Balaklava High School - balakhs.sa.edu.au · Chloe Hean, Leyla Jacobson, Samantha Kea, Harriet...
Transcript of Balaklava High School - balakhs.sa.edu.au · Chloe Hean, Leyla Jacobson, Samantha Kea, Harriet...
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: [email protected]
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