Year 3 - Year 6

Assistant Principal's Report

Year 3 - Year 6 News

This edition of the 'Springers' marks our second last newsletter for the year!  During each week, I have many students coming to my office.  Some simply to say hello, others sharing amazing new learning or their best ever writing or problem-solving.  This week, students popped in to tell me that from this weekend, there are 25 days until Christmas.   They left my office happily skipping down the corridor, I, on the other hand, began to list, count and combine all the 'things' that needed to be completed and organised between now and those 25 days. 

The teaching staff across Years 3-6 are working towards proofreading and finalizing reports, ready for distribution next Friday and as a whole school, we are looking at room allocations and classes. This information will be finalized and available to students and parents at the beginning of week 11.

Year 3 and 4 students have had a very special treat this fortnight with free skateboard lessons.  Due to Pakenham Springs taking part in the Active October celebrations in Cardinia Shire, we were lucky enough to WIN free skateboarding lessons for two year levels of students.  After a LONG time deliberating over which year levels will be the lucky recipients, it was decided that our Year 3 and Year 4 students would be ideal.  This decision was based on watching all students with bikes and scooters before and after school - the Year 3 and 4’s were consistently showing Respect and Responsibility by always wearing helmets, walking their bikes around the edges of the school and only entering the bike shed to drop off and pick up their bikes.   Well done on being such wonderful role models.  The lessons sure did look like a lot of fun!

I was extremely proud of our Year 5 students for presenting their leadership speeches last week. Thank you to the Year 5 teacher team and Mrs Renee Cotterell for making up the panel for adjudication.  The results of these speeches and our 2020 school leaders will be announced before the end of the year.  It is, however, important to note that all Year 6 students are leaders of our school, with or without a badge.   Whilst official school leaders are linked to specific leadership roles, all Year 6 students hold the responsibility of representing our school and holding themselves to high expectations.  I am looking forward to supporting all our senior students in 2020.

More excitement and celebration among our current Year 5 students was experienced with the Cardinia Council arranging a focus meeting with each class to explore and discuss Pakenham in 2035.  Our Year 5 students will be 26-27 years of age at this time and the council felt it was important to ask our future community members, what type of community they wanted to live in when they grow up.  Students discussed and completed activities around the height and colours of planned future buildings, needed improvements, resources and facilities they felt would be needed. I would like to thank Kate from the Cardinia Shire for taking the time and including our students in this work.

Now to our Year 6 students who have so much to look forward to as the term comes to an end. There is the statewide transition into Year 7, the annual end of primary school and Year 6 celebration day and of course graduation.

So many things to look forward to and the perfect time of year to reflect on all that has been achieved.  Until the next edition of 'Springers', take care.

Jane King

Year 3 - Year 5 Assistant Principal