Principal's Report
Restorative Practices
I am very pleased to announce that we have been accepted into a program funded by the Department for Human Services and supported by the Department for Education to bring Kerrie Sellen from Restorative Journeys to Balaklava High School to teach our school community about Restorative Practices and resolving conflict peacefully. Restorative Practices recognises that the ability to manage relationships is central to lifelong learning and success and this is at the heart of most of what we do in education. All staff and students will be trained in this program and we will also offer training for parents and community groups to learn this process. The program uses questions which encourage self-reflection, create the space to be heard and challenge negative behaviour with regards to its impact on others. This process cultivates the capacity to build and maintain significant relationships in the home, at school and in the community for the betterment of society. More information will follow regarding this program.
Change of Date for a Student Free Day
Last term I advertised a list of this year’s Student Free and School Closure Days, however there has now been a change to one of these dates as a result of our involvement in the Restorative Practices program. To allow staff to undertake training in this, we will now have a Student Free Day on Friday 21st June, not Friday 7th June as previously stated. Please make this change in your diaries.
Open Night
In the last three weeks we have had a variety of learning opportunities that occur each day at school but we have also had a couple of annual events. I refer to Open Night, which we held in Week 4 and NAPLAN testing, which the majority of our Year 9 students undertook in Week 3.
Open Night was a great success and well attended by future Year 8 students and their families and other interested and invited guests. As you can see from the images included, many of the displays were interactive and highly engaging for our visitors. Open Night provided an opportunity for people to see many of the quality programs and learning opportunities available here and to get a taste of exactly what makes BHS so special. I would like to acknowledge the work of staff on the night and the many students who volunteered their time to talk to visitors, conduct experiments, sing, cook and interact in a variety of other ways. I would like to particularly acknowledge the work of Deputy Principal, Ms Carena Brookes, who led the organisation for both Open Night and NAPLAN online.





NAPLAN Online
As the NAPLAN tests moved online this year for the first time, there was much attention drawn to the testing by the media. Whilst we had a couple of slight technical hiccoughs early on, all of our students sitting the tests managed to complete them in the allocated time to a standard they were happy with. We know that these tests are just a snapshot of a child’s ability in literacy and numeracy but they do provide data to look at individual growth and achievement by students and areas for us to focus on as a school. One of the advantages of the new online format is that results should be back with the school much earlier than in the past and this information will be passed onto parents as soon as we receive it.
Cold and Flu Season
Unfortunately, it’s the time of year where sickness is all too common and we have included a brochure from the Department of Health on how to prevent the spread of influenza. The tips below will help prevent the spread of not only the flu but also colds and gastroenteritis which is also unfortunately doing the rounds at the moment. Vaccination against the flu is also an extremely effective way of reducing your risk of illness. Whilst attendance at school is always important, in the case of sickness it is more important that you keep your children home until they are no longer contagious. Please read the brochure for full details, however the tips include:
- Covering your mouth and nose when you sneeze or cough
- Regularly washing your hands
- Don’t share personal items
- Clean surfaces regularly and
- Avoid close contact with others.
Another reminder about the importance of wearing uniform. Now that it’s cooler, we are seeing lots of colours and items of clothing in the schoolyard which do not meet our agreed school uniform expectations. If meeting these expectations is a concern for families, I ask you to contact the relevant year level coordinator to discuss this.
Students are expected to wear a navy or white school polo top, navy bomber jacket, navy rugby top or plain navy hoodie, all of which are available for purchase from TADS in Balaklava. Shorts and trousers are to be navy or grey and trackpants are to be navy with no stripes or large logos. Families are reminded that black pants and tops are not part of our uniform and leggings, jeggings and jeans are also not acceptable for school.
As always, I encourage parents to contact me at the school with any issues or concerns or if you would like 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