Principal's Message

We Grow Through Connection

Dear Students, Parents and Carers,

Term Three has now come to a close and what a term it has been!  Working with families, we have again provided outstanding opportunities for our students throughout the term in the four areas important to our College Community:

Student Growth and Pathways

Sport

Performing Arts

Student Leadership and Our Community

I thank our families for their ongoing support of our great school.

Our SOAR Point Averages were recently published in support of the Parent Teacher Student Conferences yesterday (Thursday 17 September).  The SOAR Point Averages allow for Student Learning Behaviours to be monitored over time across different subjects and growth and improvements can be celebrated.  The SOAR Point Averages were referenced as part of the Conferences, and we thank families for checking in with our teaching staff to discuss their children’s progress for Term Three.

Earlier in the week (Tuesday 15 September) we had our last Sub School Assemblies for the term where a number of announcements were shared with students.  Importantly, a major theme of these Assemblies was the presentation of Numeracy and Literacy Growth Awards to a several of our students – we congratulate these students for demonstrating outstanding growth in their learning in these important areas of their education.

Year 6 into 7 Transition for 2027 is a real feature of our work as a school at the moment with approximately 270 Year 7 students at this stage to join our great school next year. There are a series of transition activities for our new Year 7 students next term leading up to the Statewide Orientation Day on Tuesday 8 December, 2026.  We welcome our new Year 7 students for 2027.

Some of our Year 12 students may well be feeling some mixed emotions at this time, as they head into the final days and weeks of their secondary school education - we wish them all the very best as they finalise their assessments.  For some of our Year 12 students, they will have exams in Term Four, and we wish them well.  We are very proud of the Class of 2026 and we wish them every success with their future endeavours.

Sport is a big part of our College.  Just last week (Tuesday 8 September) we had a strong team represent the College at the Division Athletics with a number of our students moving through to the next round of competition in Term Four – well done to all of our students for their participation on the day, and we thank Ms. Emma Morrow and her team for all of their hard work in support of Sport at Pakenham Secondary College.  Our new Volleyball Development Program is growing from strength to strength with a sizeable contingent of students participating each week.  Recent lunch time Volleyball tournaments also show the popularity of this Program amongst students.

Another important area of our College is of course the Performing Arts with a number of our students participating in the State Schools Spectacular at John Cain Arena in Melbourne recently (Saturday 29 August).  Our students had a great time representing the College and we thank them for all of their hard work over many months with respect to rehearsals and planning. We also thank Ms. Jamie Gourlay and her team for leading the way with this opportunity for our students.

Our Instrumental Music Program continues to grow with an approximate 30% increase in participation from 2025 to 2026.  Our Performing Arts team lead by Ms. Genelle Lentini continues to prioritise the importance of the program with so many different musical disciplines offered to our students.  We are expecting further growth for 2027 and we look forward to hearing from our ensembles and bands in the future.

Student Leadership and Our Community is another very important area of our College.  After working through a process recently, our new College Captains and Vice Captains for 2027 have been appointed:

Mara Kerslake – College Captain

Isabelle Taylor – College Captain

Leon Anseline – College Vice Captain

Emma Chaintrier – College Vice Captain

We are thrilled with our new College Captain and Vice Captain appointments for next year and we wish them well with their leadership – we know that all of these students will represent the College to the highest of standards; we congratulate our new College Captain and Vice Captains for 2027.  Please note that at the time of writing, the College is continuing to work through the process to confirm further Student Leadership Positions for 2027 including our House Captains for next year.

Our Capital Works Program is now largely complete with some finishing touches to occur over the Term Three Holiday Break.  As a College, there will be a handover of the Program from the Builder in early Term Four. We are planning an Official Opening of the new Program on Friday 16 October, 2026.  Additional Holiday Works are planned for the up and coming Term Break with painting, new carpets and general maintenance all on the agenda.

At our recent College Council Meeting (Tuesday 8 September) we discussed the concept of Evolving Schools. A Forum I attended earlier in the year spoke to this concept whereby schools are increasingly being seen as Community Hubs in support of students and families.  Professor Frank Oberklaid spoke at the Forum and he is one of Australia’s leading paediatricians and child development researchers, and he champions the importance of the early years in shaping lifelong health, learning and wellbeing, where his work emphasises prevention, early intervention, child mental health and developmental assessments (Centre for Community Child Health, 2026).  His work also strongly advocates for integrated services that support children and families.  More and more schools can be seen as Community Hubs to help students and families access such services in support of their development and future – we at Pakenham Secondary College will continue to play a vital role in supporting our families.

There is a great sense of teamwork and community at our great school – students, families and staff all working so well together to further improve the outcomes of our students. We are proud of our school and our students, and we will continue to work together to support the learning, wellbeing and pathways of our students moving forward – We Grow Through Connection.

I again thank our families for their ongoing support of our school, and I thank our hardworking staff for their wonderful teaching and support of our students.  Please be reminded of our Early Dismissal of 2.30pm on our last day of Term (Friday 18 September), and I hope that you all have a wonderful Term Three Break – stay safe,

Regards

Aaron

Aaron Smith

College Principal – Pakenham Secondary College