Principal Team News

We welcome all staff and students back on site!

We were so pleased to welcome back our staff on Monday 25 June, VCE students on Tuesday 26 May and all other students in Year 7- 10 two weeks later on Tuesday 9th June. The excitement and joy that marked the first interactions with their peers and teachers was lovely to witness. Box Hill High School has come back to life again and we are particularly thrilled with the way in which our students have transitioned back to their classes and study. 

Term 2 in 2020 has been like no other school term in Victoria’s history as staff, students and parents grappled with the change to remote teaching and learning.  We made the decision to deliver a blend of synchronous and asynchronous learning and limit the screen time for staff and students - the health and wellbeing of all was a priority during this period.

I could not be prouder of how all staff worked together to support all of our students and proud also of how students have responded to and risen to the challenges of remote learning. They have developed strong skills around time management, self-regulation and active participation in their learning. They have had to develop a growth mindset and implement strategies to enhance their levels of resilience and wellbeing. There are some fantastic examples of students demonstrating creative ways to showcase their learning, through their curriculum areas as well as a range of personal projects and competitions. We showcased some of these in the special Remote Learning edition of the newsletter earlier this term.

Change often takes a number of years and our staff and students have had to cope with large scale change over a very short period of time. Whilst there were hiccups along the way and the experiences of students and families varied from home to home, generally speaking it was a huge success. I also thank all families for working with us to support our students and to ensure that they felt safe and supported to learn, despite the challenges we were all facing.

Our task now is to capture all our learnings from this term with a view to continuing to enhance our practices. Some of the ideas we are exploring is the notion of flipped classrooms, more extensive use of technology to enhance learning and also more flexibility/autonomy for students to make choices about when and how they learn. Our aim is to use this 'disruption' in 2020 to 'build back better' and to avoid snapping back into old, familiar ways of doing things.

Health and Safety 

We have taken all reasonable steps to ensure that the safety, health and wellbeing of the Box Hill High School community, whilst still ensuring that all students and staff feel a return to normality after the remote learning period. We have hand sanitiser available in all classrooms and encourage students to practice good hygiene at all times. We also have a cleaner onsite each day to progressively clean all high-touch areas and toilets. There are posters around the school to remind students of good hygiene practices. In order to support this process we ask all members of our community to ensure that they do not attend school should they be feeling unwell. If you have any questions please contact your child’s Year Level Coordinator.

In addition, parents are encouraged to support our work by continuing to reinforce the messages of appropriate hygiene and social distancing. We also ask all parents to not enter the school grounds without first making an appointment with a relevant staff member and signing in at the general office.

Travelling to and from school

Traffic safety and good behaviour are vital every day when travelling to and from school and parents are urged to discuss the following with their son/daughter:

• Observe road safety rules to and from school each day.
• Observe all road laws, in particular cyclists must wear helmets.
• When crossing the road, it must be done with care and at a controlled crossing particularly on busy roads such as  Whitehorse and Middleborough Roads.
• Don’t be distracted by listening to music.
• Behave responsibly on public transport  and on surrounding streets (all students are ambassadors for the school and should demonstrate the school value of Respect at all times).

Teachers on yard duty have also noticed some concerning and unsafe practices when parents are dropping off students or picking them up after school. 

We ask parents to please refrain from:

• Allowing students to leave your car on Middleborough Road whilst in traffic.
• Stopping on Whitehorse Road and/or at the bus stop outside the school to drop off students.
• Double parking on the service road and allowing students to jump out of your car.

All of this requires students to cross the road in front of other oncoming traffic and is very dangerous. The service road and Middleborough Road are very congested during these peak drop-off and pick-up times, so please ensure that your child is dropped off or picked up in a safe place. You may need to park further up in the service road and your child may need to walk for five minutes to/from school.

We ask that all members of the school community adopt a ‘Safety First’ attitude. 

School Council 2020

We completed the nomination and election process for our new school council late in Term 1. The School Council for 2020 is as follows:

Thanks to all the members for committing time to support the school in this way. The school council plays a key role in school governance. This includes contributing to the establishment of the broad vision and direction of a school through strategic planning, developing and reviewing school policies and overseeing the school’s financial performance through a finance committee. We are pleased to have members with a range of expertise to support the school to deliver the best quality educational outcomes for all students.

Anne Gordon - an Icon in Public Education 

Last term we lost an icon in public education. Anne Gordon was a longstanding staff member at our school and sadly passed away in March this year. Anne was loved and respected by staff and students alike and her professionalism, kindness and care for students will never be forgotten. 

She was a strong advocate for students and a mentor to so many young teachers entering the profession for the first time. Her optimism, positive energy and wisdom will be missed. In the short time that I got to work with Anne, I found her to be a true professional. She was open to learning new things, welcomed challenges and had a 'can do' attitude. 

Thank you to all the staff who have shared their memories of Anne in this newsletter – your stories provide great insight into the fantastic person Anne was and her contribution to education on so many levels. I am sure that many staff and students will continue to be inspired by her legacy for many years to come.

Farewell to Lisa Smith

We sadly say goodbye to Lisa Smith, our Wellbeing counsellor, at the end of this term. Lisa has been with us for two years and she has been an integral part of the Wellbeing team, ensuring that we provide the highest quality of care for some of our most vulnerable students. She has played a key role in implementing many of our Wellbeing programs over the last two years, such as the PAWS program. Her dedication, her commitment to students and her willingness to go above and beyond has been a driving force in the team. She is also a proactive leader and team player and her kindness and generosity of spirit will leave a huge gap at BHHS. We wish her well as she starts up a new chapter of her life in country Victoria. 

It's been a busy Term 2 and I hope that you all have a well deserved rest during this holiday period. I look forward to seeing you all in Term 3.

Stay safe and well.

- Ms Losh Pillay, Principal

Assistant Principal Report

Remote Teaching and Learning

What a whirlwind term it has been! Six weeks of remote teaching and learning for all students and staff. Then two weeks of year 11 and 12 students back on site learning while year 7 to 10 students continued to learn from home. It was quite funny to see teachers on their own in classes talking and laughing into their computers obviously running their junior classes remotely. Then everyone back on site from week 9. Student were very happy to be back in the classroom and excited to see their friends.

The most significant learning during this time has been in the area of digital technology. We have experienced ten years of digital transformation in ten weeks. It has been amazing to see the learning growth in both teachers and students in making use of digital technology to enhance teaching and learning. 

We are now trying to capture the stories and learning from our experience of teaching and learning from home. Parents have been surveyed to find out what they have learned about their children during the time of remote learning. Students are being given opportunities to let us know what worked for them and what they want moving forward. Teachers have been sharing what they want to keep from the experience, what they want to stop doing and what changes they want to make in the future. 

As a school, we are using the information we are gathering to ensure we harness the opportunities presented to us by this unique experience. 

2021 Subject Selection Process

Coming up in early Term 3, students will be selecting their subjects for 2021. As part of that process, students will be receiving information to help them make informed decisions. Due to COVID-19, we will have to run things differently. Normally we would run year level assemblies to disseminate information to students however, due to restrictions, all information will be provided electronically through Teams and/or Compass in the form of online handbooks and videos. We cannot run our annual VCE/year 10 Expo this year so all information will be provided online. There will be videos created by our teachers for every VCE subject we will be offering in 2021. There will also be informative videos for parents in particular.

Uniform

We understand that this term has been very unusual and it may have been difficult for all students to be in the correct uniform due to the inability to purchase new items. However, from the start of Term 3, the expectation is that all students will be in correct complete winter uniform. Summer dresses should be packed away until Term 4.

We are currently in discussion with PSW, our uniform supplier, regarding feedback we have had from both parents and students about having warmer options and female specific shorts and long pants. We will keep updated about any changes in future.

I wish all students a safe and restful term break.

- Ms Theresa Iacopino, Assistant Principal

School Facilities and School Environment Improvement

We have taken advantage of the Term 2 remote learning period to organise more improvement works around the school while students were learning from home.

Basketball Shade Shelter Completed

Students (and staff) were very excited to see the basketball court shade cover completed when they returned to school late this term and it has already been well used, especially on rainy days. It is certainly an eye-catching structure on the corner of Middleborough and Whitehorse Roads!

Improvements in the quad

The breezeway near the student lockers in the quadrangle has been repaired and repainted and sheltered student seating put in place. A giant chess board has been painted and ready for the first competitions next term, and a mosaic art piece installed onto the external wall of classrooms 116 and 117.

Student toilets have been freshened up with new paint and repairs, and more student seating has been put in place around the portables for students as well.

Digital monitors have also been installed throughout the school so students can easily access school bulletins such as daily room changes and other updates. We have been able to purchase this technology due to DET funding related to the mobile phone ban in schools.

Classroom improvements

Continuing the classroom improvement schedule following the classroom condition report completed at the end of last year, we have been able to re-paint and re-carpet another 11 classrooms during Term 2. Corridors in Building A have also received a face lift with new carpets and paint. A large number of classrooms have also had reverse air conditioners installed which will provide more comfortable teaching and learning conditions, especially over the Summer months. Teaching with technology has also improved with upgraded digital projectors across the school.

- Ms Kellie Ind, Assistant Principal