Principal Team's Report

This Fortnight...

It's been another huge fortnight at The Springs, with our Athletics Carnival held on Thursday.  It was a great day with lots of fun had by all.  It was wonderful to see such great support and encouragement for all students by other students on the day - that's the way our community operates!  A big thank you to Scott Holmes and Bryoni Lloyd for their organisation for this special event and we congratulate all of our students who have qualified for the District event later in the year. 

Buddy Breakfast

One of the student engagement and well-being strategies I am most proud of at Pakenham Springs is our Year 6 Buddy Program.  Each of our Year 6 students is paired up with a staff member buddy for the purpose of giving them connections with adults in the school who care for them and who are available if they need support, or want to celebrate an achievement. 

A highlight for our Year 6 students each term is our Buddy Breakfast event.  Last Tuesday we enjoyed yummy pancakes and juice as we chatted with our buddies.  A big thank you to the Year 6 teachers for their organisation of this event. 

Bush Dance Community Afternoon

In 2024, we want to make a conscious effort to involve our community in our school as much as we possibly can.  

On Wednesday 20th March, we will be holding a community Bush Dance instead of our usual Open Afternoon.  After participating in lessons throughout the day, our students will be able to teach you some boot-scooting moves after school as we all celebrate the end of Term 1.  More information will come about this, but please pop Wednesday 20th March in your diary! 

School Council 

As communicated via Compass, we have more candidates for our School Council than we have positions available.  This means that we have had to go to a ballot.  Ballot forms were sent home with students on Tuesday 27th February 2024.  Any family wishing to cast a vote should bring their completed ballot form, in person, to the front office.  You will need to sign the voting register before casting your vote.  Again, how fantastic is it that we have so many of our community members wanting to be involved in school operations! Thank you!

Facilities Update

Big things are happening at The Springs!  In the coming weeks, you will see that we are having a large fence erected around the perimeter of our entire school.  With the amount of vandalism over weekends and also in the interests of student safety, our School Council approved this work to be done.  This will mean some changes to the ways we enter and exit the school, however further details about that will be communicated shortly. 

We had several works done over the school holidays which included really cleaning up our grounds and fixing a lot of little bits and pieces that were beginning to show signs of their age!  Keep your eyes out over the next few weeks for some exciting new additions to our Prep play area!

The Book Fair is Coming!

The Book Fair is coming to Pakenham Springs!  It will arrive on the 14th March 2024 and be here until the 20th March 2024.  Come by and support our school whilst getting your hands on the best new children’s books!

Hats - Term 1

Hats are required from Day 1 of Term 1 - students will need to remain in a hard-covered area if they do not have a Sunsmart hat at school.  Not only does this affect their play times, but it also has an impact on their ability to participate fully in PE and Year Level Sports activities.  A cap or hood is not sun-smart and is not acceptable at Pakenham Springs. 

Privacy Information

Our school collects and uses student and parent personal information for standard school functions or where permitted by law, as stated in the Schools’ Privacy Policy and the Schools’ Privacy Collection Notice.

Our Photographing, Filming and Recording Students Policy describes how we collect and use photographs, videos, and recordings of students.  The policy also explains when parent consent is required and how it can be provided and withdrawn. 

We ask parents to also review the guidance we provide on how we use technology safely at the school and what parents can do to further protect their child’s information.  If after reviewing the guidance, you have any questions or concerns regarding your child using technology, please contact the school.

For more information about privacy, refer to:  Schools’ Privacy Policy — information for parents. This information is also available in ten community languages:

• Amharic
• Arabic
• Dari
• Gujarati
• Mandarin
• Somali
• Sudanese
• Turkish
• Urdu
• Vietnamese

Supervision before school

Students are not to arrive at school until 8:30 am on school mornings.  Staff do not begin their workday until this time, and there is insufficient supervision available in the mornings.  Any student arriving before 8:30 am will be asked to sit at the office and wait. We ask for your support in this matter.  Likewise, under no circumstances are students allowed to leave the school grounds in the morning and go across to the shops.  Not only is this incredibly unsafe, with them crossing the busy Heritage BLVD road unsupervised, but a small number of students are also coming back having purchased items inappropriate for the school day.  Please contact OSHClub if you need to organise care and supervision for your child/ren outside of 8:30 am - 3:30 pm.

The PSPS Leadership Team