Principal Team's Report

And that's a wrap!

It's hard to believe that we're at the end of another fabulous year of learning at the Springs!  The time goes so quickly, but when we look back and reflect on the year, we've certainly fit a lot in!

One of my highlights for the year was our Community Christmas Celebration. The weather was perfect for us and it was so wonderful to see so many of our Springers families come and celebrate the year all together.  Our students really did shine on stage and the performances they gave were a joy to watch.  A special mention to our Christmas Choir who performed beautifully, even after the disappointment of the Pakenham event being rained out. 

I'd like to thank each and every one of our community members for their support throughout 2023.  It's been a time of change for our school but I am really excited at the direction we're heading, with some great plans in place for the coming years.

I'd also like to send a huge shout-out to all of the staff at PSPS.  We have an amazing group of dedicated, talented and enthusiastic teachers, Learning Support Assistants, Administration staff and ancillary workers who all come together to provide the best possible educational experiences for our students.  I am extremely lucky to work with them every day and I cannot thank them enough for the hard work they put in.

Our School Council has also worked extremely hard this year, navigating a school review, Principal selection panel as well as the overall monitoring of the financial and operational ins and outs of the school.  We have a wonderful group of councillors who provide ideas, feedback, questions and input into the running of our school and I am grateful for the time they give up to be part of the Council.  Thank you to Michael Whiting for taking on the role of President this year.  

Welcome!

We'd like to extend a BIG Springers welcome to the following staff members who are joining us in the 2024 school year.

Miss Kate Marshall is returning to the Springs after a few years at other schools and is excited to step into a Year 6 classroom in 2024.

Miss Stephanie Anderson is joining our Year 2 team in 2024, after working at Templeton Primary School this year.

Mrs Christine Carpenter is another familiar face to the Springs, returning after spending some time at Bayles Regional Primary School. Christine will be helping all of our classroom staff with their Auslan studies in 2024 so that we can make this program a big success at our school. 

We also welcome some new Learning Support Assistants to our team, Harrison Fothergill (Year 4),  Jessie Hamilton (Year 5), and Andrea Treloar (Year 5).

Farewell!

At this time of year, it is always sad to farewell some of our Springers staff who are departing for various reasons. We'd like to thank Miss Lauren Cameron, Miss Molly O'Donnell, Mrs Amanda Daalmeyer, Ms Rebecca Kotzur, Mrs Tanya Shevchenko and Mrs Mistu Sakar Lodh. We are grateful for the time you've spent at Pakenham Springs and wish you well for your future endeavours. 

We'd also like to congratulate Mrs Kayleene Lynne on her retirement.  Kayleene has spent many years in the education sector and we are lucky to have had her as part of our team. Kayleene is much loved by our students and will be greatly missed by all of our staff.  We wish her well as she retires to spend more time enjoying being a grandparent. 

Teaching teams for 2024

Parent Payment Information - 2024

Parents have now received the Parent Payment information for the coming year on Compass.  A hard copy has also been sent home to all families.  We encourage all families to assist in organising prompt payment so that our fabulous programs can be planned and school improvements locked in for the future. 

Some of the school improvements we are currently planning include secure fencing around the perimeter of the school, ventilation and cooling to the Gym, a netting system in the Gym to stop our equipment from being caught in it, as well as the addition of new play areas for our students.  Your generous contributions make it possible for us to continue improving our school for the students.

Smile Squad coming in 2024

The Smile Squad School Dental program will be visiting Pakenham Springs early in 2024. Information was sent home last week regarding how this voluntary program works, and the scope of its operations.  It is not compulsory to participate in this program therefore forms don't need to be returned.  If you are willing to participate, return the forms as soon as possible to the school office.

Hats - Term 1

H 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. 

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.

We'd like to wish all members of our school community a very happy and safe holiday break.  We look forward to seeing you all back here ready for a huge 2024!

The PSPS Leadership Team