Booklists Open Wednesday 4 November  

A Positive Shift for Our Learning

This year our booklist will open on Wednesday 4 November and there are a few changes to note. These are changes we're genuinely excited about, as they reflect an important step forward in how we support your child's learning at Box Hill High School. 

A new book supplier 

The first change you'll notice is our book supplier. Following a thorough tender process, we've partnered with Lilydale Books to supply our booklists this year. 

We apologise for any inconvenience the change causes and thank you for your patience as we make the switch. 

The good news is that the Lilydale Books platform is straightforward and intuitive to navigate, and we expect prices to be slightly lower than in previous years. 

More time away from screens 

You may also be aware of a new direction from the Department of Education: from Term 1 2027, all Victorian government secondary schools are required to include planned, daily device-free learning time in the order of 90 minutes per day in their teaching programs. 

We are excited about the opportunities this change represents at Box Hill High. We believe one of the most powerful next steps we can take to improve student learning is to be more intentional about screen time, creating more room for the high-impact practices that deepen thinking, such as collaboration, discussion and writing. 

Less time on screens means fewer distractions across the day, and more sustained, uninterrupted time for students to process new ideas and engage in the thinking and writing routines that genuinely improve learning. 

Where our teachers do use technology, we're asking them to use it to transform learning in ways that wouldn't otherwise be possible and not simply as a digital stand-in for print resources and classroom activities.  

Print copies of textbooks 

To support this shift, we now require students to have print copies of all textbooks to use at school. Most of these titles come bundled with a digital version as well, so students who'd rather not carry books to and from school can access the digital copy at home. 

For a small number of subjects, this will mean a slight increase in cost, though the difference overall is very modest. 

Helpfully, because our textbooks were recently updated as part of the move to Victorian Curriculum 2.0, we don't expect many new editions in the near future, which means the print books you purchase this year should hold their value well and be easy to pass down or resell. 

Ordering timelines 

Please note the change for VCE students.

For students in Years 7 to 9, more information will be available on Compass shortly regarding timely orders, but Lilydale Books' delivery time is around 3–5 days and as usual, we require students to have their books for the first day of term 1.  

For our current Year 10 and 11 families, we are asking that you order books between Mon 19 Oct and Mon 2 Nov, for delivery before Jumpstart on 23 November. We recognise this is a tighter turnaround for ordering, and we appreciate your help in meeting it. Having textbooks in hand from day one will make our Jumpstart program (and VCE holiday homework) far more authentic and practical for students in VCE. 

Thank you, as always, for your partnership and support. We're optimistic about what these changes will mean for our students, and we look forward to a focused and productive year ahead. If you have any questions about booklists or anything outlined here, please don't hesitate to get in touch.