It’s been a joy to catch up with everyone and welcome you all to the 2021 school year. This time of year brings great excitement and anticipation and it’s been a pleasure to share this with students and families. All students look fantastic in their school uniforms and we have had students settled into their new classes and focussed on their learning. I would like to welcome our significant number of new families to our school community, and I am looking forward to working with you as partners in your children’s learning, and in enacting our vision of a collaborative, creative and innovative learning community.

We welcome to our Burnie Primary School learning community, Miss Alanna Smith (A/AST & Grade 5) Miss Jana Kalweit (Grade 4) and Miss Yazmin Williams (Grade 6) and Miss Christina Cohen who is completing her Internship with Grade 1 this year. Mr Woodard is taking some long service leave this Term and Mr Stephen Dome has stepped into the Acting AP position, Miss Cyndra Williams will be taking PE for Term 1 and Mrs Amanda Hyland steps up to our Acting AST role this Term.

Next week sees the start of another important aspect of your child’s learning with the Swimming and Water Safety program. Although compulsory for all Grade 3 & 4 and some Grade 5 students, Burnie Primary school provides the opportunity to learn to swim and be safe in the water for all students Kinder – Grade 6, and is one of only a few schools Statewide who offer such a comprehensive whole school approach to  swimming and water safety. The life benefits of being able to enjoy and recreate in and around the vast fresh and salt water environments here in Tasmania are great and the learning could one day potentially save lives. Information for Grade 3 – 6 students was sent home yesterday and the forms must be completed and sent back to school by next Monday morning at the very latest.

Thank you to all in our school community for your support in the operational matters that were sent out on the App Tuesday and have been included again in today’s newsletter. Having Parents/Carers pick up and drop off students from outside their classrooms means we do not have to ‘police’ the number of adults in our school at any one time to ensure we are complying with our COVID safe Plan. We really value our relationship with you as parents and carers and the partnership we have in your child's learning. To reflect this, we intend to provide an opportunity for an earlier Parent / Teacher meeting in week 3 (15 - 19 February), to meet teachers and to discuss your child's learning.  Keep an eye on the App as to when bookings open to secure your timeslot.

As part of our ICT agreement and Department of Education guidelines, all mobile phones brought to school by students must be presented and signed into the front office to be collected at the end of the school day. This also applies to devices such as ‘Smart Watches’ that have the same capabilities as mobile phones.

In some further staffing news, during December last year, I expressed an interest in a new position within the Education Department called ‘Principal Wellbeing Leader’, which is a State-wide position driving a new Principal Wellbeing initiative. Monday night I received a phone call to say that I had been successful, which was a bit of a shock! After much deliberation, I have decided to accept the promotion. It is only for a year and I get to keep my substantive status as the Principal – Burnie Primary School. I also said that I wouldn’t be able to take on this new role until the Principal position here had been filled. As a result, the Acting Principal position will be advertised today and it will be until the end of the school year. I expect that the new Principal would start around halfway through this term to allow for a ‘handover’. It’s a great opportunity for me professionally and a great opportunity for a new set of eyes to look over our School Community and to enjoy our fabulous school!

Principal

William is an exceptional musician who has grown so much as a Bass Guitar player and as a person since the time he has been with the EMUsicians.

For the past two years he has been the leading Bass Guitar player. He always gives 100% with his playing and in performances.

This year William performed confidently in the Rock band both as a Bass player and as a singer. As a singer William puts everything into it and is a joy to watch as he confidently sings in front of an audience. 

He is well mannered and cooperative and gets along with all the staff and his peers. He is an extremely valued member of the EMUsicians who will be greatly missed.

Please find attached an impressive letter written by Hayden from Grade 5 to the Burnie City Council Mayor, Mr Steve Kons regarding the use of single use plastics and the impact on our environment.  

Also, included is the response letter from the Mayor and Councillors.

Hayden_Kinch_letter_response_re_Single_Use_Plastics.pdf

The NWPSSA athletic finals were held on Tuesday 24 November 2020.  We thank all who participated on behalf of Burnie Primary School and are very excited to announce the following results.

NWPSSA_Twilight_Results.pdf

Parent_Levy_Letter_2021B.pdf

The Department of Education recently announced that we would be expanding the Student Assistance Scheme for 2021.

Parents who have a current concession card as listed below can apply for dependent students for assistance under the STAS:

• Services Australia – Centrelink Health Care Card
• Service Australia – Centrelink Low Income Health Care Card
• Services Australia – Pensioner Concession Card or
• Department of Veteran Affairs – Pensioner Concession Card.

Please note that if you are already receiving student assistance you do not need to complete a form.

For 2021 a new on-line form has been developed to assist with processing applications for new applicants.

The online form can be completed here:  https://stasonlinesubmission.education.tas.gov.au/ 

Once a validated form is completed the Department of Education will confirm the outcome of your application in writing.  This process takes approximately 14 days.

We understand this online option may not be possible for all families, so if you require a hard copy form please contact your school or stas@education.tas.gov.au or 1800 827 055.

As part of our planning for next year, it is important for us to make an accurate prediction of the numbers of students who will be attending Burnie Primary School next year. If you know that you will not be here or you know of families that will be moving into our area, can you please let the office know as soon as possible so we can ensure that we cater for every single students’ success in 2021?

As we are nearing the end of the academic year, all students are to return their library books by Friday 4^th December – thank you