Principal Team's Report

It has been a smooth start to term 2 after a lovely Easter break. We have a busy term ahead so please take note of the Upcoming Events page in each newsletter and our Facebook Page. Please take note of the Student Free Days - in the last week of term the government announced that teachers will receive a common Professional Practice Day. This will take place on Tuesday, June the 14th which is after the long weekend.

Colour Run 

What a fabulous way to end Term One! So much fun was had and we loved welcoming parents back on school grounds after so many restrictions. Our staff went above and beyond and we thank our community for gaining sponsorship and raising some much needed funds for our Physical Education department. Mr Holmes has already ordered new additional basketball backboards, basketball uniforms and additional equipment.  Your support helps improve our programs - thank you so much for your ongoing support. 

CyberSafety and Social Media Use

Do you know what social media sites your child is using? Do you know who they are interacting with? Do you know what messages your child is sending to others? As parents, it's important to give our children trust and responsibility, however it is ultimately our responsibility to ensure they are interacting with others in a safe and appropriate way. I urge you all to have a conversation with your child about the use of platforms such as Snapchat, TikTok and Instagram. We have been made aware of some inappropriate and dangerous use of these sites by our students in recent weeks. Let's work together to help educate all students on respectful and responsible use of technology.

Representing Pakenham Springs

At the moment it seems as though some students are 'pushing the boundaries' in terms of their wearing of our uniform and adherence to our School Council approved Uniform Policy. All families are reminded that unnatural hair colour is not allowed at Pakenham Springs. This is explicitly stated in the Uniform Policy, which parents accepted when enrolling their children.Jewelry should be kept to a minimum for safety reasons (one small pair of studs/sleepers in ears, a watch and jewelry worn for religious or cultural purposes are allowed). Non-uniform items worn must be accompanied by an explanation note (dated and signed) for the shortest amount of time possible. If you are having trouble sourcing uniform items, or have financial reasons why this is difficult, please reach out and speak to our staff. There are plenty of ways in which we can help. Again, working together will ensure our students represent our school in a respectful and responsible manner. 

Term 2 Progress Reporting Begins

In 2022, we are improving the way we report and communicate student learning progress and learning growth. At Pakenham Springs Primary School, we value the relationship between home and school.  To highlight this, we are moving to a PROGRESS REPORTING MODEL.  The purpose of this model is to report and communicate progress to families and not just results, through regular updates every 5 weeks. This means that families will receive a ‘snapshot’ of how their child is performing every five weeks from classroom teachers in the areas of Mathematics, Reading and Writing, and every 10 weeks from specialist teachers in the areas of Japanese P-2, STEM 3-6, Media Arts, Visual Arts (semester depending) and Physical Education.  

You will still receive a Semester Report at the end of Term 2 and Term 4 with progression point data and information outlining what was taught.  This will also include a personalised comment for each student. 

PROGRESS REPORTS will focus on how your child is currently performing/tracking in the subject areas of Mathematics, Reading and Writing, and in our vast range of specialist subjects.  Feedback on the six Learning Habits and the school Values of Respect, Responsibility and Resilience will also be provided using a 5-point scale from 'excellent' to 'needs improvement'.  Progress Reports for Mathematics, Reading and Writing will be published through COMPASS in an easy-to-read table format for the first time in Week 5 (Friday 27th May).  Families will receive their usual Semester Report by teachers (both classroom and specialist) at the end of this term. 

To support families even further, you will have access to results in Mathematics using your own unique Essential Assessment login.  Teachers will notify you when an assessment has been completed via the class newsfeed so you can directly see the areas of strength, improvement and growth for your child. 

Teachers will also upload a writing sample later this year. This will include curriculum descriptors of how your child is progressing in writing.  Just another way in which we aim to enrich communication between home and school.

It is important to note that semester reports will not have the ‘areas for improvement’ section, as these will be provided in an ongoing manner through the progress reporting model as mentioned above.  Whilst it is a new way of looking at student reporting, we encourage our families to be open to the opportunities this model presents in improving communication between home and school.  A reminder will be sent to all families when Progress Reports have been published. 

Parent Access to Essential Assessment

Pakenham Springs Primary School are partners with Essential Assessment which complements student learning in Numeracy. As part of this initiative, we can provide you access to the Essential Assessment parent platform. The Essential Assessment parent platform allows our school to share your child's progress as we work through each topic of their learning throughout the year. This information provides a summary of the specific Numeracy and Literacy skills that we are currently developing with your child and provides practical examples of these skills to assist with their continued learning. This platform can be accessed with either your unique school code and parent pin or your unique QR code. 

Step by step instructions have been communicated to all families via COMPASS. Following these steps will support you in setting up your Essential Assessment access and in understanding the results shared.  Keep in mind, that each assessment is a 'snapshot' of Mathematics and, that Mathematics covers many topics and areas of learning across Number and Algebra, Statistics and Probability, and Measurement and Geometry.

PSPS Receives an Outstanding Review in a Recent Literacy Case Study.

Pakenham Springs Primary School began teaching with Little Learners Love Literacy several years ago. Prior to implementing LLLL, our junior school (P–2) team were concerned with our reading results and we didn’t seem able to close the gap between those that learnt to read relatively easily and those who really struggled. We had some staff who were familiar with Little Learners and had been exploring it as part of their phonics instruction in Prep. When we began to review our teaching practice and instructional methods, Little Learners seemed the obvious choice for us. We were impressed with the systematic approach and how it aligned with the science of reading, and being Australian-based was a big advantage over similar programs. We could see from the Prep classrooms how much the students engaged with Milo’s Birthday Surprise and how that engagement and explicit teaching was translating into results. 

The biggest change occurred last year (2021) when we overhauled our take-home readers and classroom reading sets. To ensure we were getting the best out of our teaching practice, we needed to make sure our students were only being given books they could read successfully and independently. We purchased classroom sets of Little Learners books for every Prep and Year 1 class and replaced all the levelled take-home books with decodables. We are already seeing the confidence of our students increase as they weren't left to guess; they could apply the knowledge to read accurately. 

Once we decided that it was time to commit to change and implement the LLLL program, a group of junior school teachers put together a proposal that included fundraising ideas and a two-year plan to achieve our goal of replacing our predictable take home readers and classroom reading sets with decodable books. Our proposal was quickly approved – the leadership team decided that if this is what the teachers wanted and the students needed, then we shouldn’t wait. They were able to provide the budget we needed to start immediately, no two-year plan! We are fortunate to have a supporting leadership team and school council who value what we are trying to achieve and were happy to provide the resources and training we needed to be successful.  

NAPLAN

This week the Year 3 and 5 students began the NAPLAN assessments.  It as been wonderful to walk through these sessions and witness excellence in organisation by our staff and calmness and focus from our students.  Our school values of Respect, Responsibility and Resilience from other students was evident as they moved around the school quietly, ensuring they did not interrupt the Year 3 and 5 students.  Our teachers have prepared students well and we wish all students the best of luck with these assessments. NAPLAN assessments will be completed by the end of next week with results distributed to families later in the year. 

COVID Safety Measures

it is important for all parents/guardians to continue to alert the school if a member in the family tests positive for COVID.

Rapid antigen testing

Free rapid antigen tests will continue to be available for all staff and students in Victorian schools for the first four weeks of Term 2, 2022. Rapid antigen testing will continue to be voluntary but strongly encouraged for all primary, secondary and specialist school students and staff. 

Face masks

While recommended, face masks are not required in any school settings from 11.59pm 22 April 2022.   Any students or staff members who wish to wear a mask may do so, including those who are medically at-risk. 

Positive Cases of COVID-19

Students who report a positive result must isolate for seven days and not attend school during that period. Where a student is a household contact of a positive case (that is, they have spent more than four hours with someone who has COVID-19 inside a house, accommodation, or care facility) they must inform the school. Household and household-like contacts are no longer required to quarantine as long as they take additional safety measures in the 7 days that would have been their quarantine period.  Household contacts are required to inform the school that they are attending during the 7 day period. They must test daily and wear a mask at school.

We are very much looking forward to a busy and productive fortnight ahead, take care.

The PSPS Leadership Team