Principal Team's Report

Celebrating our students

We are so proud of all of our students at Pakenham Springs - the learner characteristics they are showing get stronger and stronger each day.  Over the previous weeks, we've seen our Year 1 students celebrate their Olden Days unit of study, we've seen our Year 6 students return from their Canberra Camp, we've had a high-achieving group of Year 3 & 4 students participate in a Flexagons incursion, we've had our Year 5 students take part in an Andy Griffiths writing workshop and we've seen some amazing reading, writing and mathematics learning happening in our classrooms. We are incredibly lucky to be able to offer our students so many rich and varied experiences at Pakenham Springs.

Rotary Public Speaking Competition

This week two of our Year 6 students competed in the annual Rotary Public Speaking Awards at the Pakenham Golf Club. They competed against students from other local primary schools and presented their speeches in front of a large audience.  Dinuli and Charlotte worked hard (under the guidance of Mr Teague Rook) to develop an engaging speech and present with confidence, poise and passion.  Their hard work paid off, with Dinuli walking away with the first place 'Champion' award.  This meant that Pakenham Springs also received the perpetual shield for the top-performing school in 2022.  Well done to our superstar speakers on this wonderful achievement!

The weeks ahead...

The final month of school is upon us and we have so many special events coming up!  It's really important for all families to be keeping an eye on Compass, our 'Upcoming Events' newsletter page as well as our school Facebook page for updates.  A small snippet of the things we have coming up includes our second Year 6 camp, our Year 3 Water Safety excursion, and Kaboom sports.  Busy times ahead at the Springs! 

School Community Celebration Afternoon

On Monday 5th December, we invite the entire school community to come and join us on the basketball court from 3:30pm - 5:30pm for some Christmas Carols performed by students, a sausage sizzle and some fun and games.  We encourage everyone to come dressed in their festive finest!  This will be a great way for us to celebrate another year of awesome learning at the Springs.

Victorian Government Schools Agreement

You may be aware of the new VGSA that came into place in the middle of this year.  This document sets out the working conditions for all staff in the Department of Education. There were substantial changes in the new VGSA, particularly around teachers being paid for the hours of work they complete in their own time.  One of the impacts of this is that Time in Lieu is now applicable to our events and camps that run beyond a staff member's regular contracted hours.  We are trying hard to balance the additional costs that this brings to the school, with the obvious benefits to students and families of these events. You may find that there are some changes to our events and programs over the coming year as we try to find this balance.  One major change is our camping program, with our Canberra trip now being changed to a 3-day Melbourne City Tour.  More information will be distributed in 2023, but our camp dates are included in the Upcoming Events section of this newsletter for your information and forward planning. 

Transition

In the final couple of weeks of school, we will see our students take part in our Transition program to get them ready for the year ahead.  Students will spend time with their new class and teacher on Monday 12th December and Friday 16th December.  Our Year 2 students will also spend some time observing Year 3 classrooms to see the difference when they 'step up' from Junior School into Middle School.  Please remember that countless hours of work go into class groupings and teacher placements and changes are extremely difficult to make.

Uniform Reminder

Have you organised your new style polo shirt for next year?  This is a reminder that we are phasing out our red polo shirts and expect all students to be in the new style shirts from the beginning of 2023. 

We are proud to be members of the Pakenham Springs community, and we want all students to share this pride.  Our uniform is a direct reflection of the perceptions others have about our school.  All families are reminded that we have a compulsory school uniform that must be worn by every student, every day.  On the rare occasion that an item may be in the wash and unable to be worn, a signed and dated note for that single day, will be accepted.  Students have been reminded about this, and may be offered a 'spare' jumper or jacket to borrow for the day should this become an ongoing issue.  In Term 4, all students must be wearing a 'sun smart' hat (broad brim or bucket style) during recess and lunch breaks.  Students without a hat must remain under the designated undercover area during break times. 

Have a terrific fortnight everyone.

The PSPS Leadership Team