Principal Team's Report

Welcome back to Term 4!

It's hard to believe that we're already heading into Week 4 of the final term of 2024. Although time is flying, we still have so much to pack in! So far this term, we've already had students travel to the Phillip Island MotoGP (having a fabulous time even after getting soaked by some torrential rain!). Our Prep students spent time cuddling some creatures at Myuna Farm this week. We've also had a victorious Volleyball team and a visit from the Tiger PAW team talking about the importance of healthy eating, a healthy mindset and increased physical activity. It doesn't stop there though... coming up we have our Year 2 Sleepover, excursions to Ecolink (Deep Creek) and another visit from Tiger PAW. Buckle in Springers... it's going to be a busy ride in the weeks ahead!

Celebrating World Teacher's Day 2024

Every single day, I think about how lucky we are here at the Springs to have such a professional, passionate and dedicated group of educational rockstars in our school. Today, on World Teacher's Day, I would like to more formally recognise the mountains of work and the endless hours they put in to make sure all of our students are receiving the education, motivation and inspiration they require to become informed and respectful members of our local and global community. The role of a teacher is often underplayed. In a single day, they take on the role of not only educating students, but guiding the emotional and social development of our little people - helping them learn the skills they need as they progress through the various stages of their lives. They act as nurses, psychologists, dieticians, social workers, peacekeepers, detectives (where did that pencil go?!), cheerleaders, sandwich makers, IT technicians and stand-in parents every single day - it is exhausting work and our teachers do it with ease, keeping a smile on their face and their focus on meeting the various needs of each student.  Pakenham Springs is proud of the talent we have on staff, and we thank each and every one of our teachers for the efforts they put in. 

Looking ahead to 2025

Our planning is well underway for 2025 and we are getting excited about the plans we have going forward. Our Specialist programs in 2025 will stay the same, with Physical Education, Media Arts, Visual Arts and STEM being delivered to all students P-6. Auslan will again run for all students across the school, as will our year-level sports program and our Year 5/6 Interschool Sport development and competition program. We have some whole school events already booked in, such as World of Maths, a Dance Day (including the opportunity for our families to bust out their best moves) and a plethora of different experiences to help enrich the educational opportunities for all students.

If you are not returning to Pakenham Springs in 2025 (not our Year 6 students) please let the office know as soon as possible, as this will assist us in our planning for 2025. Likewise, if you have a child beginning Prep that you haven't already enrolled, please do so immediately ahead of our Prep Transition Program. 

Garden Project

Pakenham Springs was fortunate to have the BILD Group come and deliver a community garden project in our schoolyard - turning a pretty boring piece of land into a wonderful space for our Senior Students to use at play times. They constructed paths, erected an insect hotel, rearranged the seating and also provided us with 300 plants - working together with some of our Year 5 students to get these in the ground. This area now looks fantastic, and we thank the BILD Group for their generosity.  

Uniforms

Parents and Carers are reminded that a condition of enrolling at Pakenham Springs Primary School is adherence to our School Uniform. This includes the wearing of school-approved jumpers and polo shirts, the minimal wearing of jewellery, and also the requirement that hair colour be natural. Please note that our old red polo shirts are no longer acceptable. If you are having trouble securing uniform pieces, please contact our office for some assistance. Uniform breaches will be recorded via Compass, and we ask for parent/carer support in rectifying them as soon as practicable. Possible actions following frequent breaches of our Uniform policy are listed in the document attached. 

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 8:30am 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