22nd March 2018

Mark Healy PRINCIPAL

Kerry Williams

DEPUTY PRINCIPAL

Ruth Stevens ADMINISTRATOR

Excel today to challenge the future

Balaklava High School

PO Box 41 Gwy Tce BALAKLAVA SA 5461 Phone 08 88620600 Fax 08 88620650

Email: dl.0769.info@schools.sa.edu.au

PRINCIPAL’S REPORT

The whirlwind of events continues, and as this newsletter attests Balaklava

High School’s Term 1 calendar is filled with a diversity of learning and

enrichment opportunities, sporting fixtures and one very important

celebration of a significant milestone. Within this rich tapestry of

additional opportunities, teaching and learning continues and, following

the new Student Led Conference process undertaken in week 5, we are

now conducting, the second of the term’s interim assessment weeks and

all students should be working hard to ensure that they receive positive

feedback on their efforts and that they are achieving to the best of their

ability. This is particularly important with Term 1 reports being sent home in

just over three weeks on the last day of term. I look forward to seeing

again this term significant improvement in student achievement results

with more students passing all their subjects, a corresponding increase in

the percentage of passing grades and more students receiving A and B

grades for their achievements this term.

Performing Arts Centre Community Opening

It was an outstanding “milestone” moment to be able to finally celebrate

the completion of the new Performing Arts Centre with a Community

Opening event over two evenings last week.

It has certainly been a long journey from that terrible day back in April

2013 where we lost two buildings to a fire but out of those ashes we have

a wonderful new, exceptionally well equipped facility which will serve the

school and the broader community well for a great many years to come.

The staging of the opening event, entitled “The Greatest Show” provided

students from Tahlia Crickmar’s Year 9 Performing Arts classes the

historical opportunity to display their dance skills in well-choreographed

excepts from past BHS Musicals staged over recent years. Interspersed

with these outstanding performances was archival video footage

highlighting the rich history of music and drama at this school over the last

40 or so years. The evening proved a fitting tribute to the Performing Arts

at the school and showcased both the high quality of the current

program as well as the opportunities available in this amazing new

facility. I congratulate all those, and particularly Performing Arts teacher,

Tahlia Crickmar, for organising and staging this amazing community

opening event.

Attendance

I am very pleased to report that our overall attendance rate, as of last

Friday, is sitting at 92.8% very slightly (0.7%) up on the same time last year,

which saw, by the year’s end, an overall attendance rate of 89.40%, the

best result in the last 9 years, and reflecting 3 years on continual

improvement. The current Year level attendance rates are as follows:

Year 8 Year 9 Year 10 Year 11 Year 12

94.9% 93.9% 93.3% 89.0% 93.8%

Positive relationships Respect Integrity Dedication Excellence

Important Dates

Mar

27 Yr 8 Immunisations

30 Good Friday

April

2 Easter Monday

7 Senior School Formal

10 Lwr Nth Athletics-Santos

12 Meningococcal Swabs- Yr

11/12s

13 Term 1 finishes at 2:20pm

It is terrific to see the Year 8 attendance rate

sitting very close to the DECD target of 95% and

the Year 9s and 10s continuing their strong

attendance and achievement pattern from last

year. Clearly regular attendance remains a

major factor in student success at school. Of

course, while positive attitude and application

when at school also impact strongly on learning

and school success, sustained regular

attendance throughout the year remains a key

determinant of student achievement.

Relevant school data over recent years supports

the importance of positive attendance patterns.

For our Year 12s, those who have passed all

subjects have, “on average,” been absent for

only 2 or 3 days during the course of a term. For

those who have achieved highly attaining

predominantly As and Bs the number of days

absent per term is less than 2! Those who have

failed one or more subjects have, “on average,”

had 10 to 15 days absent from school per term –

the equivalent of about 3 weeks! This pattern is

the same in all year levels!

For about 18% of our student population the

missing of at least 1 day per week is the norm,

and this equates to at least 40 absences per year

– or at least 8 weeks away from school across the

course of the school year. This chronic non-

attendances, is almost always long term

patterned behaviour extending back in to

primary school years, and produces significant

gaps in learning. Clearly this continues to impact

profoundly on their learning and when students

return to their classes there is a constant cycle of

disruption to the learning environment of other

students as their teachers seek to catch them up

on the learning they have missed.

Regular attendance tends to fall away as the

year progresses and I urge that all parents

support the school in improving student

attendance and help us meet the DECD Target

of 95% attendance. As the data above

demonstrates, there is a very strong link between

regular attendance and success at school.

Indeed, as the school’s attendance data reflects

consistent improvement over the last 3 years,

there has also been real improvement in student

learning outcomes. I look forward to seeing this

continue this year.

Site Improvement Targets

Broadly in line with the discussion above, the Site

Improvement Plan (SIP), published on the

school’s website: www.balakhs.sa.edu.au

outlines key school improvement targets.

Specifically these are to improve on the 2017

benchmark results, the percentage of:

passing grades

A and B grades being attained

students passing all subjects

student attending school

I ask that all parents, in partnership with the school,

actively, positively and unrelentingly encourage and

support your child to attend regularly, (more than 3

absences per term is too many), aspire to achieve to

their genuine best, seek to improve the number of As

and Bs they attain and work diligently to ensure that

they pass all their subjects. While important for all

students in all Year Levels, and certainly for those in

their final year of schooling, for students in Years 8 and

9, the habits of mind and the positive behaviours

established early are essential in laying the

foundations for future successes. I look forward to your

support in this matter.

Election Day BBQ

I want to thank the Governing Council for organising

and running the sausage sizzle at the polling booth,

conducted at the school, during last Saturday’s State

election. I want to particularly thank Katrina Gameau

for all her work both before and on the day, and also

thank Kelvin Gameau who also manned the BBQ stall

for the day. Thank you also to the Governing Council

members; Stuart Roberts, Catherine Karklins, Mandy

Tiller and Ben Marshman who supported on the day.

Sports Day

I congratulate Michael Brooks, his team and all who

supported in making the recent Sports Day such a

positive and successful event. It was very pleasing to

see so many students involved in the events and the

obvious efforts made by many to support their Houses

and visibly display real team spirit. It was certainly a

well organised day with an exceptionally positive tone.

Well done to Keith who took the honours on the day.

Their victory again confirms the reality that the team

that fills their events has the greatest chance of

winning the day. I was also great to see so many

parents and family members in attendance on the

day. Well done to all who contributed to the day and

supported its success.

A New Addition

Since the writing of the last newsletter Aish Flynn and

Sam Ritchie have welcomed to the world, their son

Darragh Joshua Joseph Ritchie. We congratulate

them on this wonderful news and wish them all the

very best on this exciting new journey and adventure.

Mark Healy

DEPUTY’S REPORT

Lions

It was my privilege to recently attend a Lions meeting

to support the Balaklava High School World Challenge

students who had been invited as guest speakers.

Rachel Dunstan, Madison Bond, Teisha Harkness,

Mikaela Tiller and Tom Gameau presented their

experiences in a professional and entertaining way.

Each student presented part of their experience with

Madison elaborating on the profound affect her

travels have had upon her. Mikaela had prepared an

engaging video collage that captured the group’s

experiences and was able to portray the range of

activities and events they undertook. Below is an

account from Rachel about the experience of

presenting to the Balaklava Lions. I would like to

thank Kathy Chegwyn for her continued support of

Balaklava High School and for inviting the World

Challenge students to speak.

As a part of our once in a lifetime experience to Cambodia &

Laos, we were invited to share our adventure and speak at the

monthly Lion’s club meeting. This was a privilege for us as we

were one of two guest speakers for the night as well as getting

to share our photos and videos from our time overseas. We

were greeted with their opening duties including hearing their

respective pledge on what the Lion’s club represents and their

rules and regulations. Our presentation consisted of each

student presenting a brief speech explaining our time away

including budgeting, multiple treks and different cultures. We

dearly thank the Lion’s men and women for inviting us to speak

and we hope they gained as much from it as we did from our

travels. By Rachel Dunstan

Events Photography Group

I recently invited students to show an expression of

interest in taking over the role of Balaklava High

School events photographer. A huge thank you to

Ethan Allen who took on this role during his first year

in high school and was actively capturing images to

immortalise our events until the end of 2017. I was

overwhelmed by the response with 23 students

attending the meeting. The students who will share

the role of events photographer include: Ashlee

Allegretto, Jasmine Barden, Angie Barr, Kara Binka,

Mackenzie Cadd, Emma Davies, Tyler Durdin, Charlie

Evans, Rhiana Feltham, Abigail Futterleib, Dylan Hale,

Chloe Hean, Leyla Jacobson, Samantha Kea, Harriet

Marshman, Abbie McArdle, Erica Menzies, Shaniya

Neindorf, Ira Pagadut, Kayleigh Parker, Jessica

Roberts, Bianca Stuart and Alanah Swift. I plan to

organise workshops to help build these budding

photographers skills. Already they have been in

operation and many of the photos of Sports Day

have been taken by the above photographers.

Sports Day

Congratulations to Michael Brooks and the PE Staff

who worked tirelessly to put on an excellent event.

The day ran smoothly and the students showed

great team spirit. Congratulations to all the

individual year level winning athletes and of course

to Keith who are showing their prowess on the track

as well as in the pool. I wish the Balaklava High

School team every success as they compete at

Kapunda for Interschool and later in Adelaide.

Student Led Conference

By now your child should have completed their

Student Led Conference (SLC) with their

homegroup teacher and with you participating

(either in person or through a telephone

conference). A survey is about to be sent out to you

asking about your experience and getting

feedback about how we can improve this process.

If your child has not yet completed a SLC can you

please contact Kerry Williams on 8832 0600 who will

ensure this happens before the end of the term.

Uniform

Although the cooler weather still seems a long way

off, families are encouraged to start organising their

warmer uniform supplies now.

School trousers are to be grey or navy blue or navy

blue track pants (no large logos or stripes). There is

to be no denim or black worn to school. We have a

navy blue hoodie; navy bomber jacket with light

blue sleeves or a navy rugby top for the cooler

months. Any clothing worn under our school uniform

that is visible must be white or navy. All logo uniform

items are available from TADs in Balaklava.

Bus Travel

I would like to commend all students travelling on

our buses for their positive behaviour. To date there

has only been isolated “blue bus behaviour slips”

received which is a tremendous start to the year. At

the combined schools bus meeting last week there

were minimal concerns raised. At this point in time I

would like to remind students and parents about

casual/ sport bus travel. All changes to normal bus

travel need to be notified via the high school. The

process is a signed note from a parent 24 hours prior

to the change which must be shown at the front

office. We then liaise with the Primary School to

check that the bus has room; if it is OK the note will

be stamped and it needs to be shown to the bus

drivers. If your child wants to change the bus they

travel on due to regular sports practise, the change

of travel needs to be applied for through Balaklava

High School. There is an official change of travel

due to sports practise form that needs to be

completed. The change will only be granted if

there is room on the bus and the primary school will

notify the high school of any changes in travel. The

original bus form you filled out for bus travel states

your permission for travel on the regular bus run and

all other changes to this bus travel MUST have your

signed permission or else bus travel will be refused.

Teisha Harkness, Rachel Dunstan, Tom Gameau, Madison Bond

& Mikaela Tiller with Collin Heslop and Kathy Chegwyn from the

Balaklava Lions Club

Balaklava High Community Service

Last Thursday I put a call out for students to help

Spring clean the high school bus. The bus is always

cleaned at the end of each journey but rarely has

a complete deep clean. Again I was overwhelmed

by the support of the students and would like to

thank then following for helping me get the bus into

tip top shape: The bus was washed, vacuumed,

polished and swept. It looked like a new vehicle

once the team was finished. They showed great

team work and enthusiasm to get the task

completed in less than an hour. Thank you to the

following students for their community service: Cleo

Aston, Ben Blackham, Ethan Brownlie, Emily Burden,

Brock Cornish, Craig Cross, Clare Davies, Emma

Davies, Keira Doe, Haylee Donselaar, Dylan Hale,

Michelle Jones, Kiara Standley and Josh Tiller.

ROC (Respect Our Community)

Bullying, whilst being prevalent in our society for

numerous years, has certainly come to the forefront

with the media highlighting the recent death of

Amy “Dolly” Everett. Media campaigns by Channel

7 Sunrise and Channel 10 The Project are aiming to

highlight and push the Government for initiatives to

combat the issue. At Balaklava High School we

have a clear bullying and harassment policy which

is currently under review to address bullying. Mark

Healy and I have been a part of a community

based initiative activated by Brevet Sergeant Tristan

Graham. The purpose of ROC (Respect Our

Community) group is to address bullying

(particularly cyber bullying). We aim to do this by

supporting children and teenagers to identify key

mentors in their communities who can act as

advocates for positive, respectful behaviours that

doesn’t support bullying. This group is only in its

infancy but I feel that having a group such as this in

our communities is a way of working towards us all

embracing positive interactions between all

community members and working towards

eradicating the detrimental, negative behaviours

that include bullying and harassment.

Below are some resources distributed by ReachOut.

The ReachOut website is a free resource for anyone

to utilise and can be accessed at

https://au.reachout.com/

Bullying and cyberbullying can make our kids feel

unsafe and unhappy. It can stop them being who

they want to be, and can make it hard to learn and

be with other people. It can also lead to some

pretty serious mental health issues like anxiety and

depression.

As parenting coaches, we have years of

experience helping parents navigate their way

through bullying. Because we often work with

parents who are uncertain about the best

way forward we thought we would share our

top tips.

7 tips to help your teen right now

Stay calm and positive. Your attitude will

influence your teen - focus on identifying

solutions with them rather than dwelling on

what has happened. This focus on the future

and taking action is a trademark of

coaching that we love!

Open the lines of communication. Make time

and space to talk. Let them know you’re

interested and ready to listen when they are

ready to talk. Ask them what they would like

to happen, how they would like you to

support them, and offer to help them find

strategies and ways they can deal with the

situation.

Listen. This one’s really important. Be present.

Rather than listening to fix their problem,

listen to understand what the problem is.

And don’t worry, we even find this difficult

sometimes!

Ethan Brownlie and Josh Tiller give the bus a good scrub down

Kiara Stand-

ley and Emily

Burden giving

the final

polish

the Year 7 students and families who would like to

see more of what we have to offer. We will meet in

our new Science building at 4:30pm for a short

information session, where staff and students will

speak about a range of opportunities. Then our

students will act as guides and direct our visitors to

each of our different learning areas, discussing the

highlights and aspects of the school throughout the

tour. We will finish back in the Science building at

6:30pm with refreshments and an opportunity to

answer any questions. A crèche will be offered to

help support parents of younger children.

Kerry Williams

SCIENCE

The Year 9s have just finished their Dynamic Earth

science topic. To understand earthquakes students

built a shake table and answered the following

questions in their test: What are shake tables used

for and how do they help people? Here are some

photos of students building their shake tables and

their answers to the test question.

Shannon Schutt-Shake tables are used to test what

buildings are most effective in an earthquake as the

shake table can replicate what would happen in an

earthquake, making houses safer for people to live

in case of an earthquake.

Connect. Let your teen know that you like them.

They know that you love them, but actively

taking notice of their interests shows them

they are valued, building their self-worth and

resilience. Even small things count, such as

cooking together or show interest in their

online world.

Help them build their self-esteem. Support and

encourage your teen to find something they

can do that gives them a sense of pride and

accomplishment, something that makes

them feel good about who they are.

Help your teen disconnect. Think about the last

time you went more than a few hours

w i thout check ing yo ur phone?

Hyperventilating yet? Your teenager is less

likely to let you know about bullying if they’re

afraid they’ll have their devices taken away.

However, experience shows us that if you

support them to find ways to manage their

devices, such as limiting their use when

they’re at home, this can give them some

breathing space.

Don't forget about yourself. Find some support for

you! Talk to family or friends. Knowing your

teen is experiencing bullying, and the effects

this may have, can be extremely upsetting

and stressful. It’s really important that you

take time for yourself - talking about your

feelings and experiences can be helpful and

leave you with more to support your teen.

And remember, you don't have to have all the

answers and your teen doesn't expect you to!

This article was written by the ReachOut Parents

coaches.

If you child is experiencing bullying please contact

the school on 8862 0600 and speak to Lucy Thiel or

Kerry Williams. We cannot help if we don’t know

about the situation.

Year 7-8 Transition Process

As part of the Year 7 transition process I will be

visiting all of our feeder primary schools in the last

two weeks of Term 1. This will be an opportunity for

Year 7 parents and students to meet me in an

informal meeting and ask any questions they may

have. The meetings will take place at the following

times:

Mallala Primary School: Year 7 Parents Wednesday

4th April 6:00-6:30pm

Balaklava Primary School: Year 7 Parents Thursday

5th April 5:30-6:00pm

Port Wakefield Primary School: Year 7 Parents

Monday 9th April 6:30-7:00pm

Owen Primary School: Year 6/7 Parents Wednesday

11th April 6:00-6:30pm

Open Night

On Wednesday 23rd May (Week 4, Term 2) our

school will be open to the public, and in particular

Luke Hart- Shake tables are used to create an

earthquake with a man-made model building on it.

Every time they make an earthquake, they will use

the data they gather to find new ways to build

buildings so they can withstand the force of an

earthquake. Making life easier on people so they

don't have to lose their homes every time an

earthquake hits.

Riley Hayes-Revitt - Shake tables are devices used

by scientist to test the durability of structures during

an earthquake. Architects rent these tables so they

can test how their

structure will act

during an

earthquake. The

shake table uses

seismograph

readings from past

earthquakes to

then "shake" the

building

accordingly. These

devices help

people prepare for

earthquakes and

helps scientists to

find new ways to

prepare buildings

for earthquakes.

Merridy Manuel

THE GREATEST SHOW

Last week, our Year 9 students (plus some Year 10s)

were lucky enough to be the first group of students to

perform to a public audience in our brand new

Performing Arts Building! We are so proud of our new

facility and the students who performed in such a

professional way, in front of two sell-out crowds! The

Performance Troupe started the night with a bang,

performing “The Greatest Show” from the recently

released movie The Greatest Showman.

Then, audiences were treated to a multimedia

display as we took a trip down memory lane through

the history of Performing Arts at BHS and the musical

productions from 1985-2000. The live performances

were presented in the style of a revue, reprising

show-stopping numbers from our recent history 2014-

2017. It was impressive to see so many students

performing with confidence and professionalism that

was enhanced by the spectacular sound and

lighting equipment in our new space. Special thanks

go to all the staff who supported our evening

performances either front of house or backstage and

Mrs Melanie Evans for guiding students through the

two production days.

We hope to see you at our next show in this amazing

new theatre.

Tahlia Crickmar

Teisha Harkness & Mikaela Tiller in control of sound and lighting

The spectacular opening act from “The Greatest Showman”

Mr Michael Mazzone showcased our new baby grand piano

A very proud Mark Healy, Tahlia Crickmar and Mel Evans with

the performance troupe at the end of the show

Jayden Hendry, Logan Olsen and Lachlan Groth as the Lollipop

Guild

9RH3 led by Maddie Karklins

Nik Sumner (Pinocchio) and 9CB1

.

Photos courtesy of Charlie Evans and Abigail Futterleig,

our new Events Photographers

PHOTOS FROM ATHLETICS DAY

SPORT NEWS

Adelaide Swimming

On Monday 26th March, Balaklava High School sent

22 swimmers to the Marion Aquatics Centre for the F

Grade SSSSA Swimming Carnival. We competed

against a variety of schools from both country and

metropolitan regions: Mitcham Girls, St. Martin’s Lu-

theran, Australian Science & Maths, John Pirie,

Gleeson, Kapunda, Mt. Carmel, Yorke Peninsula and

Portside.

We finished 4th overall in the girls events and 3rd in

the boys. Overall, we finished in third position behind

two larger teams and schools in St. Martins and Ka-

punda. It was an enjoyable day overall and a great

experience for all our students to swim in an Olym-

pic standard pool. Thanks to Ms McCormack for her

team organisation and to all the parents and fami-

lies who cheered loudly and assisted with various

duties on the day – your help was much appreciat-

ed. Well done to the following students who repre-

sented their school in outstanding fashion, both in

and outside the pool:

BAILEY ARTHUR, LUKE HART, HARRIET MARSHMAN,

CODY REDPATH, LACHLAN HENDRY, ABBIE MCARDLE,

MITCHELL MCLEAN, JESSIE LEE, KEISHA GREGORY,

MATT MOJARES, TIARHN CARPENTER, JACINTA

COCKS, JAYDEN HENDRY, TAMIKA GREGORY, CHLOE

LAMOND, JESSICA REED, TAYLAH PRATT, AMBER

PRATT, CHARLI WILLIAMSON, LIBBY CLEARY, JACOB

BATTLE & JAZMIN CORNELISSEN.

Michael Brooks

Sports Coordinator

Athletics Day report will be included into the next

newsletter

B PART OF IT (MENINGOCOCCAL B) STUDY

In 2017 we visited BHS and administered the Menin-

gococcal B to Year 10, 11 and 12 students. We will

be visiting the school on Thursday, 12th April 2018 to

complete the study for year 11 and 12s. Students will

receive a throat swab and be asked to complete a

questionnaire. The follow up throat swab is an im-

portant part of the study. All students will receive an

ITunes voucher.

2017 Year 12 students are also invited to have an-

other throat swab taken in 2018. This is voluntary.

Should you wish to have another throat swab taken

in 2018, you will be asked to complete a consent

form and questionnaire, as well as the throat swab.

Participating students will receive a $40.00 Coles My-

er voucher.

Any questions please contact Tania on 0427 979 013

Tania and Rachel WPMC

COMMUNITY NEWS