Balgazette – Term 4, 2021

As this year comes to an end, I want to acknowledge the fantastic work of all my staff throughout this year. My teachers, support staff, admin officers, cleaners, maintenance and gardening staff and bus drivers are a fantastic team and they ensure students have the best education possible.

Over the course of this year we have had a number of significant announcements and upgrades undertaken. Our fully refitted Science block will be completed for the commencement of next year and this is a 21^st century learning area that will service our students well for years to come. In addition, we had the confirmation that we would have a fully refitted STEAM Centre and most significantly a new Performing Arts Centre. These projects are currently in the planning phase. Architects have been appointed and they are completing design models which will be presented to the school in the first half of next year. Once this is done and approved, a tender will be advertised and the actual building project is due to commence in December 2022 with a completion date of December 2023.

The commitment to our school with the investments by the department over the last three years has amounted to almost $10 million and this reflects the positive reputation our school and community has built.

I would like to acknowledge the group of parents and community members who have come together to make our P&C a functional body. It has been fantastic to see how many people are prepared to work together to help our school progress. They have some great fundraising ideas planned for 2022 – so look out for this information.

As we head into 2022, it is important I address the COVID plan we have in place. As you know, the Premier has announced a date for the borders to open in early February and this will at some point result in some transmission into the broader community.

As a school we have plans in place to ensure student learning is maintained either remotely (online) or through paper packages. It is essential that we have up to date contact details for families so that we can provide accurate and timely information should we have a direct impact on school operations.

Please ensure you keep in touch with what is happening within the school by visiting our website and facebook pages. This is a quick way to connect with the school and, in the event of an interruption to learning through COVID, all information will be provided through these two forums.

Our school will have a single domain review of our Quality Teaching focus in Term 1 and staff have been working over this year to develop strong models to improve student outcomes. I will present this report after the review.

I wish everyone a safe and Merry Christmas, a Happy New Year and a safe and relaxing holiday. I look forward to our new students returning in 2022 and achieving fantastic results.

Mr Mark Carton – Principal

Dear Parents and Carers

You may have noticed a yellow asbestos awareness sticker near the front entrance to the office.

All Western Australian public schools are required to display this sticker at eye height near the front office or reception.  This alerts contractors, tradespersons and any other people that may undertake work at the school that asbestos containing materials may exist at the school.  They must check with the school’s Asbestos Containing Materials Register before commencing any work.

This register is kept at the front desk and is always available to contractors and their workers.  It is also available to school staff and parents as information on managing asbestos containing materials in schools and workplaces. The Department considers the safety and welfare of students and staff to be the highest priority.  Making all contractors aware of the presence of asbestos containing materials is a key part of the Department of Education’s asbestos management strategy.

If you have any concerns regarding asbestos containing materials at the school, please do not hesitate to bring them to my attention.

Yours sincerely

Mr Mark Carton – Principal

The 2021 school year is almost over; however, students across all year groups have been working extra hard to ensure their final assessments are their best quality work in the lead up to reporting time. Teachers have been encouraging students to set high standards, which will place them well to achieve success in the English Learning Area next year.

In Term 4 students in Year 11 have completed their courses and teachers have begun to introduce their classes to the Year 12 syllabus, as well as preparing them for the Externally Set Tasks, or ESTs as they are generally referred. For those students yet to pass their OLNA, we encourage you to make the most of the holidays and continue to work on improving your reading and writing skills. Simple online activities, such as Read Theory, are interesting and provide instant feedback to the student. Visiting the local library to have some quiet time to read or borrow books, is also an easy way to consolidate vital literacy skills. Remember, the first round of OLNA testing next year is in March!

In the Middle School area, our Year 10 classes viewed the film, Race, directed by Stephen Hopkins, focusing on the themes explored, as well as characterisation. They also read and analysed Indigenous Poetry and examined the techniques used by poets to convey their powerful messages. Our Year 9 students also explored the Poetry genre and had a go at writing their own poems and creating colourful posters for them. I have included photos of some students with their posters. The students put a great deal of effort into their final pieces and should be proud of their fantastic work. Well done to all these hard-working students who designed some amazing posters.

In the Junior School, the Year 8 classes learnt about the language and terminology used when analysing visual texts. They also explored the importance of characterisation through various short stories studied in class. Some time was also spent on consolidating and developing their spelling, punctuation and grammar skills, which are vital to progression in English. The Year 7 classes viewed the film Matilda directed by Danny De Vito, and wrote journal entries from a character’s perspective, detailing a day in the life of their chosen character. They also read the short story Only Ten written by Allan Baillie. The students designed book covers for the story and completed comprehension activities.

During the long summer break, students and families are encouraged to allocate some time to reading, especially when there are days where it is too hot to be outdoors. It is also a great alternative to being on electronic devices for endless hours, which is certainly not healthy for our teenagers. Studies have also shown it helps to develop the imagination, as well as improve spelling, grammar, punctuation and comprehension skills.

As 2021 concludes, I would like to thank all the wonderful English teachers for their hard work over the year. It is their commitment to literacy and learning, which has enabled all our students to improve and achieve their own individual successes in the English Learning Area. I look forward to working with you in 2022.

Ms Silvana Cockroft – HoLA English

Macqlit Literacy Program Year 7 Success

To support students further in their literacy development, selected students in the Year 7 cohort, have been working hard with Sally Parcej, our MacqLit trained Education Assistant. She has been taking small groups of students, in our mainstream school, to focus on explicit literacy skills to progress learning. This program is designed as a reading intervention program which, through a sequencing of lessons, aims to embed foundational literacy skills.

The results have been fantastic. Students are reporting an increased confidence  when learning in the classroom. Here is Hser Eh Kaw Moo 7.2 working with Sally.

Ms Lisa James – Year 7-10 Programs Manager

Renovations continue in the Science block. Two laboratories and the preparatory area are now ready for use. The first week of Term 4 was explosive in sorting resources, setting up the classes and working out the IT systems. Thanks to our Laboratory Technician, Imogen Parsons, who tirelessly got things in place so that lessons could start smoothly.

In Term 4, Year 12 students celebrated their first and last week in the new science classes and completed their courses with gratifying grades. Most students will be enrolling in nursing at ECU, and some will join technical courses at TAFE. We wish them all the best in their future endeavour.

Year 10 students have covered Global systems and the Origin of Earth, Galaxies and the life cycles of a star. They studied the affiliation between the four main systems Geosphere, Hydrosphere, Biosphere and the Atmosphere and dynamically participated and debated topics like climate change, ozone depletion, greenhouse gases and how humans contribute to global warming. They also explored outer space through telescope studies and were dazed at the massiveness of the universe. Our future scientists are showing challenging signs of contributing positively to the global issues at hand.

Year 9s studied the Tectonic plates, Volcanoes and Earthquakes. They constructed 3-D models of volcanoes and tested each type with explosive lava. They learnt how to read earthquakes using the Richter scale and estimate the damage caused. It was interesting to locate recent earthquakes and volcanoes as they discovered how safe they were in Australia, away from any plate boundaries.

Year 8 classes learnt about the Earth structure and the Rock cycles. Using crayon curls, chocolate and lollies, they designed stunning models of sedimentary and metamorphic rocks. They looked at real rocks from our rock collection, enthusiastically identified crystals in rocks, and learned the hardness of rocks using the Mohs scale. The Year 8.2 and 8.3 Science students went to the Roy Hill ROC-Ed Learning Centre for a unique opportunity to experience firsthand a busy mining operations centre and corporate headquarters in action. Students found out what type of career awaits in the industry, had a chance to drive a CAT large wheel loader using a simulator, act as CEO and board of a mining company making decisions for expansion, pricing, automation etc. that impacted on the success of their mining company. They learnt about the process of safeguarding the environment before, during and after the mining operation and programming robots to work autonomously in a similar way real trucks do on mine sites. The students came back excited after enjoying their hands-on experiences and by the prospects for future jobs in the mining industry.

Year 7 students have studied Earth, its rotations, seasons, days and nights and the tides. They exhibited planets and researched conditions on these planets. They linked these with other subjects like English to create stories and journeys of imaginary beings. Mars journey was an interesting topic that most students participated in with vigour.

It’s been a thrilling term, and the science team wishes everyone a safe and relaxing Christmas break and a great start to 2022.

Ms Guddy Litt – LAC Science

Spoilt for Career Choices

This term has seen another round of exciting career opportunities being explored by Balga students. In particular, the Year 9.1 students attended the annual University of Western Australia’s Aspire Race around Campus in Crawley. A range of interesting and interactive activities were offered on the day, and the students also had the opportunity to network with university staff and ask questions regarding possible career pathways.

The Year 11s enjoyed an excellent Australian Defence Force presentation from the Royal Australian Navy and Royal Australian Army representatives. The students were very keen to hear about the career paths of the two servicemen and the many exciting opportunities and benefits available to recruits. The ADF offers excellent pay and conditions and many students were excited when they learned about the Gap Year initiative and the range of sporting opportunities that exist within the organisation.

Prior to their departure, all Year 12s completed the Career Fast Track career development program to assist their career planning post-school and completed applications for TAFE and university. As a result, many were offered a place in their chosen course for 2022 in a variety of courses. At this point, all the hard work at school pays off, and students are able to enrol in the course of their choice. In addition, our current Year 11 cohort have completed the first stage of the Career Fast Track program in preparation for their career planning sessions in 2022.

The new year will also see a new initiative in the Careers space for many schools, including Balga, where the Department of Education is funding and training staff to take on full-time Career Practitioner positions. I look forward to 2022 being a very busy and exciting year for our students with new careers programs being introduced.

Ms Mandy Hampson – Careers Coordinator

HaSS Develops Young Legal Eagles and Informed Citizens

As part of their studies in Civics and Citizenship, students in Year 8 Humanities and Social Sciences participated in interactive sessions on the Australian electoral system presented by the Electoral Education Centre. All the students voted in a mock election and are now ready to exercise their democratic right to vote once they reach 18. The students in Ms Davies’ Year 8 class visited the WA Parliament and Constitution Centre where they were fortunate to have had an exchange with our Premier, the Honourable Mark McGowan, BA, LLB, MLA. In addition, the students in Year 9.1 visited the Supreme Court and Old Court House Law Museum to participate in the Francis Burt Law Education Program. The goal of the organisation is to advance the WA communities understanding of the law, legal principles and the court system. The students thoroughly enjoyed the day and benefited greatly, especially from engaging in role-play in the court.

Once again, the Year 10.1 HaSS class has benefited from our connection with the legal firm KW Mallesons and their Australia wide pro bono program. The firm conducted incursions to compliment the students’ work in Civics and Citizenship with a youth focussed program called Talk Law. For the final event of the year, the students and I visited the offices of KWM at the QB1 building in central Perth to participate in a mock trial followed by a morning tea. The students were able to fully experience and engage in a role-play of a courtroom scenario. This provided our students with a wonderful insight into the rights of young people and the law and provided a fantastic networking opportunity. The experience on the day, along with the morning tea and the views, was amazing.

In addition, in both Foundation and General Career and Enterprise, the students left, fully equipped with an employment portfolio and electronic portfolio to enable them to apply for courses and employment as they progress through their career/life journey.

Ms Mandy Hampson
HaSS & Careers Coordinator

IEC Graduation Excursion Semester 1 2021

On Friday, 30 August, Term 3, our wonderful class 3.2 had their graduation from the IEC.  After our ceremony and morning tea we went on our excursion to Latitude in Joondalup. We had a lot of fun jumping around, doing some team building games and climbing on the walls. We had races climbing the wall, and some of us were very good at it and were able to climb up very fast. We were very lucky to go this time after our graduation was cancelled in term 2 due to Covid-19.

It was amazing!

Ms Steffi Selle – Teacher IEC

Science is fun

This term IEC 2.3 had a lot of fun in Science. They did a lot of hands-on activities which allowed them to make discoveries on their own and enhanced their critical thinking skills. Well done, IEC 2.3!

Ms Lorraine Marie – Teacher IEC

Our talented, passionate, energetic and dedicated Drama students travelled to Mandurah to compete in the Youth On Health Drama Festival (YOH Fest). The Junior heat took place on Tuesday 7 September, and the Senior heat took place on Thursday 9 September.

The Junior performance titled The New Arrival explored the theme of Keeping Up Appearances by examining cultural insensitivity. The performance was set in a culturally sensitive workshop and transitioned into an Australian airport. The audience were taught how cultural insensitivity could cause a sense of isolation and
alienation in a person causing them to hide behind a mask and pretend they are someone that they are not. The scenarios depicted in this were based on personal experiences that have been faced by our students and their families.

Our students were outstanding on the night and performed with integrity and commitment, resulting in positive feedback from the judges and members of the audience.

The Senior piece titled Disney Appearances took the audience to the land of Disney where Mickey Mouse rules the land and forces his people to abide by strong rules. Mickey Mouse is determined to maintain a land whereby every citizen must Keep up appearances to ensure their happily ever after. The Avengers learn of
Mickey Mouse’s dictatorship and arrive in Disney to empower the citizens to be true to themselves. They teach the citizens to be open to new opportunities and to understand that differences make you special and unique. They also learn that a happily ever after is not always real, true happiness comes from resilience.

The Seniors’ performance was highly polished and exceptional on all levels. There are hundreds of schools around Western Australia that are competing in this competition and are striving to make the top 8 grand finalists. Fingers crossed both our teams make the grand final to be held in October this year. We are so very
proud of our amazing Drama students. Their commitment to each other, to us, and the project is exemplary. We are so proud to be on this journey with them.

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

Balga TAFE was the venue for six of our students to complete a Bricklaying course at the end of October. This short four-week course provided opportunities to improve skills in bricklaying to complete home improvement projects and build new homes. Our students learned the basics from using tools, cutting bricks, mixing mortar, laying bricks correctly, levelling and plumb work techniques. The experience involved early starts every day and hard physical work when doing practical activities. Each student built up several walls and achieved a White Card, giving them the right to work on a building site and experience a week on the job with an employer. Well done to Sol, Alex, Errol, Sophie, Lilly and Liam. Mathew and Rishona also completed Cert II in Automotive at Midland TAFE.

Mr Paul Menlove – Engagement Teacher

F1 in schools

Our F1 in Schools students participated in the state final which was held at North Lake Campus on November 18th. The Balga SHS students were responsible for the track this year, arriving early to set up and test the track. Our team, named Celeritas, looked great in their team shirts which were supplied by their sponsor, KC Australia.

Mr Liam Penstone – LAC Design and Technology

Caversham Wildlife Park Excursion

On Friday, 26 November 2021, the whole of Learning Support went on an Excursion to Caversham Wildlife Park. Everyone had an amazing day, watching a Farm Show, having photos with all sorts of animals, including Fred the Koala. The day ended with students feeding the kangaroos.

Wednesday 1 December 2021 Learning Support held their 2021 Showcase for parents/carers, staff and students. The audience was guided by our MC’s Nermen Alsalman and Benjamin James and entertained by LS1s Inclusivity Play, and LS2 and LS Senior School premiered their Movie on ‘Job Ethics’.

All staff and parents who attended were extremely proud of everyone’s efforts. Well done, Learning Support.

Ms Izam Haris – Teacher Learning Support

Thank You Morning Tea

Balga Senior High School is lucky to have volunteers from many organisations that assist with Breakfast Club, Recess activities, mentoring, supplying food to Student Services and supporting in classes. To thank these volunteers, the Year 11 Hospitality students prepared a High Tea which was held in the school restaurant. Each volunteer was presented with a small gift as a token of our appreciation.

Ms Ros Playforth – Student Services Program Manager

Hi, I just want to take a moment to introduce myself. My name is Susan Earle and I am the new school Chaplain at Balga Senior High School. I am excited to be appointed to this position and look forward to becoming part of this school and the community of Balga, which I have already found incredibly friendly and welcoming. I will be at Balga Senior High School Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays.

I am a passionate and committed YouthCARE School Chaplain with 15 years’ experience, dedicated to working within the culture of the school and I am excited about joining the Student Services Team at Balga.

Ms Susan Earle – Chaplain

Interschool Athletics Carnival 2021

A select squad of 51 Balga SHS students were chosen to be part of the Year 7-10 Interschool Athletics Carnival at the WA Athletics Stadium in Floreat on 1 November. Our students conducted themselves exceptionally well with some great individual and team performances.

Highlights of the day included:

• Sebastian Bumbalough: 1st place in the Year 8 Boys Long Jump Division B
• Htoo Law La Moo – 3rd place in the Yr9 Boys 100m Hurdles
• Roger Bolgia – 2nd place in the Yr10 Boys Long Jump Division A & 1st place in Boys 4 x 100m team relay.
• Congratulations to our Year 10 Boys Relay Team 1st Place: Hser Mya Shee, Htoo Law La Moo, Bruno Nascimento, Roger Bolgia winning the 4 x 100m relay and tearing up the track!
• Ragheed Mansoor – 3rd Place Yr 8 Boys Discus Division B
• Htoo Law La Moo – 3rd place Yr 9 Boys 100m Division A
• Hser Mya Shee – 1st Place Yr 10 Boys 100m Division B
• Lah K’Paw Ku Lweh – 1st place Yr 10 Boys Long Jump Division B
• To Say Po – 3rd place Yr10 Boys 100m Division A

The Police Rangers have had a great semester during our Monday afternoon sessions. They have learnt a range of different Rangers content and students have really enjoyed the marching, self-defence and First Aid sessions, not to mention the fun sessions of Laser Tag and target kick ball.

All students have worked hard at progressing their Police Rangers skills in Semester 2 and we are looking forward to the end of year camp to celebrate the 2021 Police Rangers year.

Ms Brydie Donald & Mr Bejhan Alitovski –  Teacher Health, Phys Ed & Police Rangers

Arts Week 2021 was a fantastic celebration of Balga’s talent and creativity. Over three days, Visual Arts students from Years 7-12, exhibited their work in the school library. Drawings, paintings, printmaking, sculptures and textiles filled the space for everyone to see. Congratulations to our exhibiting students, your energy and hard work made the show a great success.

Our talented Year 11 students have just completed their final sculptural work. Following an investigation into the work of Rodin and Piccinini, the class progressed their ideas into sculptural clay busts, with creative characterisation and facial expressions.

The undulating shapes of eucalyptus leaves were the starting point of a Year 7/8 drawing and design challenge. The class added texture, lines and some very impressive foliage stencils to their slab constructed, cylindrical clay vases.

The Be Creative Business enterprise students, continue to produce fabulous work. This term, the class used their carving skills to create spectacular food inspired, linoleum prints. Our enterprise students are continuing to extend their abilities in all areas of art and design.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank our Visual Arts team for their dedication and hard work this year. Creativity is a valuable skill, it’s great to see so many staff and students exploring and nurturing Balga’s tremendous talent. Don’t forget to get busy these holidays, be confident, be productive, explore, design and create. Happy holidays, everyone.

Ms Cindy Foster – Teacher Art