How lovely it was to finally have a drenching rain last week.  Whilst some of our drains struggled to cope with the volume of water, it was a small price to pay for the rain our farmers have been waiting for.  We hope that where ever you are whilst reading this, that you also got some of this long awaited rain.

World Solar Challenge

It was a very exciting week at BHS last week with a formal announcement of a partnership between the School and the University of South Australia who will work with our students and staff to design, plan and build a solar car with the view of ultimately competing in the Bridgestone World Solar Challenge in 2023.  Whilst this might sound like a very long time into the future, the race is only held every two years and our students will be heavily involved in it right from the start by being able to witness the event firsthand this year.  This international event sees solar cars from around the world compete in a 3,000 km race from Darwin to Adelaide and this opportunity is unlike any other in the state.  Students at BHS have been involved in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) activities for some time and we have amazing new facilities to assist this, however this offers real world applications in a broad sense and also strengthens our ties to the educational and wider communities.  There are many exciting advancements and much learning ahead for our students and I would like to particularly acknowledge the work of Richard Thomas for developing these links with UniSA and David Szular who will work with Richard to lead this exciting initiative.

Search for Perfection

There was an interesting article in this week’s Sunday Mail that addressed an issue of teenagers who are being ‘crippled by anxiety and depression in their quest for perfection’ at school.  It discussed students who set unrealistic goals for themselves and then become self-critical and despondent when they don’t meet them.  We talk a lot about goal setting in schools and it is an important aspect of both short and long term planning whilst studying and for life beyond school and into the future.  Setting high standards and trying to meet them is healthy, however these standards need to be attainable and, as parents and teachers, we need to support our children/students with this as sometimes, the search for perfection can be a negative experience. This can lead to students burning out or even giving up on something if they can’t do it to their high standard.  That said, we need to let them experience some struggle and failure at things as this builds resilience.  We need to develop their problem-solving skills, strengthen their ability to navigate relationships and we need to support them to have confidence in themselves and their own identity.  I want our students to achieve their full potential but they need to have the skills to cope if they don’t and they need support from family, friends and teachers along the way.

Student Free Day

Don’t forget that this Friday, 21^st June, is a Student Free Day for staff training in the Restorative Practices program.  Following this staff training we will also train all of our students in this program next term, which will help them develop skills in developing and maintaining relationships and an ability to resolve conflict peacefully.  We will also offer an evening session for parents and a separate night for community/sporting groups who are interested in learning how research practices uses questions which encourage self-reflection, create a 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 about this will go home to families next term.

Staffing News

Congratulations go to Michael Brooks who has won a position as Assistant Principal at Keith Area School starting next year.  We thank Michael for the work he has done at the school over the past 5 years, particularly in the area of sport and wish him well.

Derek Friedrichs has accepted a position at Clare High School as Assistant Principal, which will start next term.  We are currently looking for a Home Ec teacher to fill this position and plan to have it completed by the end of this term.  We thank Derek for the work he has done at the school and wish him well for his new position.

Reports

Students have been completing and submitting final tasks for the semester to provide teachers with information to make accurate assessments of their abilities and to finalise grades for reports, which will be sent home with students in Week 10.  Parents are reminded that, as already published in an earlier newsletter, there will be no full written reports for students in Years 8-11.  This is as a result of greater use of Daymap for ongoing reporting to parents and students about individual assessment pieces as they are due and as students still have time to make changes to their work, rather than a summary at the end of the semester.  If you have any questions about your child’s progress at any time, please contact their subject teacher directly through Daymap or by phoning the school on 8862 0600 to speak to them over the phone or to organise a convenient time for a face-to-face meeting if you prefer.

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 also 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.  Have an excellent last two weeks of term and enjoy a relaxing break before we come back to school on the 22^nd July ready for the start of Term 3.

Sonia Pringle

Principal