Dear Families,

Welcome to term two. We have certainly hit the ground running since our return to school and have managed to fit in a whole range of activities.

Tuesday 6th May was the first time we held the Year 3-6 Essendon Primary School Cross Country event. The start and finish lines were at Aberfeldie Park near the Maribyrnong River. We could not have asked for better weather. Almost all students attended and participated in a variety of ways. Congratulations to Samantha Dowling, Year 3-6 teachers, support staff and parents who volunteered their time for a very successful event.

Our annual Mother’s Day stall was held on the morning of Wednesday 7th May and will again be held after school on Friday 9th May. A big thank you to Hatice Kolevski and parent volunteers for helping to organise and run the Mother's Day Stalls. We hope the mothers and carers in our community have a wonderful day and are spoilt on Sunday 11th May.

On Friday 9th May School Council are holding a Mother’s and Special Person’s Day Breakfast Fundraising Event where the School and House students will be serving and selling breakfast items such as fresh pastries, muffins, cakes, tea and coffee. Everyone is welcome. The event starts at 8:15am in the school yard.

The following week, starting Monday 12th May is Education Week which we will be celebrating by holding the Scholastic Book Fair. See the Book Fair page in this newsletter for details.

The 5/6 Learning Community had their tryouts and finalised teams in the first week of Term 2 in preparation for the start of the interschool sports program. The Winter Interschool Sport competition for Year 5 and 6 students commenced on Friday 2nd May. All games to be held on Friday afternoons between 1.00pm – 3.00pm. Students have either been chosen to compete in one of the following sports; Tee ball, Football, Netball or Soccer, or will be participating in the Essendon Primary School Reserves and Recreational Program. We wish all Year 5 and 6 students and teachers the very best for the season and look forward to reading about each game in the newsletters.

World Education Support Personnel Day is celebrated annually. Friday 16th May is Education Support Personnel (ES) Day when we as a school community will recognise and acknowledge the very important contributions made by all of the Education Support (ES) staff in our school.

ES staff have many roles and responsibilities in our school, including the following:

Our integration aides care and provide special assistance for students with learning needs. Working under the direction of the class teacher they support individuals as well as small groups of students. They also liaise and assist parents. These wonderful and dedicated people at EPS are: Priyanka, Kate, Nia, Elwyn, Anh, Patrick, Alanna, Julie, Nicole, Lucy, Claudia, Maria, Anya, Heather D, Lee, Luke, Payton and Tania S
Our office staff, Natasha, Renee, Vicki & Bec undertake a myriad of daily administrative tasks that keep our school functioning smoothly. They handle our finances, bookings and communication and receive enquiries incredibly well. There is always a friendly hello and smile even when under enormous pressure in our busiest times. Their helpfulness and warm greeting is the first impression of our school for visitors as well as parents every day.
Our First Aide Officer Elwyn is very conscientious and caring in her work dealing with the countless medical issues that arise through the year. She capably administers expert assistance to students and staff and keeps our parents well informed for follow up if necessary. Having a dedicated First Aid Officer provides peace of mind for teachers and parents.
A very special thank you to our maintenance staff: Rocco who keeps the school looking pristine and Sebastian who stops it from falling apart!

This group of staff members make a huge contribution to the wellbeing and effective running of this school, a great school where students thrive educationally, socially and emotionally.

The 2025 Enrolment Process has commenced for 2026 Foundation students. The 'Foundation (Prep) Enrolment Information Pack for Parents/Carers.' is now available to download. Although the application date is the 25 July 2024 we are keen to know who our sibling enrolments are before this date so we can begin our transition process. Families with children already at the school and those who live within the Essendon Primary School Zone, which can be verified through the Find My School website, will automatically be eligible and invited to complete the official enrolment form. If you plan to enrol your younger child in Foundation in 2026 please contact the office for an official enrolment form so we can start to schedule our “Getting to Know You” meetings. Families who are not already part of the Essendon Primary School environment will be asked to provide supporting documentation as per the 100 point Residential Address Check in order to determine and verify the child's permanent residence. Families will be notified of the outcome of their application soon after Monday 28 July.

Our first Foundation (Prep) tour was held on Friday 2nd April from 9:30am to 10:30am in the Science room and was well attended. A second and third tour will be held on Friday 9th and Friday 23rd May. We plan to offer three further Foundation Tours in Terms 2 & 3, being Thursday 5th & 19th June and Friday 25th July. Bookings can be made through Compass Tix.

The 2026 Year 7 enrolment process has also commenced. The Year 6 to Year 7 Transition Preference forms were given to all Year 6 students in the first week of Term 2. These are due to be returned to the school by Friday 9th May. Findmyschool.vic.gov.au shows every school zone across the state and identifies your local school and highlights the choice of public schools available to the Victorian community. Families will be notified on Tuesday 1st July 2025 and asked to return their acceptance slip by Friday 25th July, even if the student will be attending a Catholic or Independent school in 2026 or the family plan to lodge an appeal. Tuesday 9th December will be the Orientation Day for Year 6 students.

Christine Nash

Principal

Chess for Schools

https://chessforschools.com.au/