Year 12 Farewell

Whilst each term is important, this one is especially significant for our Year 12 students as they embark on the exciting, and somewhat scary, adventures of finishing their secondary schooling and beginning the next stage of their lives.  Formal lessons will conclude this afternoon and we will hold a formal farewell assembly at the school at 9 am tomorrow (Friday 22nd October).  After this date, some students may still be completing final assessment tasks and some will be preparing for exams, which brings a new set of stressors.

The SACE Board offers the following advice to students for managing exam pressure:

• Develop good study habits – devise a study plan, set aside a quiet study space and take regular breaks
• Eat and sleep well – eat healthy food, drink plenty of water, get enough sleep and exercise daily
• Use friends – study together, discuss exam topics and test each other
• Speak to family and friends – tell them how you are going and let them know when you need quiet time
• Recognise stress signals – discuss concerns with family and friends, speak to teachers, take a break.

The SACE Board have announced that Year 12 results will be available in Students Online from 8:30 am on Tuesday 15 December with hard copy documentation arriving from this date onwards.  Year 12 students should log in to Students Online and activate their accounts prior to results release day.  Waiting for these results can also be a stressful time and Reach Out.com offers the following advice for parents to support their teenagers during this time:

• Avoid discussing potential results before they are released as speculation about ‘good’ or ‘bad’ results isn’t helpful
• Stop worrying what other people might think of your child’s results and avoid comparing your child’s results with other family and friends and appreciate individual success
• Recognise signs of stress in your child and offer support if needed
• Most importantly, don’t panic if the results are not what you’d hoped for as there are many alternative options available for university degrees and employment.

More advice on supporting your child can be found at the following link:

https://parents.au.reachout.com/common-concerns/everyday-issues/6-things-parents-can-do-to-help-teenagers-handle-exam-results

As the Year 12s embark on their next great challenge, from the safety and routine of school to the often uncertain expectations of Uni or work, we wish them well and hope they have many happy memories of their schooling.  They are at a very exciting point in their lives and we hope they enjoy every minute of it.

Building Works

If you have driven past the school this week you would have seen that temporary fencing has appeared around G, H and J Blocks in preparation for their demolition next month.  We are very excited to see this work begin, which will remove these old transportable buildings that were put there ‘temporarily’ sometime in the 1960s (we don’t have an exact date of arrival but a past staff member recalls them being here in 1969 when she first arrived at BHS).  The building works are due to be complete by the end of Term 2 next year and will house 8 general learning areas and 2 art rooms.  Ms Brookes has done an amazing job to be able to shuffle our classes into different rooms for the remainder of this year and will do so again for the start of next year; however, this short-term inconvenience will be well worth it once we have the new buildings.

Presentation Evening

As highlighted in an earlier newsletter, Presentation Night will look a little different this year.  After much thought, reference to the current COVID guidelines and restrictions and consideration for our Year 12 Class of 2020, we have decided to hold a modified event at the Balaklava Town Hall with restricted numbers of audience members and no external presenters.  Year 12 students and two members of their family will be able to attend, with all other award recipients receiving their academic, sporting or other award before the night.  These early presentations will be live streamed and recorded, as will the Presentation Night event, to give other family members the opportunity to watch the ceremonies remotely.  We understand this maybe disappointing for some, however it is out of our control and we are pleased to be able to gather in a larger group at all.  Letters to Year 12 students and their families explaining how this will work have already gone home and letters to other award recipients will follow shortly, once we have worked out some final details.

I am excited for all of the learning opportunities this term holds for students as we continue with our learning program until the very end of the year.  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

Congratulations to all the Middle School & Senior School High Achievers and Most Improved, you should be very proud of your achievements.

Year 8 High Achievers:

Sarah Davies
Abbey Fagan
Rachel Feltham
Dahli Jacobson
Madison Litzow
Edwina Marshman
Chelsea Mason
Lucy May
Brooke McArdle
Janna Mojares
Irish Pagadut
Bella Pratt
Ebony Stuart
Danwel Urmenita
Taylah West
Bligh Wilson

Year 8 Improvers:

Emma Hamdorf
Nicolas Lovegrove
Makayla Marafioti
Jake Martin
Asha Mead
Hamish Pike
Ebony Stuart
Henry Woidt

Year 9 High Achievers:

Olivia Allen
Kaye Arevalo
Jenna Baker
Ellie Bell
Abbey Bigg
Paige Bubner
Kashaya Carpenter
Tamzyn Dos Santos
Sophie Hamdorf
Alice McArdle
Brooke Michalanney
Cameron Nicholls
Maddison Poole

Year 9 Improvers:

Ryan Backhouse
Alexander Butson
Jordie King
Tenielle McDonald
Lachlan Michalanney
Shanaya Myers
Seth Pascoe
Matthew Rivett
Lillie Snelgrove
Kirsty Thomas
Nick Tiller

Year 10 High Achievers:

Charlotte Davey
Abi Futterleib
Mackenzie Hill
Leyla Jacobson
Kayleigh Parker

Year 10 Improvers:

Elizabeth Anderson
Joshua Auerbach
Montana Batten
Sophie Brown
Millie Denooyer
Kobe Podiotan

Year 11 High Achievers:

Caitlin Arts
Taylah Barker
Tiarhn Carpenter
Lachlan Gaze
Lachlan Groth
Riley Hayes-Revitt
Lachlan Hendry
Kaitlyn Hicks
Paige Lamond
Emily Lemon
Makayla Litzow
Abbie McArdle
Matt Mojares

Year 11 Improvers:

Ethan Amor
Taylah Barker
Mackenzie Cadd
Kaitlyn Hicks
Deacon Kerrigan
Sarah-Ann Sanders
Jake Shaw
Alanah Swift
Robert Tiller

Year 12 High Achievers:

Abbey Bubner
Emma Davies
Kain Denooyer
Madison Gorman
Tamika Gregory
Olivia Loy
Tahneil McArdle
Ira Pagadut
Cody Redpath
Jessica Reed

Year 12 Improvers:

Cooper Allen
India Amos
Jaymie Berry
Madison Goman
Tamika Gregory

Ryan Bernhardt will be leaving BHS at the end of 2020. We thank him for all his work at BHS over the past few years. Ryan has been a great support for our students and staff. He will be missed, especially on school camps. We wish him well for his next venture! 

We congratulate Grant Hay on winning the position of Pastoral Care Worker for 2021. He will begin this term to make sure there is smooth transition and so he can begin to build relationships. We look forward to having him as a part of our Wellbeing Team! 

Lucy Thiel

Health and Wellbeing Coordinator

Materials & Services Charges 2021

The procedures for School Charges for 2021 remain as they have for the past years. Any course fees applicable to each subject and year level that are a required component of that course must be approved by the Department for Education the year before and then ratified at Governing Council. Only one Material and Service Charge is to be issued to each student per year; this must include the standard Material and Service Charge plus any subject/course charges applicable to the student.

Below is a copy of the water-marked 2021 Material and Service Charge notice which has been approved by the Department for Education.

We will be presenting this document to Governing Council on Wednesday 4th November for approval. Should parents have any objection to the costs listed or wish to have any discussion about the charges, they are very welcome to attend this meeting which will be held in the Library at the school at 7.00pm. If you are unable to attend the meeting, you are very welcome to forward in writing to the Principal or the Governing Council Chairperson, Andrew Parker, any comments pertaining to the charges.

If the charges are approved at this meeting, the 2021 M&S Charge for Balaklava High School will be:

• Year 8 & 9: $460.00 plus a Software Levy at a cost of $20
• Year 10, 11 & 12: $460.00

Invoices will be posted early in January for all students.

To enable parents to pay for the M&S Charge prior to the commencement of the school year, the office will be open on Wednesday 27th January and Thursday 28th January 2020 between the hours of 9:30am and 1:30pm (Balaklava Primary School will be open on these days also). All credit cards are accepted along with cash and cheques for payment of the fees. EFTPOS facilities are available.  Fees are payable using our QKR app for mobile phones also.

For those who are eligible for School Card, procedures have remained the same as last year i.e., both parents whose names appear on cards need to sign the form. Income limits and eligibility are based on the 2019/2020 financial year. The following table indicates eligible limits which applied for the 2020 year, which may be a guide for those who will be applying. The eligibility criterion for the 2021 School Card Scheme is based on whether the applicant’s combined family gross income is within the School Card income limits. Eligibility is not dependent on any member of the family receiving any Centrelink benefits or Family Tax benefits. There are many different application forms for School Card. All forms are available from the front office or you may access the online portal at:

https://www.sa.gov.au/topics/education-and-learning/financial-help-scholarships-and-grants/school-card-scheme

Should you need further information, please contact the School Office on 88620600 in the new year and we will provide the updated information.

OPTIONS FOR PAYING M&S FEES & INVOICES

In 2021 we will continue to offer multiple ways to pay items which are associated with the school, i.e., school fees, camps etc.  Listed below are some of these options:

• Payment can be made in person with either cash, cheque or EFTPOS at the Bookroom.
• Payments can be made by filling out the credit card details at the bottom of your invoice along with the 3 digit CSV on the rear of the card and returning to the school for processing.
• Payments can be made over the phone using credit or debit card 
• If you believe you are entitled to School Card, you MUST fill out a form EACH year (cut-off date will be 13th November 2021) and submit it to the school or to the School Card Section (using the online platform). Forms and details available at Front Office. If you have students at different schools ie High School and Primary Schools, a form must be submitted to BOTH schools.
• Payments can be made using the QKR app which can be downloaded onto your mobile phone from Play Store (for Android) or App Store (I-Phone). See instructions below.

• ** If more detailed instructions are required, please contact the school

  Qkr_App_User_Instructions.pdf

  Qkr_App_User_Instructions _pdf 1.06 MB

  Ruth Stevens

  School Administrator

Year 8 Geography students have been studying Rural Places. The exhibition at the Courthouse Gallery gave students the opportunity to learn new facts about Balaklava, as well as the chance to observe photos, paintings and artifacts that local residents owned. A very different and well presented display.
Thankyou Courthouse Gallery

Karyn Von-Zieden

Spring Concert

Spring has sprung with Balaklava High School’s Specialist Music Program, who welcomed the season with a series of musical concerts in the Triangle in Balaklava. The musicians of Balaklava High School wished to bring music back into the community, and decided to play and sing for the businesses in the centre of Balaklava – and an unexpected bus tour! The Choir, Vocal Ensemble, Instrumental Ensemble, and Our Mix performed 4 concerts throughout the day, alongside soloists Abbey Bubner, Charlie Evans, and Leyla Jacobson. The concerts were a hit with locals, and some dedicated members of the community stayed for multiple concerts. As we learn to adapt to COVID-19, it is comforting to know that music will continue to bring together our community and we thank the Wakefield Regional Council for the opportunity to perform after such a long break from being out and entertaining our community.

Congratulations Abbey Bubner!

On the 30^th September, Abbey Bubner attended her audition for the Elder Conservatorium of Music in the hopes of commencing classical voice studies next year. Following a strong audition, the panel were confident that she would be offered a place. On October 15^th, Abbey received confirmation from the conservatorium that she had been offered a place in the Advanced Bachelor of Music in Classical Voice. She will commence her studies in March of next year.  We congratulate Abbey on this outstanding achievement and wish her every success in her future music studies!

The 'Indian Game On' Pastoral Care group attended their first Poultry Show in Balaklava on Sunday 13th September. We received first and second place for our breed and were in the running for Reserve Champion, but just missed out. We got some great feedback from the judges and are now ready to start our breeding program. Joel Williamson is pictured with our winning bird 'Penny'.

Summer Uniform

We currently have a supply of Balaklava High summer dresses available for purchase via the Book Room. Cost is $80ea and sizes are limited.

Adelaide Plains Giants Little Athletics 

Balaklava High School Oval

Mondays 4.45pm-6pm

12th October –  5 April 2021

Ages: 3-17 year olds

For registration details please email apgiantsla@yahoo.com or join the Facebook page too, “Adelaide Plain Giants Little Athletics” or call Adele Linke 0430 793 224