How does so much happen in two weeks? I am constantly blown away by what we do at ENPS and how much fun we have doing it all!

VIP Father’s Day

Thank you to everyone who came along this afternoon to recognise and celebrate our ENPS Fathers and Father figures in our community. There were so many VIPs across the school! It was such a special afternoon for all our dads, granddads, uncles, male role models and special people who came along to celebrate together. We love opening our classrooms to you! We wish all the VIPs a very happy Father’s Day for Sunday!

Book Week

Book Week was an absolute blast last week and the excitement for reading has continued throughout this week with the Book Fair. A huge shout out to Julie Schenk for all the hard work and enormous commitment she makes to the library each and every day, and especially during the Book Week festivities (before, during and after!) each year.

The costumes were even more impressive than ever this year and seeing our teaching teams across the school embrace the occasion was overwhelming. What you may not know, is that so many of our year level teams took the opportunity to connect with and dress up as their mentor texts used in teaching and learning in their classrooms. While the Foundation team showed they could be authors too, creating their very own story (and performed as well on the day!), the Year Ones connected to their mentor text, ‘Window’ by Jeannie Baker, the Year Twos were very fancy as ‘Fancy Nancy’ by Jane O’Connor, the Year Threes hopped in the characters from their Term Two class text, 'Brindabella' by Ursula Dubosarsky, the Year Fours depicted the characters from their current class text ‘Evie and Rhino' by Neridah McMullin, and the Year Fives and Sixes connected with their current civics and citizenship inquiries using the text, 'There’s a Prawn in Parliament House' by Andrew Marlton and Annabel Crabb (even connecting to their voting day, complete with democracy sausages!).

Yet there was none as spectacular as the office team, as 'Sam Francisco and the Cat Disco' by Sarah Tagholm. If you didn’t get to experience the office last Friday, it was transformed into a true 80s disco-tech complete with flashing lights, mirror balls and dance floor! Hats off to all the parents who also joined in the office fun and danced along throughout the day!

Thank you to everyone for getting into the spirit of Book Week and making the day a fabulous celebration of books! (Be sure to check out the magnificent student costumes on the Book Week page of this newsletter!)

School Wide Positive Behaviour Special Lunches

Thursday lunches are still my weekly highlight! I had a delightful lunch this week with Mia (3SM) and Sydney (1AM) with their friends Stella and Sarah.

Staff Professional Learning @ ENPS

Curriculum Days are much more than a student free day! While there were no students at school on Monday, staff were incredibly busy learning together. On Monday, our teaching staff spent the day learning more about teaching writers with Misty Adoniou. Misty is an Associate Professor in Language and Literacy, and highly renown Educational Consultant, and has been working with us throughout the year in developing our pedagogical practice in teaching writers and writing. We had a great day learning together.

Capital Works Update

While it may not seem like it at school, there is a lot happening in the background in regard to our major capital works project. This week Alice McKenzie and I have been on the panel for the tender process for the architects for the project. We look forward to announcing more to you all shortly!

It’s Our Birthday!

Everyone knows how much I love birthdays, but did you know it is our school’s birthday next week? ENPS will turn 106 on Wednesday 9th September. It is hard to believe it has already been six years since our centenary celebrations right in the middle of the covid lockdowns! Remember our 100th birthday party live on Webex from the front garden and birthday cupcakes that could only be shared with the students from essential workers who were onsite that day? Our current Year Sixes were in their very first year of school then! That was also the year we planted our apple trees, connecting with our school’s history as an apple orchard before becoming a school in 1920. Look out for a school birthday dance next Wednesday!

Staffing Update

As the term begins to head to a close, we do have a few staffing updates to share. At the end of this term, Sian Watson will be heading off on Family Leave preparing for the birth of her second child with wife Taylah in early term Four. We are thrilled to announce a new PE teacher will be joining us from Term Four and into 2027.

Morgan Carver will begin with ENPS from the start of the new term, teaching PE three days a week alongside Sue Elsbury and Andrew Whitby. We welcome Morgan to our ENPS family! Morgan joins us after extensive experience teaching PE in the United Kingdom, returning home to Melbourne with her family in the coming weeks.

Next week we will welcome back Imogen Westcott from her adventures in Europe over the past weeks. An enormous thank you to David Harris who has been teaching 4IW in Imogen’s absence.

Today Emma Pringle has finished up for the term, as she takes leave for the remainder of the term, heading to Japan with her family. At the end of next week, Alice McKenzie will also be heading off. Alice is the next embarking on a European adventure with her family. Alice will be on leave for the end of Term Three and beginning of Term Four, returning in Week Three of the new term. We wish Emma and Alice safe travels!

Community Feedback Opportunity

A reminder that the Department of Education’s Parent and Carer Opinion Survey is still open with an opportunity for our families to provide much valued feedback to our school. Thank you to the 37 families who have completed the survey already, however that is just 8% of our 461 families. The Parent and Carer Opinion Survey will remain open online until Friday 18th September, so there is still time. Check your email for the survey link and information. Your voice is important to us and we thank you for taking a few moments to share that with us as partners in learning for your child/ren.

Next week we wish our ENPS athletes all the best for Divisional Athletes on Tuesday and then we have Footy Day to look forward on Friday. With the Dees out of finals contention (yet again) and season over for 2026, I am reviving my Queensland roots to cheer on the Brisbane Lions this weekend.

Have a wonderful weekend everyone and wishing all of our ENPS dads a very happy Father’s Day on Sunday.

Kate Barletta

Principal

Local Sports and Activities