With the school year finishing I would like to take this opportunity to acknowledge and thank a number of members of our school community.

Firstly, my thanks to Bunnings Warehouse Burnie for their product donations; and especially Michelle Laing-Hughes for sharing her skills and knowledge with our students. The Combined Churches of Burnie who this year made a kind donation to our school which supported our students to undertake extra curricula activities, such as excursions. Also, a huge thank you to Saputo who support our breakfast program and help us to provide fruit and vegetables for students each day.

Ms Alison Luck has tirelessly looked after our gardens and supported our garden gang and staff. As well as being the driving force behind our Walk’n’Talk project and worked closely with our staff to ensure the Outdoor Learning Space meets our school needs. Mrs Cheryl Wells has kindly donated her time and expertise every week to support some of our students to develop their reading. A huge thank you to both these ladies.

Much appreciation also goes the way of Burnie Works who have worked with our school to provide Higher Education visits and business visits for our Year 5 and 6 students. In particular I would like to extend my thanks to Allison Dailey and Olivia Lucas.

I would also like to acknowledge and thank our wonderful administrative staff. Mrs Deb Byrne has been amazing at supporting our school, firstly alongside Mrs Leanne Wescombe, who we have acknowledged and thanked previously, as Leanne has now moved to Cooee Primary. Deb has been tireless in her efforts to facilitate a smooth transition to our new School Business Manager – you are, as always, highly appreciated, Deb. Thank you. I would also like to congratulate and welcome Heather Jones who will become the permanent School Business Manager at Havenview Primary School in 2024.

Thank you to Britanee Leonard and the School Association for their ongoing work to support our school and the wonderful Parent Group led by Tmeeka Henricks who have helped with numerous activities through out the year, including reading with our Kinder students to help them with concepts of print, Souper Wednesdays, stalls, the Christmas Lunch and raffle.

I would also like to acknowledge the support given to Havenview Primary School from the Department for Education, Children and Young People. The Intensive Support our school has received from Deb Fisher, Director of Improvement Partnerships; Judy Fahey, Improvement Consultant; Rose Egan, Student Support Lead; Amanda Wenn, Inclusive Practices Team Lead and Nardia Broomhall Inclusive Practice Coach has been very much appreciated and helped our school on our improvement journey.

Most importantly, I recognise our wonderful students who continue to excel in so many areas. Congratulations to every one of you on your achievements throughout this year. I have been particularly impressed with the steps our students have made in recognising their feelings and developing they can use if they aren’t feeling ok (are in the yellow, red or blue zone).

Music is one curriculum area where our students continue to excel. I am sure those people who attended the recent String-a-long or Emusician concerts would agree, we have a number of very talented musicians in our school. Congratulations to Jagger and Lila who have been a part of the Emusicians while at Havenview. And to Gracie Debruyn and Hamish Bingham congratulations for being accepted into Emusicians for 2024.

I must also extend my thanks to our outstanding teacher aides. I know all staff, students and parents alike appreciate the never ending dedication of these people to our school and our students.  On that note, I would like to acknowledge and thank Jye Snare and Stacey White who have worked with our school this year, but will both be talking up positions at other schools next year.

Finally, to our incredible teaching  staff, who have worked incredibly hard on the implementation of our Whole School Agreed Inclusive Practices, including the implementation of Zones of Regulation teaching of regulation strategies and Multi Tiered System of Support for reading. Our ongoing monitoring and recent PAT data is testament to the hard work of our staff. I would like to acknowledge Mrs Tammy Fenton for her leadership and work with our staff and students over the last two and a half years and wish her well on her return to East Ulverstone Primary.

I would also like to acknowledge and thank Mr Leigh Nichols who has also worked with us for two and a half years.  Mr Nichols has worked tirelessly with our 5/6s and overseen the introduction of our Daily PE program. In the last week, I have heard reports of other schools that are struggling with the behaviour of their Year 6 cohort towards the end of the year. I am pleased to say, thanks to Mr Nichols leadership and our wonderful cohort of Year 6s, Havenview has not seen these issues. We wish Mr Nichols all the best on his return to the south of the state and wish him well at Bothwell Primary School.

A huge thank you and best wishes to Mrs Pippa Mills who has worked with our 1-2 class this year. Unfortunately, Mrs Mills has worked with three other teachers on the 1-2 class throughout the year and we thank her for being the consistent person for these students. Mrs Mills, I wish you every success at Table Cape Primary.

In closing, I would like to say a huge thank you to the Havenview Primary School Community for their work and support of our students and staff throughout 2023. I hope everyone has a good break and I look forward to working with everyone on our return next year.