What a wonderful day we had last Thursday when we gathered as a broader school community to celebrate our annual Athletics Carnival.  The oval looked excellent, the weather was near to perfect and the students’ sportsmanship and participation was outstanding.  Congratulations must go to Walter House who claimed both the School Spirit Shield and the Overall Championship Cup but all teams are to be commended on their involvement on the day.  I would also like to acknowledge the work of Miss Alison Schahinger and her team of helpers for the organisation of the day and preparation of the sports field.  None of us really know the hours of work that go on behind the scenes to ensure the successful running of an event such as this.  There is a full report on the day later in this newsletter.

Governing Council AGM

On Wednesday 2^nd March 2022 we held our annual Governing Council AGM, in an online format for the first time.  It was quite successful but meeting face to face is definitely a superior option!  I would like to thank the parents and caregivers who joined us at this meeting, especially those who nominated for, or continued on, Governing Council.  I would also like to acknowledge Catherine Karklins and Ruth Stevens for their outstanding work over many years and thank them for their service to the school community during this time.

The following people have accepted roles on this year’s Governing Council:

I thank the new Governing Council for taking this important opportunity to be more involved in their children’s education and for supporting the school community.  I look forward to another productive and successful year working with them.

At the AGM I presented the 2021 Annual Report, which details the achievement of our last academic year.  If you would like a copy of this report, please contact us at the school and we can organise for a hard copy to be sent home or you can access it on our website.

Student Free and School Closure Days

At the AGM the Governing Council approved the following Student Free and School Closure Days.  There is one more date still to come, which we are hoping to align with at least some of our feeder schools and I will inform families of this date as soon as it is known.

Student Free Days

Term 2 Week 1 Monday 2nd May (first day of Term 2) Partnership SFD

Term 3 Week 6 Friday 2nd September

School Closure Day

Term 3 Week 7 Monday 5th September – Adelaide Show (BPS, PWPS, OPS, MPS and BHS are all proposing the same day)

We’ll finish the newsletter today with a short ‘Did you know’? quiz.

Mobile Phones

Did you know that mobile phones are banned during the school day at BHS? This means, between 8.30am and 3.15pm, students’ phones need to be switched off and left in their bag.

If students are seen using their phone during the school day, a staff member is able to confiscate it and take it to the Front Office for the student to collect at the end of the day.  If this occurs, a text message will be sent to parents to inform them.  If it occurs again, and each time after that, the phone will need to remain in the Front Office until a parent is able to collect it.  Air Pods should also not be used (as they are only connected to phones that are switched off) and smart watches are only to be used for telling the time.

If parents need to get a message to their child, please contact the front office and we will make sure it is passed on.  We thank all students and their families for their support of this policy.  The full policy can be found on our website.

BHS Centenary

Did you know that this year, BHS is celebrating 100 years of education?  Starting in 2022, Balaklava High School was initially located at the current Balaklava Museum on the corner of May Terrace and Verco Street before moving to its current location a few years later.  There are a number of celebrations planned to acknowledge the centenary including an Art Exhibition at the Courthouse Gallery, a formal dinner at the Balaklava Town Hall and opportunities to tour the school’s spectacular new facilities.  Most of these will occur on the weekend starting Friday 21^st October 2022 but we will get more information to old scholars and former staff members as it becomes available.  Thank you to last year’s Dux, Matt Mojares, who has created this outstanding logo to acknowledge our 100^th Anniversary.

ThankED

Did you know that the Department has a way for families, students and community members to acknowledge the work of amazing staff members who are making a real difference?  Every day, those working in public education shape futures by inspiring children and young people to reach their full potential.  ThankED gives you the chance to celebrate and thank public educators and support staff.

I encourage you to use the link below to acknowledge our teachers, leaders and support staff at www.education.sa.gov.au/ThankED

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

Congratulations to our Scholarship winners:

Year 7:  Annabelle Cay                                                           

  Year 7:  Molly Warnes

Year 8:  Matilda Williamson

Year 8:  Hamish Wildbore

As part of the application process, students were asked to expand on, and give evidence of, particular interests, passions and talents, be they academic, sport, entrepreneurism or otherwise.

Following their application a short list of students were invited for an interview with the Principal and Middle School Assistant Principal.

All students interviewed showed a strong sense of commitment to our school and community and have demonstrated our school values in their classes and in the yard.

We look forward to working with all our scholarship winners, on Student Council and in various roles as our school ambassadors.

Balaklava High School Athletics Carnival

In perfect weather conditions on Thursday the 10^th of March our annual Athletics Carnival was held, one of the highlights on the Term 1 calendar. The oval was a sea of reds, blues, yellows and greens with students and staff getting into the House spirit, the day kicked off with the House Captain warm-up before the first event rotation started at 9 am. Students rotated through the events across the day with high participation numbers in all age groups. Other highlights of the day included the huge participation numbers of the new 13 & Under Age Group, the iconic Wheelie Bin Race, Plains Producer 100m Handicap and the return of the Staff vs House Captains vs Parents relay. Congratulations to Janna Mojares who broke the 16 & Under Girls 1500m record by 6 seconds and to all the 1^st place-getters in the 13 & Under Age Group who have set the records to be beaten in the years to come, the new records can be found below.

The House Spirit Shield was once again won by Walter who went back-to-back and impressed House Spirit Judge Ms Pringle with their House tent set-up, House chant and displays of sportsmanship, well done to their House Captains who encouraged and supported their team. Sasha Branson narrowly won the Plains Producer 100m Handicap Sprint in a tight finish over Janna Mojares by 1 millisecond. Walter House also took out the Championship Cup by 49 points over Ross House. Congratulations to the students and captains of Walter who had strong participation numbers and performances across the events.

Overall, the 2022 Athletics Carnival was a great success with plenty of house spirit, participation, enthusiasm and fun. A big thank you to Chris Nolan our Groundsman for all his hard work and many hours of line marking, problem solving and sprinkler maintenance to ensure the track was in perfect condition. Many thanks also to David Pratt who also contributed to getting the oval prepared and setting up for the big day. Thank you to all the parents and families who came along to support their children it was great to see so many in attendance. Thank you to Balaklava Primary School for bringing your classes over to spectate and see what a high school athletics carnival is like. A huge thank you to all staff taking on official roles to ensure the day ran smoothly and in particular the HPE team consisting of Mr Parsons, Mr Jenner, Mr Noack and Mrs Hadley for their efforts on the day and in the lead up.

We now turn our attention to the Lower North Interschool Athletics Carnival which will be hosted by Burra Community School on Friday the 25^th of March. Information will be sent home shortly with the students selected in the team.

2022 Athletics Results

Age Group Winners

House Spirit Shield

Championship Cup

New Records

School Sport SA Individual Golf Championships

The School Sport SA Individual Golf Championship is open to students aged 13-18 with a Golf Australia Handicap, held at The Vines Golf Club, Cnr Reynella and Pine Roads, Happy Valley on Monday 9^th May 2022. The Championships provide students an opportunity to play against some of the best golfers in the state in an 18 hole stroke play or stableford competition. If you would like more information or your child is interested in nominating please get in contact.

Alison Schahinger

Sports Coordinator

Open Boys Cricket

The team had to overcome an early challenge when wet weather struck and moved our game to Balaklava's Ralli Park from Mallala. It was a stunning day for cricket against a competitive Faith Lutheran College team.

Skipper Jacob Battle won the toss and opted to put runs on the board first. 

It was a dramatic start to the innings with a 4 off the very first ball! The innings ebbed and flowed, however there were two clear standouts with bat in hand.

L "Cheesy" Michalanney - 16 (including two massive bombs, just ask him about it)

C Branson – a gritty and well made 13

The team ground our way to 66.

With the ball, another dramatic start with our fearless leader taking a wicket with the very first pill! A monster inswinger got us off to the perfect start.

Top performers with the ball:

T McBride  - 3 wickets

N Veitch - 2 wickets

J Battle - 1 wicket and plenty of chances

Faith passed the score 5 wickets down with 10 overs to spare. 

It was great to see the lads play competitive cricket and most importantly with a positive team spirit. Although the result didn't go our way, there were plenty of chances created in the field and the team can hold their heads high after competing against a school with a strong cricket background.

A big thanks to Emily Curnow for scoring all day, Mr Parsons for driving the bus, Mallala Cricket Club for preparing a pitch in tough conditions and to the Balaklava Community for hosting the match at short notice.

Hudson Noack

Year 8 Visual Art students have been learning about the elements of art such as line, shape, colour, tone, form, texture and space. It has been a fun start to the year experimenting with perspecive in photography and drawing mediums. Students were challenged to represent one element in each letter of their name and show space and form by drawing in one point perspective. 

The elements of art are the building blocks of arts practise and responding. The Year 8s will be focusing on making and describing them this semester. 

On Friday the 4th of March, senior art students welcomed South Australian Artist Alex Beckinsale to teach them how she approaches drawing. Alex acknowledged the anxiety behind ‘letting go’ when it comes to making art. The students started looking at basic forms, then adding in tone to create “representational blobs”. Many Years 10, 11 and 12 students have not used charcoal before, and they were challenged to work with the properties of the medium to create a tonal scale. We started by covering an A2 page in charcoal and erasing our highlights with an eraser and darkening areas for shadows.  

This technique did not start out looking like a portrait, but as they started to add in facial features and other details, the work started to come together with fantastic results. Many of the artworks made during the workshop will be on display at the end of year student exhibition at the Courthouse Gallery. 

Amy Tilbrook

Car Care is now into its third week. Students found that our vehicle needed a new battery and after contacting Schahinger Motors in Hamley Bridge they have generously donated a battery to our team. In Week 5 our Tuesday team made an instructional video on how to jump start a car using jumper cables and a portable jump pack. Our Thursday team was able to learn how to safely jump start a vehicle and install our new battery. The car has also had a full transformation with both teams working so hard to make the car look like new again. The Tuesday team had the challenging task of washing the exterior and the Thursday team had the task of degreasing the engine bay, vacuuming the interior and learnt the ancient art of wax on, wax off. Both groups are working well together and are helping their peers to learn. I have been so impressed with both groups and their eagerness to help each other and to learn new skills.

Again a huge thank you and appreciation to Schahinger Motors at Hamley Bridge and to Jason Sutton at McCracken Ford in Balaklava for their help.

Jamie Banwell

As with previous years, we ask for all M&S Fees to be paid by the first day of Term 2, Monday 2^nd May unless an instalment arrangement has been entered into. Statements will be posted to families by the end of Term 1 detailing any amounts outstanding.

If you are eligible for School Card, applications must be submitted on a yearly basis as this process is not automatic. School Card applications can be completed via the below link or upon request of a paper form.

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

Payments can be made via the following methods:

• QKR! App
• Bank transfer to
  • Balaklava High School
  • BSB 065 000
  • ACC 121 336 96
• Cash or EFTPOS

If you have any questions relating to your child’s school fees, please don’t hesitate to contact our Finance Team.

Peta Solomon – Business Manager                                           Elly Rankin – Finance Officer                      

Peta.Solomon697@schools.sa.edu.au                                            Elly.Rankin592@schools.sa.edu.au

Good luck to Tess Rana and Riley Beckel who have qualified to compete at the Southern Cross Horse Spectacular and the Grand Nationals in Sydney. They will be competing against people from all around Australia and New Zealand. These events will be held at the Sydney International Equestrian Centre. Judging will be based on the horses' ability and the riders'performance.

We wish them all the very best!

Voting will be held from 8am to 6pm in our Industry Pathways Building.

The Student Council will be holding a BBQ near the voting area with drinks and a Sausage Sizzle from 10am - 2pm. Cash only.

The BHS Drama Class are also fundraising with a Bake Sale, with money raised going towards the Butterfly Foundation.

Our students have been invited to take part in the Wellbeing and Engagement Collection survey. The survey will be open in Weeks 8 to 10 of Term 1 (Monday 21 March to Friday 8 April 2022).  

Purpose of the survey 

Young people’s wellbeing is an important part of how they learn at school. The survey seeks students’ views about their wellbeing and their engagement with school. Students in Years 4 to 12 across the state will be invited to participate and the information collected will help the education system and broader community to support young people’s health and wellbeing. 

What is the survey about? 

The survey asks students about their social and emotional wellbeing, school relationships and engagement and learning in school, physical health and wellbeing, and after school activities.  

How will students complete the survey?  

Students will complete the survey in class with their Home Group Teacher and are free to withdraw at any time.  

Will students’ information be kept confidential?  

Students’ personal information and identity will remain anonymous. Survey responses are confidential and no one (including school staff) can use the results to identify individual students.  

Further information about the Department for Education Wellbeing Survey will be sent out to families.  

Senior Health and Wellbeing Leader 

Kimberly Walker 

                              Balaklava Community Library now has a new phone number -  0438 086 006 

NAPLAN Coordinated practice test (CPT)

All schools take part in the NAPLAN coordinated practice test (CPT) on Thursday 24 March at 11.00 am. All Year 7 and Year 9 students will need to bring in headphones, please note that the headphones cannot be wireless.

The purpose of the CPT is to trial the online assessment platform with a large number of users from around Australia. This will provide an opportunity to identify any issues with the online assessment platform that need to be addressed before NAPLAN. It will also avoid unexpected connectivity issues on the first day of NAPLAN testing in May.

Benefits for schools and students participating in practice tests:

• Students gain important familiarity with the test format, functions and tools of the online tests in a test environment. Note that some functionality may be different to what students are used to. For instance, the online calculator has limited functionality. It is very important that students are not surprised by this different functionality on the day of the tests.
• Students experience sitting the online test format before the NAPLAN tests occur in May.
• Opportunity for school staff to become familiar with the functionality of the online assessment platform and to practise the administration of the tests.
• Schools can ensure that Wi-Fi access points provide sufficient coverage for the number of devices in a test session.
• Schools can identify and/or highlight any issues that need to be addressed or any technical aspects within a school that may have changed (eg software upgrades, new test devices).

If you have any questions please contact Michelle Pudney at the school.

We are in desperate need of good quality second hand uniforms, mainly polo tops, shorts and trackpants (navy or grey). If you are having a cleanout please feel free to help replenish our stock.