Principal Team's Report

World Teachers Day 2023

On World Teachers Day, I would like to take this opportunity to acknowledge the efforts of all the teachers at Pakenham Springs Primary School. It is a privilege to lead a school where the staff are so dedicated, professional and committed to continual improvement. The care they show for all students, and the lengths they go to to ensure high levels of learning and support for each and everyone is truly admirable. I am incredibly proud to work with such an amazing group of colleagues. 

Term 4 update

It's hard to believe we're already heading into the middle of Term 4! We've filled the beginning of the term with so much, including our Year 2 Sleepover (read more about this later in the newsletter), the presentation of our Year 5 Leadership speeches, our Prep excursion to Myuna Farm, our Year 5 & 6 Volleyball tournament and lots and lots of classroom learning!  We've also begun conducting our initial assessments with all of our 2024 Prep students so that we can learn more about them and really tailor our teaching to their needs when they begin school next year.  Busy times at The Springs!      

ICAS superstars

Well done to Arib and Adam who completed the ICAS assessment earlier this year.  They both did an amazing job, receiving certificates acknowledging their achievements which we presented at our Monday morning assembly last week.  

ICAS is an independent assessment of student learning aimed at pushing students to their academic limits and testing their higher-order thinking and problem-solving abilities. 

We are very proud of the achievements of both Arib and Adam and we look forward to watching their abilities soar in the coming years. 

Public Speaking

During Term 3 we offered our senior students the opportunity to participate in public speaking as their elective subject.  Facilitated by Teague Rook, these students pushed themselves out of their comfort zones and learned the skills required to become confident and effective public speakers. 

It was my pleasure to watch these students present their speeches last week.  They had all prepared thoughtful and mature speeches and presented them proudly, utilising the skills that they had learned. 

From this, two students were selected to represent our school at the annual Rotary Public Speaking competition.  Ebony and Allegra were selected as our representatives and I am looking forward to watching them present to a wider audience next week.  Well done to all involved!

2024 Planning

It's that time of year again when we need to finalise our student numbers for 2024.  Please let us know as soon as possible if you have a child starting at the school in 2024 - Step into Prep plans are underway and information is already beginning to go out to families. 

If you have a student leaving the school at the end of this year (apart from our Year 6 students), please let us know as soon as possible.  Accurate student numbers allow us to budget and employ the correct number of staff. We have already commenced our recruitment activities this year due to the state-wide teacher shortage to ensure we lock in the best staff for our students. 

Hats - Term 4

It's time to look in the back of those cupboards and begin finding hats!  These are required from Day 1 of Term 4 - 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. 

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.

I will be on leave from Wednesday 1st November, returning to school on Tuesday 14th November.  In my absence, Mr Scott McKinnon will be the Acting Principal.

Enjoy the fortnight ahead!

The PSPS Leadership Team