Welcome back to Term 3; it is hard to believe that so much has been packed into the first three weeks of this term. Several sport teams have played in this time: the Year 11 and 12 Boys and Girls Basketball teams had a very successful day here at Balaklava, the Year 7/8/9 Girls Football team travelled to Maitland and today our Year 7/8 Boys Football team are playing in Balaklava.  Last Friday, I had the pleasure of seeing our BHS Vocal Ensemble perform at the Balaklava Eisteddfod, in the Senior School Vocal Competition. They sang with joy and pride and I thank Melanie Evans for her hard work and preparation. Ag had a busy and long day out at Jamestown last week. Best wishes to Holly Crighton and the AG team, as they prepare for the Copper Coast and Adelaide Shows in the coming weeks. Senior school students have been exploring their options and planning their futures with subject selections, Year 12 Focus Day, the Wakefield Regional Council Careers Expo and the Mid North Immersion and Career Expo. For our Year 12s, more than half of their year is over as formal classes will finish early in Term 4 but for some, exams will follow. We have hosted important visitors to the school including; Uncle Micky in NAIDOC week, Solly Bushby - an inspiring Olympian and six Japanese students on a study tour at BHS for two weeks, hosted by six local families. To top off the week, early Tuesday morning, our Operation Flinders group left for the Northern Flinders Ranges for a week.

See all the reports and photos further in the newsletter.

We look forward to Science Week and Book Week coming up in the next two weeks.

Student Free Day

On the first day of the term, we had our third student free day of the year. Staff engaged with the Department for Education’s new Public Education Strategy and explored the Guiding Principles. One of the Guiding Principles is Collective Responsibility and staff spent the morning session creating mindful agreements for our collective responsibilities to our stakeholders, community and each other. Staff also spent time with their curriculum teams discussing Continuous Assessment and how this functions in each faculty area.

Annual Parent Survey

Parents are invited to complete the 2024 annual Parent Survey, which is now open.  By now, you should have received an email or SMS from the Parent Survey Team with a unique link to participate in the survey.  If you did not receive an email or SMS with your unique survey link, contact education.ParentSurvey@sa.gov.au and include our school’s name in your email.

The survey takes less than 10 minutes and will help us understand:

• what we’re doing well
• where we can improve
• what’s important to you.

It has been coordinated centrally and your answers won't identify you or your child and only collated feedback will be provided to us.  Information collected will inform school improvement planning and activities at the school.

We encourage all parents to complete the survey, which closes midnight Sunday, 8^th September (end of Week 7, Term 3)and to share the positives as well as areas in which we can improve.

Positive Behaviour for Learning

Over the next 5 weeks, Balaklava HS is engaging in a Positive Behaviour for Learning trial to promote positive behaviour choices across the school. During this trial, we will focus on the desired behaviours that support a positive learning environment and explicitly teach these expected behaviours to establish clear and consistent boundaries.

Our first lesson focused on ENSURING MOBILE PHONES & PERSONAL DEVICES ARE ‘OFF AND AWAY’

This applies to our student cohort from the time they enter the school grounds until 3:15pm.

The mobile phone ban is a State Government legislation established in 2023 to bring SA in line with other states across Australia. Students at all public schools must keep their mobile phones and other personal devices, such as smart watches, switched off and put away while they’re at school.

The mobile phone and personal device policy helps to:

• limit the times students may be exposed to negative impacts from inappropriate or unsafe use of devices, such as cyberbullying or harmful content
• promote classroom environments where teachers can teach, and students can learn, free from distractions caused by personal use of device
• encourage use of breaks as quality time away from screens, for more physical activity, play, and face-to-face connections. 

WHAT CAN PARENTS DO TO ASSIST YOUR CHILD WITH THIS POSITIVE BEHAVIOUR EXPECTATION?

• Reinforce this expectation with your child at home
• Support your child’s positive behaviour choices by not contacting them via their mobile phone from the time they arrive on school grounds until 3:15pm.
• Ring our Front Office on 88620600 if you need to contact your child during the day.
• Support your child’s canteen purchases through cash, card or ordering via the QKR app.

For more information on the mobile phone ban of BHS Mobile Phone and Personal Device Policy, please follow the links below.

https://www.education.sa.gov.au/mobile-phones...

https://balakhs.schoolzineplus.com/.../mobile_phone...

Student Led Conferences

Student Led Conferences are just around the corner, in Week 6 and I am excited that we are again hitting the road in 2024 and taking a night of these conferences to one of our communities, Port Wakefield.

Bookings for Student Led Conferences will open at 9am on Monday the 12^th of August and close at 3pm on Friday the 23^rd of August. Parents will receive an email with additional information regarding this by the end of today and I encourage all parents to make sure you book an appointment and engage with your child’s learning.

Congratulations Tayla

It was amazing last Saturday night to watch Balaklava High School alumni Tayla Williams become a back-to-back Suncorp Super Netball champion with the Adelaide Thunderbirds. Not only did she collect her second championship, Tayla was also recognised for her outstanding season and first recipient in the leadership team to be honoured with the Spirit Award, as voted by her peers.

The Adelaide Thunderbirds have a strong connection and have been an active force in our communities, inspiring not only the next generations of netballers but young (and older) girls and boys alike with their class, professionalism and generosity.

Congratulations on your achievement Tayla. The BHS community was certainly cheering you on and proud of your efforts.

 

Enjoy your weekend and please feel free 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 derek.friedrichs447@schools.sa.edu.au or you can phone the school on 8862 0600 and ask to speak with me directly. Alternatively, I would be happy to discuss your needs in person – please pre-arrange this with the Front Office Team so that I can ensure I am available when you arrive.

Derek Friedrichs

Principal

Welcome to Term 3!

We have certainly hit the ground running in the Middle School. There is so much happening in classes and in the community with a number of our students involved in school sporting teams and the recent Balaklava Eisteddfod too. It is wonderful to hear of all the academic, personal and team success stories taking place around us!

Last week we enjoyed celebrating NAIDOC Week and were treated to a fantastic morning with Uncle Mickey who shared some important and inspirational stories with our students. This week our Op Flinders students brave the cold weather and head off for their hike. We wish them a wonderful time away.

As the term progresses, I look forward to working with our feeder Primary Schools as we continue to work on transitioning our 2025 Year 7 students to Balaklava HS and having our current students share their experiences and stories with them.

Wishing you all a wonderful month of August and beyond.

Pina Ribbons

Middle School Assistant Principal

Semester 2 is off and racing. The Year 10 and 11 students have settled into their new subjects whilst the Year 12s are hitting their strides.

The Year 12s participated in their final Focus Day for 2024 as they start to prepare for life after school. Sessions covered included an online workshop with Headspace discussing preparing for periods of transition in life, “Ace Your Exams” by Elevate Education, a visit from Flinders University, SATAC information about how to apply for TAFE and University and capped off by a trip to the Town Hall for Wakefield Regional Council Careers Expo. We will continue to work on life after school activities during the Empower Program.

This week, Wednesday 7^th August was our 2025 Subject Counselling Day for current Year 10 and 11 students. If you missed out, please contact the Front Office to request an alternative time. Otherwise, a member of the Timetable team will meet with your child to discuss their subject options for next year. Elective subject selection for current Year 8 and 9 students will occur in Empower Program in Week 5 and paperwork will be sent home for parent consent.

Carena Brookes

Senior School Assistant Principal

JAMESTOWN JUNIOR LIVESTOCK EDUCATION DAY

On Monday, 29th July a group of students went to Jamestown for the Junior Livestock Education Day. The students were engaged in either sheep or cattle seminars that involved everything from production to show ring craft. Students built relationships with nearly 200 students from across the state before they will meet again for some healthy competition when the shows start! 

A huge thankyou to Jules for driving the Bus and Mrs Cowan coming too. It was a very long day leaving before 8am and arriving back at 5pm!

A great day out inspiring the next generation of agriculturalists.

Balaklava was a buzz with performers from schools all over South Australia on Friday and Saturday for the Balaklava Eisteddfod music competitions. Our very own BHS Vocal Ensemble got to be part of the excitement, performing in the Senior Vocal Ensemble competition Friday morning.  They were well prepared and worked together to process the nerves that come with performing.  Music Captains, Bligh Wilson and Sarah Davies showed excellent leadership, helping their fellow performers prepare for the day.  The support that this team provided for each other was exceptional, as was their performance.  Singing the jazz classic, ‘Lullaby of Birdland’ and my original arrangement of ‘Lean On Me’, the Vocal Ensemble were in their element as they performed for an enthusiastic audience.  They sang with precision and heart and shone as they gave a beautiful performance.  Congratulations Vocal Ensemble: Sarah Davies, Bligh Wilson, Thea Podiotan, Charlotte Moore, Rihanna Zanker, Denise Nellas, Coline Banas, Aaliyah Wilkey, (absent – Sophia Donlon).

The competition was extremely high, meaning BHS missed out on a placing, however, we were able to watch the other schools perform and appreciate their skills and were inspired by their performances. 

A big thanks to Miss Matthews and pre-service teacher, Holly George who walked our group to each venue and were a great support for us, both on the day and in the lead up to Friday. Also thank you to the family and friends who came to cheer us on, including Mr Friedrichs and the Japanese students.  It is so encouraging to have people ‘in your corner’ when you step out to perform, so having our school Principal there especially meant a lot to us. It was great to share the experience with you all.

Charli Dall and Isabelle Poole spent Friday volunteering at the Choral Section, helping schools with booking in and representing Balaklava High School with excellence.  Kiara Cowan volunteered as scribe for the adjudicator at the Vocal Ensemble Section and Sally Cowan was Convenor.  Nicole Matthews volunteered at the piano section in our Performing Arts theatre on Saturday and Trish Langdon was also involved in volunteering throughout the weekend.  Our Front Office staff and our Groundsman, Morgan, were busy with a lot of the behind the scenes work too.  Thank you to our school community who supported the Eisteddfod so well. 

Congratulations to Bligh Wilson and Sarah Davies who competed in many events on the Saturday.  You did us proud, performing beautifully every time!  It was great to see fellow students, staff and family coming along to support the girls as they performed.   Bligh was awarded 3^rd place for her musical theatre solo and Bligh and Sarah were awarded an Honourable Mention for their Musical Theatre Duet.  It was also a treat to for us to see Holly George in action, singing in the open sections, winning a 1^st place for Open Musical Theatre Solo, 2^nd place, singing French in Open Vocal Classical and even taking home the overall Champion trophy for Musical Theatre.   A special mention too for former BHS student, Nicolas Lester who was the adjudicator for the Saturday Classical Vocal Competitions.  After many years performing in London, he is back to perform in an opera in Adelaide.  It is a good reminder for us that students from BHS can reach for the stars in whatever field they pursue!

Melanie Evans

Specialist Music Teacher

Semester 1 Improvers and High Achievers:

The Improver and High Achiever Awards celebrate the hard work, dedication, and remarkable achievements of our students here at Balaklava High School. Today we will highlight those who have excelled academically and those who have shown significant improvement in their studies.

Our High Achievers are students who have consistently demonstrated excellence by maintaining an overall GPA at or above 85% in their end-of-semester report. Their commitment to academic excellence is truly commendable.

Our Improvers are students who have shown tremendous growth by improving their end-of-term report GPA by more than 10%. Their determination and effort to enhance their academic performance are inspiring to us all.

Year 7 High Achievers

Year 7 Improvers

Year 8 High Achievers

Year 8 Improvers

Year 9 High Achievers

Year 9 Improvers

Year 10 High Achievers

Year 11 High Achievers

Year 11 Improvers:

Yr 12 High Achievers

Year 12 Improvers

Last week, the Balaklava High School community welcomed six students from Meidai High School in Tokyo, Japan. BHS has been hosting students from MHS since 2000 which, barring a short break due to COVID, is now one of the state’s longest running and most successful programs.

So far halfway through their two week stay, students have engaged in a range of activities including shearing and farm visits, AUSLAN lessons, boomerang making, baking ANZAC biscuits, Balaklava’s Eisteddfod, afternoon tea with Mayor Rodney Reid, dissecting squid and of course, local football and netball games. By far however, the highlight of the trip is bound to be the day trip to Adelaide and Gorge Wildlife Park where everyone will get to hold a koala!

The work involved in making an exchange like this successful is huge and there are too many to thank and acknowledge. Special mention does need to made to our amazing host families, without whom, this exchange would not be possible. So, a huge BHS thank you to the Cmrlec, Battle, Arthur, Williams, Murphy, Hahsey and Michalanney families. These exchanges normally occur every year so if you are interested in hosting a student in 2025, please contact Cherie at the school.

On Tuesday the 30^th of July, BalaklaVa High School recognised NAIDOC week with sessions led by Uncle Micky. Students from Year 7 to Year 12 participated in a Smoking Ceremony, followed by the Welcome to Country. Uncle Micky continued the sessions with storytelling, an interactive rope activity and some native inspired foods. Students were highly engaged during these sessions and the middle school students were excited to be chosen to go up and participate in several activities.

The theme of this year’s NAIDOC week is 'Keep the Fire Burning! Black, Loud and Proud' honouring the enduring strength and vitality of the First Nations culture. Fire is a symbol of connection to Country, to each other, and to the rich tapestry of traditions that define Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. 

During empower last week students across the school designed and created multiple wreaths made out of paper leaves. Students used symbols, words and colours to tell a story and represent reconciliation and NAIDOC. Each wreath will represent each year level at BHS and one representing staff.

Why a wreath?

A wreath symbolises protection, unity and remembrance.

The finished display will be in the Cultural Learning corridor for all to see.

Balaklava High School would like to say a big thank you to Uncle Micky for travelling to BHS and sharing his knowledge and cultural with us all. 

Ashleigh Leonello

Balaklava High School has a long and proud association with Operation Flinders, which is continuing in 2024 ‘right now’ with our all-female group currently on route to the Flinders Ranges.

Operation Flinders is an acclaimed program designed to transform the lives of young people through challenging and adventurous experiences. Benefits are mulitfaceted and include: enhancing self-esteem and confidence; fostering resilience and perserverance; emphasising the importance of teamwork and leadership and providing a sense of purpose and direction inspiring students to make positive changes in their lives and pursue new opportunitites.

At the core of Operation Flinders is an eight-day wilderness adventure program set in the rugged and remote northern Flinders Ranges. Our students will be taken out of their comfort zones and immersed in a physically demanding environment where they are required to trek over 100kms, camp in the wilderness, and engage in various team-building and problem-solving activities. The experience is designed to push them to their limits, both physically and mentally.

Balaklava HS wishes our students and teachers every success on this adventure in 2024.

Tune into the latest podcast from Lachlan Rickards with information on all things happening at BHS.

He also attached a survey that he would like you to complete

Survey: https://forms.office.com/Pages/ResponsePage.aspx?id=6fS7c4gGRkmuqb0LtA7PB-Mm3xkSm2pNi0neHhjiS3VUM0pLWDU4WTFPUENWWVE2R1ZSRFdGT1ZaTy4u

Open Boys Football

Unfortunately in Week 10 our Open Boys Football went down to Kapunda 107-39.

The boys were competitive until three quarter time but ultimately Kapunda had the experience and ran away in the last half piling on multiple late goals.

Best: Jai Thompson, Jack Tiller, Flynn Young, Jesse Humphries, Jack Pike, Dylan Williams.

Year 7/8/9 Girls Football

Last week our 7/8/9 girls travelled to Maitland to play off in Round 1 of the School Sport Statewide knockout competition. Unfortunately team BHS were unsuccessful in our pursuit of glory but we were able to show significant improvement across the two games. The girls represented the school with pride and by the end of the day they had shown we have some serious football talent at our disposal for years to come.

Coach Parsons and his assistants, Miss Hanson and Miss Philips, were proud of the effort from every player and the never give up attitude displayed!

Best Players: Tahlia Zerk, Alexa Young, Imogen Miels, Halle Young, Zarli Barker and Brianna Young

Goal Kickers: H. Heemskerk and B. Young 2 each

Year 11/12 Basketball

Wednesday of Week 1 was a successful outing for the Senior Basketball teams in the Round 1 competition at Balaklava. The equation was simple, each team needed to win two games to progress to Adelaide for the chance at ultimate glory.

The boys team, coached by Mr Parsons, had a thrilling start to the day, going down in an absolute nail-biter to the Yorke Peninsula team by a measly two points. The boys held their heads high to come away with a clutch win against Riverton, the final score seeing BHS sneak over the line with 20 to 17. With everything to play for in the final game against Peterborough, the boys had a percentage boosting 76 to 8 victory. Super sub, Sebastien Hughes, was everywhere causing carnage with his energy and pressure whilst Jai Thompson filled his boots with a whopping 40 points in the final game. Well played team, special mention to Hamish Wildbore and Simon Wheeler for joining the squad at late notice due to injury.

The girls team, coached by Mr Noack (but mostly by Chelsea and Janna!) formed a strong connection from the outset. Chelsea and Janna led the group enthusiastically, quickly establishing the team motto of ‘playing with love’ and ensuring the defensive structure of a ‘z sandwich support by km’ was in order.

The first game against Riverton saw a commanding victory of 45 to 7. The do or die clash against the Yorke Peninsula was another classic. The team were under the pump, pressure player Kasey Battle was off due to injury and the rebounding Zarlia White sat on four fouls. Down by two points at three quarter time, the troops rallied and came home with a wet sail, finishing with a 34 to 21 victory, courtesy of a Maylea Carpenter long bomb. Great work girls!

A big thank you to Jenaya White for umpiring and to Miss Cotgrove for her assistance in timing, scoring and taking photos.

Hudson Noack

On Thursday of Week 2 the Year 8 cohort were treated to a presentation from gun Beach Volleyballer, Solly Bushby.

Solly immediately engaged the Year 8s with his height (206cm!) and enthusiasm. He shared some personal challenges and setbacks in his career and how these events inspired him to become a better athlete and person. Solly shared strategies to face the unknown, whilst also reminding students that hard work and consistency will always pay off, whether it be at school, sport or life in general.

The Year 8s had some great questions such as ‘who is your arch rival?’ and ‘how many countries have you been to?’

Hudson Noack

The end of this term has had a focus on Linear Equations and Algebra for Year 8 Maths.
Students have been using their mathematical investigative skills to have Bratz dolls safely but excitingly bungee jump from the monkey bars.

Students outlined the problem and determined key information they needed to investigate. This included how much each rubber band would stretch, the length of the Bratz doll from the tip of her head to the knot of the bungee cord and the total height from the top of the monkey bars to the ground. Students experimented with this and took measurements of up to five rubber bands using tables graphs and diagrams to record their information.

Using their knowledge of a definition of a slope and y-intercept, students created a linear equation for their bungee jumps.

Students then either rearranged the equation or extrapolated their data using Demos Graphing calculator do determine how many rubber bands would get the Bratz doll safely close to the ground to create an exhilarating jump based on their goal jump height.

The bungee jump then brought a lot of laughs and analysis as there were some unfortunate Bratz dolls who did not survive the jump (immediate disqualification) and some groups that came very close to the ground which prompted a video assisted review.

Alana Sharman