Senior School Update

It’s hard to believe that we are almost at the end of Term 1. The Senior School has been a buzzing hive of activity with all students settling back into the life and routine of being at school. Already, we have had students busily involved in the school production, debating, interschool sports, International Women’s Day panels, and Harmony day events. Our international students also enjoyed a dumplings lunch to mark the end of Chinese New Year.

CATs, Outcomes and SACs are well underway with students completing many of these in the last two weeks of term. The level of commitment to academic studies from VCE students in particular has been impressive with many students staying late in the Year 12 Centre to study after school or arriving early to study in the morning. 

Year 12 students kicked off the start of their final year of high school with an overnight retreat at University College. This was a great opportunity for the year level to reignite their sense of being a member of the Year 12 cohort after the extended lockdowns in 2020. 

Students participated in various activities with the Party Safe session run by Mr O’Sullivan, Mr Rees and Ms Thompson being a favourite amongst the cohort. Several ex-students also came back to share their post-high school experiences with the cohort, with the same message that university and job pathways can change very easily and unexpectedly!   

The Formal Committee has commenced planning for the Year 12 Formal which is coming up on Friday 28th May at Cathies on Grand in Wantirna. The theme for the formal will be ‘Starry Nights.’ More information about the event including ticket purchasing will be released on Compass and Teams early next term.

We were also pleased to announce our 2021 School Captains, Ava White and Vice-Captain Avon Agsornwong, earlier in the term. Both students have already shown exceptional leadership and are leading the Prefect team to plan events and opportunities for students across the school.   

Year 11 students have enjoyed settling back into face-to-face schooling with strong participation in the school Swimming Carnival and other school events. A Fit to Drive Seminar was run early in the term where students discussed the challenges of learning to drive safely. This was a valuable experience as many students missed out on getting their drivers licence on their 16th birthdays. More recently, Year 11 leaders planned a week of fun events for Harmony Day and having begun planning for the rest of the year. It is wonderful for the Senior Team to work with a dedicated group of students who are keen to make the most of their final years of school.

In other exciting news, there will be 98 Year 11/12 students participating in the 2021 BHHS Central Australia Tour. This trip will take place in the Term 2 holidays and is designed to expose students to the rich and unique landscape of Outback Australia. It is also a great opportunity for students and learn about the Indigenous history of Australia. 

Year 10 are settling well into senior school life, with many of the cohort taking on a VCE subject for the first time. In Term 2, Year 10 students will start making decisions about their pathways and VCE subjects. They will also begin preparation for their Year 10 exams at the end of Term 2. The Year 10 program, running on Wednesday afternoons, is targeted to assisting students with developing the school and life balance needed for a successful VCE. It has been great to see the receptiveness of Year 10 students to this program so far. 

We wish all our students a safe and relaxing Term 1 holidays and look forward to seeing everyone back at the start of Term 2.

  - Siegrid Fischer and Erica Sporri,

Senior School Engagement Leaders

 ***Tickets to the Year 12 2020 Valedictory Dinner are available to purchase now. See Dates to Remember page.

Our 99+ Year 12 Students in 2020 

In 2020, we had 8 students achieve an ATAR of 99+. We are proud of the phenomenal efforts of our Year 12 Cohort in 2020 and hope they have all found themselves in a course or pathway that keeps them striving for higher things in 2021! Below, our Dux, Ervin Salim, and some of our 99+ students have kept us up to date with where they’ve ended up in 2021 and offered their reflections on 2020. 

Ervin Salim – 99.85 ATAR

Currently, I'm doing the Bachelor of Commerce course with an engineering GDP at the University of Melbourne. The best thing I found about Box Hill High School is the delicate balance of schoolwork and entertainment that the school manages to maintain. Whether it be the official school-run camps and events which help encourage fun with friends, or just the atmosphere and culture prevalent within the student community. Even during trying times such as the periods of online learning last year or the exam months, it wasn't all about studying. While undoubtedly stressful, my cohort is nothing if not fun-loving, and amusing ourselves has always been something we excelled at, often with the help of the school board. Ultimately, all this means is that I had a great time at Box Hill High School, and it is only through the equilibrium between work and fun that I managed to achieve my scores.

Vitoria Huang – 99.75 ATAR

Currently studying Commerce (BCom) at the University of Melbourne, I find Box Hill High School such a significant part of my life. It’s where I met inspiring teachers and students who supported me along my VCE journey, despite my flaws.

To my teachers and the class of 2020, as well as all past and present staff who made BHHS the school it is today, thank you. My high school years have been so much more than I could have ever hoped for.

To all future Year 12’s, it might be a stressful year. I questioned myself innumerable times – that my efforts are hardly comparable to the truly hardworking, that my potential is nothing against the truly talented, that I will perform poorly for the next assessment and be a statistical burden on my cohort. Such unnecessary worrying only fed into my procrastination and further encroached on my time.

Put your mind to it, spend your time on it, and don’t doubt yourself for it.

Sophie Chen – 99.75 ATAR

Hiya, I’m currently studying Biomedical Science at Monash. A tip I have for studying in the rather chaotic final year of high school is that while scheduling and getting stuff done is important – having breaks and some fun is definitely important and okay too! It’s all about balance and staying healthy. And while I’m here, I’d like to shout out to my friends and teachers last year for being so supportive and understanding :)

Ting Tang – 99.3 ATAR

I got straight into my uni life after finishing my Year 12, and now I’m doing the Bachelor of Advanced Computing at Australian National University.

During my Year 12 time, what I found most important was to study consistently and keep up with the pace of your teachers. Thanks to the teachers in our school, all the classes and the contents were so well structured, even during the lock-down online learning period. Thus, what we need to do was simply completing the work which teachers assigned, and of course, it was the work with good quality. 

Apart from this, one more suggestion would be, don’t hesitate to ask your teachers questions, as we have got so many nice, helpful and knowledgeable teachers around us.

I really hope you all can achieve the ATAR score you’re satisfied with and get into doing the things you want when you finish your Year 12!  Good luck and best wishes!

Amy Broeksteeg – 99.25 ATAR

This year I’m studying a Bachelor of Music at Melbourne Uni, majoring in classical clarinet performance. It’s been a great experience so far, and lots of fun! The biggest thing that helped me achieve my results was taking subjects that I enjoyed, and which suited my learning style well. My favourite thing about Box Hill was the amazing community of staff and students, especially in the music department (shoutout to Mr Rogers, Mr Corcoran and Miss de Blasio)!