Principal's Report

We Made It 

The fortnight may have felt like a month but there is a reason for that.  Pakenham Springs does not settle for 'going ok', 'doing fine' or 'the same as always' - we strive for the best in teaching, learning, and wellbeing. 

In the last newsletter publication, I spoke about the curriculum day and how staff had accepted the challenge of maintaining our whole school routines and high expectations in Literacy whilst now placing a 'spotlight' on Mathematics.  Since then, we have held additional Professional Learning for teaching staff on Monday afternoons and we are well on our way to implementing 'Number Talks' across the school at all year levels.  What is a Number Talk?

Number Talks encourage students to explain concepts (why) not procedures (how).  Our senior students in particular are used to listing the steps of an algorithm they've completed, whereas we are helping them to make sense of those steps - Why does that work?  Why do we add a 'zero' etc?  Today it is no longer sufficient for students to know what they did, students must know why their procedures work.  We are also encouraging students to be more flexible in their mathematical thinking, there is no one right approach and mistakes are opportunities to learn.  Whilst we are at the very beginning of this exploration, both students and staff are certainly embracing the new learning.  Below are some dots - How do you see them?  Is it 4 and 3 or 3, 1 and 3, or a different way? 

NAPLAN

NAPLAN is now behind us and I must say how proud I am of both the staff and students. 

A huge congratulations to Ms Amy Jewell (Acting AP) who has single handily completed all arrangements for the assessment to run seamlessly.  As you will recall from our last newsletter, NAPLAN is a point-in-time assessment that allows parents to see how their child is progressing in Literacy and Mathematics against the national standard and compared with their peers throughout Australia.   At the classroom level, NAPLAN provides additional information to support teachers’ professional judgment about student progress.  At Pakenham Springs, we use a wide variety of assessment evidence that is triangulated and moderated to ensure we are providing the best and most accurate evaluation of student progress. 

Moving from 'predictable’ picture books as reading tools to 'Decodable Texts' in our Junior Years

 (adapted from THE AGE, 2021)

Decodable Books and a good phonics program go hand in hand.  They are the Bonnie to your Clyde, the Ying to your Yang, the 19 to your COVID.  You can’t have one without the other.  We can’t expect our students to improve in their reading without practice. They say practice makes perfect, but that is incorrect if you are practising with predictable texts.  Perfect Practice Makes Perfect.  And the way to practice perfectly is with decodable texts.  At Pakenham Springs Primary School we are making a large investment into the Little Learners Love Literacy (LLLL) decodable texts to use in classrooms across Prep to Year 2.  We have begun to purchase these decodable texts based on research, trial, and most importantly, student reading outcomes at our school that has indisputably improved with this approach.  Our fearless team of junior school teachers has reached into the unknown and, with the support of parents and school budgets, are making a huge difference in our students learning to read. 

Parent/Carer-teacher-student Conferences

Have you booked yours?  These are being held Tuesday the 18th May.  Please book your times using COMPASS.

Absences (reminder)

Going to school every day is the single most important part of your child's education. Attending and participating in school will help your child develop important skills and knowledge to help them learn social and emotional skills such as good communication, resilience, and teamwork.  It is important for all parents and carers to notify the school through COMPASS that their child will be away.  Absence learning plans can be provided to families who will miss five or more days of school when providing two weeks' notice to the classroom teacher.  This will assist in preventing your child from falling behind or feeling confused upon their return.  If possible, we recommend avoiding holidays during the school term periods.

School Language (reminder)

At P.S.P.S, we value and teach 'Respect, Responsibility and Resilience'.  This is incorporated with how we speak to and treat others.  I am extremely proud of the majority of our students.  Their thoughtfulness and respectful manner, towards both peers and adults, is outstanding.  In a small pocket of students, unacceptable language is being heard during some break times - slang, put-downs, and 'in fad' phrases.  

With your support, I would like to help our students to comprehend the impact of their words.  Whilst it is difficult for our young children to separate outside language they may hear on 'YouTube' or other social media, at the shops or in the parks, it is a necessary skill to develop.  During this year, we will continue to listen out for, be proactive, and respond in demonstrating and teaching this.

Advance notice and important dates

Monday 17th May - Bass State Member is visiting to donate books and conducting a focus group with SRC leaders about improving our local community

Tuesday 18th May - Parent/Carer - Student-Teacher Conferences

Thursday 20th May - Year 4 Evening Camp Information Session for parents

Monday 24th May - School mid-term assembly, staff and students only (footage available on the school Facebook page)

Tuesday 25th May - School Tours

Wednesday 26th May - Year 6 and teachers Buddy Breakfast 8:20am

Have a fabulous fortnight everyone.

Jane King

Principal (Acting)