Crack down on uniforms
A day of chaos at Officer Secondary School left students crying as the school administration undertook strict enforcement on behaviour, particularly around uniform guidelines.
On what was called ‘Culture Reset Day’ on Wednesday 14 June, the school moved to enforce all students to wear a full uniform licensed by the school, as opposed to the previous expectation of a school top and at least plain black pants and plain black accessories.
The punishment for non-compliance was confiscation and, where they were unable to remove the non-uniform item, students were required to attend the designated “withdrawal space”, according to a letter.
It is claimed up to 400 students were taken out of class throughout the day. These actions have rendered sharp criticism from students.
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Crime spike
Fresh data shows crime is on the rise in Cardinia, dominated by hikes in thefts from motor vehicles and breaching family violence orders. Figures from the Crime Statistics Agency for the year ending March 2023 show criminal offences in Cardinia shot up 8.5 per cent for a total of 6832 offences.
Residential aggravated burglary registered a concerning increase, mounting from 60 instances last year to 107 for the year ending March 2023. It follows an alarming pattern of aggravated burglaries across the state, which surged 30 per cent overall.
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Premier in town
Students at Orchard Park Primary School got more than they bargained for on Friday 16 June, asVictorian Premier Daniel Andrews dropped by to view the facilities.
It was a first time visit for the premier, who was guided through the Officer school by principal Nathan Jagoe and Pakenham MP Emma Vulin.
The primary school was opened in 2021 with the help of $24 million in government funding.
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‘May he rot in hell’
By Melissa Meehan, AAP
The bereaved family of a South-East teen killed with a screwdriver at a Tooradin birthday party say they want his attacker to “rot in hell”.
The now 18-year-old, who cannot be named for legal reasons, faced the Supreme
Court of Victoria on Monday 19 June after previously pleading guilty to the manslaughter of 17-year-old Jason Langhans.
Crown prosecutor Jane Warren told the court Mr Langhans, an apprentice plumber and keen fisherman, was acting as a peacemaker at the gate-crashed 16th birthday party
when he was struck in the head in March 2021.
He died three weeks later in hospital.
Family and friends described Mr Langhans as a “kind and caring” young man who had his life taken away in one fell swoop.
“Who takes a screwdriver to a girl’s 16th birthday party?” his grandparents Cheryl and
Peter said in their victim impact statement. “We wish (his attacker) nothing but pain and suffering for the rest of his life. May he rot in hell.” His father Paul Langhans wept while telling the court how he begged for the doctors to “save my boy”.
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Orchard Park Primary School student Jordy and Premier Daniel Andrews share a fist bump alongside principal Nathan Jagoe. 341746
Picture: STEWART CHAMBERS