As you will see throughout this publication, we have had a very busy three weeks since our last newsletter, with a huge variety of learning activities occurring.  Our students have access to high quality learning experiences both in the classroom and beyond and I encourage all of our young people to grasp these opportunities when they arise.

Support Staff Week

This week is Support Staff Week, which provides an opportunity for us to appreciate the people we have in these important roles and highlight what they do.  In case you are wondering what they do, they answer the phones, look after students who are sick, keep our IT running, support students with their learning, keep the finances in order, organise the Science lab, provide support in the library, maintain our grounds to look amazing and a million other things that would take me all day to write!  The short version is, they help do all of the things we need to keep the school running and we genuinely could not function without them.  We are thankful for the high quality operators we have at our school.  I encourage parents and students to thank a member of our support staff when they have a chance to speak to them this week or next.

2024 Staffing Update

Four years ago we changed our leadership structure to having two Assistant Principals instead of a Deputy Principal.  As our school enrolments have continued to climb to well over 400 students now, we are in a position to add a Deputy Principal to this leadership structure.  The key focus areas of this position will be curriculum (what we teach) and pedagogy (how we teach).  This role was advertised across the state and we are now able to announce that Kevin Kelly has been appointed as the successful applicant.  Kev comes to us with years of leadership experience, most recently as the Principal of Oak Valley Anangu School, and we look forward to working with him for the next five years as Deputy Principal.

Kimberly Walker (Wellbeing, Special Options), Ash Parsons (Wellbeing, FLO), Amber Buick (Mathematics, Numeracy) and Hannah Hoepner (English, Literacy) have all had their leadership positions extended into 2024.  We also have two other leadership positions that are advertised and, once the panel process is complete, we will announce the successful applicants.

Louise O'Halloran (Home Ec), Amy Tilbrook (Art, Design) and Hudson Noack (HPE, Maths, Science) have all been made permanent teachers at BHS.  We currently have three other teacher positions advertised for Special Options, Agriculture and Chemistry/Science and we will also announce them as soon as we are able to.

As the days become a bit longer and the weather finally warms up, I encourage families to take some time to do something together and enjoy this time of year.  A number of our students have played their last games of winter sport but I wish all teams in finals the best of luck and hope your persistence and training pays off.

As always, I invite parents to contact me at the school 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

The 27^th Balaklava Eisteddfod was held this year on the 4^th and 5^th of August and it was back to a full program! 

We last participated in the corral section in the non-competitive vocal workshop back in 2019. This year we decided to throw our hat in the ring for the competitive Senior Choral section. For all but one of the choristers in the Balaklava High School Choir this was their first Balaklava Eisteddfod. For our entry, we sang ‘Friend Like Me’ and the centenary celebration commissioned work ‘We See It All’. It was very exciting when adjudicator Jonathon Bligh announced that we had placed third with only a few points between first, second and third. 

Balaklava High School Vocal Ensemble also competed in a highly competitive senior vocal ensemble but, despite a strong performance, we didn’t place. It is safe to say that our students were bitten by the Eisteddfod bug and are already thinking about next year. 

I am very proud of all of the students involved! A huge thank you to the Balaklava Eisteddfod Society organizing committee for all their hard work; it was a very successful two days.

Suri Umapathysivam

Find out what's happening at BHS

Get on board with an Entertainment Membership, create savings for yourself as well as a bonus for BHS. Do yourself a favour, sign up on the link below!

• • https://subscribe.entertainment.com.au/fundraiser/1s61485

The Journalism Studio were able to have a Zoom call last week with journalists Hayley Pearson and Millie Looker from Adelady. They answered many questions for us and shared their experiences in journalism. The students gained a wonderful insight into the world of journalism and possible pathways into a career in journalism. 

Jorja Page: I personally resonated with Millie's side of the story as her description of how she got to her stop in life is very similar to the route I am currently following, which seems intriguing. 

Charlotte Moore: An interesting take away for me was that work experience is the best way to figure out what you actually like. I also liked Hayley's take on the kinds of stories that journalists should write: "The things that make you uncomfortable should be the things you talk about".

Joe Futterleib: Hayley will be going on a trip to Europe to write a story on a cruise ship! 

The Journalism studio appreciate @Adelady take the time out of their day to share their stories with us.  

At Balaklava High School, we are committed to providing a safe and enriching learning environment for our students. As part of our ongoing efforts to ensure that our policies align with our evolving educational landscape, we are informing you of some amendments made to our ICT Policy after consultation with the Governing Council and BHS Staff. 

A summary of the main amendments made to our ICT Policy are below:  

• Outdated Technology Removal: We've removed the NAD (Network Attached Device) section, as it is no longer relevant. 
• Streaming Access with Permission: Students can now use streaming services like Spotify for educational purposes with appropriate permission. 
• AI in Copyright: Our updated policy incorporates Artificial Intelligence (AI) considerations in intellectual property and copyright to address AI-generated content. 
• Repairs and Maintenance: Balaklava High School will handle all device repairs and maintenance to ensure proper functioning and warranty compliance. 
• Wireless Headphones: The use of wireless/Bluetooth headphones is considered a breach of the agreement, aligning with the Department for Education's Mobile Phone Policy. 

Additionally, we would like to remind our school community that attempting to circumvent network security or bypass the proxy server, remains a major breach of the ICT agreement. This includes the use of mobile hotspots on school or personal laptops. 

The updated policy is now in effect and will remain so throughout your child's enrolment. We'll continue to keep you informed about any further policy changes through our school newsletter. 

You can find the latest version of our ICT Policy on our website or in the attached document. We encourage you to review it with your child to ensure they understand the expectations around technology use at our school. 

If you have any questions or concerns about these changes or any other technology related matters, please contact the school. 

Thank you for your continued support in creating a responsible and safe technology environment for our students. 

Amber Buick

Mathematics, Numeracy and STEM Coordinator 

Year 10 Science Futures classes were treated by a visit from Adelaide Uni Palaentology researchers, finishing off their Evolution Science unit very nicely. Our Year 11/12 Biology class experienced a more informal session, hearing our visitors' personal stories into Biology/Palaentology. Introducing their final topics for the year. A very delicious lunch was catered for by our fabulous Year 11 Food and Hospitality class.

11/12 Boys and Girls Basketball State Final

On Friday the 18^th of August the 11/12 Boys and Girls Basketball teams played off in the School Sport SA Division 3 State Finals at the Lights Community and Sports Centre.

The boys competition was split into two pools, with their first round of matches against Heritage College (Oakden), St Martin’s Lutheran (Mount Gambier) and the Australia Science & Mathematics School. The boys had three great wins in their pool matches to finish top and progress to the semi-final against Maitland Lutheran who had finished second in their pool. A match of great teamwork and skill execution saw another strong win by the boys to earn their spot in the grand final against Heritage College, who had also won their semi-final. The boys controlled the game from start to finish to take a 10 point win finishing the day overall winners and taking home a gold medal.

Boys Team (pictured):

Riley Hannaford, Dylan Williams, Jai Thompson, Spencer Gaze, Lachlan Michalanney, Josh Michael, Michael Myers and Mr Jenner (coach)

The girls draw was a round robin competition where we played against Yorke Peninsula, St Martin’s Lutheran, Murray Bridge, Mary Mackillop and Woodville. The girls won 3 out of their 5 matches. Strong wins against Murray Bridge and Mark Mackillop boosted their scoring percentage to secure second place on the ladder and be awarded runners-up. The match against Woodville was a highlight, after being down by as much as 10 points in the first half, the girls rallied together and played with exceptional teamwork and defensive pressure to turn the game around and take the win. The other two games were close matches losing to St Martin’s by 8 points (the overall winners) and Yorke Peninsula by 1 point in the dying seconds of the game.

All students should be proud of the way they represented our school and the manner in which they played, which was noted by the referees and event organisers who commented on their great sportsmanship and respect displayed on and off the court.

Girls Team (pictured):

Back row - Chelsea Michalanney, Nicola Tiller, Georgia Renton, Madison Litzow, Janna Mojares, Mrs Parsons (coach)

Front row - Jenaya White, Gabbi Coudert, Brooke McArdle, Irish Pagadut

11/12 Girls Netball Round 2 Match

The 11/12 Girls Netball team travelled to Tanunda on Thursday the 10^th of August to play Faith Lutheran School in the Round 2 match of the Statewide Netball competition.

After a slow start, the girls settled into the game and controlled the first half, leading by 5 at halftime. A determined Faith team came out firing in the third quarter and outscored us 18-8 to take a 5 goal lead going into the final quarter. The girls fought back showing great determination, capitalizing on turnover ball to level the game in the final seconds at 50-all. Unfortunately, after 6 minutes of overtime, Faith had secured a two goal advantage to win the match. Well done to all 8 girls, they were a pleasure to coach and thanks to our umpire Josh Michael.

Girls Team (pictured):

Back row - Sasha Branson, Nicola Tiller, Alice McArdle, Janna Mojares, Mrs Parsons (coach)

Front row - Brooke McArdle, Kashaya Carpenter, Casey Pratt, Madison Litzow

During Week 3, Thursday and Friday, Ned and I went to the ‘Cultural Innovators, Loud and Proud STEM Aboriginal Learner Congress’. We had two different days to participate in the activities that we were placed into. We were in Group A. The first thing we did on the first day was go to the opening of the Congress to listen to the Welcome to Country, performed by Uncle Moogy. Once the Opening of the Congress was finished all the groups went to the Foyer to get our morning tea. The options we could choose from were muesli bars, pieces of fruit and juice boxes. After we got our morning tea we moved to our first activity. Our activity was Stories in the Stars. We talked about the story of the Birray Birray (three brothers) and the Miyay Miyay (seven sisters). Our second activity was called Launching a VR Spear. We learnt about a woomera (spear launcher) and what the different shapes do and how they affect the throw. Once that activity was done, we had lunch, which was premade for us. For lunch, we had a chicken, lettuce, and tomato wrap. In the box that our lunch came in there also was some banana bread and some cheese and biscuits.

On the morning of the second day we attended a welcome back to Congress. Once that was done we had to grab our morning tea and look for our a guide with our activity number because we were going off-site. For our activity, we walked down to the University of Adelaide and the activity was called Discovering your future in Space and STEM. Our challenge was to build something to help a Mars rover (Sphero robot) out of a crater using resources available in the Space Shop (a table of craft items). My team built a ramp! The tough thing about the challenge was that we had a budget, so we had to be careful about how much we were spending. I was in charge of making the logo and making sure we didn’t go over the budget. Our budget was $500,000 which seems like a lot but the building materials were expensive! Ned was in charge of building the ramp and making sure that it would work. Our team got it on the second try of trying to get it out of the crater. Thank you so much to Miss Schubert for taking us down both days and helping make this possible for Ned and I!

Aliyse Medley  

The Year 7 students have successfully concluded their initial assignment in Visual Arts, marking their introduction to the fundamental elements of art, including line, shape, colour, texture, tone, form, and space.

Their assignment revolved around the exploration of each of these elements, with a specific focus on enhancing their drawing skills with one-point perspective. Notably, a creative twist was added to the task: each letter of their name was required to symbolise a distinct art element.

The incorporation of these foundational elements will play a pivotal role in equipping the students with a more expansive artistic vocabulary. This newfound awareness promises to significantly enrich their ability to engage thoughtfully with various art forms and designs, ultimately fostering a deeper understanding and appreciation of visual art.

Amy Tilbrook

On Wednesday, 30th August from 11:45AM - 12:50PM the Year 9 students will have a presentation from Olympic athlete Nicholas Timmings (event - Skeleton, Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics).

The students will learn from Nicholas Timmings's Olympic journey how to build resilience, the importance of setting goals and how to find what you are passionate about.

Students will hear firsthand from Nicholas Timmings about how they overcame challenges to compete in their chosen sport at the very highest level, and how some lessons they’ve learned in sport can help students to be the best they can be – whether that’s in school, at home, on the sporting field or with friends.

Entries are NOW OPEN for Country to Canberra’s annual Leadership Competition! 

 This is an incredible opportunity inviting young rural women and non-binary people to respond to "Strong communities, stronger future. How do diverse young leaders strengthen rural communities?" for the chance to win an incredible all-expenses-paid trip to Canberra!

 Apply and get all the information you need ahead of entries closing 8th September 2023 here: http://countrytocanberra.com.au/leadership-competition/

ASK (Adults Supporting Kids) is a great digital resource for parents, carers and anyone interested in further support around navigating the difficulties of caring for a young person.

https://adultssupportingkids.com.au/