This time of year gives us all a chance to reflect on the achievements in learning for us as a school, and for the students in it. I have started reading student reports that teachers have prepared and I have been impressed with the high level of student achievements and development within their grades, and as young people in our school community. I have also been so impressed with our Grade 6 students this year and the way they have conducted themselves as student leaders in our community. I feel strongly that every Grade 6 student is set up for success, not only in High School, but for life with their strong grounding at Burnie Primary School, as collaborative, creative and innovative learners.

The learning at the pool this week has been a pleasure to witness. All of our Kinder to Grade 2 students will have an opportunity over the two week program to develop their water awareness, that will enable them to find joy in being in and around the water when we finally get to see some summer weather! We are grateful for the amazing indoor facility offered at the Burnie Aquatic Centre and the high quality teachers we have there in the pool.  

On the morning of Thursday 19th^th we are looking to provide students with a different way of celebrating their learning by having a ‘Big Day In’ (9:30 – 12:30pm). This will involve significant planning and adult involvement. It is also a fantastic opportunity for the P&F to contribute to our students and school community on a different level than is traditionally the case, by providing fun activities that students can choose from throughout the day. Slipstream Circus will be our featured artist this year. They will be providing circus workshops and performances throughout the morning. Loxley Archers will again be hosting archery for students, and back by popular demand, ‘Snakeman’ will be running shows throughout the day educating us on dealing with all aspects of snakes here in Tasmania. These along with the multitude of other events, including Zorb Balls, will cater for all students' interests and promises to be a great Big Day In! If you would like to help out on the morning, Thursday 19th December, please contact us here at school.

We continue our 2020 planning. Classes have been formed, teachers have almost been secured and finalised and we move into 2020 with an air of optimism as we become a ‘Collaborative, Creative and Innovative Learning Community’. The final year of our Burnie Primary School Improvement Plan 2017 – 2020 will see us focus on whole school approaches to Inquiry, generating students' critical and creative thinking, and providing them with the tools to develop as collaborative, creative and innovative learners in our community.

Andrew Starick

Imogen Lloyd travelled to Hobart last Friday to receive the Junior Ambassador for Fred Hollows Humanity 2019 Award .

Imogen was recognised as an active member of our community participating in several different organisations. She is Deputy Youth Mayor of Burnie Youth Council among other things.

The Humanity Award  is a national award from the Fred Hollows Foundation to recognise Grade Six students who follow in Fred's footsteps, making a positive difference in their community.

Imogen met and spoke with Gabi Hollows - the Foundation Director. Imogen said Gabi was a very interesting and friendly lady who works very hard for the Foundation. Imogen was awarded $5000 to pass onto a charity of her choice to further the Fred Hollows eye restoration work. Imogen chose to donate to Kenyan communities where the money will benefit a great number of people.

Congratulations Sophie Liu, who was recently awarded the 2019 EMUsician of the year. Trumpet player of the year was awarded to Michael Silby and Briana Ross won Saxaphone player of the year and William Halfacre is the Gutarist of the Year. Congratulations everyone.

Below are photos from the recent Emusicians Camp at Camp CLayton

Grade 6 medal winners.

Twenty six brave students from Burnie Primary School tackled the tough School Triathlon event on Thursday the 28^th of November in Devonport. The students were  Dechlan Ritch, Imogen Lloyd, James Hyland, Huon Nott-Hage, Michael Silby, Samantha Silby, Amarli Palmer, Oliver Rattray, Ethan Mott, Ryan Dick, Jem Stretton, Sophie Liu, Lewis Rattray, Savannah Dynan, Tilly Blake, Maitland Sayer, Johnty Dynan, Ruby Cunningham, Lucas Kinch, Hayden Kinch, Oliver Keygan, Max Redman, Tobias Jordan, Harry Hardstaff, Nash Hammond and Edgar Varney.

The Triathlon is a very difficult event as it involves a swim, bike ride and a run. Amazingly it was a day with little wind and some sun which helped people have a lot more fun. All of our students put in very determined effort,  we could see how hard they had been trying as they were very red and puffing heavily when they finished their races.

Congratulations to all our students, everyone who finished the race was a winner.  Special mentions to Ryan Dick who finished 3^rd in the Grade 4 boys event and Ethan Mott who finished in 1^st place in the Grade 5 boys event both outstanding efforts.

An excited bunch of boys headed to Launceston last weekend November the 30^th and December the 1^st as they had qualified for the State Basketball Championships - a fantastic effort! Our team of ten talented basketballers was made up of: Oliver Donnellan, Ryan Dick, Harry Hardstaff, Hayden Kinch, Tobias Jordan, Max Redman, Oliver Rattray, Nash Armstrong, Johnty Dynan and Brooklyn Hill.

Saturday 30^th of November

Our first game was against Howrah, we started nervously and quickly found ourselves down by 8 points however an inspired second half saw us come away with a 10 point win.  Our second game was against Sacred Heart Launceston and again we started slowly and found ourselves down by 12 points and whilst we played a better second half we couldn’t bridge the gap and went down by 9 points. This meant we had to win our third and final pool game against Trevallyn on Sunday morning to advance to the Semi-Final stage.

Sunday 1^st of December

There was no slow start on Sunday morning as the team was able to quickly race to a double digit lead which they maintained until the end, this meant that we had made the Semi-Final stage against Stella Marist. We played a terrific game against Stella with the scores being close all the way through unfortunately we fell short by 3 points. This led to a play off for third and fourth again against Sacred Heart Launceston. We again fell behind by 7 points, however this team through three tournaments this year, have shown great resilience and comradery and we fought back for a well-deserved 3 point win. Final result was that we finished third in the State which is an outstanding effort!

I have been very proud this year to have coached such a wonderful group of respectful and resilient boys who have represented Burnie Primary in all three tournaments with distinction.

Stephen Dome

In 2019, our small but hardworking team would like to thank our BPS community for supporting us. Some of the ways we have contributed to our school community are:

   *Purchase of a defib

   *Support of the Triple P parenting program

   *School disco

   *Susan McLean visit, including parent and student sessions-we were fortunate      enough to win a grant to cover the cost of this visit

   *Our major raffle- please purchase a ticket from the school office or take a book and sell some tickets on our behalf, there are some amazing prizes to be won!

We are always looking for new faces at our meetings, please let the office know if you would like to be added to our e-mail list to be kept up to date around meetings and upcoming events.

Thanks for your support,

Burnie Primary Parents and Friend Group

Scholarship Opportunity 2020

Would $470 per year, per child for education expenses like uniforms, sports gear or tuition help in your family or with someone you know?

Do you have a health care or pension, concession card?

Are your children at school in Burnie/ Wynyard community from prep through to year 8?

The scholarship program is filling places to begin in January 2020.  If you would like to be part of this opportunity for education support or find out more, please contact us:

 Lucy 0448 386 251   Lucy.Taylor@thesmithfamily.com.au, 

 Karina 0466850989 Karina.Anderson@thesmithfamily.com.au