Principal's Message
I hope that you all had a restful and enjoyable school holiday break and I welcome you all back for Term 4! Last term was incredibly busy for staff, students and families. Course Selections, assessments and access to a host of co-curricular activities and opportunities kept us all very busy. The recent school holiday period has allowed students the opportunity to reflect on their learning from Term 3 and set some further learning goals for the remainder of the year across their subjects.
Our staff will continue to work as hard as they can to further improve the outcomes of our students. Our Teaching and Learning Program supports student growth, whilst the co-curricular activities provides wonderful opportunities in so many areas – we are very much looking forward to the term ahead.
We are committed to ‘Growth and Connection’. I believe that our growth and improvement is linked to the positive relationships and connections we have with others and I am keen for our College to adopt a motto that centres on this important theme. A College Motto is a rallying point for our work as a school community and it should relate strongly to existing values at the school.
A proposed motto for our College worth considering is ‘We Grow Through Connection’. Our SOAR Values are listed below, and I believe a Motto that centres on ‘Growth and Connection’ aligns well with our existing College Values:
Social and Personal Responsibility
Opportunities for All
Achieving Personal Best for All
Respect and Relationships
I look forward to receiving any feedback on the proposed College Motto for our school, ‘We Grow Through Connection’ – please contact our General Office on 5945 1433 or pakenhamsc@education.vic.gov.au with your thoughts.
Our recent Student Attitudes to School Survey Results (2022) were outstanding. As a College, we should be very proud of these results. In so many measures, we have shown tremendous growth from previous years and so many of our results are better than like schools, network schools and schools across the State. These results need to be celebrated and we look forward to making further gains in 2023. For further details please read on in the newsletter.
Our School Strategic Plan (2021 – 2025) in terms of our commitment to our students is provided below:
‘PSC is committed to providing all students with learning opportunities designed to develop socially responsible citizens and build pathways to their futures’ (PSC School Strategic Plan, School Vision Statement, 2021 – 2025)
We have significant work to do in the coming weeks to determine our level of progress against the 2022 AIP (eg. End of Year Assessment), and the development of next year’s AIP to best guide us in our work to further improve student outcomes.
Some of our other priorities for Term 4 include further Growth and Connection in Learning (with an emphasis on Numeracy) and Wellbeing, reviewing our Assessment and Reporting practices, planning and implementation of key events (eg Year 12 Valedictory Dinner, Presentation Evening, our Headstart Program, etc), focusing on ‘Stepping Up’ with our students as part of the School Wide Positive Behaviour Support Program and planning requirements including staffing for 2023.
Planning in respect to staffing for the remainder of this year, and for 2023, is a significant priority for our College at this time. Our staffing commitments are determined by curriculum and program need. The recent course selection process has helped inform our decision making on staffing requirements. Importantly, we are advertising for a Performing Arts Leading Teacher commencing in 2023. The Performing Arts is an important area within any College and a Leading Teacher position signals to our community that we want to provide as many opportunities as we can to our students both in and out of the classroom with respect to Music, Drama and Dance.
Please be informed that we will trial a Year 7 Home Group Program for PSC to commence in 2023. A trial of this nature will provide almost instant feedback as to the benefits of such a Program, together with learnings as to how the trial may be considered throughout the College in 2024.
Please be advised that we have two Student Free Days coming up in this term with our Professional Practice Day today (Fr 28 10 22), and our Report Writing Day on the 25th November. Both days are crucial in allowing for some curriculum planning and assessment, together with helping to formalise and develop end of semester reports.
Our co-curricular program continues to grow from strength to strength and we thank our staff for their dedicated approach. Chess Competitions, State Schools Victoria Athletics Carnival, Lunchtime Activities and Clubs, visits to Primary Schools and Aged Care, and our successful Breakfast Club each day are some of the opportunities that figure prominently for our students.
Our recent Whole School Assembly to farewell our Year 12 students was a huge success. Due to Covid – 19, it has been some time since we have had a Whole School Assembly and our students are to be commended for their attentive and focussed approach. We say ‘well done’ to the Class of 2022. This time of the year for our Year 12 students can bring mixed emotions as they reflect on their last days of secondary schooling. However, it is also a time of great excitement for our Year 12 students as they embark on the next chapter of their lives. We thank our staff and families for working in partnership to teach and support our Year 12 students over the years. We also thank our Year 12 students for the wonderful contribution that they have made to Pakenham Secondary College. On behalf of the Pakenham Secondary College Community, we wish the Class of 2022 all the very best with their future pathways.
We are a school on the move everyone. Our standing in the Community was always strong and it is getting stronger. We have a dedicated and hardworking staff who are committed to getting the best results they can for our students. Our families are supportive. Our students are aspirational – they want to succeed in a way that is important to them, and we will continue to provide pathways opportunities that they are interested in.
We are proud of our College and what we represent including how we best support all of our students. I am very proud to be the Principal of our great school, and I look forward to working with families, students and staff throughout the term and beyond to get the very best outcomes for our students,
Regards
Aaron Smith
College Principal – Pakenham Secondary College