I would like to welcome everyone back for Term 2 and I hope that students and families had a safe and relaxing holiday break.  I would especially like to welcome students new to our school this term and hope they settle in well and actively participate in all of the outstanding learning and extra-curricular activities Balaklava High School has to offer.

New Buildings

As many of you know, we were very excited to take ownership of our new buildings last week.  We spent much of that week having interactive boards installed, moving resources, putting our furniture in (and discovering that we didn’t quite have enough!) and generally getting everything ready for classes to commence in the rooms on Monday.  If you haven’t already done so, I encourage you to ask your children about these new spaces and what they think of them.  We think the buildings really are amazing and we are very thankful to have them.

Open Night

Last year we had to cancel our traditional school Open Night due to COVID restrictions, however it is back on the calendar this year.  It is scheduled for Wednesday 19th May from 4.30 – 6.30 pm, which will also provide the perfect opportunity for you to call in and have a tour of our facilities, especially if you’re keen to see inside our new buildings.  There have been significant changes to the school buildings and grounds over the past five years.

ANZAC Day

ANZAC Day is a time of reflection on the sacrifices of so many others who went to war, many of whom paid the ultimate price by losing their lives, which have allowed us to have the life and freedoms we ultimately enjoy today.  It is important that we pay our respects to them each year. We have traditionally sent Student Council representatives to the ANZAC Day Dawn Service at the Balaklava Triangle, however we have students who come from many other towns in the district and we felt it was important for our students to represent the school in their local communities.  As a result, BHS was not only represented by our Head Girl, Tiahrn Carpenter in Balaklava where she read the ANZAC Requiem and placed a wreath on behalf of our school community, we also had students who attended services in Mallala and Owen as well.  Next year we plan to continue this broader community representation and hope to add Port Wakefield to the list too.  Thank you to Tiahrn as well as Samantha Lockwood, Dahli Jacobson and Emily Curnow (Mallala) and Paige Bubner, Alice McArdle and Bella Pratt (Owen) for attending these important events and representing our school.

Staffing News

At the end of last term, we farewelled two staff members and, as of next week, there will also be another change to our staffing.  Anthea Papagiannis has been our French and English teacher for just over three years and, during this time, she has also had a number of short term leadership positions here.  These opportunities gave her the experience needed to match her existing skill set to win a position at Parafield Gardens High School as English Coordinator for the remainder of this year.  At this stage we are hoping to welcome her back to BHS next year, however I would like to thank her for the work she has done at BHS to this point.  I extend a welcome to Miss Eva D’Alboy who has replaced Miss Papagiannis for the remainder of the semester.

We also farewelled Hannah Hoepner who joined us at the start of this year when Sue Pratt was seconded to undertake some curriculum writing for the Department for Education.  I thank Hannah for her work in Ag and Research Project and we wish her well in her new position at Riverton and District High School.  We were also very happy to welcome Mrs Pratt back to BHS this week.

Josh Jenner has also been seconded by the Department for Education to work on creating a culturally responsive framework and then introducing it to teachers.  At this stage the position is four days a week for Terms 2 and 3, starting next week.  He will retain his 0.2 AET (Aboriginal Education Teacher) role with us at BHS so we will still see him each Monday.  We are currently working on a solution to replace him and will get this information out as soon as possible.

Communication

Communication is one of the key pillars of success in schooling and it needs to be continual between students, families and teachers.  There are often times parents have questions about their student’s education or there’s a need to share information or contact us with a concern.  I encourage parents to contact teachers directly via Daymap or phone the school on 8862 0600 and leave a message for them to call you back when this need arises.  Some teacher emails were provided in welcome letters at the start of the year, however, other email addresses can be obtained by contacting the front office.  For questions regarding individual subjects, parents should initially contact the subject teacher; the Homegroup teacher should be contacted for broader concerns or absence information and parents should contact a member of the leadership team for more significant issues or if you need further follow up.  Another great form of communication is through social media and I remind all students and their families to like us on Facebook to keep up-to-date with school events and information.  Skoolbag is also an important communication tool to be used to stay up to date with bus information and I encourage families with students who catch a bus to download this app too.

As always, I am available to speak to parents about any issues or concerns or to discuss any aspect of their 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

It was a pleasure to finish Term 1 with our Middle School and whole School Assemblies to congratulate students achieving the PRIDE Awards, School Value Awards and High Achiever Awards.  

Our school values, (PRIDE - P = Positive Relationships, R = Respect, I = Integrity, D = Dedication, E = Excellence), set out our expectations of all members in this school community, including the principal, all school staff, parents/guardians, students and visitors. It respects the diversity of individuals in our school community and addresses the shared responsibilities of all members in building a safe and respectful school community. Students displaying these values will continue to be recognised and awarded with an individual Value Award presented at the end of term assembly and/or with our school PRIDE point system. 

Middle School Value Award Winners 

PRIDE Certificates 

Certificates of Achievement are presented to students to acknowledge their academic success at the end of each term. Middle School students who received the High Achiever Certificates to acknowledge excellence in their overall performance for the Term 1 reporting period were; 

Next term, students will again be awarded as High Achievers and can also be awarded with Improver Certificates, which are awarded to students to acknowledge a significant improvement from the previous reporting period. 

Introducing our new Middle School and Year 10 Structure in 2022 

For many years, research has shown that during the early years of secondary school, students make the least progress and have the highest level of disengagement towards their schooling. With our Year 7s starting in 2022, we thought this was an ideal time to reflect on our current Middle School structure, seeking out our strengths and looking for areas of opportunities that will lead to improvements for student learning and engagement. 

In 2020 our leadership and staff team reviewed the latest research on Teaching Middle Years, focussing our attention on the adolescent years of schooling. Pendergast (2005) states that recent studies have highlighted the importance of encouraging and sustaining young people’s effective engagement with learning, particularly during the ‘middle years of schooling’. Relevant research indicates that insightful and thoughtfully applied educational practices in ‘middle years’, can significantly affect the development of the habit of lifelong learning. The SACE Board is also examining how to help students thrive in life beyond school through educational change and student transformation (see in link below). 

https://www.sace.sa.edu.au/thrive/downloads/SACE_Board_Strategic_Plan_2020-2023.pdf 

To hear from all stakeholders, we held wide consultation processes over the year with staff, parents/guardians, feeder schools and the wider school community. Through listening to all stakeholders, acting upon suggestions and acquiring knowledge from the latest research; together we created a Middle School structure at Balaklava High School that will continue to support our school vision, SACE strategic plan and school motto. 

School Vision 

Through the highest quality teaching and in a caring learning environment, students are inspired and supported to achieve their best so they can thrive in their life beyond school.  

Motto 

Excel today to challenge the future. 

We are extremely excited to begin our new Middle School Structure in 2022 and know we have a strong foundation to continue to inspire and support our students to thrive. 

Year 7 & 8  

HGP teacher for 2 subjects   

Teacher 2 – 2 subjects   

Teacher 3 – 2 subjects   

Teacher 4 – 1 subject   

Year 9  

Only for 2022 and in 2023 it will become Local and Global Perspectives   

(English & HASS)  

YEAR 10  

Some of the changes include: 

1. Integrated subjects – Local & Global Perspectives, Food and Fibre 

Performing Arts at BHS is a perfect example of how well subjects can be integrated into one subject. Middle Years experts are close to unanimous in their support for middle years curriculum designs that move beyond the single-subject approach. In particular curriculum integration has been repeatedly recommended as especially suited to the middle years. Curriculum integration has appeal in the middle years because it holds potential for students to gain a holistic or big picture view of topics under investigation, so it harmonises with real life and avoids artificial divisions between subjects (Beane, 1990, 1997)   

Local and Global Perspectives: Through an interdisciplinary approach Local and Global Perspectives enhances the study of English, History, Geography, Business and Economics and Civics and Citizenship all underpinned by a strong focus on literacy. Students will have the unique opportunity to undertake tasks that combine content, skills and perspectives from a range of these areas of study. These integrated tasks will be undertaken alongside traditional subject specific tasks and skill building activities. This dynamic approach will build our students’ ability to successfully transfer skills from one subject to another, which according to the SACE Board of South Australia, is a key element to a thriving secondary learner. For instance, the ability to express an opinion in a structured and persuasive manner, is important not only in a range of subjects at school but is also a fundamental skill in advocating for one’s rights and being an active citizen of an ever changing local and global community.  

Through Local and Global Perspectives students will gain an awareness of their place in an interconnected world, drawing upon the lessons of the past while building student confidence to tackle the challenges of the present and future. Students will gain an awareness of self as a member of interconnected and overlapping communities and how this influences responses to local and global issues.   

Food and Fibre: In Balaklava High’s Middle School Food and Fibre subject, the combination of Agriculture and Home Economics gives opportunity to strengthen students’ knowledge and understanding of the processes involved in the whole production chain of food and fibre. Students will build strong practical connections between paddock to plate as well as understand the properties of materials through a farm to fabrics learning approach with a focus on local industries including poultry, sheep, horticulture, pigs and dairy. 

2. Studio (SACE credits)  

Students in Year 9 and 10 will choose from a number of different studios offered each year, where they will have the opportunity (in blocks of 3 lessons/per week) to develop the knowledge and skills needed to think critically and creatively to thrive in their life now and beyond school. Areas of learning will extend beyond the content delivered from the Australian Curriculum. 

Elements of a thriving learner include;  

• Lifelong learning 
• Deep understanding and skilful action  
• Ability to transfer learning 
• Agency
• Human connectedness 
• Belonging 

(For further information on each element visit https://www.sace.sa.edu.au/thrive/) 

3. Choice subjects from Year 9 

Students in Years 8 and 9 at BHS currently study a set selection of subjects with no individual choice.  In this new structure, they will now be given the opportunity to choose subjects that they would like to study in more depth in Year 9.  

If you have any questions about the following structure, please feel free to contact Sonia, Carena or myself. 

Sonia.Pringle235@schools.sa.edu.au 

Michelle.Pudney209@schools.sa.edu.au 

Carena.Brookes219@schools.sa.edu.au 

Michelle Pudney 

Middle School Assistant Principal 

At the end of last term the Spec Ops class was informed about the value of volunteers within our community and how in the time of need they are there to help us without hesitation.

Two groups were invited onto site, St John Ambulance and the Country Fire Service (CFS). Ex BHS Maths teacher, Allan Chivell, who now volunteers with St John Ambulance was the first to present. He was supported by student Amber Barden who is also a St John volunteer. Allan told the students all about his role and how he has to help people in need of medical assistance. He was also able to bring along an ambulance and showed students all the vital equipment it has to carry and how certain items worked.

The next group to talk was the CFS and their visit was arranged by our SSO Jules Brewster. We were lucky enough to have six members of the CFS come along, Ryan Crawford (Balaklava - Captain), Amanda Vanree (Owen), Sam Crawford and Jerry Nicholson (Balaklava), along with Jules who is the Group Cadet Coordinator for Wakefield Plains and our student Nathan Higgs, who is a cadet at Hamley Bridge. Ryan gave a demonstration of the use of breathing apparatus (BA) and the others spoke about their different role. Afterwards, everyone went outside to look over the new Balaklava Fire Truck. All the equipment was fully explained to the students and finally everyone had the opportunity to spray a fire hose.

At the end of the session all the students had a far greater knowledge of the value of volunteers and two have since signed up as cadets! We are so grateful to everyone who gave up their time to come and see us and send them a huge THANK YOU.

 Allan talks about his role to the class

The use of an ambulance gurney is explained to the students

Allan explains the use of an Automated External Defibrillator (AED)

Ryan wearing his BA, has Jules explain its function

 Nathan allows fellow students to ‘check out’ his uniform

Sam and Jules look on as Tyson puts out a ‘fire’

 Spec Ops with the CFS volunteers

Darryl Cott

On Thursday 29^th April, 17 students travelled to UniSA Mawson Lakes to meet with a team of professors to start learning how we can convert a Polaris Electric Vehicle into a Solar Car to enter into the Bridgestone Solar Car Challenge in future years. These initial students have shown their enthusiasm to learn about the event to be able to collaboratively lead this project across their time in High School.

Professor Peter Majewski of the UniSA Future Industries institute, greeted us with the UniSA marketing team and took us on a tour of UniSA where we learnt about uni life and had an introduction to solar cars. We were surprised to learn that the first solar car was invented in 1955 and the first electric car was invented in the late 1880s!

Ass Professor Peter Pudney, Technical Committee Chair of the Bridgestone Solar Car Challenge,  spoke about all the different classes of competition within the event and described in detail the physics behind the winning cars. Students were very interested in how the car designs have changed drastically over the past 30 years including more efficient solar panels, change in aerodynamic designs, development in battery technology and the changes in rules in line with the progression in science.

After lunch, we learnt about how UniSA have approached the Solar Car project and how the project reaches many teams beyond engineering, including design, marketing, business and more. We then were able to sit in the UniSA solar car and take our photo on the Guinness Book of Records longest bike!

We have returned excited to continue this project and are eager to get started and build our student and staff team across different learning areas.

Staff will be meeting soon to share information we have learnt and UniSA representatives will be visiting later this term for further collaboration.

For more information please come to Open Night on Wednesday 19^th May.

STUDENT EXCHANGE

Free Student Exchange LIVE Online Information Session
For Balaklava High School Students
Early Bird Discount Deadline Extended
for Late 2021 - Early 2022 Programs

We are currently accepting applications to New Zealand (from South Australia & Queensland) for short, semester & year programs departing in July 2021. Completed application forms are due by 31st May 2021.

We have recently extended our early bird discount deadline for programs departing between October 2021 and March 2022 closing on Monday 31st May 2021. We would like to invite your students and families to a FREE LIVE Online information sessions being held over the next couple of months:

• Tuesday, 11 May at 5.30pm (AEST) Sydney Time
• Wednesday, 9 June at 7.30pm (AEST) Sydney Time
• Thursday, 24 June at 5.30pm (AEST) Sydney Time

The LIVE Online session gives students and families the opportunity to learn more about becoming an exchange student and the options that are available for programs departing in the future. 

Register now

Visit studentexchange.org.au/info-sessions/​
or call 1300 135 331 for more information

SOUTHERN CROSS CULTURAL EXCHANGE

Experience the most diverse, green and stunning landscapes by embarking on a student exchange program to our neighbour, New Zealand.

If you want to “cross the ditch” to our closest overseas destination for your student exchange program in New Zealand, be ready for a healthy dose of outdoor recreation amongst panoramic open spaces and head-turning natural wonders, all offered in a wonderfully safe learning environment.  

New Zealand –  Aotearoa, in Maori – is a land of snow-capped alps, fabulous fjords, glacial lakes, unspoiled beaches and lush rainforests.  The exchange student who journeys across can expect to experience all that this amazing country and its down-to-earth people have to offer.  

The New Zealanders’ way of life, the wealth of their Maori culture, their lively arts scene, and of course their passion for their national sport are just some of the wonderful experiences to look forward to.  Even though there are plenty of bubbling mud pools, hot springs, geysers and geothermal activity in the North Island, it also boasts some of the most pristine beaches around (not to mention a must-do visit to the Hobbiton Movie set)!  The South Island offers wide open landscapes, glaciers, ski fields, the stunning Milford Sound and more. 

New Zealand has it all – proving you don’t have to travel too far to experience a new culture and an amazing new world!

If you wish to apply, act quickly as the program deadline is 31st May 2021. You can apply online now.
Australian students APPLY HERE.
Applications open for programs departing in July 2021

Our Web is www.thisisscce.com

For young people who are passionate about motorsport and wish to compete in motorsport events.

The Tarmac Junior Development Program is designed to teach and upskill young people in driving and safety techniques for motorsport competition.

Run over 4 days, the students who successfully complete the program are better equipped to compete in a professional and consistent manner in the increasingly complex world of motorsport.

The Tarmac Junior Development Program is open to anyone who is eligible to hold a Motorsport Australia Junior Speed licence (14 to 17 years old).

Previous driving experience is not essential but it is definitely an advantage. However, we are looking for any young people who are passionate about motorsport and wish to compete in motorsport events.