Message from the Principal Team

Principals' Update

Welcome Back

We have had a fantastic start to the School Year. The soft start to the school year with a Meet and Greet on Monday afternoon helped to alleviate any worries or anxiety about starting school and all students in Years 1 to 6 appeared to be settled and excited to be starting a new school year.

We are mindful that it can all take us time to adjust back to the routine of school after six weeks of holidays. Our children can be more tired in the evenings and as we move toward the end of each week. During this time of readjustment, our children may need more TLC and understanding from us as parents and earlier bedtimes to alleviate the fatigue of starting back at school.

150 Year Anniversary

This year, Carlton North Primary celebrates its 150th year as a school. The school’s official birthday is 28 July and we are seeking an expression of interest from CNPS Families and the wider community to form a 150-Year Anniversary Committee to lead celebrations of 150 years of schooling at CNPS. If you are interested in joining this committee we ask that you email the school carlton.north.ps@education.vic.gov.au

Dogs in School

This year we are looking to expand our team of School Therapy Dogs and Handlers. Our first two School Therapy Dogs, Jacob, and Kramer were trained in October 2018 and over the past four years, we have seen the huge impact that our school therapy dogs have had on the wellbeing of our students and staff. This year Maddi and her dog, Dougie and Carlye, and Chris and their dog, Gus, (brother of Murphy) will be participating in the Therapy Dog and Handler Certification Process.

In order for the dogs to work at CNPS, their owners must adhere to:

• Therapy Dog Grooming Guidelines
• Therapy Dog Veterinary Health Screening including Immunisation Requirements and
• OH&S and Risk Assessment Requirements.

As our School Therapy Dogs and the handlers move and work around the school they are mindful of those students who have allergies to dogs and ensure that they do not enter these learning spaces. 

With the increase of School Therapy Dogs onsite and being mindful of students with allergies, we ask that only the School Therapy Dogs enter the school buildings. We are a dog-friendly school and family dogs are welcome on school grounds, however, we ask that they please remain outdoors and on leads. Thank you for your ongoing support and consideration.

Changes to the School Timetable Recess and Lunchtime

This year, we have moved to 1-hour learning sessions as opposed to the previous model of 50-minute sessions. Our teaching staff have welcomed this change as 1-hour sessions mean they have more teaching time to implement our teaching and learning models and this means that our weekly teaching time for Reading, Writing, and Mathematics will increase from 250 minutes per week to 300 minutes per week in each of these learning areas. 

The feedback from our staff is that this new timetable is working extremely well and they are factoring in brain food breaks regularly to support student learning readiness.

Please see the new times for our learning sessions, in particular the changes to recess and lunchtime breaks. 

Principal Team

Rachel Corben and Jane Bilby