Ballard High School receives very little money for its music program and athletics. In order to supplement the costs, the Ballard High School Foundation holds fundraisers to raise money for the programs.

A foursome at a past BHS Golf Classic

The Foundation’s largest annual event is coming up this August – the 11th annual Ballard High School Golf Classic. “This is really quite the golf tournament with so many BHS alumni, friends and community members hitting the links to support athletics and music at Ballard High,” organizer Sue Verduins tells us.

This year’s event is honoring two individuals that were very influential in the BHS and Ballard communities. Sir Jim Vatn, graduated from BHS in 1962. Not only was Jim very involved in many organizations in the Ballard community but he never forgot his BHS experience giving freely of his time and talents to his alma mater. He was an active member and chair of the Ballard High School Athletic Committee and Ballard High School Foundation. He served as chair of the very successful annual Foundation Golf Classic. Attendees of football and basketball games could hear the “Voice of the Beavers” – and came to recognize it as none other than Jim’s.

The tournament this year is also recognizing Janet Rodgers. Janet was the Director of the BHS Foundation for many years. As Director of the Foundation, Janet built a great team of community members, alumni, faculty and staff that have worked on countless projects benefitting BHS students and the entire Ballard community. She was a part of the group behind the inaugural Ballard Beaver Bash, proceeds of which support BHS academic programs and was heavily involved in the Golf Classic.

The Golf Classic will be held at The Golf Club at Newcastle. The event begins at 6:00 p.m. with a dinner and auction the evening of August 1st at Newcastle. The emcee for the evening event will be BHS’ own Bob Flick (Class of 1956) of the Brothers Four band. The tournament is Tuesday August 2nd with registration beginning at 7:00 a.m. and the 18-hole shotgun starting at 10:00 a.m.

Learn more about the event here and learn about sponsorship opportunities here.

The Ballard High School music program presents a night of jazz on Saturday, April 30, with the first ever “Ballard Jazz Gala.”

The event will be held at the Blue Ridge Community Clubhouse (10040 15th Ave. N.) from 6-10 p.m. The beginning of the evening will be a silent auction and wine raffle with solo performances by BHS jazz music students. From 7:30-10 p.m., the vocal jazz and jazz band will perform, concluding with special guest the Hammon-Esvelt Quintent.

Tickets are $25 each (available here) which gets you complimentary heavy hors d’oeuvres, with beer and wine available for purchase. All proceeds support the Ballard High School Music Program.

Earlier this week we reported that the paperwork for fall sports at Ballard High School would be accepted until today, June 30th. But that deadline has been extended. See our sister site, MyBallard, for more information.

To avoid the lines in August, Ballard High School is accepting fall sports paperwork until June 30th (that’s tomorrow.) If you have a student hoping to play a fall sport at BHS, paperwork is due during the summer break. If you miss the June 30th cutoff, the paperwork won’t be accepted until August when the lines can be pretty long. Here are the August dates to turn in paperwork, pay the sport fees and buy the ASB card:

Football players:
August 11 between 9 a.m. and 1 p.m.

All other fall sports:
August 17 between 9 a.m. and noon
August 18 between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m.

Here is the packet (.pdf) that needs to be filled out completely and the parent release form (.pdf) that also needs to be filled out. Forms that aren’t completed will be given back to the student.

If you have any questions, feel free to contact athletic secretary Sharon Davis at 252-1000. Sharon is in the office from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. through June 30. More information on Beaver athletics can be found here.

Ballard High School is hosting its spring music concerts this week. The Instrumental Spring Concert is from 7-9 p.m. on Tuesday, at the Earl Kelly Performing Arts Center. Admission is free. The Choral Spring Concert is from 7-9 p.m. on Wednesday, and it’s also free.

Incoming freshman to Ballard High can take part in the Music Student Orientation from 7-8:30 p.m. next Monday, June 14, in the music room. Students and parents can meet the music programs directors, learn how to arrange their class schedules to take music all four years of high school, find out more about music camps and trips, and learn more about summer music program activities, including the Ballard Seafood Fest, Magnolia SeaFair Summer Fest, and the Golf Tournament fund raiser in August.