General Information

Trade to Teach

👩‍🏫👨‍🍳 Trade to Teach – 2026 intake now open!

Do you know a qualified tradesperson or chef who would make a great teacher? The Trade to Teach Internship Program is a supported four-year pathway into teaching, helping skilled industry professionals transition into classrooms and address teacher shortages in Industrial Technology & Design (ITD) and Hospitality, Food & Fashion.

✅ 2026 – Begin a full-time teaching degree

✅ 2027 – Start a paid internship at a Queensland state school (50% teaching load + part-time study)

✅ 2030 – Transition into a permanent teaching role

📅 Applications close 21 September📺 Join our Live Chat on 10 September, 5:00 pm to learn more

Attendance Record

At Balmoral State High School, we’re proud to share that our students have maintained a consecutive attendance rate of 90% this term!

Consistent attendance is the foundation for maximising learning opportunities, ensuring every student has the best chance to achieve, grow, and showcase evidence of their learning. 

We remain committed to supporting every student to make the most of their learning days, driving strong outcomes and future success.

Staffing Updates – Term 4 

Balmoral is on the move with some exciting staffing announcements as we head into Term 4!

✨ Congratulations Bridie Doyle – Bridie joins our Humanities and Languages Faculty during Emma Hart’s maternity leave. She brings fresh energy and innovative ideas, particularly in assessment, and we’re thrilled to have her on the team.

👏 Congratulations Mitchell Johnson – Appointed as our new Head of Special Education Services (Inclusion Head of Department). Mitchell’s expertise and leadership will continue to strengthen this vital portfolio, and we’re proud to see him step into this permanent role following a highly competitive process.

🌟 Celebrating Lisa Callaghan – Lisa has secured a new position as Senior Education Officer – Mentoring Project with Metro South, supporting early career teachers. We thank Lisa for her incredible contribution to Balmoral and wish her every success in this exciting new chapter.

💪 Congratulations Duncan Short – To support this transition, Duncan will take on the role of Acting Head of Department – HPE and Sport for the remainder of the year. We’re confident his leadership will continue to inspire students and staff alike. 

We’re so proud of our team and the opportunities ahead – Term 4 is shaping up to be another big one for Balmoral! 

Same Day Student Absence Notifications

Keeping your contact details up to date

There are times when we may need to contact parents and carers. Do we have your most up-to-date details? If not, please contact the school on (07) 3823 8588 so we can update our records. These details include:

• Parent/carer’s name
• Address
• Phone numbers
• Email address
• Emergency contact details

Please remember to notify the school if any of these details change.

Absence notification process

If your child is going to be away or late to school, please notify us early in the morning by calling (07) 3823 8555 or via the Compass app so the absence can be recorded correctly.

Same day notification

If a student is absent and we have not received a reason, the school will contact parents and carers as soon as practicable on the day.

If you are advised that your child is away without explanation, please respond as soon as possible to let us know where your child is. If no response is received, the school will follow up with parents/carers directly.

Become A Homestay Host!

Turn your spare room into a world of opportunity! Balmoral State High School is seeking welcoming families to host international students and share the very best of Australian life. 

Provide a safe, supportive home where students can thrive, experience our culture of excellence, and become part of your family. Celebrate diversity, create lifelong connections, and make a difference — all from your own home.

Please contact us on social media, marketing@balmoralshs.eq.edu.au or (07) 3823 8588 to learn more!

Uniform Focus in Week 8

During Week 8 (Monday September 1st – Thursday September 4th) we will have a renewed focus on student uniform.  As we are now coming out of the cooler months, and in preparation for starting Term 4 well, all staff will be having conversations with students around our Balmoral State High School uniform.  This may include the items that are approved to be worn and how to ensure you are representing our school community with pride in the way the uniform is worn.  The Uniform policy can be found on our school website using this link - uniform policy.

The only change so far from the newly formed Uniform Advisory Group, last held in June, is in regard to the formal school shoe.  There has been a revision to remove where the uniform policy states that Formal Shoes are to be “traditional oxford style”.  The updated definition for our formal school uniform shoe is a “black leather lace up shoe”. This includes the popular “air force ones”, which can also be worn with the sports uniform, hopefully helping to reduce costs for families.

Some common uniform corrections that are seen and discussed with students are below; 

• incorrect socks (usually black)
  • should be white or grey depending on the uniform style
• wearing sport uniform on any day other than Wednesday 
  • formal uniform should be worn to and from school on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays. Sport uniform or sport academy uniforms can be changed into as required for that lesson on days other than Wednesday.
• wearing non-uniform clothing items
  • we have approved uniform items for all seasons and for both formal and sport uniforms
• jewellery
  • our current policy states: “Two small sleeper or stud earrings in each ear and One flat ring” are permitted 
• make-up and nails
  • make-up and eye-lash extensions are not to be worn
  • nails are to be “natural, neat and short”
• uniform presentation non-compliance
  • style 2 uniform includes the shirt being tucked in AND a belt being worn

  • all items are to be worn as intended (i.e. not folded or rolled up to be shorter)

     

If a student is not wearing the school uniform correctly, they will be asked by a staff member to correct it, either with a loan item or to correct their presentation.  If this instruction is not followed, you will be contacted by someone from school to help support compliance with the uniform policy.  We thank you in advance for your support and look forward to seeing more of our students in correct uniform, showing our community that they Belong at Balmoral.

Reintroducing Wellbeing Strategies

Have you heard about Parentline? 

Parentline is a free, confidential counselling service for all Queensland parents. Get help supporting your child with:

• bullying
• relationships
• peer pressure
• anxiety
• depression
• and more.

Problems can come up at any time, so you access Parentline’s qualified counsellors any day of the week from 8 am until late.

Call the phoneline (1300 30 1300) between 8 am and 10 pm, or jump on the live web-chat (parentline.com.au) between 8 am and 9 pm.

https://parentline.com.au/

Brisbane’s New Bus Network Has Launched 

From Monday 30 June, Brisbane’s new bus network — including the Brisbane Metro M1 — is now live. Inspired by world-class systems like those in London and Hong Kong, the new network connects more buses to more places, more often.

🚍 Over 70% of routes have changed, so its important students check how their journey to and from school may be affected.

🔎 Plan your journey:

1. Visit Translink Journey Planner
2. Enter your start and end location
3. Find your updated route

📚 For school-specific services, use Translink’s School Service Finder and Journey Planner.

🚧 Please note:

• Rail closures are occurring on the Beenleigh and Gold Coast lines until Friday 18 July
• Changes have also been made to Logan and Redlands bus services

🤝 Staff from Translink will be present at key stops to assist students during this transition.

For help, call 13 12 30 or visit translink.com.au.

GKR Karate at Balmoral SHS

Karate classes are now available twice a week on campus, making it easier than ever for students to build confidence, focus, and discipline through martial arts.

✅ FREE uniform

💥 Discounted membership available

🏅 FairPlay & PlayOn vouchers accepted

GKR Karate is open to all ages and experience levels — because karate is for everyone.

📞 For more info, contact Jen on 0403 160 161

Term 3 Welcome to Student Agency in their Learning

If this image looks familiar it is probably because one of your child’s teachers gave you a fridge magnet at the parent teacher conference, or perhaps it arrived in an email of welcome?

By this stage of the year, you will be familiar with the terms Participating, Investing, Driving and Innovating which teachers and students use to discuss the levels of engagement students choose to bring to their learning.

We are delighted that as a school the implementation of this evidence-based research around building students’ engagement in their learning is improving outcomes. We note improvements in attendance, behaviour data and particularly, A & B outcomes. 

Talking about each of these levels of engagement with students is key to building their capacity to take responsibility for their learning. Explicitly providing opportunities to experience each of the levels is a focus of our lesson planning so that students are able to recognise what it feels like to participate, invest, drive and innovate. Please support this work by continuing this valuable conversation at home. 

Check in with your young person to see what they can explain about each level of engagement identified by our classroom accelerator? In which classes are they most consistently driving their learning by asking questions? When do they feel themselves invested in their learning?

We greatly value the partnership with parents and carers. Thank you for investing in these conversations.

Ms Carusi-Lees

Head of Pedagogy and Performance

Behaviour on Buses

🚌 REMINDER: Code of Conduct for Students on Buses

To keep bus travel safe and enjoyable for everyone, all students are expected to:

• Act safely + responsibly — pay the fare, follow the driver’s instructions, and follow bus rules.

   

• Respect others — speak politely, respect personal space, and leave the bus tidy and undamaged.

   

• Stay calm + careful — wait patiently at stops, stay seated if possible, store belongings safely, keep noise down, and avoid distracting the driver.

   

• Get on + off safely — wait until the bus fully stops, signal the driver if you need to get off, and only cross the road once the bus has moved away.

⚠ Misconduct has consequences:

• Category 1: Irresponsible behaviour → written warnings or short travel bans.

   

• Category 2: Unsafe behaviour → up to 5–10 days refused travel.

   

• Category 3: Dangerous/destructive → up to 10 weeks refused travel + behaviour

  agreements.

   

• Category 4: Life-threatening behaviour → long-term or permanent refusal of travel.

Let’s work together to make sure every bus journey is safe, respectful, and smooth!

For full details, see the attached document.

Away for the Day Policy

Our Away for the Day policy requires that all mobile phones are kept away during school hours to support a focused, distraction-free learning environment.

Students who are seen using their devices or anything that needs to be linked to a device to work (e.g. headphones/ear pods) will be asked to hand the item in for the rest of the day.  

If you are finding it difficult to manage your phone use, remember that you can use your phone pouch at any time to help keep your device secure and out of sight. If you do not have a pouch, please visit the office to purchase one.

Let’s work together to make sure all students are following this important policy every day. Thank you for supporting a positive learning space for everyone every day.

Options Career Information Bulletin

Packed with opportunities, updates, and advice, this is your go-to resource for exploring pathways beyond school. 

Whether you're planning your next steps or just starting to think about life after graduation, this bulletin is designed to help you take those exciting first leaps into the future with confidence.

Student Laptops

Balmoral SHS is a BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) school. All students are expected to have a fully charged laptop at school every day for use in their class lessons and learning activities.  

We understand that some families may experience difficulty with purchasing a device for their students.  Balmoral SHS is able to offer a temporary laptop hire levy scheme to support families.  If you would like more information about this laptop hire program, please contact Mrs Anmaree Hudson - ahuds56@eq.edu.au

We are accepting International Students for Term 4

We are looking to increase the number of homestay families at BSHS. Host an International Student & Earn Up to $738/fortnight! 

We’re looking for families to welcome international students into their homes! This is a fantastic opportunity to share cultures, create lifelong connections, and receive up to $738 per fortnight.

Interested? 

Contact our Homestay Coordinator, Bruno bbian12@eq.ed or InternationalTeam@balmoralshs.eq.edu.au to learn more!

Lost Property

Are you missing any school uniform items?  Parents and students are reminded that there is a lost property box located outside V Block stairwell (Administration office).  There is an abundance of items waiting to be collected! Please ask your student to check for lost items.  Please also ensure all uniform and other personal belongings are clearly marked.

Kickstart a career that makes a real difference!

We’re now taking Expressions of Interest for the Certificate III in Individual Support (CHC33021) – specialising in Ageing and Disability – right here at our Milton campus.

✅ Hands-on, industry-relevant training

✅ 120 hours of practical placement

✅ Countless job opportunities in one of Australia’s fastest-growing industries

📞 Contact Chris on 0415 611 339 or Yasmin on 0435 381 799

📍 Scan the QR code on the flyer to learn more!

Cleaners Wanted

Casual Cleaners are needed. If you are interested in casual cleaning work at Balmoral, please email facilities@balmoralshs.eq.edu.au