Principal Team's Report

Open Afternoon Wednesday 25th June

As the term begins to wind down, we look forward to seeing all of our families at our Open Afternoon next Wednesday from 3:30-4:30 pm. Classrooms will be open during this time, so please come along and celebrate the learning from term 2 with us! 

Racism in Schools

At Pakenham Springs Primary School, we value the diversity of culture, ethnicity, and faith of all our students. We are proud of our diversity, and everyone is welcome at our school.

Any racially motivated adverse behaviour is unacceptable and will not be tolerated at our school.

Celebrating the diversity of our community makes us stronger, kinder and innovative. We are committed to ensuring that students from all backgrounds feel accepted, supported and are empowered to learn.

Pakenham Springs Primary School has taken steps to ensure the school is a place free of racism and where everyone feels welcome, respected and supported. 

To achieve our values and aims, everyone at our school plays an important role, and we are writing to ask for your support.

Pakenham Springs Primary School asks that you support your child/ren to:

• understand that we celebrate diversity and multicultural inclusion
• understand the importance of everyone at school being treated with respect
• understand that Pakenham Springs takes racism very seriously
• understand that the school will support students if they experience or see their classmates witness this racism
• discuss with your children the impact of using racist slurs and the harm it may cause other students, and the importance of using respectful language at school and in the broader community.

Your partnership in reinforcing these values at home will significantly help create a more respectful and inclusive environment at school. For more information, please see Racism: talking with children and teens, Raising Children Network.

If you or your child/ren have experienced racism or other unfair treatment, Pakenham Springs is here to help. Talk to our school office staff who can help you understand the school policies, access support and make a complaint. 

If you don’t feel comfortable reporting the incident to the school, you can call or email the Report Racism hotline. The Department of Education runs the Report Racism hotline. It is available 9am to 5pm, Monday to Friday (excluding public holidays) on 1800 722 476 or via email at report.racism@education.vic.gov.au.

Berry Street Education Model

As mentioned in our previous Newsletter, all of our staff are starting the intensive Berry Street Education Model training and will continue to do so over the next 18 months. Our focus at the moment under this initiative is to create and embed clear, consistent and predictable routines. You may have noticed a change to the way that we enter and exit the classroom each day. Our students are expected to line up quietly at the beginning of the day. They will be greeted at the door by their teacher, and the expectations for entry will be explained. Teachers will then assist students to get ready to learn. Parents and families are to remain outside the classroom to allow our teachers to begin their day of teaching and setting expectations from the very beginning. Please note that this means our teachers are unavailable from 8:45 am to chat with parents. To make an appointment to chat with your classroom teacher, please use Compass to contact them and arrange a suitable time.

Bring Your Own Device program 2026

Our BYOD parent information evening was held this week, with some great discussion and feedback taking place. A parent handout and our Acceptable Use Agreement will be sent to all Year 3 and 4 families shortly, with the link to purchase their device. We thank our families for their understanding and support while we get this program up and running. 

Uniform Reminders

As the weather becomes cooler and wetter, please remind your child to bring a jumper and/or jacket! Keeping a change of pants in their bag (regardless of the age of your child) is recommended, as the puddles get bigger and the mud gets more widespread. Remember that we have school beanies on sale from the office to keep heads nice and toasty!

Parking and Road Safety

Cardinia Council has received a concerning increase in the reports regarding illegal parking, dangerous driving and pedestrian safety around schools across the Shire. Together with Cardinia Shire Council, we wish to remind all drivers of the importance of safety and adhering to road rules when parking around the school, at pick-up and drop-off times.

To ensure the safety of all pedestrians, students and members of our school community, we ask that you:

• Park only in designated areas: parking is not permitted on nature strips, no-stopping zones, no parking zones, bus zones or areas reserved for staff (internal carpark areas). Please adhere to all signage and the road rules.
• Follow drop-off and pick-up procedures: use the designated drop-off and pick-up zones to ensure a smooth and safe flow of traffic.
• Be mindful of pedestrians: Follow directions from School Crossing Supervisors and take extra caution during peak times when children are arriving or leaving school.
• Be respectful: Council Parking Officers are required to conduct regular patrols around the school to ensure safety. Please be respectful and courteous.

Semester Reports

At Pakenham Springs, we encourage effective partnerships between the school, family and student to ensure that we are all working together to get the best outcomes possible for our students. Celebrating success and sharing goals is important, and we encourage families to check in regularly with their child's classroom teacher to ensure the communication lines remain open. At the end of this term, you will receive a written report assessing your child against the Victorian Curriculum 2.0 standards. We encourage you to read the report carefully, discuss with your child and seek clarification of anything that is unclear. As we move to a new curriculum this year, the reports may look a little different (particularly in the Mathematics progression points). There will be communication around how to read these reports, and we encourage families to read this carefully.

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.

Have a wonderful fortnight,

The PSPS Leadership Team