Anyone who suggests schools wind down at the end of the year should have a look at our calendar.  Since our last newsletter we have said farewell to our Year 12 cohort with a parent dinner, had both Year 10 and Year 11 exams, an amazing Year 8 Performing Arts production, Success Camp, Presentation Night, Year 7-8 transition, Authentic Assessment and a catastrophic fire day!  In amongst these events, there was also a fair bit of learning that occurred.

It is difficult to believe that we find ourselves in the last week of the school year already.  It seems like not that long ago I was writing my first newsletter article for 2019 and now I’m penning my last for the year.  There is no denying that the start of this year presented us with a number of challenges that we, as a school community, had to work through together.  It was a difficult time, however, with hard work and commitment, we did this successfully and we finish the year as a more cohesive group of students, staff and parents than we were in February and we will continue to work towards strengthening our relationships and building on our sense of community into the future.  I want to acknowledge and thank the vast majority of students who have done the right thing all year; those students who made positive choices and who actively involved themselves in the myriad of opportunities available to students of Balaklava High School.

Presentation Evening

Last Wednesday, 4^th December, we held our annual Presentation Evening at the Balaklava Town Hall.  It was a wonderful celebration of the academic, sporting and musical achievements of our students but it also gave us the chance to recognise students for their leadership skills and their work in the broader community as well as being an opportunity to finally farewell the Class of 2019.  One of the highlights of this evening each year is when we invite an old scholar to speak about their life since leaving BHS.  This year’s guest speaker was Scarlett Schumaker who is currently the in-house lawyer for the Department for Child Protection.  This would be an extremely confronting role where she would see the very worst in people, however, Scarlett also said she has seen the very best with ‘some truly amazing stories of bravery, strength and determination.’

Near the end of her speech, Scarlett pondered what she had learnt from her experiences and she offered the following:  ‘By all means you can have a plan and a goal of where you want to go and do, but there will be moments of disappointment and some mistakes will be made. It is how you deal with those mistakes and the disappointment that will open you up to new opportunities. But sometimes opportunities don’t land neatly in the palm of your hand – you have to seek them out, you have to work hard, you also have to take risks and you also need a bit of luck. Sometimes what looks like the perfect fit, isn’t, and that’s more than okay.’

After a request from a parent, Scarlett has provided a full copy of her speech and we have attached the full transcript to this newsletter for your interest.

I would like to thank the organising committee who dedicated a large number of hours in preparation for Presentation Evening, in particular Sue Pratt, Sarah Reusch and Cherie Cmrlec.  The work Cherie does behind the scenes for many school events is significant and we are very grateful for this.

Staffing for 2020

I am very pleased to be able to announce a number of our teaching staff have been made permanent at BHS this term.  Amber Buick (Maths/Science), Ash Parsons (HPE/Science) and Suri Umapathysivam (Music/Drama) have all won teaching jobs that will see them remain here in the future.  As mentioned earlier in the year, Michelle Pudney (Assistant Principal, Middle School) and Colleen Lowe (Coordinator:  Student Engagement) will join our staff in leadership roles in 2020 and we have also had Joshuah Jenner appointed to our school in an ongoing role.  Josh has been teaching in the APY Lands for the past 4 years and we look forward to welcoming him here next year where he will be teaching PE and English.

We are also pleased to welcome back Kelly Schubert (Maths/Psychology), Chelsea McCormack (English/Art), Sarah Mayer (Home Ec) and Jess Daniel (Special Options) on 12 month contracts.  We anticipate having our Art/Design and other Special Options positons filled by the end of this year.  I am very confident that we have a strong teaching team with dedicated leaders to continue to move our school forward in 2020 and beyond.  Having a strong and stable staff who have a commitment to improving outcomes for our students is vital for success.

Farewells

At this time of the year we also have people to farewell.  Michael Brooks is leaving us after 5 years at BHS as PE/HASS/Sport Coordinator to take up the position of Assistant Principal at Keith Area School.  We thank Michael for his work over the years as leading events such as athletics and swimming carnivals takes considerable effort and teamwork and they ultimately provide opportunities for the broader school community to come together as one.

We also farewell Cerys Harris-Howson who has been at BHS for the past 3 years in our Special Class and who has now won a position at Salisbury East High School.  Cerys has set up that class from its inception and we thank her for the work she has done in supporting her students to achieve outstanding success as well as preparing them for life beyond school.

Sharon Kent joined us at the start of this year and we thank her for the work she has done in Maths and Science, particularly in the middle school.  Many students will have fond memories of Science excursions with Mrs Kent and we wish her well for the future.

We farewell Kirsten Mooney and thank her for being so flexible and accommodating in supporting us to deliver consistency to her English and HASS students.  She stepped up when we needed her and we appreciate this commitment.

We also farewell Laura Cereceda and thank her for the work she has done in English this year.

Finally, we farewell our groundsman, Gavin Harding, after nearly 15 years of service.  Time and again, Gavin has gone above and beyond what is expected to ensure our school grounds look as good as they do and that everything remains in good working order.  The knowledge of the school he takes with him will be a huge loss and will be difficult to replace.  To all staff members leaving we thank them for their time here and wish them well for whatever the future holds.

Mobile Phone Policy Review

This term we implemented our new mobile phone policy banning phones during the school day (including during breaks).  I would like to congratulate the majority of our students who have easily adapted to this policy and I also thank parents for their support with this.  We are now asking for feedback from students, parents and staff on the new policy.  Please contact me by the end of the year at the school via Daymap, email Sonia.Pringle235@schools.sa.edu.au or phone 8862 0600 with aspects of the Policy that have worked well and areas in which we could improve the policy.

I thank the broader school community for their support this year and I look forward to continuing these positive relationships next year.  I wish you all an enjoyable, relaxing and safe break with your families and friends and I look forward to seeing many of you back at school on Tuesday 28^th January 2020 ready for another year of learning.

Sonia Pringle

Principal