Principal Team's Report

Welcome to Term 2!

Term 2 is well and truly underway, with all students settling back into the school routine well. Our teaching and learning programs continue to strengthen, with students experiencing explicit, direct instruction with multiple opportunities to respond in each and every lesson. Have a chat with your child about the different ways their teacher checks their understanding of content throughout the school day - they may mention that they show their learning through mini-whiteboards, pair-share with a partner, choral responses or another way that our teachers are constantly checking for understanding of the content we cover. Our lessons are fast-paced, and students are actively involved throughout the entire session. No wonder our students (and teachers!) are exhausted at the end of the school day!

Learning Conferences and Reports

It was wonderful to see so many families take part in our Learning Conferences this week. At Pakenham Springs, we encourage effective partnerships between the school, family and student to ensure that we are all working together to get the best outcomes possible for our students. Celebrating success and sharing goals is important, and we encourage families to check in regularly with their child's classroom teacher to ensure the communication lines remain open. At the end of this term, you will receive a written report assessing your child against the Victorian Curriculum 2.0 standards. We encourage you to read the report carefully, discuss with your child and seek clarification of anything that is unclear. As we move to a new curriculum this year, the reports may look a little different (particularly in the Mathematics progression points). There will be communication around how to read these reports, and we encourage families to read this carefully.

Advance Notice - Bring Your Own Device program

At Pakenham Springs, we believe that students' knowledge and ability to effectively use technology within their learning is crucial to develop them into productive members of the global community. As such, we will be moving to a Bring Your Own Device Program in the 2026 school year. This will mean that families with students in Years 4 & 5 for 2026 will be asked to purchase a Chromebook for their child to use at school. More information will be distributed shortly regarding this, including specific instructions on how to purchase a school-approved and supported device. 

We will also be holding an information session later in the term for families to ask any questions they may have. Payment plans will be available for families, and a bank of devices will be available for use at school by students whose families may not be in a position to purchase a device outright.

If you have any enquiries about the program that we may need to address, please feel free to fill out the following Form...

Safety Reminder - coming to and from school

Please, please, please have a chat with your child/ren about travelling safely to school! The number of near-misses that are reported to us, where students have walked or run straight out in front of cars, is truly frightening. 

It is a school rule that bikes and scooters are walked within the schoolyard, and also on the paths adjacent to the school. Until a child crosses a road (Henry Rd, Heritage BLVD or Livingstone BLVD), or is up to the community oval, they should be walking their bike/scooter. 

No child should be riding a bike or a scooter without a properly fitted, Australian Safety Standard-approved helmet on their head. Again, please have a chat with your child/ren about this - a helmet on their handlebars does not have the same protective effect!

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.

Have a wonderful fortnight,

The PSPS Leadership Team