At the start of this week we welcomed 72 Year 6 students to Balaklava High School for their first taste of high school.  This transition event provided an opportunity for them to try life as a high school student by making some new friends, trying new subjects and meeting their homegroup teachers.  We very much look forward to having them join us next year as Year 7s when we embark on a six year journey of secondary schooling together.

Presentation Night

Wednesday night we gathered in the school gym for our annual Presentation Night and what a great celebration it was!  Last year we changed the venue of this event to our gym as it allowed us to have a larger number of people present and it also seems fitting that the students finish their schooling in the same place they started their high school adventure.  During the evening, our guest speaker was old scholar Brooke Stiller (nee Michael) who talked about what she has done since leaving us and her journey to becoming a full time artist.  She had an incredible story to tell that included moving to Sydney as a 17 year old after she finished her secondary schooling.  She stepped out of her comfort zone, took opportunities as they presented and was brave at trying new things, which are good messages for us all to learn from.  Congratulations to all of our graduates, performers and award winners; it was an excellent celebration of the students of Balaklava High School.  Thank you also to the team who organised the event; a great deal of planning goes on behind the scenes to stage such a production.  You can see a full list of award recipients further in this newsletter.

Year 12 Results

Year 12 results are due to be released on Monday 19^th December from 8.30am.  Students can access their results through Students Online and I encourage them to go on to the SACE Board website now and check their login details are correct before the rush on Monday morning.  Students will also receive an official certificate (if eligible) and Record of Achievement in the post.  A large number of our students have already started employment, are continuing with apprenticeships or have gained early entry into University and we look forward to hearing where their lives take them in the future.

Reflection of Learning

Our middle school students are currently working on their Reflection of Learning presentations ready to deliver them next week.  As the name suggests, these presentations allow students an opportunity to reflect on their learning across the year and to share these achievements with others.  We wish them well with their preparations and the panel members look forward to hearing about successes and challenges the students have encountered this year.

Staffing for 2023

We are still working through a small number of vacancies for next year but we are able to announce the following staffing positions:  Hannah Hoepner has won the position of English and Literacy Coordinator for next year, Holly Crighton will join us from Kadina Memorial School to be our Agriculture teacher, we are pleased to welcome back Sally McArdle who will return from maternity leave to teach English and HASS, Louise O’Halloran has been employed as our Home Ec teacher and she comes from Nuriootpa High School and Jerry Elder will join us for the first two terms next year as James Mussared takes some leave to finalise his Master’s degree.

Farewells

Whilst we have a number of teachers to welcome, as is often the case at the end of the year, we also have some staff members to farewell.  After a decade of teaching English and HASS and leading English and literacy for the last few years, we say goodbye to Joshua La Grutta.  Josh has had a huge impact on many of our students and his expertise (and love of coffee) will be missed as he takes up a new role teaching English at Riverbanks College.

Colleen Lowe joined us three years ago as our Student Engagement Coordinator and then stepped up this year to also take on the Ag teacher role from Term 2 on.  Colleen is returning to Gawler and District College and we wish her all the best there.

Sarah Mayer joined us partway through 2019 and has seen a huge change with the long overdue renovation of the Home Economics Centre.  She has built strong connections with students and will be missed as she takes up her new role teaching in the private sector.

Another staff member going to Riverbanks College is Hudson Noack.  Hudson has been with us for just over a year and we have enjoyed working with him on his first teaching position.  He easily fit into our school culture and embraced all of the opportunities that come with teaching here, such as going on an Operation Flinders trek and coaching school sport.

Andrew Jettner joined us early in the year and we were thankful that he was able to support us at short notice to fill a position mainly in Science but also in student innovation as his Studio focussed on small business ideas where he had many thoughts to share.

Mercy Edeh joined us this term in Maths and Science and we thank her for her willingness to join us for a short contract.  We wish her the best for her next school.

Abbie Tiller worked as an SSO supporting an identified student and helping a Year 8 class settle into high school for the first time.  To all staff members leaving we thank you for your time here and wish you well for whatever the future holds.

For the past four years that I’ve been at Balaklava High School I have appreciated the work of our Governing Council, ably led by Chairperson, Andrew Parker and I acknowledge the work they do regarding the governance of the school and I value their questioning to clarify how or why we do things at BHS.

Bushfire Procedure

BHS is considered a low/medium bushfire risk site, therefore, on days deemed catastrophic, the school will remain open as closures based on the predicted forecast do not apply to us.  However, our bus runs are located in both the Mid North and Yorke Peninsula Fire Ban Districts, which means if a Catastrophic Day is declared in either district, all buses that travel through these areas will be cancelled.  We will inform parents of this information as soon as practicable after it is declared on the CFS website at 4pm the day before.  We will do this via a text message to parents/carers, Daymap and Facebook whilst Balaklava Primary School will inform bus families via SkoolBag (please download the app if you haven’t already done so).

As we may need to contact you urgently, it is vital that we have your most current details on our system.  Please keep us informed immediately if any of your contact details change throughout the year.  Please click on the brochure link for further information.  https://www.education.sa.gov.au/sites/default/files/bushfire-and-your-childs-school-or-preschool-brochure.pdf  Parents can also call a parent hotline number (1800 000 279) to gain further advice when a catastrophic bushfire day is forecast.

Happy Holidays

I thank the broader school community for their support 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 Monday 30^th January 2023 ready for another year of learning.

Sonia Pringle

Principal