I am excited to welcome you back and begin the 2025 school year at Balaklava High School. I hope all families have enjoyed the summer holidays, had a rejuvenating break and have come back ready to learn, grow and excel as a school community.

To kick off the year, we must acknowledge new beginnings in 2025 at Balaklava High School.

Firstly, I’d like to extend a very warm welcome to our new Year 7 students and your families into our school community. You’ve just become a part of a school family that values learning, growth and striving to be your best and I know that you have an amazing team that will support your transition to High School life. I’m looking forward to popping into your classes over the new couple of weeks to learn along the way with you! Please join us on Thursday 20^th February at 6pm for our annual Year 7 Meet and Greet evening.

We have many new students who have moved into our communities and are starting here at BHS for the first time. We are thrilled to have you and welcome you to our school.

We also welcome 7 new educators and staff to Balaklava High School and I would like to introduce and welcome them to our family.

• Mrs Donna Carpenter - Assistant Principal -Head of Junior School and teaching English.
• Miss Abhi Kaur - Wellbeing and Inclusion leader and teaching Maths.
• Mr Liam Marshall - Year 8 Homegroup and teaching Tech Studies, Home Ec and Agriculture.
• Miss Lisa Dewhurst - Year 9 Homegroup and teaching Art and Humanities
• Miss Sarah Wensley - Year 8 Homegroup and teaching Music/Performing Arts, English and Special Options.
• Mr Lloyd Cook - Year 10 Homegroup and teaching English and Modern History.
• Miss Seema Rani - Year Homegroup and teaching Science.
• Mrs Sam Wright – Finance Officer in the Admin team

We also welcome back Josh Jenner and Jess Daniel to the team for 2025.

New beginnings can be scary no matter if you are young or old! They can be daunting and incredibly confronting. So, my challenge to our student cohort is to make sure that our new family members are not only welcomed at Balaklava High School, but they are truly embraced. Create an atmosphere where everyone feels like they belong. Take the initiative to welcome new teachers and peers. A simple "hello" or a friendly gesture can go a long way. Remember, each one of you has the power to make someone's day brighter, and that's a superpower worth using every day.

Something that is very important to me is wellbeing. We can’t expect our students to achieve educational outcomes if they are not well and ready to learn. The journey of a successful school year starts with taking care of ourselves. It's not just about acing tests and exams and getting As; it's about finding balance, staying healthy and enjoying the ride. We encourage regular breaks, getting involved in activities you love and reaching out for support if required. We're here for each other and we are have a fantastic Wellbeing Team.

One of my expectations of our student cohort continues to be that they strive to be the best versions of themselves. It's important to remember that school is not about comparisons to other people and their capabilities; it's about personal growth and doing your best. Embrace challenges with enthusiasm, learn from experiences and celebrate achievements – big or small. Be kind to one another, support peers and create an environment where everyone can flourish. Imagine if each of us took a step every day to be a little better than we were yesterday – that's how we create a ripple effect of positivity throughout our school.

To our Year 12 students, I want to extend my best wishes. This is a big year and also a really exciting one. It’s hard to believe that in a little over three terms you will be completing your schooling journey and will set out into the wide world to begin  adulthood. Year 12 is an audition to this adulthood and I encourage you not to waste opportunities, be prepared to sacrifice a little to achieve your goals and don’t put off until tomorrow what can be achieved today. You have some wonderful mentors in life, so I encourage you to use their resources to make this year count.

Site Learning Goal

Throughout 2024 we spent time as a staff engaging with the new Public Education Strategy and following the Learning as Improvement Cycle of Enquiry. We explored our local context, where we are as a school and where we want to get to in terms of improvement.

From this work, we have developed a site learning goal that will be our focus at BHS over the next 6 terms which focuses on community, resilience and resourcefulness.

“As a community, we will improve outcomes for every student at BHS by developing resilient and resourceful students.”

We look forward to rolling with work out across the site.

2024 SACE Results

It was another successful year for SACE results in 2024 with a 100% overall SACE completion rate – a testament to the hard work and dedication from both students and teachers. Congratulations to Madison Litzow who was the BHS Dux with an ATAR of 97.6, without bonus points. A phenomenal achievement Madison! Kiara Cowan was awarded a Merit for Agricultural Production and 3 students achieved A+ grades in Physical Education and Agricultural Production. Congratulations to each of these students and their teachers for these fantastic results. Other highlights with our 2024 SACE data include:

• 64.4% of all Stage 2 grades were As and Bs (up from 58% in 2022 and 61% in 2023).
• 100% of all Stage 2 grades were passing grades.
• 27.91% of all of our students who completed their SACE did so with a VET component.

Attendance

Everyday matters in the school life of a young person. Each day of attendance has a positive effect on their development and future success. Regular attendance at school is essential to assist students to maximise their potential. Unless students have a negotiated individual learning program that takes their learning beyond the classroom and school grounds, students need to be at school and attending lessons to support them to gain the knowledge, skills and dispositions necessary to be productive citizens capable of shaping their world. Schools, in partnership with parents, are responsible for promoting the regular attendance of students. Attendance at school contributes to a community that is well educated, healthier, employed, financially independent and more empowered. Young people who do not regularly attend school miss out on planned learning experiences, sequences of instructions and class participation. The impact of this loss is compounded with each absence. 

Missing one day a week adds up to two weeks across a whole term. Over the six years of secondary school, this adds up to more than a year of school that is missed – essentially equivalent to only finishing Year 11. The impact on learning is serious. While we understand that students may be absent due to illness and that sometimes a family matter can require a short period of absence, we ask for your support in ensuring your child attends each school day.

Take a moment to study and absorb the following table which demonstrates the impact on learning across a child’s school journey from R-12.

Student Free Days and School Closure

We are currently working through our proposed Student Free Days and date of the School Closure which will be for the Royal Adelaide Show again in Term 3 due to the Yorke Peninsula Field Days being held in the holidays. Once these dates are set and approved, we will communicate these with families.

Parent Contribution

The old proverb ‘it takes a village to raise a child’ is most definitely true and we want our students at Balaklava High School to have access to as many opportunities, events and services as possible to allow them to thrive! Occasionally, this requires assistance from our parent body to ensure these opportunities are available or functioning to the best of their ability. Kev Kelly will be leading the reintroduction of a Parents and Friends group in 2025 where our school and parents can work hand in hand, for the benefit of our students and also as a support network. In addition, we will commence our AG Learning Centre Committee in Term 1 to utilise the expertise of our farming community and assist with the management of our farm such as weekend feeding.

Our school canteen provides an amazing service to not only BHS, but BPS as well. Assistance in the canteen is always required and welcome. Please pop in and see me for a chat or contact me via DayMap, email me at derek.friedrichs@schools.sa.edu.au or call 88620600.

Governing Council AGM

The Governing Council is an important component of the school’s decision-making and consultative processes and it provides an opportunity for parents to be more strongly involved in school operations and to gain a deeper understanding of how the school functions.  Our Governing Council’s AGM will take place on Tuesday 18^th February 2024 at 7.00 pm in the Balaklava Community Library.  Please consider nominating, or renominating, for the Governing Council, which has a crucial role in ensuring that the school is meeting the educational needs of the community.  Please see the nomination slip for Governing Council below or you can access one by contacting the Front Office.  We have a number of current Council members who are finishing their time on Governing Council and I thank them for their contribution to our school throughout their tenure.  If you are not considering nominating for Governing Council, you are very welcome to come along to the AGM where information and reports will be shared.

School Photo Day

Communication

Communication is one of the key pillars of success in schooling and I encourage parents to contact teachers directly if you have a question, need to share information or if you have a concern.  You can contact teachers via Daymap or phone the school on 8862 0600 and leave a message for them to call you back.  The first point of contact should always be the subject teacher for class related matters, the Homegroup teacher for broader concerns or a member of the Leadership Team for more significant issues.  Daymap is a place for parents to access crucial information including feedback on student work, absences, homework and other school related tasks and I encourage you to access the Parent Portal regularly.  There are instructions on how to do this later in the newsletter and you can always contact the Front Office if you have any issues with access.  Another form of communication is through social media and I invite all students and their families to like us on Facebook to keep up-to-date with school events and information.

There have also been some changes to the Leadership team this year and I encourage you to contact the relevant person when a need arises:

Derek Friedrichs	Principal	Derek.Friedrichs447@schools.sa.edu.au
Kev Kelly	Deputy Principal – Curriculum & Pedagogy	Kev.Kelly797@schools.sa.edu.au
Carena Brookes	Assistant Principal - Head of Senior School	Carena.Brookes219@schools.sa.edu.au
Pina Ribbons	Assistant Principal - Head of Middle School	Pina.Ribbons25@schools.sa.edu.au
Donna Carpenter	Assistant Principal - Head of Junior School	Donna.Carpenter608@schools.sa.edu.au
Abi Kaur	Senior Leader - Wellbeing and Inclusion	Abhijeet.Kaur20@schools.sa.edu.au
Ash Parsons	Coordinator - Wellbeing, Engagement and Tailored Learning	Ash.Parsons806@schools.sa.edu.au
Ashleigh Leonello	Coordinator - Student Support and Engagement	Ashleigh.Leonello639@schools.sa.edu.au
Amber Buick	Coordinator -  Mathematics/Numeracy	Amber.Buick397@schools.sa.edu.au
Hannah Marshall	Coordinator - Literacy,  English/HASS	Hannah.Hoepner777@schools.sa.edu.au
Luke Clarke	Coordinator - VET and Future Pathways	Luke.Clark269@schools.sa.edu.au
Elly Swift	Business Manager	Elly.Rankin592@schools.sa.edu.au

As you may have seen, the start of next week is going to be a scorcher with the forecast around 40C for Monday and Tuesday. We will enact our Extreme Weather Policy and ensure classrooms are opened at breaktimes for students.

Please feel free to contact me here at school if you have a matter you wish to discuss regarding your child’s education. I understand that there are sometimes issues or concerns you wish to communicate and I also enjoy hearing about the wins and success stories.

I can be contacted via Daymap or email derek.friedrichs447@schools.sa.edu.au or you can phone the school on 8862 0600 to speak to me directly or to make a time to come and see me. 

Regards

Derek Friedrichs

Principal

Balaklava High School