Last week we gathered as a school community to hold our formal induction ceremony for Student Council Leaders and House Captains for 2020.  This gave us an opportunity to celebrate students who have been nominated and elected to undertake leadership roles in the school as Student Leaders, House Captains or both.  By accepting these roles, students agreed to take on the responsibility of representing their sports houses, classes, year levels and, for some, the full student population of Balaklava High School.  This is a great honour and not something to be taken lightly.  Leadership can often mean making hard decisions and having to do what is right in a situation, not just what is easy or what is popular and I commend these students for their willingness to accept this responsibility.  I thank old scholar Steph McArdle who joined us at the assembly and spoke of her experiences as both Head Student and House Captain in 2014 and the balancing act required to manage these roles as well as her Year 12 studies and other external commitments.  We wish all leaders the best for the 2020 school year.

Responsible Technology Use

As parents and carers, it can sometimes be hard to keep up with the constantly evolving developments in technology that attract children and teens. While we may not always be able to keep up with all of the latest advancements, we can introduce a framework so the young people in our families can develop a healthy and safe relationship with technology. Young people are often open to talking about online safety if you show them you understand the huge role that social media and the internet play in their lives and have a discussion around the issue and don’t just lay down rules.

ReachOut.com offers the following tips and conversation starters to encourage your teenager to use technology responsibly:

• Technology is a part of life. Help your child recognise that it’s a privilege to have this ‘tool’ and that they should use it responsibly. That means sticking to the rules you set up for its use
• It’s an important lesson to learn that online material is forever. How does your child want to be seen in the world – not just now, but when they’re an adult looking for a job?
• Respect is key. Teach your child not to say or do anything online that could hurt or humiliate anyone; just as you would expect them to behave in real life
• They must only make friends with people they know in real life and should not do anything that they know you would be unhappy with, such as forwarding material that would hurt or embarrass someone else
• If they ever receive material that is private, such as personal or explicit photos or videos, they should delete them immediately. Failure to do this could have very real consequences.

Mobile Phone Policy

At BHS, our mobile phone policy, which has been ratified by Governing Council, is in effect and it means that mobile phones are banned during the school day (including during breaks).  Teachers can specifically request an exemption to this policy if phones are needed in class as part of the learning plan.  Examples of this may be if a camera is needed to record progress on artwork, if students need to film a task for English or if they are required to record information whilst out in the Ag area.  The consequence for breaching the policy will see the phone remaining at school until a parent can collect it.  Student refusal to hand their device to a staff member when requested will result in the student being sent to CTO and following the School’s behaviour procedures, which may include suspension.

Attendance

Attendance at school is vital for student success in multiple aspects of their development.  Children and young people are required to be enrolled in a school or approved learning program between the ages of 6 and 17 years of age.  Every day of these years matter and each day of attendance has a positive impact on the development and future success of these young people.  Missing one day of school per week from Reception to Year 10 results in missing two years and one term of schooling.  Long term studies have shown that not completing school can be linked with poor physical and mental health, poverty and involvement with the criminal justice system.

Children and young people who do not attend school regularly also miss out on planned learning experiences, sequences of instruction and class participation.  The impact of this loss is compounded with each absence.  It is also more difficult for them to build positive relationships with others, which is the basis of all that we are working towards at BHS.  If you are struggling to get your child to school, please contact us and we can support you with this.  If, however, there are occasional, unavoidable reasons for your child to be absent from school, please inform their homegroup teacher via Daymap, telephone, email or a note in your child’s diary.  You can also reply to the text message sent from the school to provide a reason for the absence.

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 and Facebook and Balaklava Primary School will inform bus families via FlexiBuzz (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 if any of your contact details change throughout the year.

Parents can also call a parent hotline number (1800 000 279) to gain further advice when a catastrophic bushfire day is forecast.

Governing Council AGM

A reminder that our Governing Council’s AGM will take place on Wednesday 4^th March 2020 at 7.00 pm in the Community Library.  The majority of our councillors started their two year tenures last year, therefore we only have once vacancy this year.  There is a nomination slip for Governing Council in this newsletter or you can access one by contacting the Front Office.  Even if you are not considering nominating for Council, I encourage you to come along to the AGM, where we will present the Annual Report on the 2019 school year.

As always, I invite 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 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

On Sunday the 9^th of February, the newly appointed BHS Student Council went off to West Beach for their annual Student Council Camp. While on this camp students began the planning of the year ahead; organising lunchtime sports and activities, fundraising goals and events as well as casual days and setting up a “Green Team” to focus on the school environment.

Mixed in with these planning sessions and meetings were opportunities for a bit of fun and an entertaining team building round of Mini Golf. Students also participated in a ‘Leadership and Social Development’ program, run by AFL Max, which got them all thinking about Goal Setting, Courage, Teamwork, Positive Affirmations and Public Speaking through a variety of engaging and interactive activities.

The Induction Ceremony was held on Friday the 14^th of February, and was an opportunity for our Student Council members, Head Students and House Captains to be officially introduced to our school community. On behalf of the BHS Student Council we hope all of our student leaders have a positive year and encourage all of our students to continue to get involved in events and to improve our school.

Luke Clark

2020 Head Students: Ira Pagadut & Joseph Pagadut

2020 Student Council Members:

Back Row: Makayla Litzow, Tiarhn Carpenter, Sianna Bond, Madeleine Karklins, Jayden Hendry, Hayley Armstrong, Amber Pratt, Kashaya Carpenter, Leyla Jacobson, Brooke Michalanney

Middle School: Chelsea McCormack (teacher), Janna Mojares, Samantha Lockwood, Bella Pratt, Mackenzie Hill, Charli Griffiths, Charlotte Davey, Dahli Jacobson, Samantha Kea, Bianca Stuart, Kayleigh Parker, Luke Clark (teacher)

Front row: Lachlan Gaze, Kiara Standley, Shannon Schutt, Abbie McArdle, Ira Pagadut, Sonia Pringle (Principal), Joseph Mojares, Tahneil McArdle, Macauley Smith, Taylor White, Matt Mojares

2020 House Captains:

Back Row: Alice McArdle, Emily Curnow, Cooper Allen, Matthew Freebairn, Spencer Gaze, Joshua Michael, Casey Pratt, Nicola Tiller, Alex Evans, Janna Mojares

Middle: Alison Schahinger (teacher), Jed Davis, Fergus Tiller, Macauley Smith, Jack May, Olivia Allen, Edwina Marshman, Jake Martin, Kashaya Carpenter, Kiara Standley

Front: Jack Heaslip, Cameron Curnow, Tahneil McArdle, Tamika Gregory, Lachlan Gaze, Matt Mojares, Abbie McArdle, Taylor White, Skye Blacket, Jayden Hendry

Absent: Ethan Brownlie, Rhea Lawless, Bella-Rose Allegretto

What a great start for our Year 8s. In the first four weeks we have learnt; how to use timetables, navigate Daymap, our teachers’ names, where our classrooms are, as well as begun new subjects, made new friends and, during Week 2, attended the orientation camp at Port Hughes. We couldn’t be more pleased with our new Year 8s, they are a wonderful group of students, with great stories and perfect manners. The Year 8s worked well as a team as they tackled activities together in small groups. Activities included; laser tag, slip and slide, sand castle competitions, waterproof hats, water balloon games and giant wooden games. One of our biggest highlights was playing at the splash park at Moonta Bay, especially watching Mr Jenner create a huge splash on the water slides.

 “Year 8 camp was so much fun. We did many activities such as teamwork games, water balloon fights, large wooden games and even laser tag! We went to the Splash Park at Moonta Bay, where we got to walk along the beach there, which was my favourite activity by far. At night we had a quiz night on day one and the second night we watched a movie. The thing though that I enjoyed the most overall, was making friends and talking to other students in my year level”. Bella Pratt

A big thank you to Mr Jenner, Miss Umapathysivam, Mr Mussared, Ryan Bernhardt, Mrs Thiel and Mrs Pudney for making it such a successful camp, one that the Year 8s will recall as a positive highlight for many years to come.

On the 13^th February, we held our annual Year 8 Meet and Greet Night. It was fantastic to meet our Year 8 families and introduce our dedicated teaching staff. Our Year 8 scholarship recipients, Dahli Jacobson and Bella Pratt spoke extremely well as our MCs on the night. The girls both shared their highlights and opportunities they have both encountered during the start of their high school journey. To end the evening staff, students and families gathered around the BBQ, where it was great to see positive relationships being formed. If you were unable to attend the event, I would strongly encourage you to make contact with your child’s teachers via Daymap messages, contacting the school and attending our Student Led Conference evenings next week.

Michelle Pudney

Assistant Principal

Staff, students, bus drivers and members of Governing Council are currently developing a rubric aligning our school values with positive behaviours. This framework will see the rubric displayed throughout the school, an introduced positive behaviour token system for bus travellers and the continuation of the Middle School Pride Point system.

The rubric will help our students understand how to apply our school values to create a positive school culture. Our school values are;

• Positive Relationships
• Respect
• Integrity
• Dedication
• Excellence

Promoting wellbeing at school can substantially improve the social and emotional outcomes of young people. This rubric alongside the Pride Point System provides school professionals with an approach to promote improved behaviour at our school. This approach has been developed from evidence and data, demonstrating the most effective ways to prevent and respond to problem behaviour at school. Research has shown that having a positive, proactive approach to behaviour is successful in reducing problem behaviour, improving school culture, and increasing academic performance. We will continue to update our parents and wider community about increasing positive behaviours in upcoming newsletters.

Michelle Pudney

Assistant Principal

Tanaya Robertson and Leyla Jacobson each performed a set of music at the Owen Strawberry Fete on Sunday February 16. Both students did a wonderful job entertaining the crowds and were excellent ambassadors for Balaklava High School. Well done and thank you, Tanaya and Leyla.

Proud Keith House Captains

Age Group Winners

	Champion	Runner-Up
U14 Girls	Edwina Marshman	Alice McArdle
U14 Boys	Alex Evans	Dylan Williams
U15Girls	Sasha Branson	Nicola Tiller
U15 Boys	Macauley Smith	Jack May
U16 Girls	Cheyenne Moore	Zoe Ingram
U16 Boys	Bailey Arthur	Jacob Battle
U21 Girls	Abbie McArdle	Libby Cleary
U21 Boys	Cody Redpath	Ethan Brownlie

House Spirit Shield                                                            Championship Shield

Interschool Swimming Carnival at Riverton

On Monday the 17^th of February 27 of our best swimmers represented the school at the Interschool Swimming Carnival at Riverton Swimming Pool. We competed against a combined Burra/Eudunda team, Clare High School, Kapunda High School and Riverton & District High School.

Congratulations to Sasha Branson who was Runner-up Champion by 1 point in the U15 Girls age group and Bailey Arthur who was Runner-Up Champion in the U16 Boys age group. Well done also to Luke Hart who qualified for the Plains Producer Handicap 50m Freestyle race with the quickest time of the meet.

Special thanks to all the parents and families who came along to support our team and helped with timekeeping. To Mr Parsons, Mr Jenner and Mrs Lowe thank you for you work with the team, official duties on the night and transporting students to Riverton.

All students represented the school proudly and demonstrated excellent attitudes and support of one another.

Results:

Championship Girls: 3^rd place (Clare 1^st)

Championship Boys: 3^rd place (Clare 1^st)

Overall Championship: 3^rd place (Clare 1^st)

Improvement: 2^nd place (Kapunda 1^st)

Anna Hawker Shield (formally the Handicap Shield): 4^th Place (Riverton 1^st)

School Sport SA Secondary Individual Swimming Championship @ SA Aquatic and Leisure Centre

I would like to wish Edwina Marshman, Janna Mojares and Sasha Branson good luck in the SSSAS Individual Swimming Championships when they compete next Monday the 24^th of February.

Athletics Day Friday 6^th of March

Our focus now turns to Athletics Day which will be held on Friday the 6^th of March. We will be moving Athletics Day from the oval behind the gym across the road to our school oval with our brand new sand pit and shot put rings to be used for the first time. Like Swimming Carnival, there will be no limit on the number of competitors per event from each House in order to increase student participation. Students will rotate through each event on the program with their age group and have the opportunity to participate in the events that they choose. Please find the 2020 Athletics Day program included in this newsletter.

Alison Schahinger

Sports Coordinator

Athletics_Day_Programme.pdf

Athletics_Day_Programme _pdf 344.40 KB

What a great day!

We left at 6am to attend the IUPAC Global Women in Chemistry Breakfast at UniSA. Then, Dr Sally Plush who remembered us from last year, invited us to visit the pharmacy research labs in the UniSA cancer research building where she works. What an unexpected bonus. We then checked out the Seven Siblings Exhibition in MOD. Lastly we called into the National Wine Centre. What a wonderfully Chemistry packed day out, giving students exposure to the huge range of opportunities a chemistry pathway can provide. Thanks to Catherine Karklin and Heidi Zerk for driving and to all our Chemistry students who represented our school so well.

Merridy Manuel

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