I would like to welcome everyone back for Term 3 and I trust you all had a safe and relaxing holiday break.  I was very excited to return to the school myself this week after having the last half of last term off.  I would like to sincerely thank Michelle Pudney who was Acting Principal during my absence, Lucy Thiel who returned early from maternity leave to replace Michelle as Acting Middle School Assistant Principal and the other members of the leadership team who backed each other up during this time.  I could confidently leave the school knowing it was very safe in the hands of others.

Lucy has now returned to her role as Senior Leader Wellbeing 3 days a week and Kimberly Walker will remain in this role for the other 2 days.  Kimberly will be here full time, having picked up a teaching load in the remainder of her time.  With Lucy, Kimberly, Kym Spartley, Ash Parsons and Neil Richards, our wellbeing team has never looked stronger and they are available to speak to your child to offer support with their wellbeing when required.

Students have settled back into school routines well this term and it’s been lovely to see their smiling faces in the yard – it’s been an interesting start to the year, trying to learn names whilst only seeing students’ eyes and not their whole faces!  That said, whilst the wearing of masks in schools is not currently mandatory, it is strongly recommended, and we encourage students to wear them whilst indoors.  We have a large supply of masks at school and can provide new ones to students each day.

Reports

For a number of years now, we have used continuous reporting at BHS with feedback on individual student assignments on Daymap throughout the term, which means students in Years 7-11 receive a summary report at the end of each term without comments.  If your child is not receiving this feedback on assignments, feel free to contact the subject teacher in the first instance or a member of the leadership team if it is a repeated concern.  Students in Year 12 receive a full written report in Terms 1-3.

All student reports can be accessed through the Parent Portal of Daymap by going into the student's profile and opening the 'Report' tab on the left column. Students can also access their own reports on Daymap by clicking on 'My Portfolio' and then 'Reports'. The reports are in a pdf format, which can easily be printed if a hard copy is required.  Please contact us at the school if you would like to arrange for a hard copy to be sent home.

A couple of reminders…

• School Uniform – thank you to students who consistently wear appropriate school uniform. A list of approved uniform items can be found on our website.  If meeting our uniform expectations is a concern for families, please contact a member of the Leadership team to discuss how we can support your child to show school pride
• Sickness – thank you to families who are keeping their children home and staying away themselves if they are unwell. Please remember to get a PCR or RAT if your child is unwell and to report to the school if they test positive to COVID-19 so we can keep families informed of positive cases.

I trust all of our students will have an excellent term of learning and that they actively participate in all of the outstanding learning and extra-curricular activities Balaklava High School has to offer.

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

In the last 3 lessons of Term 2 the Year 12 Home Groups took on the task of cooking for themselves. They chose three dishes from about 6 which had been suggested by the whole group. Miss Mayer found the recipes, booked Home Ec and ordered the supplies. They chose Fried Rice, Spaghetti Bolognese and Omelets. Some very interesting additions were made to some dishes---Jacob! Biz was very versatile even with a broken thumb and Ella was the cleanup guru!

A great time was had by all! They won’t starve as they start their new life away from school and maybe home next year!

Mrs Cowan

While many students were taking the time to relax during the holidays, some students from the Stage 2 Food and Hospitality class attended Cake Master Classes at school to complete their Celebration Cakes ahead of time.

During the first session, students baked their cakes and begun learning cake decorating techniques such as pipping, making butter cream, rice paper sails, moulding fondant and extra tips and tricks to make the perfect cake. The second session challenged students to decorate their cakes, using current trends and techniques. Students demonstrated patience and dedication to complete their beautiful cakes. These students definitely have amazing talent!

Miss Mayer

The first semester of Car Care came to an end last term and I just wanted to thank all who have supported the program to help to get it off the ground. Without the donations and help from the community, the students would not have been able to learn all they have.

Huge thanks to:

Schahinger Motors in Hamley Bridge, Jack Rau from Connected Self, Jason and the team from McCracken Ford, Mrs Lowe, Mrs Pudney, Mr Noack, Chris Nolan and Ms Walker.

A special mention to Mr Malcolm Hunter who donated his VY Commodore.

Thanks again,

Jamie

Pigs

On Monday of Week 2, Mr Noack's Year 9 Ag class welcomed George, Lil Pigga, Babe, Wombat, Chocolate and Joel to the school farm. 

The Year 9 students will be responsible for feeding, weighing and regularly checking on the welfare of the pigs. A big thank you to Geoff Cavanagh for setting them up and for sharing his knowledge.

Australian Conservation Guest Speaker

Mr Noack's Year 7 Science class were treated to an engaging presentation by Sam Kretschmer from The University of Adelaide. Sam shared his volunteer experience and rich conservation knowledge with the students. The class gained an insight into the destructive impact of invasive species as well as learning some practical strategies to protect our local environment.

Feeling the pinch with the rising cost of living?

Our school farm is producing meat at a fraction of the cost!

Whole chickens                 $8/kg

Various cuts of pork        $10/kg

Email or phone Colleen Lowe to place your order!

Colleen.lowe667@schools.sa.edu.au

0408 812 850

Either Mrs Manuel was hungry or she forgot what subject she teaches! Regardless, Year 7 and 8 students have had fun lately applying their science knowledge in the Home Ec centre. Year 7s made meringues as part of their learning about Resources. To science it up, each group added a "special ingredient" to their meringues and then found some guinea pigs to test them out on, aka Mr Szular and Sasha Branson. The class also tasted all versions and ranked them qualitatively. Chilli was the least favourite and peppermint the most popular.

Meanwhile, it's been getting hot in Year 8 Science as students study Heat. Students started by testing yeast at different temperatures to find out what was the best temperature for rising dough. It was found that 0, 10, 50, 60 and 70 degrees did not allow the yeast to grow. Whereas 20, 30 and 40 degrees all made the bread dough rise, taking over the inside of the incubator! To show another application of heat, students then cooked pizzas. Many thanks to Miss Mayer and Mrs Cowan for the use of the Home Ec centre. Also, parents and caregivers should be most proud of students' kitchen competency, with egg whites and dough both handled with finesse.

This year’s theme is GLASS: More Than Meets the Eye to coincide with the UN International Year of Glass. It will celebrate the many roles that glass plays in our lives – from phone screens to optical fibre to glassware in labs – plus investigating glass as a part of our sustainable future. Next week and the following week, Weeks 3 and 4, students will take part in a range of activities related to glass. It's going to be very classy with all things glassy! A BLAST of GLASS will occur on Thursday, 18 August at lunchtime when students can celebrate Science with glassy fairy floss, stained glass window biscuits, a giant smash experiment and nerf gun knock-em downs. Food and activities will cost a small amount to cover expenses so bring your spare change. Check out this myth buster clip for some more background information about GLASS: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=12OSBJwogFc.

Wellbeing Hub

Check out our new link to the Student Wellbeing Hub via the Balaklava High School website. This resource is extremely useful for not only schools but Parents/Carers and students too. Click on the link down the bottom of the home page and keep up to date with the latest Wellbeing resources and information for young people and families.

Student Wellbeing Hub | Home

Connected Self with Jack Rau

On the first Thursday and Friday of Semester 2, year 7 and 8 students participated in two lessons conducted by our Connected Self Wellbeing Practitioner Jack Rau. These lessons focused on:  

• Being present and grounded 
• Group connectivity
• Positive interactions between peers in their class 
• Self and group reflection activities  
• Identifying emotions through self-awareness 

Students engaged extremely well in all lessons and it was a very positive way to kick start Term 3.

Open Boys Football

The Balaklava Show is coming up on Saturday 24th September.

The Show Committee encourage students to enter some sections, from art, photography, cooking, sewing, up-cycle and more.

Grab a copy of the show book for $3 at Balaklava Post Office, Tads, Cutz n Curlz and Nutrien Ag to see what you are able to enter.

The St John Youth Development (Cadet) program teaches basic First Aid skills to children aged 11 to 17 years. 

Beyond First Aid, Cadets learn a range of important life skills that see them develop the tools, confidence and compassion to contribute in a positive way to their community. 

Youth members can also earn Proficiency Badges in various topics and may be awarded SACE points upon completion of some topics.  A number of personal development and leadership opportunities are also available to empower our youth to explore their potential. 

St John focuses on providing a fun, safe and engaging platform for young people to contribute to the community whilst developing key First Aid, life and social skills. 

Mallala Cadet Division meets at Mallala Ambulance Centre on Monday evenings (during school terms) from 4:30pm until 6:00 pm. 

Young people aged 11+ years can enrol via the website at: 

https://www.stjohnsa.com.au/join-us/become-a-volunteer

Contact the Cadet Division Leader, Mrs Patricia Kakoshcke,

on 0429 969 599 for more information.