PRINCIPAL'S NEWS
There are many positive events for the students of Balaklava High School to participate in and this week has seen interschool swimming, a proactive road safety presentation by SAPOL and the Student Council camp. Student Council members participated in team building activities as well as planning sessions to map out their work for the year. Congratulations to all students who have been recognised by their peers and have then accepted the challenge of this leadership role. The Student Council and House Captain Induction will occur next Friday, 3rd March at 9am in our Gym.
Governing Council AGM
On Tuesday we held our annual Governing Council AGM and I would like to thank the parents and caregivers who joined us at this meeting, especially those who nominated for, or continued on, Governing Council. I would also like to acknowledge Andrew Parker, Sam Tiller, Tom Robinson and Gavin Branson for their contributions over many 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:
| Chairperson: | Ben Marshman |
| Deputy Chairperson: | Steve Williams |
| Treasurer: | Lauren March |
| Secretary: | Kimberly Brownlie |
| Committee Members: | Andrew Gilbert |
| Belinda May-Woidt | |
| Karla May | |
| Student Council Reps: | Kashaya Carpenter and Brooke Michalanney |
| Staff Reps: | Amber Buick and Peta Solomon |
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 another productive and successful year working with them.
We have one vacancy on Governing Council that can be filled a parent or a community member. If you are interested in joining us, please contact the school. There are 2 meetings per term and it is a genuine way to have a say in your child’s schooling and gain more information about how and why things occur.
At the AGM I presented the 2022 Annual Report, which details the achievement of our last academic year. If you would like a copy of this report, please contact us at the school and we can organise for a hard copy to be sent home or you can access it via our website.
Student Free Days
At the AGM the Governing Council approved the following student free days:
Term 2 Week 7 Tuesday 13th June - Child Protection Curriculum
Term 3 Week 1 Monday 24th July - Partnership SFD
There are still two more student free dates still to come, as well as a school closure day and we are in communication with our feeder schools to try and align dates as best we can and I will inform families of these dates as soon as they are known.
Mobile Phones
As you would likely be aware, the state government introduced a ban on the use of mobile phones in high schools. This is nothing new for us as we have had a phone ban in place since 2020. This means, between 8.30am and 3.15pm, students’ phones need to be switched off and left in their bag.
Senior students wanting to listen to music in study are able to access Spotify though their laptops (students can set up a free account to do this) and we ask that they have headphones with cords to connect to their laptops. Air Pods should also not be used at all in the school and smart watches are only to be used for telling the time.
If parents need to get a message to their child, please contact the front office and we will make sure it is passed on. We thank all students and their families for their support of this policy. The full policy can be found on our website.
Vaping
Unfortunately the increasing use of vapes and e-cigarettes in society is also prevalent at school, which is an ongoing concern for us at BHS. Young people might be choosing to vape thinking it is a safer option than cigarettes, however, they are not a safe choice as the attached fact sheets attest. Further information can be found at SA Health by clicking on the following link. https://www.sahealth.sa.gov.au/wps/wcm/connect/public+content/sa+health+internet/services/mental+health+and+drug+and+alcohol+services/drug+and+alcohol+services/drug+and+alcohol+information/vaping+information
Many vapes look like everyday items such as pens, highlighters, mascara, USB memory sticks and other cylindrical or rectangular devices. They do not smell like traditional cigarettes and can smell like fruit or bubblegum, which makes them harder to detect. As per the Department for Education’s Smoke-free Policy, smoking and using e-cigarettes at all department locations and activities is prohibited. Please talk with your children about the dangers of vaping and making sensible choices.
As always, I invite parents to contact me at the school if you would like to discuss any aspect of your child’s learning. I can be contacted via DayMap or email Sonia.Pringle235@schools.sa.edu.au or you can phone the school on 8862 0600 to speak to me directly or to make a time to come and see me.
Sonia Pringle
Principal