As always, the first term is very busy with events and this year has been no exception, with the term speeding by as a result.  Over the past few months, we have enjoyed watching our new buildings be installed and they are now nearing completion and they look amazing!  The building work is on track for final handover to occur on the last Friday of the holidays and we plan to use Week 1 to install the interactive boards, add furniture and move equipment in, ready for use at the beginning of Week 2 next term.  Over a number of years, we have been steadily working towards the point where all of the facilities in the school are above standard and this project has been a major part of the redevelopment.  The final piece of work regarding facilities is on track for later this year with a site funded internal upgrade of the Home Ec building scheduled.  We want BHS to be a place for all staff, students and parents to feel proud to be associate with and the grounds and facilities provide a tangible link for this.  Once completed, the buildings will finally reflect the high quality work that is already occurring inside them.

Bus Safety

Earlier this week Michelle Pudney and I were involved in a meeting to review current procedures and discuss how we can improve the safety of our students at the end of the school day when there are a large number of students, cars and buses trying to leave the school at the same time.  The meeting involved representatives from Balaklava PS, Balaklava Community Children’s Centre, Horizon CS, Wakefield Regional Council, LinkSA, Spencer Gulf Coaches and the Department for Education.  We are investigating both short and long term solutions and I will keep you informed as information comes to hand.  We hope to have some initial strategies in place at the start of next term.

Governing Council AGM

The school’s Annual General Meeting was held on Wednesday 16^th March and I want to thank the parents and community members who attended.  A very large number of the Governing Council chose to renominate for a further two years and I am grateful that they want to continue in this important role.  I would also like to acknowledge Jan Jacobson and Tarnia Pratt for their work over the past two years and thank them for their service to the school community during this time.

The following people have accepted roles on this year’s Governing Council:

I thank the new Governing Council for taking this important opportunity to be more involved in their children’s education and for supporting the school community.  I look forward to a productive and successful year.  That said, we still have room for one more Councillor and I encourage you to volunteer for this important role.  Please contact one of the Councillors named above or the School on 8862 0600 if you are interested in joining us.  There are only two meetings per term and it provides an opportunity to have a greater say in your child’s education.

Student Free Days and School Closure Day

At the Governing Council meeting held after the AGM, the following Student Free Day and School Closure Day were approved for 2021.  Please put the following dates in your diary:

Term 3 Week 6 Tuesday 24^th August – Student Free Day for Literacy Day 2

Term 3 Week 8 Monday 6^th September – School Closure Day for Adelaide Show

We traditionally alternate our school closure days between the Paskeville Field Days and the Royal Adelaide Show, however this year the Field Days are in the school holidays so we are having a day for the Show instead. This date is the same as Balaklava, Owen and Port Wakefield Primary Schools.  There will be two more student free days later this year, which will likely have a Year 7 focus, however, we are trying to coordinate with our local primary schools to have them on the same day and we will notify you as soon as dates are confirmed.

Office365

Did you know that students are able to download Office365 for free if they sign in with their LearnLink account?  They can install this full suite on up to five devices so it can be shared with their immediate family if needed.  Part of Office 365 includes access to OneDrive, with 1TB of free cloud storage for each student.  This proved particularly useful last year when we moved to online learning and a number of current students still access this feature.  This form of cloud storage allows students to access files from any computer, in any location, when they sign in to Office365, whereas if they save work to a USB it can be forgotten or lost or if work is saved to their H drive at school they need to be on site to access it.  It also prevents work from being lost so it has many benefits.  To access this free resource, go to https://portal.office.com/account

Reports

Year 12 reports are currently being written and grades for all year levels are being finalised by staff.  At BHS, we provide grades only and no comments for Years 8-11 with more relevant and real time feedback being provided to students and parents through each individual assessment on Daymap.  This is in place of comments in reports, which can provide limited time for students to act on the feedback and make improvements, whereas ongoing feedback allows time for action.  Year 12s will continue to have full written reports for Terms 1-3.  As always, we will publish student reports on Daymap for students and parents to access on the last day of term.  Please contact us at school if you are not currently on Daymap so you can access these documents or if you’d like to request a printed copy of your child’s report.

Finally, I would like to wish all of the students and their families a safe and relaxing time for the upcoming holidays.  This break provides an opportunity for families to spend some time together, for students to catch up on some rest and relaxation as well as allowing the chance for senior students to balance some study with these periods of rest.  Have a good break and I’ll see you back at school on Tuesday 27^th April for the start of Term 2.

Sonia Pringle

Principal