Below is a copy of Mr Staricks' report delivered at the recent Celebration Assembly.

Good morning everyone. I too would like to start by acknowledging the Tasmanian Aboriginal Communities as the traditional custodians of the land that we celebrate on today, and to acknowledge the significance of the learning and culture that they engaged in over countless generations, that holds that culture alive today as one of the oldest living cultures in the world.

2020 has been a very different year of learning for Burnie Primary School. It has been the final year of our 4 year school improvement plan to enact our vision of a collaborative, creative and innovative learning community. This vision continues to drive our school improvement agenda and our new Burnie Primary School Strategic Plan 2021-22.

This strategic planning looks far beyond the year 2022, but also lays the foundation for our incoming Kinder students next year to be prepared in the year 2034, the year when they will complete year 12, for not only a life of work but a life of worth. We are equipping our students with the skills, attributes, understandings and habits of mind not just to prepare them for a future job, but to have the abilities to create their own jobs.  Our committment : Together we inspire and support all learners to succeed as connected, resilient, creative and curious thinkers, captures this. We will also be driven by our values of Aspiration, Respect, Courage and Growth, and these values underpin our expectations of Best Effort, Positive and Safe.

The foundations of innovation lie in the ability to be able to collaborate in a wide variety of situations, and to acknowledge and develop the creativity we all possess to be able to solve problems. Innovation is then bringing those ideas and thoughts to life, and producing actions that solve problems.

This year, we have seen the year of collaboration. We have seen not just students but teachers working productively together to improve student outcomes. We know that when we learn and reflect on that learning together, and provide productive feedback, that results, outcomes and practice improve.

As we reflect on our year, it is going to be a really exciting year for Burnie Primary School in 2021! It will be focussed on a year of creativity. When we think of creativity, sometimes we think in an artistic sense, but creativity encompasses all areas of the curriculum and our lives. To think creatively allows us to solve problems, and this will be a key to the success of not only our year next year, but for students’ success in 2026 when our current Grade 6 students finish their Grade 12 year.

We will be facilitating creative problem solving through the whole school in a number of different ways. When it becomes a habit of mind, harnessing creativity can become a powerful thinking and learning tool that facilitates thinking of a higher order.

Any plan is only as good as the people who enact it, and we are blessed to have a talented team of adults here at Burnie Primary School that care for and nurture your children. My thanks goes out to all the staff here for their commitment to ensuring that student learning is maximised, and for their genuine care and concern for each and every child here as a person.

Of course teams change and evolve and this year we farewell Ms Corina Van Essen and Ms Chenoa Hill and thank them for their fine contribution to the lives of so many students here at Burnie Primary School. We wish them well as they take on new educational challenges in other schools. At the same time we welcome Ms Allana Smith (Acting AST), Miss Jana Kalweit (Grade 4) and Miss Yazmin Williams (Grade 6) to our talented team in 2021.

There has been much commentary about 2020 being a ‘write-off’ year, perhaps implying that we should ignore it and hope it will go away. When you think about what we have missed this year … celebrations of many things, holidays, going out, family and friends, and many other events … as well as the heartbreaking losses suffered by so many … this can be tempting.

But to do so would be to miss the significant learning opportunities that this year has brought us – how we:

• Juggled even more things all at once than we ever thought possible
• Planned then adapted, quickly – over and over
• Focussed on what was important and let other stuff go
• Appreciated the little things

So let’s look back to look forward – stronger, more resilient, more appreciative – and step into 2021 with hopes, plans and the certainty that we can embrace whatever the year brings.

I would finally like to acknowledge the whole Burnie Primary School community for their support of the highest quality learning for the most important people in the world….. These fine students here in front of me.

Seasons greetings to you all.    

Andrew Starick

Prinicpal

Wishing both Mrs Chenoa Hill and Mrs Corina Van Essen well as they continue their teaching careers at Ridgley Primary School in 2021.  We thank them for their contributions during their time at Burnie Primary School.

Due to the recent COVID pandemic and restrictions which are still in place regarding social distancing within public buildings, student book collection day/levy payment will not be held in 2021.

Student book packs will be distributed by teachers on the first day of learning for 2021, Wednesday February 3 together with the validation information form.

Please review the validation form and any inaccurate information to be amended at your earliest convenience and return to the school office for updating.

Invoices for levies will be posted prior to the start of the 2021 school year.  Payments can be made by BPay, credit card or in person at the school office.

Todd Rogers Signs are our uniform agent for 2021 and will be closed for Christmas from 21 December until 11 January 2021.  Also, on 21 January, they will be unavailable for school uniform sales.  

Student stationery lists will be placed on our Schoolzine App (SZAPP) in early 2021 for parent information.

Congratulations to the following students who were awarded Merit Certificates in our assembly of Tuesday15 December. 

On the 5 and 6 of December, a School State Championship was held in Launceston. We had a 3 game draw against Norwood, Howrah and St. Virgil’s Primary Schools.

When we played against Norwood Primary it was a tough game and Max scored a goal to put us up by 1. We ended up winning by 3 points.

The next game was against Howrah Primary. The game was close again 31-36. This game, we had better defence than our last game. Hudson was playing big man because Johnty was in foul trouble.

The third game was against St .Virgils at 5:30pm. We were tired but luckily so were they. It was a sloppy game but we won which put us into the semi-finals.

For the semi-finals we played against Sacred Heart Launceston. It was a very hard and close game. With our teamwork we found a way to win. That game put us straight to the GRAND FINAL against Corpus Christi Primary.

This team had won every game by 20-40 points. We were very nervous but we listened to our coach (John) and pulled it together to win by 10, 20-30.

You can now find route maps and timetables for 2021 here: North West school bus service changes – Transport Services

Kayleen Young is retiring from Crossing Guard duty, after 19 years helping children within the community navigating our busy roads!  Congratulations and we wish you all the very best in your retirement.

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 student's success in 2021?