Grade 1 have hit the ground running in term one.

We have been excited to have the responsibility of feeding our own class fish daily.

We have started by working out the expectations of our grade, for both students and teachers.

Our first inquiry has also started and we have been introduced to the “big book”- a HUGE book where all our thinking and learning is stored and can be looked at whenever we want!

We wrote our own retell about Kevin from the story “The koala who could” and talked about having courage to try new things.

We are able to use technology independently! We have learned how to log onto the Ipads and use the “phonics hero” app all on our own.

We have also created a name graph that collected information about the letters in our name.

Wow, we really have been busy!

Our School will be switching over to a new messaging platform for communicating with you. This will replace our current system of messaging. The system is expected to go live on Monday 4 March.

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)

Validations & ICT Agreements
Reminder to please send your child's validation and ICT agreements back to the office as soon as possible.

A reminder to our community that all volunteers in Tasmanian schools in 2024 require Registration for Working with Vulnerable People (RWVP) and are required to complete safeguarding training before volunteering can commence. Please ensure you have your RWVP card and safeguarding certificate available for our office staff to view. If you require any support to complete this training prior to volunteering please do not hesitate to contact Louise Rawlings, Assistant Principal.

Our grade 3 to 6 students have had a busy start to 2024 with Swimming and Water Safety and Athletics being the main focuses over the last 4 weeks.

From Monday 12th February until Friday 23rd February students participated in the annual 10 day Swimming and Water Safety Program held at the Burnie Aquatic Centre. Students participated in whole group warmups and small group lessons to improve their knowledge and skills. The highlights of the program were the water safety day, boat safety day and the blue ringed octopus warm up game on day 7. Swimming and Water Safety are essential life skills, and our students can be commended on their attendance and attitude towards the program. All who participated demonstrated improvement and gave their best effort. On behalf of Burnie Primary School and our students I would like to thank the Burnie Aquatic Centre staff for having us, and the program staff for their work during the program.

After swimming students were given the opportunity to practice long and short distance races for our 3-6 running event held on Monday 26th February. On Monday the 26th the sun was shining, and the students were rested after the weekend and ready to run. Our students ran an 800m, 200m and 100m race on our school oval, supported by staff, students, and family members. Our school value of best effort was demonstrated by all who participated in the races. Thank you to the families and community members who came to support our students.

Congratulations to the following students who from this carnival have been selected to represent Burnie Primary School at the Northwest Primary School Sports Association Primary School Athletics Carnivals in week 5:

Grade 3/4 : Huon M, Boston W, Hudson Y, Hudson B, Jack S, Lenny M, Marlee M, Harper J, Ava S, Ivy W, Billie B, Thea M, Huxley B, Jakob C, Max B, Isaiah P, Lachlan D, Andy H, Amy L, Evelyn E, Chloe S, Micah D, Peyton C, Maddie V and Alexis S.

Grade 5/6: Cooper Y, Brax Y, Torben J, Zarin W, Jovi H, Kaden R, Nevaeh B, Chloe J, Willow H, Siharna D, Chelsea D, Murphie B, Dominic S, Ashton W, Kobi W, Lucas H, Billy D, Louis S, Heidi T, Aneeka W, Sakye B, Ella M, Sophie J, Amelia L and Lucy R.

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.   

About School Associations - Department for Education, Children and Young People (decyp.tas.gov.au) 

4 - Nomination for the School Association Committee.docx

Mrs Kathleen Matthews - Music

• Is a conservatorium trained classical trombonist (solo) but prefers to play as part of a team in Brass Bands 
• Believes that singing is for all and wants to foster in our children the confidence to engage in joyful singing
• Has 3 ginger cats named Lego, Roxy and Molly (and 3 chickens named Delta Dot, Duck and Henrietta)
• Like to craft and enjoys handmaking puppets and props for Tunes for Tots
• Loves to read all types of books and knows her library card number by heart
• Her first live concert was seeing Peter Combe at the Queenstown Memorial Hall in the early 90s.

Holly Geard – PE Teacher (Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday)

• My favourite sport is swimming, I have been swimming since I was 6 months old and mum took me to water babies’ lessons. These classes encouraged my mum to become a swimming teacher and open her own swim school. From her positive influence I did my training and I have now been a qualified swimming teacher for 9 years.
• My main hobby is hiking and camping, my most recent trip being a week on Bruny Island.
• My favourite things to teach are dance and tennis, and I adapt my lessons so I can teach these subjects across Kinder to Grade 6.
• I became a teacher because I find joy is watching students learn and progress, it is rewarding for them and for me as the teacher.
• I am the eldest of 3 girls, but I am the shortest. My siblings both live in Hobart, one is an emerging Tasmanian artist with a bachelor’s degree and honours in fine arts and the other is studying to be a pharmacist.
• It is my last year being called Miss Geard (Miss G) as I marry my partner in January 2025.

Mrs Janine Gibson – Visual Art

• Has been a teacher since 1994
• Believes that art is a powerful way to express things that can’t be said using words
• Is enthusiastic about encouraging children to develop their artistic skills through the creative process
• Is a cat person who had two cats: Rosalina and Spottydot
• Enjoys scrapbooking as a way to capture memories
• Also enjoys Sudoku and Kakuro number puzzles

Hi, I am Mr Woodard and my role in the school is teaching in the Makerspace. In the Makerspace the students explore their learning in the areas of computer Coding, Robotics and Visual Art. Students from grades Prep to 6 attend the Makerspace throughout the week for 2 sessions.

In Visual Art this year, we are focusing on the human form. Students are exploring their own artistic styles through exploring line, shape and space and how this relates to the human body. They also explore how famous artists and civilisations have used the human form in the arts. Our philosophy for art in the Makerspace is that we can all create art and there is no ‘good’ or ‘bad’ art, it is all based on individual preferences and likes. Students are encouraged to find the creativity and beauty in what each other creates as opposed to being critical and restrictive.

In the Coding and Robotics component of the Makerspace, students explore how to code computers with a focus on being a developer, a maker and a creator rather than just a user of technology. Students use a variety of apps including Swift Playgrounds and Scratch Jr. Another program students use is Tinkercad which is a 3D CAD drawing program. Students can create images in 3D with some of these creations being turned into reality through the Makerspace 3D printers. Robotics plays a big part of learning with students exploring making and programming robotics such as Lego EV3, Lego WeDo 2.0, Sphero Balls, drones and BeeBots.  Through the Makerspace students also get the opportunity to interact with technology such as Makey Makey and Micro Bits.

The underlining focus of the Makerspace is based in the development vocational skill sets such as collaboration, independent learning, team skills and inquiry.

“Children aren’t born with natural skills in reading, like they are for walking and talking. They must develop new pathways in their brain to master this skill.

National and international research shows that the process of learning to read can be broken down into lots of individual skills.”

All Tasmanian teachers and support staff including teacher assistance will be completing training based on the latest evidence and research in reading, meaning consistency across Tasmanian schools. At BPS, we started this training on the Student Free Days at the beginning of the year and we aim to have finished the required modules by the end of Term 2.

We will be continually sharing information with our families throughout the year as we progress in our learning.

https://www.decyp.tas.gov.au/learning/primary-school-to-year-12/literacy/

Kaden completed his 50th park run on a high on Saturday as he broke through the 20 minute barrier with a PB of 19.59

Going to school every day gives your child every chance to learn and grow, and connect with their friends and teachers. It’s where bright futures start and where they’ll benefit the most.