Principal Team's Report

This Fortnight...

The Springs has certainly hit the ground running!  The past fortnight has been a whirlwind of activity!  Our classrooms have settled so well into a year of great learning and students have begun really digging deeply into their literacy and numeracy tasks.  They have revised the routines of the school, have set class Mission Statements, and have established great learning environments in each and every classroom. 

Outside the classroom, it's also been action-packed!  We held our annual Senior Student Conference back in week 1 and our students have already started implementing some of their goal-setting and teamwork skills.  Our much anticipated Staff v Student basketball game was also played - with the Staff remaining undefeated (although we were getting worried there for a minute!).

Our new programs in STEM and Auslan have both started well and are being enjoyed by all students.  We look forward to sharing our new learning with you in the coming weeks.

Building our Community

In 2024, we want to make a conscious effort to involve our community in our school as much as we possibly can.  We have already seen a wonderful turnout last Wednesday at our Meet the Teacher afternoon. It was lovely to see so many families enjoying our sausage sizzle and taking part in the outdoor games after meeting the teacher and checking out the classrooms.

Later this term, we will be holding a community Bush Dance instead of our usual Open Afternoon.  After participating in lessons throughout the day, our students will be able to teach you some boot-scooting moves after school as we all celebrate the end of Term 1. More information will come about this, but please pop Wednesday 20th March in your diary! 

School Council 

As communicated via Compass, we have a number of positions open on our School Council this year and I would encourage anyone looking to increase their involvement in the school to nominate for election.  I'd also like to take the opportunity to thank our outgoing members of the School Council for their service - we appreciate the time and effort you put into helping make our school even more fabulous! 

Facilities Update

Big things are happening at The Springs!  In the coming weeks, you will see that we are having a large fence erected around the perimeter of our entire school.  With the amount of vandalism over weekends and also in the interests of student safety, our School Council approved this work to be done.  This will mean some changes to the ways we enter and exit the school, however further details about that will be communicated shortly. 

We had a number of works done over the school holidays which included really cleaning up our grounds and fixing a lot of little bits and pieces that were beginning to show signs of their age!  Keep your eyes out over the next few weeks for some exciting new additions to our Prep play area!

The Book Fair is Coming!

The Book Fair is coming to Pakenham Springs!  It will arrive on the 14th March and be here until the 20th March.  Come by and support our school whilst getting your hands on the best new children’s books!

Hats - Term 1

Hats are required from Day 1 of Term 1 - 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. 

Privacy Information

Our school collects and uses student and parent personal information for standard school functions or where permitted by law, as stated in the Schools’ Privacy Policy and the Schools’ Privacy Collection Notice.

Our Photographing, Filming and Recording Students Policy describes how we collect and use photographs, videos, and recordings of students.  The policy also explains when parent consent is required and how it can be provided and withdrawn. 

We ask parents to also review the guidance we provide on how we use technology safely at the school and what parents can do to further protect their child’s information.  If after reviewing the guidance, you have any questions or concerns regarding your child using technology, please contact the school.

For more information about privacy, refer to: Schools’ Privacy Policy — information for parents. This information is also available in ten community languages:

• Amharic
• Arabic
• Dari
• Gujarati
• Mandarin
• Somali
• Sudanese
• Turkish
• Urdu
• Vietnamese

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.

The PSPS Leadership Team