I would like to welcome everyone back for Term 2 and I trust you all had a safe and relaxing holiday break.  I would especially like to welcome students new to our school this term and hope they settle in well and actively participate in all of the outstanding learning and extra-curricular activities Balaklava High School has to offer.

ANZAC Day

ANZAC Day is a time of reflection on the sacrifices of so many others who went to war, many of whom paid the ultimate price by losing their lives, which have allowed us to have the life and freedoms we ultimately enjoy today.  It was so good that Dawn Services were able to be held this year around the country after a couple of years of disruption due to COVID restrictions.  As a school community, it is important that we pay our respects to servicemen and women each year and we have traditionally sent Student Council representatives to the ANZAC Day Dawn Service at the Balaklava Triangle, however, last year we expanded this so we had representatives at other services around the community where our students live.  This year BHS was represented by Kayleigh Parker and Brooke Michalanney at the Balaklava service, Alice McArdle and Molly Warnes in Owen and Kashaya Carpenter in Mallala.  Thank you to these students for attending these important events and representing our school.  I’d also like to acknowledge the other students who attended services around the community, such as Elleanore Bowden who represented Scouts in Riverton.

Communication

Communication in schools is vital and it needs to be ongoing between students, families and teachers.  There are often times parents have questions about their student’s education or there’s a need to share information or contact us with a concern.  I encourage parents to contact teachers directly via Daymap or phone the school on 8862 0600 and leave a message for them to call you back when this need arises.  I have also attached a list of teacher emails to this newsletter for ease of reference and to provide another communication channel.

For questions regarding individual subjects, parents should initially contact the subject teacher; the Homegroup teacher should be contacted for broader concerns or absence information and parents should contact a member of the leadership team for more significant issues or if you need further follow up.  Other great forms of communication are the newsletter and social media and I remind all students and their families to follow our Facebook page to keep up-to-date with school events and information.  Skoolbag is also an important communication tool to be used to stay up to date with bus information and I encourage families with students who catch a bus to download this app too.

Reports

For a number of years now, we have used continuous reporting at BHS with feedback on individual student assignments on Daymap throughout the term, which means students in Years 7-11 receive a summary report at the end of each term without comments.  If your child is not receiving this feedback on assignments, feel free to contact the subject teacher in the first instance (see attached contact details or via Daymap) or a member of the leadership team if it is a repeated concern.  Students in Year 12 receive a full written report in Terms 1-3.  All student reports can be accessed through the Parent Portal of Daymap by going into the student's profile and opening the 'Report' tab on the left column. Students can also access their own reports on Daymap by clicking on 'My Portfolio' and then 'Reports'. The reports are in a pdf format, which can easily be printed if a hard copy is required.  Please contact us at the school if you would like to arrange for a hard copy to be sent home.

COVID-19 and other sickness

The use of face masks in education settings will be reassessed by the Emergency Management Committee and the Department for Education ahead of the start of Week 5 this term, however, as we know, for the first 4 weeks of Term 2, when indoors, face masks continue to be required for students in Years 7 to 12 and all adults (including visitors), except when teaching or interacting with children.  We thank students and their families for support with these guidelines, which are in place to keep us as safe as possible when large numbers of students gather together.  As soon as we are aware of any changes to requirements, we will inform families.

It is important that students stay home if they are at all unwell and that they have a RAT or PCR test if they are symptomatic.  If your child does test positive to COVID at any time, please report it to the school so we can keep families informed of positive cases.  We know there are many forms of illness other than COVID that are still highly contagious such as the influenza, common colds and gastro, so we ask that students stay home if they are unwell until all symptoms are gone.

As always, I am available to speak to parents about any issues or concerns or to discuss any aspect of their 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

Key School Contacts

Parents and carers should make contact via Daymap or email with the appropriate staff member as soon as any learning or wellbeing issues arise.  Or there is any relevant information to share.

Initial Concerns

• Learning/academic – contact the individual subject teacher
• Attendance and/or wellbeing – contact the homegroup teacher

Ongoing Concerns

• Literacy/English Coordinator – Joshua La Grutta
• Numeracy/Mathematics Coordinator – Alana Sharman
• Student Engagement Coordinator – Colleen Lowe
• VET Coordinator – Rosemary Goode
• Wellbeing Senior Leader – Kimberly Walker
• Middle School Assistant Principal – Michelle Pudney
• Senior School Assistant Principal – Carena Brookes
• Principal – Sonia Pringle

Other Key Contacts

• Business Manager/Finance – Peta Solomon
• IT Support – Michael Mazzone
• Enhanced Learning Hub – Neil Richards

Teaching Staff Email Addresses

Support Staff Contact Details

At the end of Term 1, I was able to visit each Middle School Homegroup and congratulate students achieving the School Value Awards. These esteemed awards are usually presented at a whole school assembly with students publicly acknowledged. Unfortunately, once again due to COVID restrictions we were not allowed to gather as a whole school.

Our school values, (P = Positive Relationships, R = Respect, I = Integrity, D = Dedication, E = Excellence - PRIDE), set out our expectations of all members in this school community. Students displaying these values are to be congratulated and seen as role models in our school.

Our recipients of the school value awards in Year 7 are:

Our recipients of the school value awards in Year 8 are:

Our recipients of the school value awards in Year 9 are:

High Achiever Awards

Certificates of Achievement are presented to students to acknowledge their academic success at the end of each term.

Congratulations to our Middle School students who received High Achiever Certificates to acknowledge excellence in their overall performance for the Term 1 reporting period.

NAPLAN began on Wednesday 11^th May with Year 7 and Year 9 students participating in the writing test. Students engaged seriously in the test which means their results provide an accurate representation of students’ abilities when they are released later in the year.  We are very well aware that these tests are only a snapshot of a child’s ability in literacy and numeracy and they don’t provide the full picture of a student’s ability, however, they do provide data to look at individual growth and achievement by students and areas for us to focus on as a school.  This information helped us set directions for our Site Improvement Plan, which has goals related toliteracy and numeracy.

Our NAPLAN timetable is as follows:

Year 7 NAPLAN

• NAPLAN Writing Test – Wednesday 11^th May 2022
• NAPLAN Reading Test – Thursday 12^th May 2022
• NAPLAN Conventions of Language Test – Thursday 12^th May 2022
• NAPLAN Numeracy Test – Friday 13^th May 2022

Year 9 NAPLAN

• NAPLAN Writing Test – Wednesday 11^th May 2022
• NAPLAN Reading Test – Monday 16^th May 2022
• NAPLAN Conventions of Language Test – Monday 16^th May 2022
• NAPLAN Numeracy Test – Tuesday 17^th May 2022

School Sport SA Track and Field Championship

On Monday of Week 11 last term our combined Lower North Athletics Team travelled to Athletics SA Stadium to compete in the School Sport SA Track and Field Championships. After winning D Grade Division 1 last year we were put up into C Grade Division 2 for the first time and competed against Cedar, Woodcroft, Clare, Cleve, Eastern Fleurieu and Tatachilla. This year the Lower North Team was made up of 30 students from our school and 16 students from Burra Community School. With lots of last minute changes to the team because of sickness, injury and COVID, our students performed exceptionally well with many placing in their events. Results from the day saw us finish 3^rd in the Boys, 5^th in the Girls and 4^th Overall. See below for the placings of our students.

School Sport SA Individual Golf Championships

Congratulations to Corbin Branson and Angus Lemon who competed in the School Sport SA Individual Golf Championships on Monday May 9^th at The Vines Golf Club of Reynella. A great experience for both boys playing against some of the best golfers from schools across the state.

School Sport SA Individual Swimming Championships

Nominations close on Friday the 13^th of May for the School Sport SA Individual Swimming Championships to be held on Friday the 27^th May at the SA Aquatic and Leisure Centre, Marion. Students are able to nominate themselves to compete against other students from schools across the state in 50m stroke events and 100m Freestlye. For more information please contact Alison Schahinger.

Lower North Zone Cross Country Championship

The Lower North Zone Cross Country Championship will be held at Burra Oval on Monday the 23^rd May. If your child wishes to compete, please contact Alison Schahinger for more details and a nomination form.

Touch Footy

On Wednesday 4^th of May a number of our students competed in the Year 9/10 Boys & Girls Touch Football School Sport SA Statewide Competition. Our superstar girls team showed some excellent improvement as the day progressed and managed to finish with 2 wins out of 4 games. The team took it right up to some of the more prominent Touch Football schools but ultimately lacked experience. A notable highlight was Maylea Carpenter's intercept catch and 50m run for a try! Well done, girls!

The boys team didn’t manage to snag a win but with not one spare player to swap on/off with all day, they battled it out like champions and improved immensely after 5 games. Their resilience, positive attitude and willingness to take on feedback and learn was very impressive. Pleasingly, the boys took it right up to some larger schools, including a narrow 2-1 defeat to Pembroke. A highlight of the day was Jack ‘Tuna’ Pike’s ‘rock, paper, scissors’ ability, his leadership was impressive with 4/5 ‘rock, paper, scissors’ duels won!

Mr Parsons and Mr Noack were very proud of the effort overall and know we’ll be bigger and better next year.

Meidai High School first visited Balaklava High School in 1999 and for over 20 years students from our school have enjoyed hosting Japanese students in their homes and around the school.  Many of our students have kept in contact with their Japanese buddies and there are stories of our students going over to Japan to catch up, go skiing or stay with the families of students they hosted years ago.

COVID-19 has interrupted international travel for the past two years, however, Meidai High School and it's students are very keen to resume these visits in 2023.

Students arrive in Australia around the start of Term 3 (July/August) and spend 14 days living with an Australian family and attending Balaklava High School where they participate in our special cultural program.  They visits local farms, Wakefield Regional Council Chambers, The Rocks Reserve, Balaklava Primary School, Balaklava Community Children’s Centre and Balaklava Courthouse Gallery.   A school excursion to the Adelaide Hills and Central Market is a highlight with their host buddies and then a final celebration at the Sports Club with an enjoyable dinner for all the host families.

Hosting a Japanese student is a very enjoyable experience, and you don’t need to make special arrangements or plans.  They participate in everything your family does – including the local football and netball competitions, training nights during the week, catching the bus to school, shopping down the street or just hanging around at home.  Families do receive some monetary funds to assist with additional costs during their visit. 

Planning is underway to facilitate a visit in 2023 – currently international arrivals to Australia need to be double vaccinated and the visit will only occur if conditions around COVID-19 make this possible.

We are eager to hear from families that might consider hosting a student or are keen to know more.  Cherie Cmrlec, Trish Langdon and myself have a wealth of information about the Meidai visit and I encourage you to call the school or send messages via email or Daymap.

Congratulations to last year’s Dux, Matt Mojares, for winning the Regional Encouragement award at the 2022 SACE Art Show.  Well done to Matt and his teacher, Mrs Tilbrook.

Matt Mojares pictured receiving his award at the 2022 SACE Art Show with his Phillipines Monopoly Game.

The Balaklava Schools’ Canteen is looking for a Canteen Assistant to work alongside our Canteen Manager, situated at Balaklava High School.

This position is for 8 hours per week every Monday and Friday, from 10am to 2pm, during term time. Hours/days maybe negotiable or may change due to the canteen’s commitments, with the possibility of backfilling the Canteen Manager while on leave.    

We are looking for someone with basic food handling skills, good number skills and experience working in a fast paced environment. Previous experience is preferred, but we are willing to train the right candidate. The applicant must be willing to obtain a Working with Children Check, be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 and complete the RRHAN training.

If this sounds like it’s for you, please forward your cover letter with resume to peta.solomon697@schools.sa.edu.au by the end of day 20^th May 2022.

Please contact Peta on 0497652731 for further information.

• Frozen chickens - $7/kg (birds are around 2kg)
• 13 week old Pullets - $15 per bird
• Point of lay birds available from week 6 @ $20 per bird (please contact Colleen Lowe for Pre orders)
• Eggs - $4 per carton
• Large round bales of hay $60 per bale
• Apples $3.50 per kg
• Pomegranates $3 each

We also have chicken feet, neck and livers as well as some apricot and almond jam (various prices)

Orders can be made to Colleen Lowe on 0408812850 or Colleen.lowe667@schools.sa.edu.au pick up through the front office or school farm for livestock. Various produce available through the community library.

Look out for the resurrection of the school Farmers Market, coming soon to Thursdays!