Message from the Principal 

Week 7&8 Term 2 2026

Dear CNPS Families 

Well, in Week 7 I was sure winter had arrived, although this week has seen some nice days and the students have welcomed the opportunity to enjoy their breaks outdoors. Recently you would have seen two of our trees taken down. As outlined in the communication from the Victorian School Building Authority the trees were recently assessed and deemed a risk, particularly with the upgrade to the outdoor open play space expanding closer to the school boundary. CNPS has been advised that the upgraded classrooms and outdoor spaces will be online in the coming weeks. Look out for more information via Compass. 

How We’re Keeping Students Safe at Carlton North Primary School

CNPS recently completed a school review. This happens every four years and helps us check how well we are supporting students and keeping them safe. We worked with the Department of Education to look closely at our child safety policies and practices.

We have updated several important documents. These explain how we protect children and what we do if someone is worried about safety. You can read them here:

• Child Safety Policy – explains how we keep children safe
• Child Safety Reporting and Responding Obligations Procedure – explains what staff must do if they are worried about a child’s safety
• Child Safety Code of Conduct – explains how staff should behave around students
• Complaints Policy – explains how families can raise concerns

We also reviewed our Child Safety Risk Register. This is a list of possible safety risks and what we are doing to reduce them.

What we’ve improved

We’ve made some changes to make our school safer:

• With the new building layout, we have increased visibility in all areas of the school. This makes it easier for staff to supervise students.
• We now make sure there are at least four staff on yard duty during recess and lunch (all with walkie talkies)
• Staff receive more training about child safety, with an additional termly all-staff professional development session.  We’ve made it clear how they should behave with students.
• Staff are working more closely together to understand and support student wellbeing plans.

What we’re doing well

The Department of Education said we are doing well in several areas:

• We are a Lead school in Resilience, Rights and Respectful Relationships. We teach students about safety and respectful relationships, and this includes lessons about how to stay safe from abuse.
• We work closely with health and social workers to support students.
• We use a behaviour program called School-Wide Positive Behaviour Support. It helps us create a safe and respectful school.
• Our newsletters feature a Student of the Week Award and a dedicated Wellbeing section.

Our policies and programs support all students. This includes Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students, students from different cultures, students with disability, students in care, and students who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex or queer (LGBTIQ+).

We want to hear from you

If you have questions or feedback about child safety at our school, please contact us. We are always working to make our school safe and welcoming for every student.

📧 Email: carlton.north.ps@education.vic.gov.au 📞 Phone: (03) 9347 4822

CNPS School Lunch Orders 

Last year School Council embarked on a review of school lunch order providers at CNPS. Part of this review was to trial a new provider alongside the Rathdowne Street Village Grocery Store. Both providers were issued a clear set of requirements from School Council including: 

·        Completion of School Council Licence Agreement

·        Quality of food

·        Food safety provisions 

·        Online digital interface 

·        Reduced burden on school operations 

After a trial of using both providers in Semester 1 2026, School Council decided it was in the best interest of the school to move to one provider. As such, from the start of Semester 2 2026, Classroom Cuisine will now offer lunch orders to CNPS students on a Monday and Friday. 

CNPS has been in constant communication with David at Rathdowne Street Village Grocery Store about the process, the conditions of the trial and most recently the decision of School Council.  CNPS has expressed our gratitude to David and his family for their service to CNPS over many years. Rathdowne Street Village Grocery Store will continue to offer Friday lunch orders until the end of Term 2 (Friday 26 June 2026). David will notify those families with accounts their account balance, including refunds. 

Assessment and Reporting – Reminder 

As noted in previous editions of the newsletter, Semester One 2026 reports will look different this year. The reports, which will be issued on Tuesday 16 June 2026, will not include teacher comments due to industrial action taken earlier this term by the Australian Education Union.

Teachers will still provide informed and consistent judgments about student progress against the achievement standards. These judgments are based on a range of assessments and classroom observations.

Parent/Carer–Teacher Interviews will proceed from Wednesday 17 June 2026. These meetings will provide an opportunity for teachers to discuss students' learning and wellbeing, as well as engage in conversations about learning goals for Semester Two.

Arriving to School on Time 

During recent School Improvement Team meetings (School leaders) it was discussed that there is a current trend across the school of students arriving after 9am (sometimes after 9.30am). While CNPS understands that from time to time in busy families there are delays or appointments, the School Improvement Team did discuss the impacts on learning programs when teachers (sometimes with less than half the class in attendance at 9am) need to alter programs until the appropriate quota of students is in attendance. We politely remind the CNPS community that school starts promptly at 9am (with supervision on-site at school from 8.45am). If you have any questions, please reach out to your classroom teacher.  

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 Maddi, Erin, Trish or I should you have any questions or queries. 

Warm Regards 

Matthew Ferguson

Principal