Yesterday was the last day of scheduled lessons for our Year 12 students and today we held a formal farewell assembly to wish them well as they complete final assessment tasks and/or prepare for exams and embark on the next exciting steps of life beyond the school gates.  Parents of Year 12 students will have received information about the upcoming celebrations of the graduating dinner and Presentation Night and we look forward to each of these events.

Staffing

This term we have welcomed Ms Mercy Edeh to our school to teach the Maths and Science classes that Mrs Alana Sharman had before going on maternity leave, as well as one of Miss Amber Buick’s classes and homegroup now that she is the Mathematics/Numeracy Coordinator for the next 12 months.

Student Free Day

At our last meeting for Term 3, Governing Council approved our final Student Free Day for 2022.  This will occur on Friday 2nd December (Week 7 Term 4).  On this day will look at literacy, data and differentiation as well as possibly reviewing the Year 7 programs that we ran for the first time this year.

Centenary Celebrations

What an amazing weekend of celebrations we just had!  This year we are celebrating 100 years of public education at Balaklava High School, which culminated in three days of celebrations over the past weekend.  I would like to acknowledge Cherie Cmrlec, Joy Maxwell, Marcia Nowlan, Nancy Harrington, Suryia Umapathysivam, Amber Buick, Sue Pratt, Karyn Von-Zieden, Trish Langdon and Colleen Lowe for their hard work over the past year in organising all of these events.  They have put in a monumental amount of effort to stage such an event and I thank them all for that.  The weekend was nearly perfect!

Friday 21st October – Art Exhibition at the Balaklava Courthouse Gallery

On the Friday evening we had the official opening of an exhibition of artwork supplied by current and past staff and students, with approximately 40 people in attendance.  The exhibition was comprised of 48 works of art with contributions from 9 teachers (including 2 current staff members) and 12 students.  The longest serving teachers represented were Wally Radowicz who was at BHS for 31 years, Meredith Mayr (21 years) and Stuart Hoerisch and Chris Shepley (10 years each).  Natalie Ziedas (nee Secomb) was the ‘oldest’ contributing student who attended BHS from 1979 – 1983 and the most recent student contribution was from Matt Mojares who completed school in 2021.  Specific thanks to Karyn Von-Zieden, Nancy Harrington and Cherie Cmrlec for putting this exhibition together.

Saturday 22nd October – Gala Dinner at the Town Hall

Tickets for this event went on sale at 9am and were sold out by lunchtime the same day so we knew we had some very keen alumni to help us celebrate.  With 180 tickets sold, the Town Hall was filled with attendees telling tall tales, travelling down memory lane and rekindling friendships of the past.  Current Head Students Kayleigh Parker and Leyla Jacobson were very capable MCs who kept us all on track during the night and there were various entertainment pieces on offer starting with the Balaklava High School Choir who performed the world premiere of We See It All.  This piece, commissioned specifically for the centenary, was composed by local South Australian Music teacher Annie Kwok, with words by the students of Balaklava High School. This performance was a celebration of the past and present with the choir conducted by current Music teacher, Miss Suriya Umapathysivam and accompanied by legendary BHS Music teacher of the past, Mrs Di Spence.  Mrs Spence returned later in the evening to accompany old scholar, Tahlia Murphy (nee Rees) who gave a magical performance of the piece Goodbye by Francesco Sartori and Lucio Quarantotto.  Current Year 12 student Ella Taylor also entertained the audience with her performance of Nothing from A Chorus Line.  The longevity and success of the Balaklava High School music program was highly evident on the night.

During the evening we also had two panels of former staff and students that were moderated by current Governing Council Chairperson and old scholar, Andrew Parker.  I would like to thank old scholars Robert Hore, Leanne Keech and Lachlan Gaze, as well as former staff members Alan Shepley, Sue Pratt and Sally Cowan who shared their experiences of their times at Balaklava High School.  The Principal’s address shared some history of the school, some interesting anecdotes and also reminded attendees of some of the joys of schooling such as potentially receiving the cane.  People were encouraged to think about teachers who made an impact on their lives, old friends who are no longer with us and, not that the group needed any encouragement, to spend time sharing memories of their schooling years.  One of the highlights of the evening was an impromptu rendition of the school war cry led by old scholars Deb Coffey and Rob Shepherd.

Sunday 23rd October – Open Day at the school

The rain started falling in the early hours of Sunday morning (the school’s weather station had recorded 43mm by 8am) and we were concerned that it would keep old scholars away, however we need not have worried as BHS alumni are made of strong stuff and we had well over 300 people attend this event.  The rain did slow late morning and didn’t reappear until after our doors had closed in the afternoon so we were thankful for that.

On this day the school facilities were open for people to tour and have a look at how the school has changed over the past century.  There were many stories shared on the day and people were amazed at the educational opportunities our students now have.  The official welcome was held in the school gymnasium which included our Choir again singing We See It All and some of the history of the school before everyone in attendance sang Happy Birthday to BHS and former Principal, Dick Arnold, cut a celebratory birthday cake.  Photos of staff and students were taken in the decades in which they first started at BHS and copies of these will be available shortly.  Details on how to order them will appear on our website soon.

Thank you to all of the old scholars, former staff members and other interested people who joined us at any of the celebratory events over the weekend.  Without all of you, none of these events would have succeeded.  The number of people present was evidence of the power of Balaklava High School and the deep connection and affection people have for this place.

As always, I am available to speak to parents about any issues or concerns or 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

From the 22^nd to the 29^th of September, nine students and two teachers spent 8 days trekking through the Flinders Ranges. The trip was tough with many obstacles and challenges to overcome, but it really was the experience of a lifetime. Carrying everything in our packs, we walked to each of our camp sites every day in conditions ranging from scorching sun to cold wind. The days were mostly filled with walking with small breaks and activities in between. Over the 8 days we climbed two mountains, Mt Rose (800m tall) and Yudlamora (600m tall), as well as many large hills. We walked through creek beds (which almost broke everyone’s ankles) and even got the opportunity to do some abseiling and go on the only ‘Via Ferrata’ in SA. Once we  reached our camp sites each night we assigned ourselves jobs such as starting the fire, boiling water, setting up our hootchies (tarps we slept under) and cooking dinner. Dinner most commonly came in a can, which we heated up over the fire. The best dinner we had was definitely the spaghetti bolognaise. Lunch was usually crackers, cheese (that was only 70% cheese and 30% a surprise), biscuits, fruit cake that no one would touch besides from Mr Noack and sometimes we had Nutella that would somehow make it to our hootchies at night.

Overall, the experience was amazing, taught us many life skills and was filled with lots of fun, excitement, quotes, laughs, friendly arguments and humongous spiders. Special thanks to Mr Cmrlec for driving the bus for us.

Written by Irish Pagadut and Madison Litzow

Operation Flinders Team 2022: Irish Pagadut, Madison Litzow, Jack Tiller, Ryan March, Maylea Carpenter, Emily Gibson, Michael Myers, Bella Pratt, Althea Podiotan, Mr. Noack and Miss Schubert.

Matthew Brooker applied for a scholarship through Earthwatch Australia and the George Alexander Fellowship to go to Calperum Station for a week long research expedition last holidays after enjoying his work experience at Kangaroo Rescue SA.  Full scholarships were open to all students in Years 10, 11 and 12 with a sense of adventure and burn to contribute to real-world environmental issues.  Throughout the week participants lived and worked in the field alongside Earthwatch scientists, doing hands-on research work like surveying fauna and flora, and monitoring carbon and water. As well as contributing directly to conservation research, participants increased their environmental and scientific acumen, learnT about careers and future pathways, and maDe friends with other action-oriented students.

Matthew applied and was successful.  This is his story with some of his photos.

I have an interest in Environmental Science and Animals, and after the school advertised for applications for the George Alexander Fellowship Scholarship, with Earthwatch Australia, where you go on a week long expedition with scientists, I applied.

There were 1300 students who applied, and I was one of 13 students accepted for an expedition to Calperum Station up in Renmark.  The expedition was to research the Ecosystems of the Murray River & Mallee, learning about the vegetation and animals and how to maintain the ecosystem between them.  We left on 2 October and returned on 8 October.

We worked with scientists Dr Peter Cale, Caitlyn Polack and Dr Heather Neilly.  We stayed at the station overnight, but during the day, we worked out in the field where we tracked lizards, frogs, echidnas, possums, and the Murray Mallee Fowl, which is a rare bird, and we found a recent nest of this bird.  The Murray Mallee Fowl is listed as a Vulnerable Species on the endangered list.

We also tracked the vegetation in the area, to see how quickly it is growing. We caught animals in the traps that were set up, marked the animal, and then released it. What I found most enjoyable was tracking and locating animals.

Matt BROOKER, Year 10

As the year starts winding up, we are looking to start selling remaining produce and stock.

Currently available for purchase:

Pork (frozen) $10/kg:

•  Large Chops, 3 pkts        $12, $11, $15
• Pork Belly  $30
• Sml Leg Roast  $18
• Lrg Leg Roast  $42

Chicken (frozen) $8/kg

• 8 available ranging in size from 2 to 3kg

Dressed Lamb Half or whole   $10/kg

As always eggs are available through the Community Library for $4 per carton. The number of cartons available will start to decrease as our layers are sold off.

There has been a lot of interest in Alpaca Shearing. The date has yet to be set. I will advertise when the date has been confirmed.

If you are interested in purchasing any stock or produce, please contact me on 0408 812 850 or colleen.lowe667@schools.sa.edu.au