Term 2 has certainly been eventful with continued impact from COVID. During this term several staff have contracted COVID, but we appear to be moving to a more stable situation heading into Term 3. I wish to thank staff for their efforts over this challenging time and I look forward to staff and students having a less interrupted Semester 2.

I wish to address an issue that has been ongoing for the past few years – student use of mobile phones at school. As I am sure you are all aware, in line with government policy, student mobile phones are not permitted to be switched on or used on school sites. Over the past few years, we have attempted to support students in complying with  this  requirement.    Unfortunately,  students continue to use their mobile phones inappropriately and this has impacted learning and safety. Students have filmed events without permission, been on social media platforms instead of completing work and in some instances engaged in online bullying.

Our school’s pillars are Learning, Safety, Responsibility and Respect. We  strive to ensure every student feels safe at school and supported in their learning. Balga SHS remains committed to ensure the use of mobile phones at school ceases. Students have been given warnings repeatedly and due to continued breaches, we are now going to enforce this without exception. Please be aware that student mobile phones are not allowed on the Balga SHS site. If a student is required to have a mobile phone for safety reasons regarding travelling to and from school, the phone must be switched off and remain in the school bag throughout the school day.

Our management strategy moving forward will be that if a student has a mobile phone out at school, it will be confiscated and will only be returned to the parent/carer’ not the student. I ask everyone to work with us to ensure we can maintain safety and the best learning environment in our school. Please note that because of this policy, our school canteen will only be accepting cash or card payments next term. Payments using mobile phones will not be possible.

On another issue, I also ask parents and carers to assist with compliance regarding school uniforms. It is a requirement that students wear the school uniform. Our uniform is the school shirt, with plain (no logos) black pants/shorts/skirt. We have our school jacket which can be worn on top of the shirt during cold days. Alternately, we do permit students to wear additional warmer clothing beneath the school shirt. If a student arrives at school out of uniform, they will be provided with a uniform from our Student Services team to wear for the day. Most students are doing a great job in complying with the uniform policy so well done and for those who are struggling to comply, we will assist by providing the loan uniform. Should you have any issues with obtaining a uniform, please contact the school and have a chat with me.

On a more positive note, our students have continued to work hard throughout this semester, and it was great to see more students passing ONLA. I look forward to even more students passing their OLNA next semester and I thank staff for the additional support provided to assist them in this regard.

The Performing Art Centre and STEM upgrade preliminary work continues to progress. Unfortunately, the start date for the actual construction of this facility has been delayed from the end of 2022 to the second half of 2023. We remain excited about this wonderful facility becoming operational by the end of 2024.

Our school board would like to call for parent/carer nominations. Our school board meets once per term and provides feedback and oversight on our school operations. It is important that we have parent/carer representation on our board because our school is for our community. If you are interested in nominating, please contact the school on 9247 0222 and I can provide more information regarding these important positions.

The rebranding of our House system has continued this term and we now have signage around the school to reinforce what will continue to be a vibrant and connected House system at Balga SHS. Our Positive Behaviours and Student Health and Wellbeing strategies will all be connected through our House model. A big thank you to our P&C for funding this project. We are currently in the process of implementing a program to further support our students – The Berry Street Education Model. This strategy will include information sessions with parents and carers to explain how this will function within our school, and most importantly, how it will benefit students. Staff training will be a priority in 2023 and all staff will be fully trained by the end of 2024. In the meantime, there will be staged implementation of the strategies.

Finally, I wish to thank my staff for their outstanding efforts during a challenging period again this term. I also want to acknowledge the challenges our students and the community have had to face throughout the first half of 2022, (and I hope we have a less interrupted Semester 2). Enjoy your holidays, be safe and we look forward to seeing everyone back at school on Tuesday, 19 July.

Mr Mark Carton – Principal

Term Two is a busy time for both staff and students in the English Learning Area. Students have now settled into their classes and are working on the various reading and viewing, writing, and speaking and listening assessments. Teachers are working on assisting their students’ individual needs and implementing strategies to help move them onto the next level in their learning.

In the Junior School, our Year 7 students sat the NAPLAN testing online in May. The school will receive the students’ results later next term. In class, the main focus has been on the different forms of writing, including narrative and persuasive texts. The Year 8 classes also sat formalised testing called CNAP. This testing provides teachers with valuable data to help us address the needs of each individual student and ensure they are placed in the correct stream. They have also been exploring the “Horror” genre and experimenting with writing devices, creating suspenseful plots, building character descriptions, and atmospheric settings.

Our Year 10 classes explored various themes in relation to humanity, through an array of short stories. The film “The Sapphires” directed by Wayne Blair, was selected as the viewing text in which students learnt about the codes and conventions used in this genre.

Our students in Year 11 now have an understanding of the hectic world of the Senior School. Assessments and tests are now part of their weekly schedules. Students are reminded to improve their organisational skills through the use of their school diary that they received at the beginning of the year. It is important for families to remind students to use this daily for school, work, sporting and family commitments. This will assist them in developing a routine and improve their time management skills, in order to set time aside for homework and study.

The Year 12 students completed their Externally Set Tasks (ESTs), which ran over three weeks in May. These tasks are set by SCSA and count for 15% of their final grade. Class teachers provided preparation activities and homework study plans, to assist them through this stressful time. Students should be proud of their efforts, as many of them achieved pleasing results. As we come to the close of the term, I would like to thank the dedicated English staff for all the support and guidance they have provided all our students, to help them enhance their literacy skills, as well as develop an appreciation of all the different forms and styles that encompass the learning area of English.

Ms Silvana Cockroft – HoLA English

The Science block was officially opened on  June  2 this term by the Minister of Education, Hon. Sue Ellery together with the area MLA Ms Meredith Jane Hammat.

This term was busy with Physical Science topics being taught right across all science classes.

Year 7 covered Balanced and Unbalanced forces and Simple machines. Year 8s sweated on Energy types, transformations and efficiency.

Year 9s beamed with electricity, light practicals and thoroughly enjoyed the electricity circus. A few students were challenged on the Steady Hand tester for their house points. They also created waves and explored properties of sound waves. The photos below show the Year 9 students hard at work.

Year 10 students completed a number of tasks on speed and velocity and tried their best at problem solving skills. Newton’s laws were stimulating as they tested the students knowledge on speed and acceleration with toy cars. Safety features in modern cars was a hot topic.

Yr 12s sat for their EST early in the term and have completed their Unit 3 course work. Below they are dissecting and studying the relationship between bones and muscles. They are now studying microbiology microscopes, micro-organisms and diseases.

Ms Guddy Litt – LAC Science

All HaSS students in Years 7, 8, 9 and 10 have worked hard in their studies of Economics and Business in Term 2. It is noteworthy that there was additional interest in the subject due to the publicity generated regarding the pre-election budget. In Year 7 the students enjoyed researching information on entrepreneurs as part of the topics of Producing and Consuming and Work.

The Year 8s brushed up on their knowledge of markets, consumer rights and business in Australia and researched a product that would be eligible for a Shonky Award for misleading consumers.

In Year 9 the students focused on Australia and the global economy and enjoyed completing an international trade info-graph that also included a strong literacy development focus.

Finally, the Year 10s studied economic performance and making financial decisions. They were then able to use this knowledge to work collaboratively to produce and perform a news segment on the Australian economy for the evening news.

Ms Mandy Hampson
HaSS & Careers Coordinator

It is not long now until our Year 12 students leave Balga SHS for the next stage of their Career/life journey. To assist in the decision making process, they attended the annual Careers Expo at the Convention Centre on Thursday 12 May. The Expo showcases a range of employment and further education opportunities that are designed to assist students in their decision making regarding post school options. This year’s expo incorporated lots of fun activities to enable students to enjoy a simulated industry experience. All students thoroughly enjoyed the opportunity and left enthused and excited about the next phase of their lifelong career journey. Students now move on to individual pathway planning using the Career Fast Track program, that engages students in a process that looks at their personality, skills and abilities to help develop a career plan for the future in conjunction with a careers counsellor.

Ms Mandy Hampson – Careers Coordinator

What a busy term for our Year 9 and 10 students in careers. The goal of careers is to broaden the exposure of our students to different types of careers and post school pathways to make informed options on future pathways. The term commenced with a group of Year 9 students attending the very first North Metro TAFE taster at the Northbridge campus. The taster program is a new program by the state government to expose our Year 9 students to different pathways and careers they might not be normally exposed to. Over the day the group of students from all learning areas had the opportunity to experience courses and work with TAFE lecturers in the areas of Photography, Visual Art, design, and tourism. The activities ranged from designing and printing glasses, conducting a photography shoot, to serving customers as a concierge desk for a mock hotel. There will be more opportunities for all Year 9 students to be engaged over term three and four.

In conjunction with our partners The Smith Family students attended two excursions. Year 9 students spent two days immersed in the operations of the IT industry at Kinetic IT in the city, a successful nationwide IT company. They had opportunities to work with the companies Cybersecurity expert and learn about white hat hacking, they interacted with the marketing and social media staff and listening to the different pathways of staff from school until their current role, in addition accessing the recreational resources available to their staff in breaks. Year 10 students interested in Art had to opportunity to attend the three day TAFE smARTS program. Over the three days they made metal rings, learnt about graphic design in the media and completed lino block printing with the TAFE arts faculty.

This is an important time for Year 10 students as they start to consider their future pathways as more opportunities open to them. For the first time the Careers, VET and Workplace Learning areas joined together to put on this style of career event. This event was a great success with a variety of speakers from trades, IT to security industry sales executives. The guest speakers provided insight on their current role, their career journey to that role and what they did and didn’t like about it, as no job is perfect. It was a great opportunity for students to be exposed to careers they may not have known existed or what was required to being successful in them. The common message from all speakers was the need to be persistent, put you hand up to have a go at new training opportunities and try to do every job to the best of your ability, as people are always observing how you work, and you’ll get more opportunities by being proactive. A great message.

Finally, students in the IEC had the opportunity to work with Mariana Joseph from the Jobs & Skills Centre at Joondalup. She ran a masterclass on resume writing. The students were introduced into the skills of resume writing and how to customise your resume content to match the job you are applying for, to increase your chance of success. Mariana provided the students with a resume pack that included a template designed for modern online applications. The students were very keen to use the templates as they look for part time work outside school. The careers learning will continue to look for opportunities to expose our students to the broad range of pathways that exists. It is important that these conversations continue at home to support their career explorations.

Mr Kane Pittard – Careers Practitioner

IEC graduating class gets a visit from North Metropolitan, TAFE

IEC graduating students had the privilege of meeting Miss Mariana Joseph from North Metropolitan, TAFE on  May 31. She delivered an amazing session on resume writing. The students learned a lot about what goes in a resume and how to become suitable candidates when they are applying for jobs. Thank you, Mr Kane, for organising this visit.

Ms Lorraine Marie – IEC Teacher

Term two has seen our Year 11 and 12 students settle into and working well through their Certificate courses. We have a number of students completing courses at TAFE, New North Education Initiative (NNEI) and at Balga SHS. The courses currently on offer at Balga SHS are:

Certificate II in Music

Certificate II in ICT

Certificate II in Hospitality (Front of House)

Certificate II in Foundation Work Skills

Through the NNEI we have students completing Certificate’s in:

1. Kitchen Operations – Dianella SC
2. Automotive – Morley SHS
3. Construction – Girrawheen SHS

Current Year 10 students are starting to be exposed to these options for 2023. Groups of Year 10 students completed tours of the NNEI facilities and participated in a Careers day at school. There is now a display in Senior School for Year 10 students to check out the courses available for them next year. We encourage students to start the conversations about pathways they are looking to take in the future.

Mr Jason Bristow – VET Coordinator

Our Drama students are busy writing, choreographing, blocking and designing their performances to be performed to the local and extended community during late August. Our two main productions this year explore the concept of Wellness. Both productions are fast paced, interactive, original stories that examine the importance of physical and emotional wellbeing. The actors provide coping strategies and skills to enhance emotional literacy and resilience.

Ms Kate Maughan – LAC Teacher Drama
Ms Jenna Broadhurst – Teacher Drama

COOL SCIENCE

In Science this term, the Learning Support students in LS1 have been exploring the cool properties of dry ice as part of the topic Marvellous Matter. The students conducted several experiments including sublimation, erupting bubbles and even making a cloud of gas! The students had a lot of fun using different equipment in the Science lab and learning about chemical reactions.

Ms Izam Haris – Teacher Learning Support

STEM Club

Follow the lifting of some COVID restrictions STEM club is back at Balga SHS. Each Tuesday from 3.05 pm students meet and build skills in a STEM area. This term students have been building and coding Robots including Lego Mindstorm EV3s and Eddison’s.  Students are preparing for competitions Robo Cup and First Lego League. Our participants will soon start to learn about and fly our drones, also preparing for competitions. For more information, please see Dr London, Mr Hogarth or Mr Penstone .

F1 in Schools

Our lead team for the 2022 F1 in Schools competition are proud to launch their team’s name as ‘Mooditj’ and their logo (see adjacent). The students chose this name as it is a Noongar work for strong and excellent. The F1 in Schools team collaborated with our Aboriginal Staff and Cultural Class on the name and design. The team is now working on refining their car design, creating promotional materials, and seeking sponsors. If the team is successful, they can earn a place at the National F1 in Schools Competition, held in Melbourne alongside the actual F1 race.

Mr Liam Penstone – LAC Design & Technology

“Great things are done by a series of small things brought together.” Vincent Van Gogh

Our amazing Year 12 students have just completed their Australian landscape paintings, inspired by their visit to John Forrest National Park, earlier in the year. Their works are varied and interesting, with stippled brushstrokes, atmospheric skies, and a wide variety of artistic and creative influences.

Balga’s Year 8 students continue to impress us with their immense creative talent. This term, students viewed the work of Vincent Van Gogh, experimented with analogous colour mixing and produced wonderful self-portrait lino prints with carved linear details.

On the 1 June, Remida Perth presented a recycled sculpture workshop to our Senior School Visual Arts students. Dr Paul Armishaw introduced off cut materials and challenged our students to creatively repurpose them into meaningful, sustainable works of art. The workshop generated incredible ideas and marked the beginning of the Year 12 mixed media sculpture project. Dr Armishaw was so impressed, he invited our students to exhibit in Remida’s upcoming sculpture exhibition.

This semester, Ms Brodie’s Year 11 students have enjoyed viewing Pat Perry and Katherine Bartons portraiture and figurative artwork. Students considered the role inspiring people play in their lives and explored this as an influence in their major work. Their expressive acrylic paintings feature symbolic backgrounds and a clever likeness to their subject matter.

I would like to thank our Education Assistants for their ongoing student support in Visual Arts. Their specialist skills enable us to deliver challenging and varied programs across all classes and year levels.

Cindy Foster – Visual Arts, Learning Area Coordinator

GIRLS FOOTBALL ENRICHMENT PROGRAM (GFEP)

The Girls Football Enrichment Program is an exciting new initiative from Balga SHS which focuses on the four pillars of Football (skill acquisition, game training and performance), leadership, well-being, and academic achievement. Girls across the school have been selected into this program with football training taking place within our scheduled lessons, at lunch, recess and before school.

We currently have around 70 students engaged within the program. Our Senior students (Years 11/12) also meet daily during form class to check in, prepare for their day and engage in activities such as mindfulness, meditation, match reviews, tactical discussions and to share the latest information in health, fitness and nutrition. The girls also set aside time to acknowledge staff who have gone above and beyond in supporting their academic, social and emotional progress within the school with a special certificate. Girls from the GFEP regularly practise their leadership, self-management and public speaking skills. They also mentor junior players and are involved in supporting and assisting with after-school matches and lightning carnivals in the capacity of coaches, team managers and officials. Next term we look forward to our Year 10 GFEP girls joining our leadership program during form. In addition, the GFEP have been busy working on their skills and fitness levels during Term 1 and are currently competing in the (SSWA) School Sport Western Australia Champion Schools Football Competition and the Futsal (5a Side) Regional Competitions (Junior and Senior). This is very much a building year for both our teams and we have been drawing on the strength of our younger and less experienced players across the school. These players have represented their school with great pride and determination.

This years lightning carnivals have been a great training ground for new players tying out new roles. The girls have demonstrated great work ethic, teamwork, collaboration and enthusiasm at each of our carnivals.  Even in the most severe weather conditions our students have organized their own matches during breaks within the competition, to continue play. They have a relentless passion for the game which can also be seen by the number of girls committed to training before school and during lunch/recess every day. The Year 10 GFEP Girls are looking forward to a very successful lightning carnival in week 9 at Kingsway Sports Grounds after successfully assisting with our other year group carnivals earlier this term.

We wish our students all the best in the upcoming Futsal and Football knock- out round competitions. Senior Girls Football Captain Moo Moo Ku Paw (Year 12) has shared a quote with her team from Alex Morgan (USA Professional Football Player) which says, ‘keep working, even when no one is watching.’ This is a great quote in both life and Football. Moo Moo Ku Paw wanted to send the message to the girls to continue to practise and work on their fitness over the break so that they would be ready for the competition in Term 3.

Ms Sarah Bagshaw – Health & Phys ED