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World Teacher Day Awards
At the end of October we celebrated World Teachers’ Day which gave us the opportunity to acknowledge our teaching staff; many of whom go above and beyond what might be expected to provide engaging learning programs, activities and experiences that set our students up for success in their lives beyond school. I would like to say thank you to all of our teachers for the work they do each day. On this day, Educators SA also hold their annual World Teachers’ Day Awards at Adelaide Oval and, this year, our Music and Drama teacher, Miss Suriya Umapathysivam received the Early Career Teacher of the Year Award after her nomination by Kodaly SA. We are very proud of her work and the learning opportunities and experiences she provides our young people.
Art Exhibition
On Wednesday 2nd November a large number of parents, staff, students and invited guests attended the opening of our annual Art Exhibition at the Balaklava Courthouse Gallery. This event showcased our students’ work in the fields of Visual Art, Design and Creative Arts, curated by our Art and Design teacher, Mrs Amy Tilbrook. I would like to acknowledge Amy’s passion for the Arts, for her desire to see our students succeed and her hard work in bringing this exhibition to life. Thanks also to Cherie Cmrlec for her behind the scenes efforts to organise the opening night. You can read more about the exhibition later in this newsletter and, if you have the chance, I encourage you to visit the Gallery and see the quality student work on display.
Vaping
Unfortunately the increasing use of vapes in society has crept into the schoolyard and is becoming an ongoing concern for us at BHS. Young people might be choosing to vape thinking it is a safer option than cigarettes, however, as you can see from the information below from The Cancer Council of SA, they are not a safe choice.
Vapes, e-cigarettes, or electronic cigarettes, are battery operated devices that heat a liquid to produce a vapour that users inhale. They are designed to deliver nicotine and/or other chemicals via an aerosol vapour directly to your lungs.
Some e-cigarettes look like traditional cigarettes, however, many look like everyday items such as pens, USB memory sticks and larger cylindrical or rectangular devices. Some e-cigarettes and e-liquids contain nicotine while others do not. The sale of e-cigarettes to minors under the age of 18 is banned.
E-cigarettes are not considered a ‘safe’ product to use. Many people incorrectly believe that e-cigarettes only produce flavoured water vapour, however, the following health risks associated with e-cigarette use have already been identified:
- E-cigarette use has been associated with seizures amongst teenagers and young adults
- They may expose users and bystanders to a range of chemicals and toxins that cause adverse health effects and may increase the risk of developing cardiovascular, cancer and respiratory diseases. Ingredients include chemicals found in cleaning products, nail polish remover, weed killer and insecticides. These harmful ingredients are not commonly listed on the product
- E-cigarettes sold in Australia have been found to be labelled incorrectly and may contain nicotine, even when they claim on the packaging that no nicotine is present. Nicotine is a highly addictive chemical, and one e-cigarette can contain as much nicotine as 50 cigarettes
- There is emerging evidence that vaping nicotine increases blood pressure, heart rate and arterial stiffness. This could potentially increase the risk of developing cardiovascular disease
- E-cigarette products can cause accidental and intentional nicotine poisoning (including deaths). Young children are particularly vulnerable to nicotine poisoning which can occur when they are exposed through uncapped vials, sucking on the mouthpiece, inhaling or drinking the e-liquid, eating the cartridge or having liquid splashed in the eye. Just one millilitre can be fatal if ingested by a child
- Known carcinogens have been found in e-cigarette aerosols, although the extent to which e-cigarette use increases the risk of cancer remains unknown.
Student Free Day
Our final Student Free Day for the year will be on Friday 2nd December (Week 7) when we 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.
I am excited for all of the 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
Remembrance Day
This year Balaklava High School commemorated Remembrance on two fronts. A school assembly was held in the gym, with Maylea Carpenter and Tess Rana leading the service. The service included our guest speaker Geoff Needham, a returned serviceman who is very active in his local RSL in Canungra, Queensland. Mr Needham gave some local history, with the story of ‘Brave Bob’ from Wasleys and was able to relate Bob’s story to acts of friendship and remembering those who had died bravely, helping their mates. A minute's silence was held and a small number of the school vocal group did a fantastic job leading the rest of the school in the hymn ‘Abide by Me’ and the National Anthem.
Members of the school community were also involved in the service held at the war memorial at the triangle. Alex Evans did an amazing job representing the school, playing the last post and the reveille on the trumpet. Alice McArdle represented the Student Council by laying a wreath on behalf of Balaklava High School as well as a performance by some members of the school vocal group. Thank you to everyone involved in the organisation of these events, it was a lovely way to acknowledge the service and sacrifice of those who died in order to protect our way of life.
Colleen Lowe
Science/Math/Agriculture Teacher
Student Engagement Coordinator
On the 2nd of November Balaklava High School opened the annual student exhibition at the Balaklava Courthouse Gallery. The exhibition boasts over 120 artworks from students in Years 7-12. These artworks covered many areas of art and design including painting, drawing, printmaking, sculpture and digital mediums. While the main purpose of the exhibition is to celebrate the achievements of the graduating Year 12 students, the senior students make up a small part of the exhibition, and their works prove to be an inspiration for younger students. This year students were acknowledged for their efforts with prizes of art materials.
The prize winners were:
- Encouragement Winner (Year 7 student): "A girl at the park with her dog" by Holly Baumann
- Junior Runner Up (Student Years 7-9): "Harley Quinn" by Miabella Koenig
- Junior Winner (Student Years 7-9): Clock Design by Denise Nellas
- Senior Runner Up (Student Years 10-12): "Untitled photography series" by Emily Curnow
- Senior Winner (Student Years 10-12): "The madness at first sight" by Ashleigh Allen
And announcing the People’s Choice Award (Voted by guests on the night): “Horse" by Abi Futterleib.
The night was a massive success with over 40 guests in attendance throughout the evening, including Mayor Rodney Reid. Catering was provided by Home Economics teacher Sarah Mayer and dedicated Year 10 Home Economics students. A huge thank you to all students who entered their work. It takes time and passion to develop creative ideas and develop skills, but more importantly, it shows courage to put work on display.
The exhibition is open until the 21st of November.
Amy Tilbrook
Art Teacher
Shearing
Last Thursday Jake Michael from Nyowee Poll Merino Stud came in to give our sheep their annual haircut. Students from Mrs Lowe’s Year 10 Ag Class and Merino Wethers Studio, were on hand to learn how to work in a shearing shed, being responsible for collecting and throwing the wool (not as easy as it sounds) and ensuring that the fleeces were cleaned and sorted into different categories. Some students even had a go with the shears and did a great job removing the valuable fleece from the sheep. We also had visitors from the Balaklava Community Children’s Centre and Balaklava Primary School to see how a busy (albeit very small) shearing shed runs. Mr Noack’s Year 7 Ag class also came along for a crack at the shears! A big thank you to Jake for helping out with this very important management task and showing our students all the different aspects of shearing, some fun and some not so much, but all part of the experience.
Once the sheep were finished it was the Alpaca's turn! Alpaca shearing is certainly an experience and a big thank you to the Chapmans for coming in and performing this task. Alpaca shearing is a major production, with the alpacas receiving a toe trim and teeth procedure at the same time. If you live in Balaklava, you may have heard the protests! Again, a very important job and all the alpacas left the shearing shed looking fabulous.
A big thanks to David Pratt, who booked in all the shearing and worked really hard all day getting the shearing done.
Produce
Lambs will be sent off for processing in batches. I will contact you when your order is ready to be collected. I still have approximately two lambs available if there is anyone else still interested. There will also be a variety of cuts of lamb available for purchase for those not wanting to purchase an entire side. Please contact me for more details if this is something you may be interested in.
Hay has been cut, raked and rolled and is really for sale! Please contact me for varieties and prices.
Colleen Lowe
Science/Math/Agriculture Teacher
Student Engagement Coordinator
Creating our technology future, Ingenuity is an interactive showcase of university student projects exploring real-life applications of architecture, engineering, science, technology, computer and mathematical sciences. This term our students explored a variety of university pathways at the Adelaide Convention Centre.
The vet school allowed students to perform CPR on a canine simulator and discuss snake behaviour with a real python. Other students ate some sustainable bugs and saved the environment with efficient concrete production using a competitive software program. Congratulations to Sebastien Hughes for hitting the top 5 leader board against all other schools in the state. From flexible plane wings to robotic moon-hopping kangaroos, there was a diverse field of job opportunities to explore and plenty of university undergraduate and PhD scholars to talk to.
The day concluded with a trip to the Museum of Discovery where students learnt about the importance of password protection, AI facial recognition and our changing climate.
David Szular
Day 1: We got off the bus and settled into our dorms. Our first activity for the day was stand up paddle boarding. We learned how to stand up and when to get up and when to get on your knees and how to do a self-rescue. After we did our stand-up paddle boarding, we did sailing. We got taught how to steer and what way to sail. Then we headed home and washed up for dinner and did not go to bed until 1:30am.
Day 2: We got in trouble for staying up late and had to do pushups and sit ups before breakfast. We had knee boarding first up and we got in a boat to travel to our knee boarding spot. Then we learned how to get up and the safety signals. When I had my turn, I got up and went straight out into the wake and did a 180° and kept going. When we turned around, I tried doing a 360° and fell forward and had to get a ride back to the beach. We showered, had tea and went to bed earlier.
Day 3: On the last day we did sailing by ourselves, and we did ok. Then we did some kayaking for fun, packed up, thanked the instructors and got on the bus and headed home.
Overall, it was a really cool experience, and I would go back there if it were in the summer.
By Rhys McArdle
Day 1: On Monday Week 2 Term 4 we went to Port Vincent. When we got there, we settled into our dorms which were in the old school. The girls got the bigger dorm, and the boys got the smaller dorm. My first activity was paddle boarding. After we finished paddle boarding, we moved onto our next activity which was sailing. For tea we had burgers and cheesecake with ice cream for dessert. After that we played some games, first, we played hide and seek with Ms Pringle, Miss Leonello, Miss D’Alboy and Mrs Hadley. We played 2 rounds. After that we went to bed. Except we did not all the girls were running around and going in and out of the dorms. Eventually we got to sleep at 12.00am.
Day 2: After we were changed Miss Leonello put on the Nutbush, Macarena, Cha Cha Slide and Chicken Dance songs and Madalyn, Bliss, Miss Leonello and I and others did the dances. At 9.30am we had our first activity for the day and mine was knee boarding with Mr Parsons. Then we did our next activity which was kayaking. We had to kayak off the shore and around the ocean and make a raft. Next, we did paddle boarding again but with Maddi this time. We did Maddi Says which is like Simon Says but with Maddi. After tea we watched a movie which was the War With Grandpa. Then we went to bed.
Day 3: My first activity was knee boarding and we did doubles. The first time I went with Bliss and then the second time I went with Madalyn and the last time I went with Alex. Then we went to our last activity which was kayaking. We kayaked up to the knee boarders and stayed there for a while. After we had our lunch, we were allowed to go to the kiosk. After we finished our food, we got on the bus and headed back to school. We arrived at school at 3pm unpacked our stuff and went home.
By Holly Baumann
Day 1: We left school, went on the bus, and got to camp. We unpacked, got ready and went down to the beach and started the activities. My group had knee boarding first. Only 2 people fell off, I was not one of them. Next, we kayaked and I almost capsized. When all the activities were over, we had some free time to swim. Then we went home and had free time in the yard. After an hour of free time we had burgers for dinner. I dropped my lettuce everywhere. Then we played hide and seek Chasey against the teachers and Murder in the Dark. I hid in a big bush and won every round.
Day 2: We got up, had breakfast, had a little bit of free time, and then got ready. We went down to the beach and my group had stand up paddle boarding. When the knee boarding boat came past I almost capsized. Next, we had sailing and it was really scary. Next, we had double knee boarding and I fell off once and ate the water. When I went with Tayah I went one handed. Then we had kayaking again and Tyler dropped his glasses in the water. After all the activities we had free time swimming again. Then we walked home. For dinner we had pasta salad, potato bake, vegetables, and chicken. We watched The War with Grandpa and ate lollies and popcorn. We all went to bed.
Day 3: We got up, played cricket then had breakfast. We got ready, packed the camp up and headed down to the water. We did stand up paddle boarding and then sailing. When we were sailing everyone got to drive and we saw the seals. They were really fat. Then we went back and had lunch. People went to kiosk and got donuts. We all went on the bus and lots of people slept.
By Isabella Hammond
We stayed at an old school for the morning, which was only 10 minutes away from the beach. After we had breakfast, we got ready in our bathers and started walking to the beach.
Once we got to the beach, we started doing four activities, which were sailing, stand up paddle boarding, knee boarding and kayaking. I haven’t done any of them except kayaking which I have done many times. I was really nervous to do knee boarding but once I did it, I realised it was very fun and I would like to do it again.
We split into 4 groups which allowed me to meet new people and get closer with people in my group who I’ve now started talking to and hanging out with them at school.
We had a couple breaks to eat recess and lunch and after we did our activities we went back to the campgrounds and had a shower and dinner. After dinner we stayed in the hall and played some games and watched a movie. On the second night most of us fell asleep very quickly.
My highlights of the camp were doing all the activities and making closer friendships with people.
By Emily Kirkland
On Monday morning of the 7th of November most of the Year 8s left school on an aquatics camp. We all piled on the bus ready for three days of fun at Port Vincent. The bus left at around 9:30am and we arrived at the camp site at approximately 11:30 am. This allowed us to have enough time to unpack and get ready for our first activities. There were two dorms, one for the girls and one for the boys. There was also a dining hall and toilet block. The campsite was the old Port Vincent School. Once everybody was dressed in their bathers, we walked down to the beach to the the aquatics centre. Because we did not have a full day on the beach, we only did two lessons. My group did knee boarding and kayaking. The water was nice and flat on the first day with warm weather. It was good for knee boarding, but not so good for sailing. When we got back to camp that night, we all had showers which were across the road in the caravan park. At teatime we had burgers which were cooked by the caravan park caterers. We had a quiz night and the teams had to include at least one student from every home group. Mr Mussared ran the quiz having his own singing round. We all eventually felt tired, so we got ready for bed. In the morning we had cereal and toast for breakfast. Again, we all got ready and packed for a full day of aquatic activities. We would do four this day and be on the beach for eight hours, from nine in the morning until five in the evening. My group had sailing and paddle boarding in the morning and then we all stopped for a lunch break. While paddle boarding, we went quite a long way away from the shore. We went all the way over to the spit. It was where the water was very shallow, and you could see the seaweed poking out of the water. On the sailboat it was fun but also quite stressful, there was a lot to do and there was no adult or instructor on the boat with you. It was just me and four of my friends from my group. We had sandwiches and muffins with apples and bananas for lunch. We reapplied our sunscreen and had a drink of water to rehydrate ready for more hot sun. I then did knee boarding and kayaking again with my group. We had time for a few more laps on the knee board this time because we had all learnt the basics. We kayaked for quite a long time and practiced capsizing the kayaks. When we rafted up (which is when we all hold on to each other’s kayaks and form a line) someone would walk across the back of our kayaks and then back again. Sometimes it would rock the kayaks so much that they would nearly tip over. When we got back to the camp, we had showers and got ready for tea, it was roast chicken and veggies. For dessert we had ice cream and cake. Later that night some of us watched a movie, the others played basketball or card games. I think we all got to sleep a lot quicker that night because of the full day on the water.
The next morning, we had to pack up all our clothes and bedding to put it all in the trailer and bus. My group did sailing and paddle boarding again for the last activities. They were both a lot of fun. The wind was good for sailing, but not the best for paddle boarding. We stopped for a break in between the two lessons and had a small snack to recharge our energy. We had time to go to the kiosk at the end of all the water activities. Some people bought chips. We tried to catch a seagull with a person in a hole in the sand and a towel over the top of them. We nearly caught one put it flew away too quickly. We all had a group photo and then all piled back into the bus for the trip home. It felt a lot shorter than the way there because I think we were all eager to get home and get some proper sleep (but not so keen for the schoolwork for the next few days).
By Beatrice Marshman
Year 8 camp was an awesome experience. As soon as we got there, we headed down to the beach. I really enjoyed the water activities, with knee boarding and stand-up paddle boarding being my favourites. On the first day, my activities were sailing and knee boarding. We had a safety talk, and then split into our different groups. We put on our PFDs (Personal Flotation Devices) and a helmet. Then we learnt about the different parts of the boat and were out on the water. The weather was calm and sunny, we were very lucky. After this it was time for knee boarding, we headed out on a boat to another part of the bay. Knee boarding was amazing fun. We were all tired and hungry on the way back, but excited for tomorrow. The next day, I tried kayaking, it was difficult to steer. Paddle boarding was a challenge, and I discovered I wasn’t very good at standing up on it! I fell off 8 times! Overall, I had a great time being in the water, making new friends and spending time with the other Year 8s.
By Melanie Cavanagh
In Week 4 we went to camp at Port Vincent. The weather was very good for the first two days, but the last day was a bit windy. We did many activities but my favourite was either sailing or knee boarding. The food wasn’t too bad, but we were able to use our money in the Kiosk on the last day. It was a lot of fun.
By Angus Lemon
We are pleased to announce that the Department for Education is implementing a school-based mental health service for students at Balaklava High School. This service will start during Term 4, 2022 and adds extra mental health supports to our school.
The service is being piloted in selected schools this year. School Mental Health Practitioners will provide an early intervention mental health service, supporting students with emerging and mild-moderate mental health concerns. The service will be flexible depending on the needs of our students.
What does this mean?
Students will have access to services like one-on-one assessment of their concerns, mental health support and intervention, help with triaging and referral to external services and support for those who are returning to school after mental health treatments. You can also find our more information on the Department for Education website.
To learn more about our school mental health service pilot, please call Lucy Thiel at the school or email her lucy.thiel800@schools.sa.edu.au
