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PRINCIPAL'S REPORT - TRUDY DURKIN
Writing this newsletter column has prompted me to reflect both personally and professionally on how dramatically different the actual 2020 year is going to look compared to the 2020 that I had envisioned. As members of the global community we all face the same enemy, one that we cannot see and one that we have only limited weapons with which to fight - COVID-19.
But we do have some effective ways to protect ourselves and others from COVID-19 - social distancing and handwashing. If we can all follow the instructions that we are given by our health experts we can get through this and minimise the impact that it has on the wellbeing of ourselves, our loved ones, our friends, neighbours and work colleagues.
As a school the facts as of today are:
- BHS along with all other government schools will remain open for students until Friday 3 April.
- Those parents/carers currently choosing to keep their child at home are the person primarily responsible for that child’s learning and social distancing until Friday 3 April. Resources to assist with this are available from the DoE website https://www.education.tas.gov.au/
- All students whether at home or at school are expected to follow government social distancing guidelines. At home means at home.
- BHS, along with all Government schools, will reopen for Term 2 on Monday 27 April.
- Teachers will have student free days from Monday 6 April to Thursday 9 April to prepare Learning at Home materials for Term 2 for those families who have chosen the Learning at Home option
To minimise the spread of COVID-19 it is very important that parents/carers make a careful decision about whether their child is going to be learning on the school site or at home. No one can predict how long this virus situation will last. We need to avoid students going between these two modes of learning unless absolutely necessary as it will add risk to the health of our school staff. Students who are Learning at Home will need to be at home for the duration of the pandemic.
I will continue to update parents/carers and students as information comes to hand. Our primary channels for communicating with parent/carers and students will be Facebook and text message. On some occasions we will also send printed information home with students who are on site. If you require further information the following sources may be useful.
- Tasmanian Public Health website
- Australian Government Department of Health website
- Coronavirus Health Information Line 1800 020 080.
Trudy Durkin
Principal
A reminder about our BHS ‘Literacy at Home’ page: https://burniehigh.education.tas.edu.au/literacy-at-home
All students at Burnie High School have access to Literacy Planet with their own username and password. The Reader’s Notebook process is also outlined on the page and includes the document to print at home.
If your child cannot remember their login details please email or call the office and we can provide you with those details.
The DoE also have some useful links on their website which you can access using the link below: https://www.education.tas.gov.au/parents-carers/novel-coronavirus-covid-19/?fbclid=IwAR05Nm_xh-KTu11zNHYiaj2-xFvQdb_p83iEVyehtKEaiVZOCz3QtHd-r7M
In Grade 8 students are currently investigating the human body and learning about how the structure and function of our major organs and systems are closely related.
During this biology unit students have had the opportunity to do a heart dissection.
The learning intentions of this practical activity include:
To participate in a scientific dissection successfully.
To see and label the structures of the heart.
To relate the structure of heart parts to their function.
“The heart dissection was very exciting. We located and labelled the different parts of the heart. For example, the valves and fat. This furthered our understanding of the circulatory system”. - Grade 8 Students
Mrs Strochnetter.
Class Teacher
On Wednesday last week the Burnie High School team travelled to the Devonport Aquatic Centre to defend our Interhigh Swimming A-Division title. There was pressure on the team to not lose our tremendous Interhigh winning streak so, with the threat of Mr Munday cancelling our return bus trip and making us walk home if we didn’t win, we started the day's events. Our individual results were awesome from the first round of breaststroke, with many first and second places being recorded. Throughout the day we were in a great position and the feeling in the team was buoyant (bad joke, sorry) and by the end of the program we had five Grade champions awarded to our team. The BHS relay teams swam their hearts out and we won 5 of the 8 relays, placing in close second for many of the others. The points between the schools was too close to call so the officials had a recount over the weekend with Burnie High School finally being awarded the title. Congratulations to all of our swimmers, in particular our age group champions.
Up Close & BIG Event and International Women's Day Luncheon
In Week 6, some of our students attended the Up Close & BIG event and the International Women's Day Luncheon. Both groups were involved in listening to an extremely valuable guest speaker by the name of Ginna Webster. Ginna talked about her journey to her current employment position, her upbringing and the opportunities she had. At the International Women’s Day Luncheon she spoke particularly about women in power and their roles in society.
Up Close and BIG event, held at and hosted by UTAS. L-R: Mohini Smith, Alea Green, Lewis Jaffray and Anabelle Chambers
International Women’s Day Luncheon. SRC girls: Olivia Cumming, Gabrielle Carpenter, Caitlin Broxam, India Gregson, Sian Lloyd, Brielle Gardam, Russel Alshawi