School Captains' Reflection

Dear Box Hill High School Community, 

Before saying anything else to you all, as 2020’s School Captain team, we want to let you know how amazed and proud we are of our community in what was a rollercoaster of a year! From the incredible experiences afforded to our community through events like Year 12 Camp, World Challenge trips, free dress days, and Year 7 Crazy Hair Day (a Term 4 favourite) to the harder days of lockdowns, uncertainty, and seemingly endless replays of Dan Andrew’s press conferences - we are so impressed by how everyone has embraced the challenge and made the best of a difficult situation.  

This last term at Box Hill for 2020, at least for us, felt surprisingly normal. After the harsh lockdowns that we all saw in Term 3, we were overjoyed to be able to see all of you in person again. Together with all the student leadership teams, including our incredible fellow Prefects, the SRC, and the House Captains - along with the admirable dedication of all the teaching and support staff - we did everything we could to make sure this was a term to remember. From games in lessons, to free dress days, to the amazing work that went into ending the year in style (complete with an impromptu dance number in the final assembly), we really hope that you’ve all enjoyed being back in person. 

Of course, as the year ended, many of the year levels faced the prospect of end-of-year exams, especially those doing VCE. We were completely amazed with the energy, brightness, and engagement that everyone approached this with. Exams are normally a stressful time, but this year brought even more stress and uncertainty than anyone expected. However, the resilience and brightness that everyone displayed (particularly VCE students) during this intense time was an inspiration to all of us, and we are incredibly proud to be a part of this Year 12 cohort and a part of this school. Regardless of what results day brings, we are so excited to see all the amazing things this cohort will achieve in the future, and to see the continued successes of other year levels in the years to come. We are constantly in awe of you all and are always ready to cheer you on! 

Before signing off, we have some people to thank - without these members of our school community, this year couldn’t have happened. We are immensely grateful for the contributions of the Principal Team, teaching staff, Senior Coordinators (particularly Ms. Natoli, Ms. Fischer, and Ms. Sporri), our incredible support and administrative staff, and the school canteen, for their roles in making 2020 so enjoyable and accommodating our (sometimes far-fetched) plans for the next free dress day or school event. 

Personally, we would also like to thank our contemporaries in the school’s leadership teams - the SRC, the House Captains, the Year 11 Leaders, and our beloved Prefects - for their hard work and commitment to making this year the best 2020 possible. 

Finally, we want to thank everyone in the school community for your passion and spirit - it’s been an honour being your school captains this year, and the highlight of an amazing time at Box Hill High School for all of us. We are also so confident in 2021’s school leadership team - the school couldn’t be in better hands! 

Yours faithfully, 

Rose Hensher, Ellen Costaras, and Thomas White