Principal's Message
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‘Growth and Connection’
I am a firm believer in State Education and everything it has to offer. A State Education is a great education filled with opportunities both in and out of the classroom for our students. These opportunities are provided by committed and hardworking educators and support staff who work in State Education to make a positive difference in the lives of the young people enrolled in our government’s schools.
We are a great school here at Pakenham Secondary College. Our ability to teach and care for all of our students is exceptional. We are committed to providing educational pathways for all of our students that is important to their ongoing development and success. The support we have from our families is outstanding.
Our College Community have been discussing the value of ‘Growth and Connection’. As a College Community we want to continue to grow and improve learning and wellbeing outcomes for all of our students. Furthermore, as a Community, we want students, families and staff to connect really strongly in order to get the best results we can for all of our students and our community.
There is a very strong sense of community at Pakenham Secondary College, whereby families and staff work well together in the best interests of our students. Through teamwork, we can all continue to grow and improve – there is real value in demonstrating ‘Growth and Connection’ in everything we do.
School Pride
It is great to see our students demonstrating pride in their school by being in full College Uniform, attending classes and being prepared for every lesson of every day, and participating in their learning and other co-curricular activities in a committed and respectful manner. School Pride is vital as it develops a sense of belonging allowing students to strongly connect with the College.
Victorian State Schools Spectacular, 2022
We have a committed team of students and staff involved in the State Schools Spectacular this year. Our PSC Team will be participating in this exciting event on Saturday 10 September. For more information concerning the State Schools Spectacular, please contact the General Office on 5945 1433. We wish our PSC Team all the very best with their involvement in this year’s State Schools Spectacular.
Year 8 Camp, 2022
Well done to all involved in the Year 8 Camp throughout the week. Our Year 8 students and staff travelled out to Camp Rumbug in Foster to participate in a range of team building type activities.
Despite the weather, our Year 8 students had a great time enjoying so much of what the Camp had to offer. Please check out some photos of their experiences whilst on Camp as part of this Newsletter. We thank our staff who attended the Year 8 Camp – without their dedicated and hardworking approach, this important event would not have been possible.
PSC Parents and Friends Group
At a recent College Council Meeting, we discussed the idea of establishing a PSC Parents and Friends Committee to assist the College with some key events and fundraising initiatives.
Examples of key events could be assisting with the setting up of Information Nights and Year Level Socials, whilst fundraising initiatives can help with the raising of funds to support our Buildings and Grounds.
If you as a parent / carer of a child at our College would like to join this important Group, please simply provide an expression of interest with the General Office on 5945 1433.
Term Three Interim Reports, 2022
Term Three Interim Reports for this year will be provided to families via Compass from Friday 9 September. Interim Reports are an excellent way of checking on student progress across different subject areas, and they support feedback that can be gained at the up and coming Parent Teacher Student Conferences (13 September, 2022). Please contact the College should you have any queries concerning Interim Reports.
Parent – Teacher – Student Conferences, Tuesday 13 September (1.00 to 8.00pm), 2022
Our Term Three Parent – Teacher – Student Conferences will be held Tuesday 13 September from 1.00 to 8.00pm. The Term Three Conferences will be held face to face at the College.
As there will be no regular classes on the day, with students expected to be in attendance with their parents / carers as part of the Conferences (Tue 13 September, 2022, 1 – 8pm). Details will be shared very soon as to how families can make a booking to see their child’s teachers as part of the Conferences.
Book Week, Monday 22 to Friday 26 August, 2022
It was ‘Book Week’ at the College this week with students encouraged to read a favourite book. As we know, reading is fundamental to everything we do and it is vital to further improving literacy skills. Being able to read allows us all to access information and engage with family, learning, employment and our community. Reading is also a fun thing to do allowing us to use our imagination as we turn from one page to the next. We thank our Library and Teaching Staff for helping us to recognise Book Week with our students, and well done to those staff who dressed up (please check out the photos provided as part of this Newsletter) in various costumes to acknowledge different literary characters as part of Book Week.
NAPLAN, 2022
We are expecting the NAPLAN assessment results to be shared with us soon. The NAPLAN assessment results give families and the College a guide as to student learning levels and progress in key areas within Numeracy and Literacy. We look forward to receiving these assessment results so we can analyse with other key assessment data to guide us in our work and planning to further improve student learning outcomes.
The Department of Education and Training (DET) Parent/Carer Opinion Survey, 2022
Our College is conducting a survey to find out what parents/carers think of our school. The Parent/Carer Opinion Survey is an annual survey offered by DET that is designed to assist schools in gaining an understanding of families’ perceptions of school climate, student behavior, and student engagement.
Whilst some families have already been randomly selected to complete the Survey, other parents/carers are encouraged to contact the College if you would like to complete the Survey.
The Parent/Carer Opinion Survey will be conducted from Monday 15th August to Friday 16th September. The Survey will be conducted online, only takes 20 minutes to complete, and can be accessed at any convenient time within the fieldwork period on desktop computers, laptops, tablets or smartphones. The online Survey will be available in a range of languages other than English. These include: Arabic, Vietnamese, Simplified Chinese, Chin (Hakha), Hindi, Japanese, Somali, Turkish, Punjabi and Greek.
Our College will use the survey results to help inform and direct future school planning and improvement strategies.
School Wide Positive Behaviour Support (SWPBS) Program – ‘Self Belief’
Our SWPBS Program is a real feature of our College with ‘Self Belief’ being the focus of our work with students this term. Our teaching staff are continuing to recognise students who are demonstrating self belief in their participation at school, and we say well done to our students for their efforts here. Our focus around ‘Self Belief’ will continue for the remainder of Term Three.
Year 7 Enrolments – 2023
Our Year 7 Enrolments for next year currently stand at approximately 160 students for 2023. This is a considerable increase in Year 7 enrolments from 2022. These Year 7 enrolment figures bode well for the College demonstrating an increased interest in our school affirming support for our programs and approach to teaching, learning and wellbeing.
PSC Car Park
Families are reminded to please use our College Car park safely. It is important that we all follow the signage provided to allow for the safe use of our car park. If possible, try and arrive for the school drop off and pick up a little earlier to assist with any congestion issues. Please continue to exercise patience as much as you can when it comes to the use of our College Car Park.
Buildings and Grounds
Finally, we continue our work to further improve the College’s Building and Grounds. Significant works have taken place in recent times with line marking, a revamp of the foyer to the General Office, repairs to the flooring in the Woodwork room, new ramps and verandah off the back of the administration area and general maintenance, all featuring as part of these works. The up and coming Term 3 School Holiday period will see our many of our classrooms being painted to further improve the appearance of these spaces within the College.
Thank you and regards,
Aaron Smith
College Principal – Pakenham Secondary College