Dear Families, Students and Friends,   

Welcome to the 2024 school year. 

I hope that the summer break provided many opportunities for some fun, sun and happiness. I am thrilled to welcome you all to the start of a new academic year at Burnie Primary School! As we embark on this journey together, I am filled with anticipation and excitement for the wonderful opportunities and achievements that lie ahead. 

Our teaching, non-teaching, admin and EFA teams have worked tirelessly over recent weeks to ensure our start to the school year has been safe and settled.   I am thankful to our incredible team for their relentless dedication.  We are committed to fostering a culture of learning, growth, and inclusivity, where every student feels valued and empowered to reach their full potential. Throughout the year, we will be continuing to focus on both our reading priority and our ongoing work with Burnie Counts. We look forward to sharing more information as we progress our work in the coming weeks.  

Burnie Primary School starts the 2024 year with 326 students in our kindergarten to year 6 classes. This year we have 15 classes. We warmly welcome our Kindergarten children and their families.  Kindergarten is the start of our learning partnership together and I warmly invite all families to connect with me and our school, seek help when needed and to reach out if you have questions or worries now, and as the year progresses.  Our Kindergarten team, Mrs Rachel Johnson, Mrs Mel Smith and Mrs Jacki Johnstone have created a beautiful learning space for your children and they are very excited to start this journey with you. We also welcome Tansy, Matlida and Charlotte in year 2, Noah in year 3, Amelia, Araz, Tasman & Willow in year 5 and their families to our school.  Our year six students commence their final year of primary school. I have no doubt they are ready for all the exciting things that being the leaders in the school brings and I look forward to celebrating this with you.    

2024 also brings new opportunities and new staff. We warmly welcome Laura Gee to our Early Years Team, Tracey McCulloch in Prep, Larissa Boyes in year 1, Jane Nott, Janine Gibson and Alyssa Miller in year 5 and 6, Louise Rawlings as our Assistant Principal and Chris Cullen who joins our EFA team.   

Congratulations to all of our students for such a settled start to the 2024 school year. Despite many changes to their learning environment, students have remained focused on setting learning goals and looking out for each other.  This term we are focused on our value of RESPECT.  It is beautiful to be welcomed each morning by students greeting staff and each other warmly and with perfect manners. 

As we embark on this new school year, I am confident that together, we can make it a memorable and successful journey for all. I look forward to witnessing the growth and accomplishments of each and every student.  I encourage all families to stay engaged and involved in their child's education. Your partnership with us is vital in creating a positive and enriching learning environment for our students. 

Thank you for entrusting us with your child's education and here's to a fantastic year ahead. 

A snippet of a TED Talk

In partnership  
Susan Barnard  
Principal  

Dear Parent/Guardian 

Our School will be switching over to a new messaging platform for communicating with you.   This will replace our current system MGM. 

The new platform, called EdSmart is an Australian platform which is designed to improve communication in school communities by allowing electronic messaging i.e. SMS and emails. For now, it will be used to manage absences messages i.e. you will receive a SMS or email alert if your child is absent from school requesting a response.  It will also allow us to send a communication message to all parent/guardians. 

The platform will, over time, be rolled out across all Tasmanian Government Schools and new features will be added.   

You will receive a text message and/or an email with further details.  Note, the text message sender will be a shortened version of our school’s name - Please keep an eye out for it!  

Further information is available on the Department’s website  

Communicating with your child's school - Department for Education, Children and Young People (decyp.tas.gov.au) 

At Burnie Primary School we are committed to building and nurturing relationships with families as part of achieving our existing commitment to all learners. One way you can get involved in our school community and contribute to helping learners succeed is by joining our School Assocation Committee. Our Annual General will be held in March. For more information please contact our office.   

We wish to advise that our School Association AGM will be held during the week beginning March 11th - 15th  2024 at 7:00pm (date to be confirmed). This will be held in our staffroom unless advised otherwise. This will be followed by our normal School Association Committee Meeting.

All parents/carers and members are encouraged and most welcome to attend.

At BPS we recognise the important role parents/carers, and families play in developing positive attitudes towards learning and education for children, building their motivation and confidence as learners and fostering their enjoyment of learning.

To commence the year, we are holding a welcome BBQ on Wednesday, 28th February from 3:30pm to 5:00pm for all our Kinder to Grade 6 families. This will be a great opportunity for families to visit their child/ren's classrooms to see their new learning environment and to have an informal chat with our staff. This will be followed by a BBQ located outside the JMC.

To help our school with planning this event we are asking families to RSVP, this will ensure we can provide adequate catering. Please RSVP by Tuesday, 20th February.

Please click the link below to RSVP

https://forms.office.com/r/L7Y2Buga5g

We look forward to welcoming our families to our grade 3 – 6 running carnival on Monday 26th March. Students have been busy this week running 400 metres and 800 metres in preparation for selection for the North West Primary Schools Sports Association upcoming carnivals. Please bring a chair or a rug to sit on the day – we look forward to seeing you there!

Our Swimming and Water Safety program commenced on Monday 12^th February. We thank our families for ensuring our students arrived daily with their required items. It is no easy feat to wash towels and bathers every night and have them ready for the next day!

The Swimming and Water Safety Program supports the Australian Curriculum Health and Physical Education. In particular the focus areas of: safety, health, the benefits of physical activity and fundamental motor skills.

The National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) is an annual assessment for students in Years 3, 5, 7 and 9. This year the assessments are being held from the 13th to the 25th of March.

It is a nationwide measure through which parents/carers, teachers, schools, education authorities, governments and the broader community can determine whether or not young Australians are developing the literacy and numeracy skills that provide the critical foundation for other learning and for their productive and rewarding participation in the community.

NAPLAN results allow parents/carers and educators to see how students are progressing in literacy and numeracy over time – individually, as part of their school community, and against national standards. 

The tests support monitoring and evaluating of the performance of schools and school systems in these fundamental capabilities. They also provide schools, states and territories with information about how education approaches are working, areas to be prioritised for improvement, and those schools requiring support in the teaching and learning of literacy and numeracy.

The results can assist teachers by providing additional information to support their professional judgement about students’ levels of literacy and numeracy attainment and progress.

NAPLAN tests are one aspect of each school’s assessment and reporting process and do not replace the extensive, ongoing assessments made by teachers about each student’s performance. Each teacher will have the best insight into their students’ educational progress. Parents/carers can use NAPLAN reports, along with other school assessment reports, to discuss their child’s strengths and areas for improvement with their teacher.

NAPLAN results do not measure overall school quality.

NAPLAN is made up of tests in the 4 areas (or ‘domains’) of:

• reading
• writing
• conventions of language (spelling, grammar, and punctuation)
• numeracy.

Yesterday, the whole school met for our first morning meeting. Each fortnight we will be celebrating the Decyp Values in our Early Childhood and Primary meetings. Our focus for this term is the value of Respect. This year, there are changes to the values  with the addition of Responsibility and Connection.

Connection - building positive relationships and as sense of belonging.

Courage - accepting challenges and embracing opportunities.

Growth - aspriring to learn and improving, even when it's hard.

Respect - caring for ourselves, each other, and our environment.

Responsibility - stepping up and doing what's right.

We are looking forward to sharing at our fortnightly meetings. 

This year, we are pleased to be able to offer the Burnie Stringalong Orchestra program again at Burnie Primary School!

We are currently seeking new participants in Grades 3 and 4 to apply to play the violin, viola or cello. Participation in the strings program includes a 30 minute weekly group lesson with strings specialist, Helen Hurst. String students are also welcome to join the Junior Burnie Stringalong Orchestra when they reach the appropriate skill level.

Places for our new students in the Stringalong program are limited to 10 participants. Application forms are available from our office and the prompt return of your form is encouraged.

The cost of participating in Stringalong is $10 per term ($40 per year). This covers the cost of instrument hire and music books for the year. Stringalong lessons for 2024 will commence on Tuesday, 27th February.

If you have any questions regarding this program please do not hesitate to contact Louise Rawlings, Assistant Principal.