Throughout this term we have had a consistent, but relatively small, number of COVID positive cases in students and staff.  I believe this number has been kept low due to consistent wearing of masks and adhering to SA Health expectations.  I would like to thank the students and their families for supporting us with this and also for being flexible as various events and situations have had to change at short notice.  If your child does test positive to COVID at any point, please inform the school as soon as practicable after you get a positive PCR or RAT so we can inform other families of a new case and try to keep each other safe.  Now more than ever, it’s vitally important that your children stay home if they are unwell and test if they are symptomatic.

Staffing

Next term, Mrs Sue Pratt has again been seconded to the Department for Education to undertake curriculum writing for Food and Fibre units for teachers across the state to use.  Sue will then have Long Service Leave in Term 3 and, in Term 4, she will commence a new role as Lead Teacher of Agriculture for South Australia.  Unfortunately, what this means for us is, she will not be returning to her current teaching role at BHS.  That said, she has not ruled out teaching here again in some capacity in the future.  This new role is very exciting for both Sue and the Agriculture sector as it is an industry funded position where she will support and develop agriculture teachers across the state with their programs, assessment and curriculum.  Mrs Colleen Lowe will take the majority of Mrs Pratt’s Ag classes next term and we are currently working on finding a replacement Science teacher to fill Mrs Lowe’s teaching load.

Centenary Celebrations

As you may well be aware, this year we are celebrating 100 years of public education at Balaklava High School.  The centenary committee have a weekend of festivities planned in October to acknowledge and celebrate this milestone.  More specific details will follow throughout the year but the outline of events is:

Friday 21st October – Art Gallery exhibition opening of past staff and student art work

Saturday 22nd October – Gala dinner at the Town Hall with musical acts by past students throughout the night

Sunday 23rd October – Tours of the school throughout the day, sausage sizzle and a Principal’s address.

Office365

Did you know that students are able to download Office365 for free if they sign in with their LearnLink account?  They can install this full suite on up to five devices so it can be shared with their immediate family if needed.  Part of Office 365 includes access to OneDrive, with 1TB of free cloud storage for each student.  This form of cloud storage allows students to access files from any computer, in any location, when they sign in to Office365, whereas if they only save work to a USB it can be forgotten or lost or if work is saved to their H drive at school they need to be on site to access it.  This cloud storage has proven particularly useful in the last couple of years when we have had to move to online learning and students still access all of their school files.  It also prevents work from being lost so it has many benefits.  To access this free resource, go to https://portal.office.com/account

Happy Holidays

As this is our last newsletter for the term, I would like to wish all of the students and their families a safe and relaxing time for the upcoming holidays.  This break provides an opportunity for families to spend some time together, for students to catch up on some rest and relaxation as well as allowing the chance for senior students to balance some study with these periods of rest.  Just a reminder that all schools in our Partnership are having a student free day on the first day back next term so we look forward to seeing everyone back at school on Tuesday 3^rd May for the start of Term 2.

Sonia Pringle

Principal

Social Media – SnapChat

Everyone has the right to feel safe at Balaklava High School, and this includes when using social media. The majority of us use social media on a daily basis and we all have a responsibility to promote internet safety and conduct ourselves appropriately. However, just as in real life, it is easy to cause harm to others online. People can be harmed if you don't think before you post.

The best question to ask yourself is: ‘Would I say or do this to the person’s face?’ If the answer is ‘no’, then it’s probably not okay online either. Posts that are rude, offensive, gossip or rumour-spreading, racist, sexist, homophobic, belittling, bullying or harassing, threatening or unwanted by the recipient are not okay. It’s also not okay to share, ‘like’ or tag other people in posts like these.

‘Liking’ a page just to see what happens there might seem harmless, but your online actions may give bullies a voice, and can also give friends and prospective employers the impression that you endorse the content.

If social media behaviour is causing you to feel uncomfortable, unsafe, threatened, harassed, bullied, or concerned about yourself or someone else, then help is available. Please speak to a teacher, report it via Stymie or let Miss Walker, Ms Brookes or Mrs Pudney know.

Term 1 PRIDE Awards

Our first term of High School is nearly complete. It has been a pleasure to get to know our new Year 7 and Year 8 students and I’m also proud of our Year 9 students, who have been, and will continue to be, great role models at our school. I have enjoyed participating in our Year Level assemblies online this term, but hopefully we will all be able to meet in person soon. Year Level assemblies allow students to share their learning and provide an opportunity to celebrate students who have achieved their Bronze and Silver PRIDE Certificates.

Our school values, make up the acronym PRIDE but it’s also important to remember what that stands for- P = Positive Relationships, R = Respect, I = Integrity, D = Dedication, E = Excellence. Students displaying these values will continue to be recognised and awarded through our school PRIDE point system. Congratulations to the following students.

On Friday the 25th of March the Interschool Athletics Team travelled to Clare High School to compete in the Lower North Zone Interschool Athletics Carnival against Clare High School, Kapunda High School, Burra Community School and St Joseph’s School Clare. Our students displayed excellent athleticism with many students collecting ribbons, Jake Dean was the 13 & Under Boys Champion, Flynn Young the 15 & Under Boys Champion, Payton Gurr the 13 & Under Girls Runner-Up and Emily Curnow the 16 & Under Girls Runner-Up. The overall results of the day saw the Boys finish 2nd, the Girls finish 3rd, BHS finish 3rd in the Championship Shield and the Di Day Shield and we took out the Improvement Shield. Well done to all the students selected in the team who represented our school proudly.

On Monday the 11th of April we are sending a team of approximately 35 students to combine with Burra Community School to represent Lower North in the School Sport SA Track and Field Championships at SA Athletics Stadium in Mile End. Results will be published in the next newsletter.

BHS Interschool Athletics Team

Age Group Winners

Medal Winners - Jake Dean, Emily Curnow, Payton Gurr and Flynn Young 

Improvement Shield accepted on behalf of BHS by Jacob Battle & Sasha Branson

SENIOR ART EXCURSION

On Tuesday the 24th of March, Senior Art students visited the SACE exhibition at the Light Square Gallery in Adelaide. The students were amazed by the hundreds of art and design works on display and accompanying development folio. These prime examples of the Folio and Practical tasks account for 50% of the Stage 2 requirements and take many hours of class and home work to complete.

The aim of this excursion is to show the students the many ways other students have approached these assignments. The Folio task helps students to see how ideas are initially conceived right through to refining and final development.

There were large and small Practical pieces consisting of drawing, painting, sculpture, installation, products, posters, costumes and multimedia works (animation) throughout the gallery space. The range of media on display shows the endless possibilities that senior art and design has to offer. Senior students at Balaklava High School are encouraged and supported to explore their interests and skills within the SACE curriculum. 

The SACE exhibition will run until the 16^th of April.

YEAR 8 VISUAL ART

Monsters have taken over the art room with all Year 8 students sculpting these wonderful clay pinch pots.

Students were introduced to the creative process to brainstorm, sketch and develop their scary monsters.

“To make my pinch pot I started by using the pinching Technique to make a bowl shape, then I scrunched up a piece of newspaper so I could make it a hollow sphere. I cut a mouth out of the sphere and added the horns by scorching the clay and using the slip to stick them together.  The hardest part for me would have been trying to come up with an idea that wasn’t the same as the ideas I had got off of google, the way I got my idea was by just picking out different parts of the pinch pots that I liked and put them together to make my own creation.”

Megan Payne

Amy Tilbrook

Stage 2 Food and Hospitality students have been experimenting with Australian Native foods and flavourings while learning how to better utilise Native Foods in their everyday lives. After completing a research task, the students headed to Adelaide’s Central Markets to purchase local ingredients and bush tucker for their summative practical. Students were required to create a meal suitable for a café that explores the flavours of Australian Bush Tucker. It’s safe to say, their creations were huge successes!

Sarah Mayer

Slingsby Incursion

On theTuesday Week 9 we had the pleasure of hosting Slingsby’s Flying Squad for the day in the Performing Arts Theatre.

According to their website ‘Slingsby’s Flying Squad, a team of multi-skilled diverse artists, will travel the state, collaborating and sharing with remote, regional and metropolitan communities. Energised by our passion for creativity, story and shared time and space, our goal is to inspire, fortify and build connection with and between South Australian’s living across our beautiful and varied landscape.

A game changing co-investment by the federal RISE Fund and the Government of South Australia’s Arts Recovery Fund affords Slingsby the resources to secure ongoing employment for five South Australian artists for the next two years.

Slingsby’s Flying Squad reasserts the central role of artists in our organisation and builds on our contribution to the creative economy through our 2021 world premiere production The Boy Who Talked to Dogs, national touring of our repertoire and our ongoing international market development.’

https://www.slingsby.net.au/flyingsquad/

Whilst at BHS The Flying Squad performed twice for the students of Year 9, 11 & 12 Drama, Year 11 & 12 Physics, 11 & 12 English, followed by a Q&A session. The Senior Drama students also completed a workshop to make their own Slingsby inspired performance later in the year.

A huge thank you to Mr La Grutta, Mr Szular and Mr Mussared for their support in the students attending.

Special Thank you to Ms Pringle for supporting Miss Umapathysivam with last minute changes due to COVID restrictions to make sure this event went ahead.

Miss Umapathysivam

Last week I had the pleasure of watching a production by the Slingsby Flying Squad. The production included five unique and personal stories, all surrounding a tree that was significant to each actor. Each actor’s story was performed in a style unique to their abilities, including spoken word, song and through dance. The show used beautiful soundscapes in between each actor's story, alongside shadow puppetry about trees. Creating an engaging show, with a mystical and nostalgic atmosphere.

Leyla Jacobson

Year 7 Performing Arts

The students of Year 7 Performing Arts have been working solidly this term learning their Rock Band instruments. This has involved learning how to play the piano, ukulele and the drums, and then forming their own rock band. Students had to choose a 4-chord song and spend their lessons working together to produce a polished performance. Across Weeks 10 and 11 students will be taking to the stage in front of their peers to perform their songs.

All the Year 7s should be incredibly proud of what they have achieved so far and I am looking forward to hearing their performance over the next few weeks.

Miss Umapathysivam