Greetings from Shaun

Staffing Update 

At the end of this week, we will be saying goodbye to Caterina as she finishes up at Northcote Primary.

Caterina will be starting a new role as Business Manager at Reservoir High School from Monday. She has made a valuable contribution during her time here, and I’m grateful for the work she has done with our staff, students and community.

If you’re around the office this tomorrow, please take a moment to wish her all the best.

I’m pleased to welcome Sapan, who will be joining us from Monday as our new Business Manager. Sapan will be working closely with our leadership and admin team to support the day-to-day operations of the school. Please make him feel welcome if you see him around next week.

Curriculum Overviews

In this issue of the newsletter, you’ll find the term curriculum overviews for each year level. If you’re interested in what the students are learning about this term, I’d encourage you to take a look further into this newsletter. It’s a great way to get a sense of what’s coming up across the school and to help you support learning at home. 

Name the Chicken – It’s Happening!

It’s finally here. Our “Name the Chicken” competition is about to launch.

This will be announced at assembly, with our Green Team leading the way. Students will have the chance to submit name ideas, before we vote as a whole school to decide the winner. 

Our fourth chicken has been named by the highest bidder from our recent silent auction at the Fete. I wonder what their name is going to be?

Watch this space.

Attitude to School Survey 

On Thursday the 13th and Thursday the 14th of May 2026, our Year 4 to 6 students will take part in the Department of Education’s Attitudes to School Survey. This is an important opportunity for students to have a say and share their thoughts about their learning, wellbeing and overall experience at school. This feedback plays a key role in helping us understand what is working well and where we can continue to improve.

Participation in the survey is voluntary. If you do not wish for your child to take part, please email the school at northcote.ps@education.vic.gov.au by Monday the 11th of May 2026, including your child’s name, homegroup and year level. Further information will be shared with families via Compass next week.

Education Week 

Education Week is coming up from Monday the 18th to Friday the 22nd of May, and it’s a great chance to celebrate everything that makes our great school what it is. This year’s theme, Showcase your school, is all about sharing our learning and recognising our students, staff and community.

As part of the week, we’ll be holding an open afternoon on Tuesday the 19th of May starting at 3:30pm.

This will be a nice opportunity to come into classrooms, see the learning that has been happening and get a feel for what’s going on across the school. 

We’d love to see as many families there as possible.

Working Bee

Our next working bee is coming up on Saturday the 16th of May, and we’d love your support. It’s always a great chance to get a few jobs done around the school while spending some time together. We’ll have a sausage sizzle running as well, so there’ll be something to keep everyone going. 

If you’re able to lend a hand, please take a moment to complete the Google Form so we can get a sense of numbers: https://forms.gle/VEesZMsyVrzTGaMm9

Premiers Reading Challenge

The Premier’s Reading Challenge is up and running, and all students should now have been signed up. You should have received an email with details on how to access your child’s account. From here, it’s simply a matter of getting stuck into some good books and logging what’s been read. It’s a great way to build reading habits and encourage a love of reading, so I’d encourage everyone to get involved and make the most of it.

School Council Sub-Committees 

We’ve updated our subcommittee structure for 2026 to better share the workload and align with our priorities. The previous Community Subcommittee has now been split into two groups.

The Fundraising Subcommittee (Jo and Alick) will focus on initiatives such as trivia nights, mango drives and other fundraising activities.

The Community Subcommittee (Lucy and Sarah) will focus on bringing people together through opportunities such as working bees and community events.

We’d love to see parents and carers get involved in whichever area suits their interests.

The first meetings will be held on Wednesday the 13th of May, with Community at 5:30pm and Fundraising at 6:15pm. Meetings will be held in the staff room, with an online option available.

If you’re interested, please complete the form below so we can share further details and meeting links:

There’s no expectation to attend every meeting, but it’s a great way to get involved. Please register your interest by Friday the 1st of May.

School Tours/ Enrolments 

School tours for our 2027 Prep students are now underway, and it has been wonderful to welcome prospective families into the school to see our learning in action.

Enrolment applications will open at the start of next term, from Monday the 20th of April 2026. If you, or someone you know, has a child starting school in 2027, we encourage you to join a tour and begin the enrolment process early.

Take care,

Shaun