Student Voice

A message from the School Captains

Hello Pakenham Community!

We hope everyone is doing well and looking forward to the holidays.

This year is speeding by and we wanted to update you on a few things that have been happening around the school.

Homelessness Donation Drive

For the past two weeks the 12.5 PDS class have been collecting donated goods such as tinned goods, hygiene products and kids toys, to give to the Salvation Army for the homeless people in Pakenham and the surrounding area. We are overwhelmed with the generosity of everyone, our bins are full and the Salvation Army have expressed their gratitude for our help. Thank you to everyone in our community who has donated to this important cause!

Pakenham Clean Up Day

The Year 11 VCAL Foundation Class were busy this term organising a ‘Clean Up Australia Day’ event in the local community. This week they collected rubbish between the school and Lakeside area, filling 9 bags of rubbish! They then came back to the school and continued picking up rubbish within the school area. 

We think it would be great if we could all continue with their initiative and make sure that we put our rubbish in the bins and keep our school looking clean and tidy.

Year 12 Formal

Last night we had a fantastic celebration of our final year of high school. We are grateful for all of the knowledge that our teachers have given us, not just for this year, but for all of our years here at Pakenham Secondary College. It was also great to see so many teachers attending and celebrating with us.  It is hard to believe that we will be leaving this fabulous school in such a short time and we are grateful for all that we have learnt over the past six years and the fabulous friendships that we have made.  

We hope you all have a wonderful holiday and look forward to seeing you next term!

College Captains 2022

Year 10 Leadership Camp

Our Year 10 Leadership Campers had a fabulous three day adventure to Camp Jungai in Rubicon, over the last few days of August. They enjoyed a plethora of activities such as canoeing, boomerang throwing, high ropes, and much, much more. The purpose of the camp was to provide the students with the opportunity to develop their leadership skills as they begin their senior studies.   

By providing a break from the school environment, the program offered the students the opportunity to reflect on themselves, their relationships and their future beyond school. They discovered what it means to be a good leader and harness confidence and perseverance.

The different programs they explored during their stay included Indigenous Cultural programs, Team Builder Programs and Young Leaders programs. Each of these targeted leadership and communication skills, team work, resilience and sought to improve their understanding and knowledge of Australian Indigenous communities.  

Year 9 Holocaust Museum and East Melbourne Synagogue Excursion

Last week our Year 9 students visited the Melbourne Holocaust Centre and East Melbourne Synagogue. Students learnt about Jewish migration to Australia, Jewish customs as well as a tour of the Synagogue with Rabbi Gutnick.

This was to support our unit of work about the Holocaust in Year 9 Humanities. Whilst at the Holocaust Centre, the students had the opportunity to handle and view a range of evidence including documents, photos and artefacts relating to the time of the Jewish Holocaust. They listened to a talk by a Holocaust survivor, who discussed his own experience of this important time in history. After this, the students were taken on a tour of the East Melbourne Synagogue, and learnt more about Jewish people in Australia. 

The activities at both locations enabled students to form a more thorough understanding of this important historical event before they completed their assessment task. 

Year 9 Health & Wellbeing Day

Yesterday was Health and Wellbeing Day for all Year 9 students to learn strategies to increase their physical and mental health. 

Students were involved in a number of activities including guest speakers and workshops regarding mental health, nutrition and empowerment. They also undertook a variety of physical activities throughout the day. 

Some of the activities they enjoyed in the afternoon session were pilates, vision boards, science craft, collages, drama games and a fitness session.