Yesterday was the last day of scheduled lessons for our Year 12 students and today we held a formal farewell assembly to wish them well as they complete final assessment tasks and/or prepare for exams and embark on the next exciting steps of life beyond the school gates.  Parents of Year 12 students will have received information about the upcoming celebrations of the graduating dinner and Presentation Night and we look forward to each of these events.

Staffing

This term we have welcomed Ms Mercy Edeh to our school to teach the Maths and Science classes that Mrs Alana Sharman had before going on maternity leave, as well as one of Miss Amber Buick’s classes and homegroup now that she is the Mathematics/Numeracy Coordinator for the next 12 months.

Student Free Day

At our last meeting for Term 3, Governing Council approved our final Student Free Day for 2022.  This will occur on Friday 2nd December (Week 7 Term 4).  On this day will look at literacy, data and differentiation as well as possibly reviewing the Year 7 programs that we ran for the first time this year.

Centenary Celebrations

What an amazing weekend of celebrations we just had!  This year we are celebrating 100 years of public education at Balaklava High School, which culminated in three days of celebrations over the past weekend.  I would like to acknowledge Cherie Cmrlec, Joy Maxwell, Marcia Nowlan, Nancy Harrington, Suryia Umapathysivam, Amber Buick, Sue Pratt, Karyn Von-Zieden, Trish Langdon and Colleen Lowe for their hard work over the past year in organising all of these events.  They have put in a monumental amount of effort to stage such an event and I thank them all for that.  The weekend was nearly perfect!

Friday 21st October – Art Exhibition at the Balaklava Courthouse Gallery

On the Friday evening we had the official opening of an exhibition of artwork supplied by current and past staff and students, with approximately 40 people in attendance.  The exhibition was comprised of 48 works of art with contributions from 9 teachers (including 2 current staff members) and 12 students.  The longest serving teachers represented were Wally Radowicz who was at BHS for 31 years, Meredith Mayr (21 years) and Stuart Hoerisch and Chris Shepley (10 years each).  Natalie Ziedas (nee Secomb) was the ‘oldest’ contributing student who attended BHS from 1979 – 1983 and the most recent student contribution was from Matt Mojares who completed school in 2021.  Specific thanks to Karyn Von-Zieden, Nancy Harrington and Cherie Cmrlec for putting this exhibition together.

Saturday 22nd October – Gala Dinner at the Town Hall

Tickets for this event went on sale at 9am and were sold out by lunchtime the same day so we knew we had some very keen alumni to help us celebrate.  With 180 tickets sold, the Town Hall was filled with attendees telling tall tales, travelling down memory lane and rekindling friendships of the past.  Current Head Students Kayleigh Parker and Leyla Jacobson were very capable MCs who kept us all on track during the night and there were various entertainment pieces on offer starting with the Balaklava High School Choir who performed the world premiere of We See It All.  This piece, commissioned specifically for the centenary, was composed by local South Australian Music teacher Annie Kwok, with words by the students of Balaklava High School. This performance was a celebration of the past and present with the choir conducted by current Music teacher, Miss Suriya Umapathysivam and accompanied by legendary BHS Music teacher of the past, Mrs Di Spence.  Mrs Spence returned later in the evening to accompany old scholar, Tahlia Murphy (nee Rees) who gave a magical performance of the piece Goodbye by Francesco Sartori and Lucio Quarantotto.  Current Year 12 student Ella Taylor also entertained the audience with her performance of Nothing from A Chorus Line.  The longevity and success of the Balaklava High School music program was highly evident on the night.

During the evening we also had two panels of former staff and students that were moderated by current Governing Council Chairperson and old scholar, Andrew Parker.  I would like to thank old scholars Robert Hore, Leanne Keech and Lachlan Gaze, as well as former staff members Alan Shepley, Sue Pratt and Sally Cowan who shared their experiences of their times at Balaklava High School.  The Principal’s address shared some history of the school, some interesting anecdotes and also reminded attendees of some of the joys of schooling such as potentially receiving the cane.  People were encouraged to think about teachers who made an impact on their lives, old friends who are no longer with us and, not that the group needed any encouragement, to spend time sharing memories of their schooling years.  One of the highlights of the evening was an impromptu rendition of the school war cry led by old scholars Deb Coffey and Rob Shepherd.

Sunday 23rd October – Open Day at the school

The rain started falling in the early hours of Sunday morning (the school’s weather station had recorded 43mm by 8am) and we were concerned that it would keep old scholars away, however we need not have worried as BHS alumni are made of strong stuff and we had well over 300 people attend this event.  The rain did slow late morning and didn’t reappear until after our doors had closed in the afternoon so we were thankful for that.

On this day the school facilities were open for people to tour and have a look at how the school has changed over the past century.  There were many stories shared on the day and people were amazed at the educational opportunities our students now have.  The official welcome was held in the school gymnasium which included our Choir again singing We See It All and some of the history of the school before everyone in attendance sang Happy Birthday to BHS and former Principal, Dick Arnold, cut a celebratory birthday cake.  Photos of staff and students were taken in the decades in which they first started at BHS and copies of these will be available shortly.  Details on how to order them will appear on our website soon.

Thank you to all of the old scholars, former staff members and other interested people who joined us at any of the celebratory events over the weekend.  Without all of you, none of these events would have succeeded.  The number of people present was evidence of the power of Balaklava High School and the deep connection and affection people have for this place.

As always, I am available to speak to parents about any issues or concerns or to discuss any aspect of your child’s learning.  I can be contacted at the school via Daymap, email Sonia.Pringle235@schools.sa.edu.au or phone 8862 0600 where you can speak to me directly or make a time to come and see me.

Sonia Pringle

Principal