It is hard to believe that we have arrived at the end of Week 4 and so much has occurred and been achieved already. Firstly, congratulations to Alison Parsons and her team for a successful and enjoyable Swimming Carnival. We scored an absolute cracker of a day and it was great to watch our students compete respectfully and with determination. Well done to our House Captains who have also put in a mountain of work to lead their respective houses with PRIDE. Our students continued to showcase these attributes at the Lower North Swimming Carnival on Monday with another stellar performance to finish second overall and take home first place with the Improvement Shield.

Congratulations to all students who have been elected to represent their peers on the 2024 BHS Student Council. It is a great honour to be the voice of your peers with student agency a powerful tool in shaping a school environment. I look forward to our student leaders being inducted on Friday 1^st March at our Student Leaders Induction Ceremony at 9:00am in the Gym.

In our last addition of the newsletter, we ran a parent competition to find a hidden phrase within my report. Thank you to everyone who messaged or commented with the correct phrase BHS PRIDE. Congratulations to the following parents/caregivers who have won a $15 school canteen voucher. Your canteen vouchers are waiting for you in the front office!

1. Jess Medley
2. Holly Hannaford
3. Erica Shepard
4. Casey Taylor

Don’t forget that Monday 26^th February is our first Student Free Day of the year.

Governing Council AGM

On Tuesday night we held our annual Governing Council AGM for 2024. I would like to thank the parents who attended this meeting, especially those who have nominated for, or have continued on Governing Council. I would also like to take the opportunity to thank our outgoing Governing Council members who have made significant contributions to Balaklava High School. Thank you to both Ben Marshman who has be an active member on Governing Council for many years and most recently served as Chairperson and Kimberly Brownlie who has filled the role of Secretary.  We thank both Ben and Kimberly for their service to our school community.

The following people have accepted roles on this year’s Governing Council:

I thank the new Governing Council for taking this important opportunity to be more involved in your child’s education and for supporting the school community. I look forward to a productive year and what we can achieve together.

We have one vacancy on Governing Council that can be filled by a parent or a community member. If you are interested in joining us, please contact the school.  There are two meetings per term and it is a genuine way to have a say in your child’s schooling and gain more information about how and why things occur.

At the AGM I presented the draft version of the 2023 Annual Report which outlines the achievements of our last academic year and perspective details.  If you would like a copy of this report, please contact the school and we can organise for a hard copy to be sent home or you can access it via our website.

School Bus Service

The school buses are an important service to ensure our students have access to Balaklava High School and most importantly, their education. This bus service is an extension of our school; therefore, it is expected that students showcase positive, safe and respectful behaviours at all times. This includes students wearing their seatbelts and not consuming food and drinks while on the school bus. Please note that water is permitted.

Unfortunately, some of our bus drivers have been subject to disrespectful behaviours over the first four weeks and are constantly cleaning up litter and damage that our students have caused. Myself and other leaders will be travelling on the school bus runs over the coming weeks to ensure positive, safe and respectful behaviours are prioritised with our students.

Mobile Phones and Personal Devices

As parents, we make the active decision to allow our children to possess a mobile phone for communication, entertainment and to access a vast range of information by connecting to a powerful and often dangerous online world. Therefore, as parents who make these decisions to grant access to such devices, we must also take an active role in educating our children on how to use these powerful tools ethically and responsibly! While schools play a role in teaching students about the online world and appropriate behaviours, the primary responsibility lies with us as parents.

Unfortunately, schools have been faced with an ever-increasing impact on the safety and good order of our sites due to the challenges mobile phones pose. Balaklava High School has had a Mobile Phone Policy since 2020, however, in 2023, our policy was altered to align with the state government’s ban on the use of mobile phones in high schools. This means that personal devices, such as mobiles phones are ‘off and away’ between the start and end of each school day (8:30am-3:15pm), and while they are attending school activities off-site, such as camps and excursions.

As we head into Week 5, BHS will be cracking down on the use of mobile phones and personal devices. ‘Off and away’ means that they are not visible and away in a student’s bag. Mobile phones should not be kept in a student’s pocket. When students enter the school ground in the morning, mobile phones and personal devices must be ‘off and away’. Once the school bell has sounded for the end of the day at 3:15pm, student may access their mobile phone to check any communication.

This also means that students are unable to make purchases from the canteen using their mobile phone. Students are required to either use a bank card, cash or pre-order their lunch using the QKR app (see the link below). As of next week (Week 5), the canteen will not be accepting payment through mobile phones because students will of course have these devices ‘off and away.’

Senior students wanting to listen to music in study are able to access Spotify through their laptops (students can set up a free account to do this) and we ask that they have headphones with cords to connect to their laptops.  Air Pods should also not be used at all in the school and smart watches are only to be used for telling the time.

Smartphone addiction, sometimes colloquially known as “nomophobia” (fear of being without a mobile phone), is often fuelled by an internet overuse problem or internet addiction disorder. After all, it's rarely the phone or tablet itself that creates the compulsion, but rather the games, apps, and online worlds it connects us to. Smartphone addiction can encompass a variety of impulse-control problems, including:

• Virtual relationships
• Information overload
• Cybersex addiction.
• Online compulsions

If you are concerned about your child’s use of their mobile phone, I encourage you to read the following information about Smartphone and Internet Addiction.

Smartphone and Internet Addiction - HelpGuide.org

Derek Friedrichs

Principal 

On Wednesday the 7th of February, Abbey Bigg attended a SACE Merit ceremony at Government House as a recognition of excellence in a SACE subject. A SACE Merit is awarded to students who display exceptional achievement within an A+ grade result in an individual subject.  

Abbey studied Agricultural Productions and consistently displayed academic excellence and passion for all categories under the Agriculture banner. Originally she had planned  to complete a Bachelor of Veterinary Sciences to become a large animal Veterinarian, however Abbey will be pursuing a Bachelor of Agricultural Sciences at the University of Adelaide due to the variety of career options and pathways that Agriculture offers. 

Emily Gibson has been awarded a bursary from the Australian Hampshire Downs Association to attend the 2024 sheep expo. It will be running in the upcoming school holidays, on the 17th-19th of April. 

We wish both the girls all the best on their Ag-ventures!

Holly Crighton

Miss O’Halloran’s Year 11 Child Studies visited Balaklava Primary School to do some reading with Room 6 students. The primary school students loved having some stories being read to them in the sunshine and our students enjoyed being able to read to Ms Nowlan’s students. The Child Studies students look forward to continuing our relationship with Room 6 throughout the year.

Daymap Connect is the best way to stay informed and involved in your child's education. This secure online portal is an extension of our Daymap Learning Management System, used by teachers to share lesson materials, assessments, and end of term reports. It has taken a little longer than usual to get our new families online and we thank you for your patience.

Through Daymap Connect, you can:

• Monitor progress: Track grades, assignments, and overall performance.
• Stay informed: Access attendance, behaviour, and school announcements.
• Be involved: View upcoming events and end-of-term reports instantly.
• Connect directly: Send and receive messages with teachers and your child responsibly.

Accessing Daymap Connect:

Each parent receives a unique login and password for secure access. Parents can access the portal using the link below, from the Balaklava High Schools website or via the mobile application. 

https://balakhs.daymap.net/daymapconnect

New or inactive accounts should click "Forgot Password" and enter the email address you provided to the school along with your student's ID code (this can be found on your child’s Daymap portal under “My Details”). If you need more support or encounter an error, please contact the school.

We are off to a great start in music this year.  After facing the realities of having no music teacher in our school, we have now pulled together a team of teachers, students and community members and I feel confident that we will keep the heartbeat of music alive at BHS.

Our team so far:

Melanie Evans: I will be in the school on Thursdays this year, overseeing music education and teaching classes in beginner keyboard, music theory, and extension music classes for senior students.  After a great turn out for our Vocal Ensemble Auditions, we will also begin rehearsals this week.

Nicole Matthews: Is our wonderful new Performing Arts teacher.  She will teach music as part of Year 7 and 8 Performing Arts classes (as well as dance and drama).  In addition to this, she will be overseeing the student-led Performance Troupe which will begin this week on Thursday lunch times. 

Bligh Wilson and Sarah Davies: Are our very capable music captains and will be taking the lead in organising the Performance Troupe, with the assistance of Molly Warnes for choreography.  We are excited to see this group put their musical theatre skills into action.

Josh Benge: Our Pastoral Care Worker is also a very talented musician and will be assisting at times in music classes.  He has also filled a very important role in teaching a small class of guitar students.  We are thankful for his expertise and willingness to help.

Jacob Staehr: Our Instrumental Music Teacher.  We are very excited to have Jacob teaching on site at BHS for the first time this year.  He will be in the school on Wednesday afternoons, teaching school band at lunchtime and brass and woodwind lessons during lessons 5 and 6.  Any students who are keen to start learning an instrument, please contact me ASAP so we can get you started.

Meriel Lane: Meriel is a very accomplished piano teacher.  She is available for private lessons (0428499856). Meriel has been providing piano lessons for many students in our community for many years.  We are thankful for her contribution to music education for our BHS students.

Kelly Bickle: Kelly is president of BCA (Balaklava Community Arts).  She will be keeping us in the loop for all community events, starting with the announcement of Legally Blonde as the BCA show for this year. (Please see advert). Information Day - Sunday March 3. Auditions - Sunday March 17. This show is suitable for senior students and older.

If you have any questions regarding music at BHS, please feel free to contact me on Daymap or email me (Melanie.Evans225@schools.sa.edu.au).

Read about what we have been up to in Year 8 Science over the first four weeks of the year from students in 8LIP4 and look at the top photos we have taken from some of the things we have viewed under the microscope.

So far in science we have been learning about the different types of cells and how to use a microscope. We have learned about the names of cells in animals, plants and humans. We made a paper diagram explaining what each cell is in the animal and human system. We have successfully learnt how to use a microscope and looked at so many different things including our hair, plants, material and bacteria. We learnt how to make wet mount slides and took lots of cool photos of what we discovered.

Aleisha Baker

In science we have been learning how to use the microscope which has been a lot of fun. My friends and I have been looking at all sorts of different things such as flower petals, dirty water, grass, hair and so many others. Some of my class mates even looked at a fly which was gross! We have also been learning about the difference between a plant cell and an animal cell. We have been looking at close ups of plant cells and I found out the plant cells have a cell wall and about the nucleus which stores and regulates DNA. I’m happy to have a school that can provide us with microscopes so we can have a closer and better vision of things.

Zarli Barker   

In science we have been learning how to use a microscope and the parts of a microscope like a stage and stage clips. We have also been learning about plant cells and animal cells and what they are made up of like the cell wall, cell membrane and cytoplasm.

Lincoln Barkla

In science we have been learning how to use a microscope and the parts of the microscope and learning about plant and animal cells. We have also been taking photos of the leaves and other things we have put under the microscope.

Tony Halkias

This year in science so far, we have learnt how to use a microscope and how to look at different things such as flies and plants. Once we got a good angle of the slide we then took a picture of it with the iPad. We have also learnt about wet mount slides and how they work. We also learnt about cells and how they have a purpose to our body.

Zeke Hallett 

In Science we have mainly been working on cells and looking at them under a microscope. We have learnt how to use a microscope, currently we are making a cell poster and have learnt about the difference between an animal cell and plant cell.

Josh Hodgetts 

In Science we have learnt how to use and focus a microscope. We have learnt about the different parts of a plant and animal cell. Plant and animal cells are different shapes and have some different organelles. We looked at onion under a microscope to see the shape of the cells at different magnification levels. We have learnt about the different types of microscopes and their uses, how the microscope was invented, the names of the different parts of a microscope and how to use a wet mount slide. We have learnt about people using science to change the way an animal or plant feels, looks, or reacts and we have learnt that we can make burgers without using animals by duplicating the cells.

Ruby Lemon 

In Science this year we have been learning about cells. We have been learning the difference between animal cells and plant cells. We have also learnt how to use a microscope and the different parts of the microscope. On one of our double lessons, we went outside and found some objects outside that we could view under the microscopes. We gathered flower petals, grass, dead grass, leaves and someone even got a fly. Now we are making posters of animal cells and plant cells.

Tori McMillan 

For the past 4 weeks in science, we have been learning about cells and microscopes. When learning about microscopes we were tasked with taking photos of our findings. We learnt the parts of the microscopes and learnt to look at cells under the microscope. We have now been tasked with making cell posters and labelling each part of both an animal and plant cell. This unit has been very fun so far with Mrs Parsons.

Dallas Michalanney 

In science this year we have learnt how to use a microscope and I also learnt how to make a wet mount slide and take pictures of the microscope with the iPad. We have also been learning about different types of cells, these were plant cells and animals cells.

Jacob Swift 

We have been using the microscope and looking at things on it. We learnt how to make a wet mount slide and we have been learning about all the parts of animal and plant cells and how they work.

Dominic Wakefield 

We have learnt how to use and focus a microscope and learnt about all the different parts of the microscope and what every bit does. We used a wet mount slide and put things on it and put it under the microscope to see how different objects look. We have also learnt about all the different parts of the animal and plant cells and the different organelles.

Alexa Young 

In the past 4 weeks in Science we have learnt about cells. Right now, we are learning about animal cells and plants and about their parts. We have also been looking at things in the microscope like bugs, plants and flowers and learning about the parts of it too. We have also learnt how to make a wet mount slide.

Brianna Young 

In science this term we have been learning about cells. We have been exploring the different cells like animal and plant cells. We have been learning how to use a microscope properly and we gathered pieces of hair and things we found outside to look at through the microscope. We also made a wet mount slide to look at some dirty water that our teacher gathered for us and the cells in an onion. We also learnt how to identify the different cell organelles like the cell wall, cell membrane and nucleus.

Phoebe Young

Open Boys Cricket Report

On Friday of Week 3 the Open Boys Cricket team made their way to Faith Lutheran College in Round 1 of the knockout competition. Captain Dylan Williams had a positive start to the day, calling correctly and electing to bat first on a green pitch. Opening duo of Corbin Branson and Sebastien Hughes played patiently and saw off the opening bowlers on a bouncy deck.

Two quick wickets brought skipper Dylan to the crease. BANG BANG, two sixes in an over and the run rate quickly escalated, Dylan’s dynamic innings came to a premature end, injuring his knee whilst trying to launch another 6 into the paddock.

Recess came and went, as did the big crowd and four of our batsmen! Vice-Captain Will McArdle tried his best to anchor the ship, in the end we were bowled out for 60. Dylan finished with 18 while Will hit 14.

With ball in hand, the formidable Faith team resembled more of a Big Bash side. Their experience at the crease paid off, Faith passed our score with ten wickets to spare.

Both sides showed great sportsmanship, allowing all players to have a bat and bowl in some entertaining cricket to finish off the day.

Thanks to Mr Parsons for driving the bus and scoring, the team look forward to regrouping next year as our attention quickly shifts to the Term 4 Year 9/10 competition!

Hudson Noack

Our Student Council Leadership Camp has kicked off with a burst of enthusiasm and energy. As soon as we arrived, our students hit the ground running, ready for an adventure-filled experience.

Splitting into two groups, our students embarked on a series of engaging activities aimed at fostering teamwork and leadership. One group tackled the Labyrinth challenge, navigating through a maze and solving riddles against the clock. Meanwhile, the other group took on the Bridge Building task, putting their collaborative skills to the test.

After a well-deserved dinner, we delved into the heart of our camp's purpose: electing our Student Council Executive Team and setting ambitious goals for the year ahead. It was inspiring to witness our students' dedication and passion for shaping the future of our school community.

Richard Thomas

Information about Student Led Conferences has now been sent home. Please follow the information emailed to book your Student Led Conferences. If you have any questions please call the school on 8862 0600 or email hannah.marshall830@schools.sa.edu.au

On Friday the 9^th of February we held our annual Swimming Carnival at the Balaklava Swimming Pool. This year’s event was the second year of running our House Challenge at school in the morning for students who did not wish to participate in competitive races. This was a great way to start the morning for these students as they raced their way around the school completing a range of different challenges in our Amazing Race. We also saw the return of 50m races and gave students the option to only swim the first 25m to earn a point for participation for their House.

This year’s results mirrored last year, Ross House were again crowned champions on the day with a huge 193-point win. Congratulations to all the Ross swimmer’s and their dominant display in the pool. Keith House won the House Spirit Shield for a second year in a row, displaying excellent team spirit. The Plains Producer 50m Freestyle Handicap Race was won by Year 7 Harvey Cay in a photo finish, narrowly touching the wall first ahead of Hamish Wildbore. 

Well done to all House Captains for their hard work in filling events, encouraging their team members to participate and having house areas decorated with plenty of colour and house pride. It was great to see students of all abilities participate in races and novelty events to win points for their House as well as parents and ex-students swimming to compete in the House Relay. It was also fantastic to see many parents, caregivers, families and community members in attendance on the day to support our students.

One record was broken on the day with Halle Young from Walter now holding the 13 & Under Girls 25m Butterfly record with a time of 22.53. There were also a number of new records set in 13 & Under 50m events that didn’t previously have a record, congratulations to the following students:

I would like to acknowledge the help and efforts of my colleagues who supported me with the set-up, pack-up and official duties of the carnival which contributed to the day being a success.

Results:

Age Group Winners

Championship Shield:                                                                          

House Spirit Shield:

Lower North Zone Interschool Swimming Carnival

On Monday the 19^th of March, 37 of our best swimmers travelled to Riverton Swimming Pool to compete in the Lower North Zone Interschool Swimming Carnival. Schools in the Lower North Zone that we competed against on the day were Clare High School, St Joseph’s School Clare, Riverton and District High School, Kapunda High School and a combined Burra Community School and Eudunda Area School.

All swimmers did an exceptional job representing our school. Congratulations to Tahlia Zerk and Connor Willmer who were Runner-Up Age Group Champions and to Lucy Pym who was Age Group Champion in the 16 & Under Girls. In the overall results, we won the Improvement Shield, the girls placed 2^nd and the boys placed 3^rd with our school finishing 2^nd in the overall Championship Shield.

Thank you to all the parents and family members that were in attendance supporting the team and helping out with time keeping. Thanks to Ash Parsons and Hudson Noack for their support and work on the day organising students and in official duties. 

Good luck to Harvey Cay and Charlotte Retallack who have nominated to compete in the School Sport SA Individual Swimming Champs which will be held on Monday 26^th of February, Week 5 at the SA Aquatic & Leisure Centre at Marion. 

We now turn our attention to our annual Athletics Carnival which will be held on Friday the 8^th of March (Week 6). Keep an eye on our Facebook page for more updates.

The year is off to a very positive start for the VET students at BHS, with a healthy number of enrolments across a range of different industry areas. As it currently stands, our 2024 VET Enrolments are as follows:

• 13 Year 12/13 Students
  • 7 on Apprenticeship/Traineeship Pathways
• 21 Year 11 Students
  • 3 on Apprenticeship/Traineeship Pathways
• 4 Pending Enrolments
  • 2 on Apprenticeship/Traineeship Pathways
• 3 Completed VET Qualifications (from 2023)

VET qualifications play an integral role in the SACE attainment for many of our students at BHS and I am hoping to further grow our community links and engagement to better support students at BHS. If you or your child is considering a VET Pathway, please contact Luke Clark.

Certificate 2 in Construction Pathways:

The course hosted at BHS (operated by TAFE SA) has commenced, with students from both BHS and Horizon Christian School actively participating.

Students have already completed their White Card certification and are progressing well with the practical components of the course. The intention for this course is to work on the construction of a cubby house over the year.

Certificate 2 in Automotive Servicing Technology:

The course is being hosted at Horizon Christian School (operated by TAFE SA) in 2024 and is scheduled to commence on Tuesday, March 5th. We look forward to the students' engagement and success in this course.

Year 10 Work Experience Week:

The Year 10 Work Experience week is scheduled for Week 9, Term 2 (June 24 - June 28).

We are pleased to report that several students have shown enthusiasm and proactiveness in organising placements and completing necessary paperwork for the week. The next stages will be some Workplace Learning and WHS requirements (to commence in Term 2).

We are actively seeking opportunities with local businesses that would be willing to host students during this week. Any details or leads from our local community would be highly appreciated, please email these to Luke.Clark269@schools.sa.edu.au

In the current financial climate and rising cost of basic needs, our Wellbeing Team are giving a call out to families who have old, no longer needed current BHS school uniforms. If they are no longer needed and families would like to donate these back to the school, these uniforms will certainly be used to support our students and families doing it tough. Any donations of current (wearable condition) BHS uniforms can be dropped off at the front office during school hours. 

https://www.esafety.gov.au/parents/issues-and-advice/parental-controls

At Australian Red Cross we’re very excited to be launching the Youth in Emergencies Development Program.

As you may recall from our communication last year, Australian Red Cross leading this project, funded under the Disaster Risk Reduction Grants Program funded by the Australian Government and the South Australian Government, and in partnership with the Country Fire Service SA, the Commissioner for Children and Young People and The Duke of Edinburgh International Award, embarked on a co-design journey to create the Youth in Emergencies Development Program (YEDP).

We had a great time facilitating co-design workshops with young people across South Australia, and with their valuable input we’ve built a program tailored to the wants and needs of young people.

Designed by young people for young people, this program offers a unique opportunity to learn about the natural hazards we face due to our changing climate, and how to take steps to limit their exposure to them.  More information about the content can be found here.

The program will teach young people how to prepare for emergencies, become leaders across the communities they’re part of, and about the varied ways diverse communities are impacted by emergencies and disasters.  We’ll also make opportunities for them to have a say in decisions that impact them.

While learning all this, the participants will be working towards The Duke of Edinburgh International Bronze Award, worth 10 SACE points.

This is a program designed for young people to:

• Gain an International Award
• Develop important life skills
• Meet new people
• Accelerate job opportunities
• Learn how to be prepared for emergencies

The YEDP is open to all students enrolled in years 9-12 living in South Australia, and we’re offering generous financial support so that everyone can apply.