It has been a joy to have students back and engaged in their learning here at Burnie Primary School. We have kept a close eye on the transition for students and their wellbeing during the past two weeks and will continue to do so as we know that wellbeing is an important pre-condition for learning to occur. Teachers have been busy planning, teaching and assessing student work to ensure the impact of the restrictions placed on us here at school are minimised and the learning done at home or at school is built on to enhance students' understanding. We have really valued the authentic partnership in your child’s learning during recent times and we are committed to keep the interactions going with regular Seesaw updates and conversations.

A more formal and traditional communication with you as parents / carers is the Mid-year report. The Department of Education has modified the Mid-year Reporting to Parents this year in light of the disruptions that have recently occurred. For Primary Schools, we will be providing a rating for students in English and Maths. Instead of the A-E ratings against the Australian Curriculum, parents / carers will be given an indication of whether their child is at, below or above the expected Grade standard in just English and Maths. There will also be a ‘Future Focus’ for English and Maths that will provide parents / carers and students with three points that they will be looking to build on to achieve future success in their learning in this area. In addition there will be a ‘General Comment’ where teachers will be providing information on student learning and wellbeing. The Mid-year report this year will be a one page maximum and will be sent out on the 26^th June. This allows the following week (last week of Term) for any parent – teacher follow up discussions that might be requested or invited. These will be held over the phone.

Some important reminders to parents and carers during this time.

• Parents/carers are not to enter the school building at any time during the day. If you need to speak with staff please call the office 6433 3655
• Parents/carers are to Stop, Drop/Pick-up & GO and should not be congregating in the playground before and after school.
• We ask that students don’t bring things from home, e.g. toys, sports equipment or cakes to share
• For student safety, parents that are driving through are to use the pick-up zone in the southern section of the carpark and to use the zebra crossing to cross our busy carpark.
• If your child is unwell or has any flu like symptoms, please keep them at home and do not send them to school until they are well. Please also contact the Public Health hotline on 1800 671 738

A quote we have been considering here at school that you might consider during this time has been;

Hand Hygiene
With our constant hand washing routines here at school we appreciate that some hands may be more sensitive than others. Hand hygiene is here to stay at the moment and a requirement for all students here at school to stay safe. If your child’s hands are sensitive to soap and water then we encourage you to purchase the hypo – allergenic hand sanitisers available from chemists, to bring to school labelled and to moisturise hands when at home.

Andrew Starick
Principal