Welcome to 2024!

Dear all,

Welcome back to the 2024 academic year to all Ballarat High School students, families and staff. I hope that you all have had a safe and restful summer and managed to catch the sun whilst it was out!

It’s been an incredibly busy start to the year for us and the staff have got off to a strong start with professional learning and preparation time on Day 1. I have been encouraged by their ambition for this school, their aspirations for our students and their vision of what we will become in the next phase of our long and illustrious history. We have a clear focus this year on using targeted and responsive teaching, developing feedback that helps all students make progress, embedding a culture that celebrates and values every student and has processes in place to secure the best learning environment for all. These are the areas that will make a real difference. This is going to be a big year with so much to do, but I know that we are ready to face all challenges full on so that we can learn and grow together as a community.

Thank you to all of the families who rearranged their busy schedules to attend meetings over the course of the last few days with their child and key members of staff. Our commitment to strengthening communication between home and school is evident in this work, as is our desire to set all of our students up for a successful year from Day 1.

In order to ensure that all students experience success and growth, we must stand firm on our high expectations around our school values of pride, respect and responsibility. Every classroom needs to be a safe space where all students feel valued for who they are, whilst also being a place where they receive the support needed to be their own best versions of themselves. I want our students to dream big and have the dedication to work hard towards any goal that they set themselves, safe in the knowledge that we will support them along every step of the way.

All returning students will be familiar with our policies and expectations around mobile phone use, uniform, classroom climate and insistence on high standards of behaviour at all times. When any of our students put on the Ballarat High School uniform, I want them to feel immense pride and connection with our community. I want them to recognise their role in promoting the best of who we are and who they are. However, I know that the summer can replace old habits with new routines, so can I ask all families to reiterate expectations around misuse of electronic devices in school so that we can get down to the real business of school improvement without any time wasted on things that are a given.

What we do at Ballarat High School matters and I look forward to all returning students being part of the positive change that will help us make Ballarat High School the best school that we can be.

Take care.

Stephan Fields

Principal