Yesterday we welcomed 79 Year 6 students to Balaklava High School for their first taste of high school.  There were some nervous young people at the start of the day but they have all become more confident as the day has gone on.  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.  Today marks the beginning of a six year journey of secondary schooling and it will be very exciting to see what the future brings for these young people.

Presentation Night

Last night we gathered in the school gym for our annual Presentation Night and what a great celebration it was!  During the evening, our guest speaker was the Governor of South Australia, Her Excellency the Honourable Frances Adamson AC who talked about some of her life experiences and potential career paths for our graduates as well as incorporating our school values.  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 18^th December from 8.30am.  Students can access their results through Students Online and they 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 2024

We are still working through a small number of vacancies for next year but we are able to announce the following staffing positions for 2024, some of whom have been announced in other newsletters:

Derek Friedrichs – Principal, Term 1

Kevin Kelly – Deputy Principal

Deanne Bowden – Student Support and Engagement Coordinator

Luke Clark – Student Pathways/VET/Career Education Coordinator

Adam Collins – Auslan/Workplace Practices/EIF Teacher

Nicole Matthews – Drama/Mathematics

Michala Taggart – Art/Design

Brad Westley – PE/Home Economics

Bethany Monserrat – English/HASS

Sam Budden – English/HASS

Melanie Evans – Hub Music

Elly Swift – Business Manager, Terms 1 and 2

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.  As happens every now and again, there is a large list of people moving on for a variety of reasons.

After more than two decades at Balaklava High School, minus a few years to have her babies, Mrs Merridy Manuel has made the decision to take a leap of faith and move to Adelaide and a new adventure teaching at Prince Alfred College.  Merridy brings joy, colour and enthusiasm to most situations and we all have a number of memories of her dressing up and fully committing to events.  She is light and bright and will take her positive attitude with her and we wish her all the best with what is ahead of her.

Mrs Rosemary Goode has been at Balaklava High School for over a decade (minus a year off in the middle) and much of that time has been as the VET Coordinator.  She has a huge wealth of knowledge about careers, vocational training, apprenticeships and all things related to these.  She has worked with a large number of our students to undertake courses with TAFE and a number of other registered training organisations in a wide variety of careers.  Many tradespeople in our area can thank Rosemary for a head start in their careers.  We trust she enjoys her leave and subsequent retirement.

After many years as an expert English and HASS teacher, we farewell Mr James Mussared.  James has consistently provided engaging learning programs for his students and they’ve all enjoyed engaging with the War Horse Source Course and other interesting topics throughout their studies.  For a number of years James has also been studying a Master’s degree in Public Health and he has now been accepted into a graduate program interstate where he will start a position as a policy writer for the Department of Education.  We wish him all the very best in this next chapter of his life.

Mrs Jessica Daniel has also been at BHS for a number of years and in a number of roles, however, she found her place in our Special Options class where she made a significantly positive impact, so much so, she was recognised as the Inclusive Teacher of the Year (Disability) in the 2021 Public Education Awards.  Jess’ passion and advocacy for her students is second to none and she has created many opportunities for our young people and ensured they have clear pathways once they leave her care.  We thank her for her work and wish her well with her next step.

Since she first arrived, Miss Suriya Umapathysivam has worked tirelessly to raise the profile of performing arts in the community, where she has also built strong connections with a variety of groups.  She has consistently created opportunities for our students to perform, even during COVID times when performance opportunities were scarce, she found a way with outdoor concerts, even on the footpath, to bring joy to the locals.  After five years of driving each day, we know she will enjoy being so much closer to home as she takes up a position at Kildare College.

Another staff member who has shown a huge commitment with their travel each day is Miss Eva d’Alboy.  Eva has had a connection with BHS for a number of years, initially as a TRT and a short term contract before joining us as French/LGP/Year 7 teacher for the past two years.  She has been a key member of our Year 7 team and we thank her for welcoming these young people to our school and setting them up for future success.  We wish her well as she starts her permanent position at Xavier College.

Mrs Amy Tilbrook has been our art and design teacher for the past three years and she had the pleasure (as well as the hard work!) of setting up our art space from the very first day in our new modular buildings.  She has had an impact on our students by opening their minds to ways to express themselves with new techniques, concepts and media they may not have used before.  We know she will continue to positively impact students at her new school, Trinity College.

Miss Tarsha Briscoe started at BHS as a pre-service teacher and, when we needed to find a PE teacher at short notice, she had impressed us so much, we knew where to go to find a quality operator.  Tarsha has been able to form relationships with students and deliver content in an engaging way, even teaching outside of her learning area.  Tarsha is also moving interstate and we wish her and her fiancé all the very best for their next adventure.

Another teacher who has shown flexibility and a willingness to teach in a variety of areas is Ms Brooke Wheeldon.  Brooke also stepped in to a role at very short notice and we are sure we haven’t seen the last of her at BHS.

Mrs Peta Solomon joined us two years ago as Business Manager. She also spends a lot of time on the road to get to work each day and is pleased to have won a position closer to home at Blakeview Primary School.  Peta came from a primary school and willingly took on the challenge of the complexities of managing a high school budget, leading our support staff and maintaining our quality facilities.  We wish her all the best.

I am also finishing my time at Balaklava High School after an association spanning nearly 30 years (again with some time off over the years to have children as well as 6 years away at other schools).  During this time I have had a variety of roles including SSO, parent, teacher, leader and I have been the Principal for the past five years.  During this time we have worked consistently to improve the culture of the school which included the introduction of restorative practices and a trauma informed way of thinking and being, we’ve navigated COVID and all the challenges it brought with it, we’ve seen a tragedy and the landscape of the school has changed with the new STEM building, the modular build and our stunning grounds.

I am so very proud of all that we have achieved at Balaklava High School over the past five years and none of that has been achieved alone.  We have an amazing team of teachers, leaders and support staff and I would like to thank them for all we have achieved together.  My decision to leave the school was not made lightly and came from a desire to move closer to my children in Adelaide.  A large part of my heart will remain at Balaklava High School.

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 Audiri (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 over the past five years and I wish you all an enjoyable, relaxing and safe break with your families and friends.  The new school year resumes on Monday 29^th January 2024 and I wish you all the very best for the year ahead.

Sonia Pringle

Principal