ENPS for new opportunities and positions, while welcoming new faces to the team. 

2026 Staffing 

In 2026 we are excited to have a number of new faces join our staff team; Fiona O’Reilly will join us from Broadmeadows PS, Victoria May from Wyndham Park PS and Hannah Bevins as one of our most regular CRTs. We can also now confirm the addition of Skye Bailey from Doherty’s Creek PS and Mahli Hill as a new graduate teacher to our 2026 staff team, while also confirming that Andrew Whitby will also continue on next year.  

In 2026 we will also see the return of Emma Gallagher, Shannon Garner and Melanie Stefanou from their family leave. 

I can now confirm the organisation of staffing for 2026. This includes the year level teaching teams. Please refer to the attachment below.

2026 Classrooms 

Each year we try to minimise the change of classrooms across the school, however, it is important to ensure the classroom environments reflect the needs of the students at each year level. This is done to maximise the learning and teaching potential as impacted by the physical classrooms. 

As always, we have made a concerted effort to connect all classrooms within a learning neighbourhood (year level). This close proximity to each other enables connection within and across all home groups. In 2026, all year levels will remain in the same areas as this year. 

Transition for Students (2025 Foundation to Year Five)

Even though our students (and families) will not find out the classroom teachers until Step Up Morning (on Tuesday 16th December), transition support has already begun. 

Prior to Step Up Morning, all students inadvertently begin familiarisation to new classrooms and new teachers. This is to support our students manage the complexities and adaptations to change. There is also an extensive teacher handover process. This is to ensure next year’s teachers have the necessary information on all their students to begin with success from day one of the new school year. 

Our Last Week of 2025 

This week we have already seen some movement of classrooms, cleaning up and preparing for our new year ahead. Some teachers have this week begun working out of their 2026 classrooms (as applicable) with their current 2025 home groups. This will mean a change for some students to physically be in a different classroom for the final week of the year. 

Please check Compass from last week for all room moves. 

Our final week….

This week will be a very big week at ENPS! 

Step Up Morning

On Tuesday 16th December, we will have our Step Up Morning where your child/ren will spend some time with their 2026 teacher and classmates in their new classroom. This is such an exciting moment! All students will bring home in writing their teacher's name and home group. (Refer to the 2026 School Map above for classroom locations)

Semester Two Progression Point Student Learning Reports

On Wednesday 17th December, your child’s Semester Two report will go live through Compass. A Compass notification will be sent when these are accessible. We always recommend that families download their reports. Please note that if/when a family leaves the school, they will no longer have access to Compass and therefore lose access to any reports.

Year Six Graduation

On Wednesday night, the 17th December, we will celebrate our Year Six students at their Graduation from primary school. Family members will witness the formal elements of the evening from the school oval at the beginning of the evening. Families attending will watch from an allocated area (facing the gym). The weather forecast is promising however please take note that the angle of the sun at this time of the evening can be a little troublesome and we recommend being sun smart. Following the Graduation Ceremony, our Year Six students will enjoy a dinner and disco together in the gymnasium, with an 8:30pm pick up.

2025 Final Whole School Assembly

On Friday 19th December, we will have a final whole school morning assembly on the oval. We invite our parents and families to join us from 8:50am.

Our final assembly will celebrate our year with a performance from our graduating Year Six students, our student band, and our Christmas celebration songs across the year levels. We will also announcement of the Marcus Rosin Scholarship recipient for 2026, staff farewells and the much anticipated announcement of the 2026 School Captains and House Captains. 

For parents and families attending, we will open the McCulloch oval gate from 8:50am for entry. The weather forecast is promising and we ask that all visitors are sun smart. 

Early Finish – Friday 19th December 12:30pm

Please remember that students will be dismissed at 12:30pm on Friday as our last day of school. TeamKids are available for after school care. On the last day, gates will be opened for families at 12:20pm and closed at 12:40pm.

2026 Start of School Year and Curriculum Day

The Department of Education (DET) mandates that all schools use the first day of the school year as a Curriculum Day for teacher planning and preparation. The first Curriculum Day for 2026 is therefore on Tuesday 27th January. Please note that ENPS will also have a second Curriculum Day on Wednesday 28th January next year. 

All students, Foundation to Six, will have their first day of school on Thursday 29th January. 

Our Foundation students will have their first day assigned staggered start times. Foundation students will then have each Wednesday in February off school as a rest day and for their scheduled 1:1 assessments. 

Thank You…

What an incredible year it has been, and we are so incredibly proud of what we have achieved together at ENPS. We have continued to maximise our potential and prioritise our support for one another right across our school community. Our ENPS school community really is like a big family and that is something each and every student, staff, parent and carer should be truly proud of. Our continued sense of connection and belonging is so evident and will continue to grow in 2026. 

I couldn’t be more proud to be the Principal of our school and to lead our outstanding, caring and dedicated staff, our wonderful, resilient and compassionate community, and most of all, 624.6 of the most remarkable, inspirational and exceptional students, continues to filled my heart. (Expect many tears next Friday!) Thank you for your ongoing support, your understanding, patience and kindness this year. I have made so many amazing memories with our community this year as my 7th as Principal and 13th at the school!

May the week ahead be filled with special moments and reflection on what has been yet another very big year! Bring on 2026….

Have a wonderful weekend, great last week of the 2025 school year, and a safe and happy holiday season.

Kate Barletta

Principal