Principal's Message 

What another big two weeks at ENPS! It seems crazy how quickly the weeks are passing by, and it never ceases to amaze me just how much we manage to pack into our days at ENPS! It wasn’t enough to have one Athletics Day, so we had to have two just in this week! Congratulations to all involved in the 5/6 carnival on Tuesday and to the 3/4s who competed today. Well done to Gurrin House announced at assembly this afternoon as our Athletics champions for 2025. 

Last week I also had the pleasure of lunching with Student of the Week token recipients Luka (FHM), Krisha (1MH) and Max (3AC) and their friends Vinnie, Martina and Zac. As our fourth recipient Parneet from 6ZD was at Interschool sport last Thursday, he joined me yesterday instead. It's always such a joy connecting with students at these special lunches! Congratulation to all for demonstrating our school values and being being safe, kind and/or respectful.

Walk-a-thon

Our Walk-a-thon, Mother’s Day VIP morning and colour splash last Friday 9th May was an incredible day! There were so many highlights throughout the day, and so much fun was had by all involved. It was so lovely to be joined by so many ENPS mothers, mother figures and VIPs for the start of the Walk-a-thon and a huge shout out to our House Captains and Lee Reiger from Snap Fitness Niddrie for our enthusiastic warm up. It certainly set the vibe for the day to come! Thanks also to Togah Boutique, Listen to Your Body (Essendon), The Recovery Centre and Chapta 4 for our wonderful spot prizes for the VIPs! It was also the first time we invited family members to join in the colour fun at the end of the day. While many took the safe (and colour-free) option to watch from the sidelines, the true fun was getting completely covered in colour. As an added bonus we were able to raise over $12,000 for our school! Thanks to everyone involved, especially Connor Smith for his planning and organisation to make the event happen. Make sure you check out the Walk-a-thon page in this newsletter for more reflections on the event. 

Staffing

In some exciting baby news, we congratulate Emma Gallagher and Connor Smith on the safe arrival of baby Matilda, born on Thursday 8th May. Big brother, Charlie, is already looking out for his little sister. We are thrilled for them all. 

In more ENPS baby news, we have two more babies on the way in 2025! Andrew Whitby and his wife, Rebecca, are expecting their first baby in September, while Rhys McIntosh and his wife, Erica, are expecting a baby brother for Sophie in early November. A congratulations also to Joanna Byrns who is becoming a grandmother for the first time in November. 

In other staffing updates, at the end of Term Two, Adrian Jones will be taking extended leave from ENPS to take up a wonderful opportunity to teach in Japan. Adrian, his wife Kim and little Otis, will be relocating to Yokohama while Adrian teaches at The Horizons Japan International School. We are now in the process of determining Adrian’s replacement in 5AJ for the remainder of the year and hope to have that finalised in the coming weeks. 

We can also share that Pamela Pan will leaving ENPS at the end of the term. Pamela leaves ENPS to concentrate on her position at Marcellin College. We will also confirm Pamela’s replacement in the coming weeks. 

In other updates, one of our PE teachers, Sue Elsbury, is having extended leave this term with a back injury. We hope to have Sue back at school as soon as possible and wish her a speedy recovery. In the meantime, Ryan Stringer (CRT) will continue to fill in for Sue this term. 

Throughout the course of the year, your child may also have the experience of pre-service teachers, teachers returning to the career, and/or work experience students in their classrooms. We currently have four of pre-service teachers working across Foundation, Year Three and Year Six from Melbourne University and Victoria University. We also have Kirsty Johnson with us as an experienced teacher returning to the teaching career, along with a number of former ENPS students undertaking their high school work experience placement with us. 

Education Support (ES) Day

It was also great this week to recognise and celebrate our amazing Education Support staff at ENPS. Often the unsung heroes of a school, our ES staff comprise of our office, library, grounds, technicians, newsletter and integration aide teams. Like glue, our ES hold us all together and give their heart and soul to their roles. A huge shout out and thank you to our ES team and happy ES day to them all today! 

A Day in May

Next week, on Thursday 22nd May, we will also hold our tenth annual Day in May. This event is incredibly special to us at ENPS as we remember past student, Marcus Rosin, who passed away from childhood cancer in 2014. Marcus was in Year Three. 2025 marks eleven years since we lost Marcus and ‘A Day in May’ will always be a time we remember Marcus and take the opportunity to raise awareness for cancer research. 

For those new to our school community, you may not know the significance of a Day in May to us at ENPS. On 15th May 2014, our school lost a true treasure and inspiration. It has now been eleven years since the passing of Marcus Rosin. Marcus was in Year Three and at age eight, finally succumbed to brain cancer. A battle he had fought for most of his time at ENPS. Marcus loved super heroes. He loved the Carlton Football Club, Disneyland and playing the drums. He showed everyone he came in contact with how special life was and warmed every heart with his cheeky grin. Our Performing Arts Hall is named in his honour. Our Day in May is an annual tribute to the memory of Marcus Rosin, raising money for children’s cancer research each year. 

This year, we are particularly proud of School Captain, Sam, sharing his own personal story of childhood cancer. A sincere thank you to Sam for bravely sharing his story. Find out more on the Day in May page in this newsletter. 

Education Week 

Next week, Victorian schools will be recognising Education Week. This year’s theme, A Celebration of Cultures truly reflects who we are at ENPS. Make sure you take a look at the Year Four’s newsletter page this week as a reflection of our acknowledgment, learning and reflection about cultures.

Vale Gordon Bell

On behalf of Gordon’s family, I pass on their heartfelt thanks to our community for the outpouring of love they have received for Gordon. Gordon’s funeral on Monday was something incredibly special to be a part of and it was so very evident that ENPS meant as much to Gordon, as he meant to us. To the staff, families and students (both past and present) that attended the service, thank you. Gordon’s family were so touched by knowing how much he meant to our school and community. Gordon will forever be a part of ENPS history, and a very big part of our hearts. 

Have a fantastic weekend everyone and stay safe and well. 

Kate Barletta

Principal