Another 10 weeks of the school year has flown by and it’s hard to believe that we are at the end of Term 2 already. Again, as I sit here and reflect on the first half of 2024, I can’t help but feel a great PRIDE for everything that we have achieved throughout Semester 1 and look forward to what is installed for the remainder of the year.

These are just some of the happenings that have taken place in a busy Term 2 for our students.   

• Life Education
• Year 8 Drama Performance
• Year 12 Focus Day and Elevate session
• White Card Course
• Knockout Football & Netball
• SAPOL Bullying & Violence Information sessions
• Uni Hub Careers Expo
• Knockout Basketball
• Reconciliation Week
• Change of Semester
• A range of curriculum-based excursions and camps including Lifestyles PE, Geography and Agriculture.

A reminder to our school community that there is an early dismissal tomorrow for the last day of term. The school day will finish on Friday at 2:15pm and the Student Council are holding a Casual Clothes Day with a gold coin donation going to the Cancer Council.

Staffing

I would like to welcome the following staff to Balaklava High School who have taken up contracts for the remainder of the year.

• Welcome to Miss Caitlin Hanson who will be teaching Year 7-10 HPE. Caitlin completed her final university placement with us and we are thrilled to have her back at BHS.
• An official welcome to teaching to Mr Lachlan Strudwicke. Lachlan has been a regular TRT at BHS in Term 2 and has also supported our Tech and Art classes. He will be teaching Year 8-9 Art and Year 8 Digital Technology.

At the end of Semester 1 we farewelled Miss Sophie Chapman who has taken up a contract a little closer to home in Adelaide and at the end of this week we also farewell Mr Brad Westley who has also won a permanent position at another school. I’d like to thank both Sophie and Brad for their time at BHS and wish them luck at their new schools.

Congratulation to Miss Ashleigh Leonello who will step into our Aboriginal Education Teacher (AET) position for the remainder of 2024. 

As communicated through a parent letter at the end of Semester 1, there have also been some changes to Home Group teachers for Semester 2.

• Year 7C (7BLC4)  – Mr Nuwan Prasanna (CL3)
• Year 8A (8GTS1) – Miss Caitlin Hanson & Mrs Deanne Bowden (IP3)
• Year 8B (8MGL1) – Miss Bethany Monserrat & Miss Louise O’Halloran (GL1)
• Year 8C (8LIP4) – Mr Josh LaGrutta & Miss Erica McGiffert (IP4)
• Year 10C (0PGL3) – Mr John Geddie & Mrs Karyn VonZieden (GL3)

Agriculture Committee

BHS extends an invitation to parents and community members to join our Agriculture Committee. The first meeting for our Agriculture Committee will be held in Week 1 Term 3.

The purpose of the committee is to advise the Governing Council about the maintenance of the Agriculture Learning Centre (ALC). 

The committee: 

• makes recommendations about future development and required maintenance of the ALC. 
• encourages and plans for the improvement of the ALC. 
• contributes to discussions regarding budget submissions relating to improvements in the ALC.  
• monitors the ongoing maintenance schedule and contributes to planning and development of the ALC. 
• makes recommendations regarding agriculture projects. 

BHS is also seeking Expressions of Interest to assist with weekend feeding and animal welfare rosters. If you are able to assist in this area, please feel free to contact the school. 

Stay tuned for an Agriculture Learning Centre Sunday Working Bee and BBQ early next term.

Student Free Day

A reminder that we have a student free day on Monday 22^nd July.  Balaklava Primary School also has a student free day on this date and, as such, buses will not run that day.  Term 3 will start on Tuesday 23^rd July 2024 and we look forward to welcoming students back, refreshed from school holidays.

On Thursday and Friday last week the Year 12 Agricultural Production Students went on the inaugural Agri-Tech Camp. This trip was aligned to the student's Science subject as a Human Endeavour Task where they explored how humans have used science and technology to advance the industry. 

Day 1 started with a visit to the SARDI Turretfield Research Centre where they were given an insight into careers in Ag and a tour of the facilities including the Embryology Lab and Artificial Insemination centre. They also listened to a talk on the methane paddock project. 

Then it was up to Loxton in the Riverland for a talk and a demonstration on some of the soil probes, irrigation robots and integrated pest management systems at the Loxton Research Centre. We stayed the night with a visit to the Yamba Quarantine Station on the SA-Vic border next morning. Here we heard about the importance of biosecurity in the industry before driving back to Roseworthy for the afternoon. I spy was played, karaoke was sung and homework completed in the commuter bus on the way back.

At Roseworthy we visited the AGT facility and went through the whole process of plant breeding from mill testing to dough trials. 

An incredible opportunity for the Year 12s to see emerging agricultural techniques, research and technology.

Holly Crighton

We welcomed a visitor into our Year 9 Auslan class on Friday of Week 7. It was Gary and his hearing dog Tyson. They were also joined by an Auslan interpreter Tracey. It was a joy to have them here and it was much fun to use our Auslan skills to introduce ourselves and learn about what exactly hearing dogs do. The students wrote about what they had learnt during the visit;

“Things I learned about Gary today:

• Tyson can give Gary notifications about people at his door and also smoke alarms.
• Deaf clubs and noise off clubs in Adelaide.
• Gary only started sign language three years ago.”

It was great to have a member of the Deaf community join us here at Balaklava High School, we were very privileged and would enjoy having Gary and Tyson again.

CROSS COUNTRY CHAMPIONS

A fantastic effort Bodie and Archer!

YEAR 9/10 KNOCKOUT NETBALL 

On Thursday of Week 7, the Year 9/10 Girls Netball team headed down to Clare to verse four other schools: Burra, Eudunda, Riverton and Clare.

The girls started the day off with 3 solid wins against Burra, Eudunda and Riverton. Unfortunately, Clare came away with the win in the final game. The girls had a great day all playing an integral part in the team and playing at 110% all day. The day was filled with many laughs, sportsmanship and an extreme amount of lollies. Gemma Cook was on fire all day with her goals, if only the super shot was a thing in knockout netball! Matilda Williamson played a key role in the mid-court on the day, allowing the team to flow up and down the court with ease. Ella Wilson was an absolute superstar in GK throughout the day, with an amazing amount of deflections and turnovers (even though she says she is not a GK...).

The games in detail:

Our first competition for the day was Burra. We were all nervous to play and thought they were going to be an extremely strong side. We all started off in positions we were comfortable with to give us a good shot at winning. Burra started strong in the first quarter and were winning by about 4 goals. But as the quarter went on it was goal for goal. When the quarter finished, we came off confident that we could win this game. Miss Leonello gave us some tips on how we could improve our gameplay and we swapped some positions up. When we went back onto the court for the last quarter, we increased our intensity. This allowed us to make smart decisions and intercept the ball from the opposition, coming away with a win. The final score was 23-16.

Game 2 was against Eudunda with it being the best game we played on the day. We think we worked well as a team on both ends of the court with a strong defence, attack and mid-court. Everybody worked together with great teamwork which helped us win by 33 points. The final score was 38-5.

The third game of the day was against Riverton, we knew it would be a competitive game since they would match us up perfectly, with their height and skills. The first half of the game was close and we came off the court unsure of who was winning as there had been a few turn overs. The second half of the game we made a comeback winning the game 26-14.

Game 4 was the last game of the day. Our team had won the first three games and we were ready for the fourth game against Clare. We knew Clare would be the hardest team to play but we had positive thoughts. In the first part of the first quarter, it was quite even however then they started to put more shots in. Our team was under lots of pressure and we didn't quite keep up with Clare. Unfortunately, we took home the loss against Clare. The final score was 9-29.

Everyone played their best throughout all 4 games and we all had fun! 

As a team players voted for the most valuable team member. This player showed sportsmanship, leadership, positivity and commitment throughout all the games. Congratulations to Matilda Williamson and Ella Wilson for being voted as the most valuable team players.

Thank you to Ruth Stevens for umpiring on the day and driving us to and from Clare with a nice lunch stop at Subway.

Ashleigh Leonello

Year 7/8 Knockout Netball

On Wednesday of Week 8 (19^th June) ten Year 7/8 students played in the Statewide School Sport Girls Netball Competition. Trials were held and a very capable group of students were selected to represent Balaklava High School.  The program saw us compete against Clare High School, Burra Community School, Eudunda Area School and Riverton & District High School.

The first 3 games were won easily against Eudunda, Riverton and Burra with the team going in strong with a determined attitude right from the start.  Everyone held their own position well and improved their play coordinating with their team members.

Our final game of the day was against Clare High.  We knew this would be our toughest competitor.  A few goals down in the first few minutes saw us have to fight hard to stay in the game.  After the first half the scores were fairly tight but some missed opportunities saw Clare take home the win and progress to the next round.

All of the Balaklava girls played with a high degree of skill and school PRIDE.  All can be proud of how they contributed on the day.  We look forward to a rematch next year and taking out the win!!!

Laura Hadley

Open Girls Netball

Thanks to Mrs Reusch for coaching, Ruth Stevens for umpiring and Lola Parsons and Charlie Hart for being our team mascots for the day.

Year 7/8 Boys Basketball Finals Report

Thursday of Week 9 saw a competitive squad of 10 strut their stuff against some strong competition at the State Basketball Centre.

The opening encounter against eventual grand finalist, Hallet Cove, was a tough game. The squad found their feet and had some good passages of play but couldn’t quite match it against the boys from the Cove (which included an almost certain future NBA star!).

Game 2 was against River Mallee, the boys played much more cohesively and forced a number of turnovers through strong work rate and pressure. BHS ran away with a 7 point victory much to the delight of coach Jai.

The third game against semi-finalist Pedare was an absolute nail-biter! The team were up against their second almost certain future 8 foot NBA superstar, but it didn’t deter them. Chase McCracken and Charley Wildbore applied elite front court pressure to slow Pedare’s run. The boys snuck out to a lead as half time came and went, squashing some momentum. The lead was up and down like a yo-yo in the second half, with Pedare edging out BHS by a measly 3 points.

The final game saw the boys take on Murray Bridge in another close encounter. The boys showed grit and composure to maintain their lead throughout the majority of the match. A half time promise of Maccas was enough to get the team over the line with a 5 point victory to end a positive day out.

Special thanks to Jai Thompson for coaching, he showed great maturity and leadership in his coaching approach. Thanks also to Mr Cmrlec for driving the bus and to all parents and supporters for cheering on the team and assisting with photos and scoring.

Hudson Noack

South Australian Aboriginal Secondary Training Academy (SAASTA) supports Aboriginal students throughout secondary school and aims to help set them up for successful post-school transitions to further education, training and employment. It provides opportunities for students to develop skills, and confidence to dream, believe and achieve in areas of education, employment, healthy living and connection to culture.

What does SAASTA offer?

SASSTA offers a variety of opportunities stemming from completing SACE and connecting community. It promotes the health, social, and economic benefits of combining sport and education, both at school and as students transition to post-school training, employment. To be involved in the academy, students must complete curriculum tasks, uphold behaviour standards and meet attendance requirements. During the 28^th to the 30^th of May, the Santos Aboriginal Power Cup, in partnership with Port Adelaide Football Club, had around 30 academy’s attends with over 670 students across South Australia and Northern Territory participating.

Over the three days we were grateful to participate in Student Led Conferences, games of football, and traditional cultural dance performed on Adelaide Oval. On Tuesday we travelled to Morphettville where conferences were organised for us by SAASTA. We were able to meet influential people who created an awareness for pathways that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students could follow. Among those, one who stood out was Flinders University Vice Chancellor Professor Simone Ulalka Tur who spoke about her impact within Flinders University and how she progressed through education to where she stands today in her role at Flinders. She was an inspiration for the next generation of young Indigenous Women.

Wednesday was another early start but this time we took our adventure towards Alberton Oval in Port Adelaide to begin our football journey. We started off with our first round against a tough Paralowie side, however, with the support and energy from our new friends at Christies Beach we managed to defeat them. With our first win under our belt, we felt confident. Next on our timetable was a trip over to Randle for the Australian Police Force and Flinders University stalls to look at opportunities and careers offered to us before we hopped, skipped and jumped our way over to the new Port Adelaide MG Sports Centre. There we meet the Dusty Feet Mob who were there to teach us the dance we would be performing an Adelaide Oval on Thursday Night under the big lights against Carlton.

On our final day Thursday, we were sore, tired and cold, but excitement still filled our spirits. We played four games that day, but a highlight for us would be our 50-point domination against Port Pirie. After the conclusion of the games, we hiked towards Adelaide Oval ready for our final performance. As chills filled our body, nervous to dance in front of approximately 41,000 people, David Koch calmed the sea with his words of encouragement and comfort. We were displayed in our SAASTA uniforms which consisted of our very own design winner from Port Augusta. Students chose to go bare foot to represent the culture or our Ancestors.

We loved participating in the Santos Power Cup and can't wait to see what’s next on our adventure at SAASTA, till next time.......

Georgia Renton

Attention all aspiring AFLW players!

The Woodville West Torrens Football Club will be conducting a Regional Talent ID Day aimed at female U15 & U17 age players (born between 2007 – 2011).

 - Wednesday 10th July (in school holidays)

 - Balaklava Oval

 - 3pm

 - Register your interest via the QR Code on the flyer