2020 has been a year that will go down in history.

Our SRC have worked with the our community to capture some of the experiences that our students experienced during Covid-19.

Below are some of the responses to the 2020 SCHS Diary.

Entry 1: Anonymous, Year 12.

Falling apart

falling behind

running, running, running

out of breath

out of Time

the world keeps on moving

spinning so fast

Dizzy dizzy dizzy

I can't find my feet--

can't find the light

I see the streaks gleaming

Flying so very high but

Shadows, shadows, shadows

Are all that touch me.

Doing trial exams in silence with each other on camera, makes you feel like things are a tiny bit normal, if only for a moment.

After struggling to find activities for both myself and an incredibly bored baby sister we picked up craft. It's been exciting seeing all the fun and cool things you can make with a few recyclable materials. We've made milk bottle elephants, egg carton turtles and a wide array of paintings made using brushes, sticks, cotton buds or even our hands and fingers. It eventually led to me really discovering that perfection isn't the important aspect of art and craft, something that previously made arting quite sad for me. Its the soul you put into it, the smiles, the laughter. Most of the crafts look a bit funky, some have had their googly eyes fall off but we had fun, we enjoyed ourselves, became closer as sisters. I'm coming out of lockdown with a new hobby, a large number of puppets, and a project in progress building a mini theatre to put those puppets to use . I also now have an important lesson about doing something new. That I shouldn't be afraid to try because it won't look or be good enough, because if you have fun whilst doing something if you grow closer whilst doing something, it makes up for all the flaws.

Reflection: A year that has been difficult but has helped me realise what is truely important in life

Entry 2: Anonymous, Year 9.

1. The alarm rings, coaxing me out of my dreammolless slumber; my eyes open in an instant, quite like an Instax camera, for I still cannot comprehend the normality of being confined to the indoors. Ah, the beauty and bitterness of sticking to a years-long routine... I sigh a little sigh of defeat. I drag my laptop out of its cover, out of reach from my bedside table. I absentmindedly shift through the various emails. I normally took pleasure in having a full inbox of unread messages, but this isn't normal, is it? I take a glance to have a vague idea of what is expected of me this week. There is quite a lot. I don't complain, however, I expect I've become what you might call 'resilient' in this aspect...I'm happy I'm busy - but this elated feeling quickly dies down when I finish all assigned homework in two days. Months and months, just sitting around in one place, in front of one screen, staring into a different world, I'm afraid I don't quite have the motivation to do anything else. I head down to the kitchen where I make my speciality (the only item I know how to cook): an omelette! I make three more, for my brothers and my mother, for I feel that doing at least this much could aid their hectic online schedule. My heart melts when mother always offers help to me though I don't accept it. I don't want to drain her. My mother has enough on her hands already, with helping my little brother with attending his classes and homework, cooking for us, keeping note of the upcoming online interviews and doing the shopping. I go back to the refuge of my bed, a quiet space, where I click to start my school day

2. As my fork viciously attacks the several strands of spaghetti in the pretty porcelain bowl I always use, my ears tune in to the television. Two hundred new cases, the reporter claims. Twenty new deaths. An outbreak in an aged care facility. My heart jolts. I listen on, both with a renewed gloom and curiosity. More clusters of cases. And then the reporter cunningly hands it over to the sports aspect. Well played. I look at my phone as messages pop up; I smile a little, my friends don't cease to amuse me with their texts. As much as I don't favour this 'cage', I understand, though with difficulty, that we are closer apart. The government's new slogan has started to grow on me, how very interesting. But I don't answer the texts straight away, I've taken a liking to enjoy my meal with my family now more than ever. I can't believe this myself, to be honest, but with no one else to talk to, I love that parents still provide that unwavering harmony in spite of this new tumble. I won't admit that though, I'm a teenager, we aren't known to be very nice like that. I listen in and out of my brothers' conversations, nothing new, just bored, the usual. But I must admit, this whole stay at home notion is really starting to brush off on me; even some of our teachers seem to agree, we really are falling into this comfy little hole. I excuse myself from the table, wash my hands, bowl and fork and manage a few minutes of walking to bring my full stomach some ease. After returning some texts, wherein the conversations go on and on, I snuggle up in my blanket fortress and indulge myself in a good book.

3. My mind is in a joyful trance, only one more month of confinement to go, or so it seems, as stated by the Premier. I am delighted nonetheless, a few restrictions have been lifted, and with that, a few worries. I examine myself in front of the mirror with a slight tinge of nausea. I begin to feel the serotonin decrease; why couldn't I have done exercise, took a few days off from studying and paid attention to my skin? How will I look at all my classmates? In the midst of these nags, I laugh a little laugh and grin a little grin. How truly amusing: I'm starting to think of my old-school worries while in the 'new' normal! As I prance over to the backyard, my mind roams over the new memories collected in the last few months; there were a few tears and there were a few sighs, there were new fears and there were a lot of cries... I feel as if I have a new sight, for I now ponder at the altered future for the generations to come. How naive were we, to even shake hands with one another without regarding the outrageous germ count! We have a newfound awareness of hygiene and a new wariness. But even so, I yearn, now more than ever, to go back to school, to merely talk with friends and peers, to interact with teachers and just be enveloped in a crowd. I've developed a partiality for books once again after many years, for childhood films, for aesthetics; I never thought I'd give in to all these but then again, who'd have thought the year of 2020 to happen as so? Humming to myself, there is a spring to my steps as I head outside for some sunshine.

Reflection: Let's just hope 2020 doesn't happen again :D

Entry 3: Kaitlyn Huynh, Year 10.

Initially, I was in angst. Not being able to hang out with friends anymore? Having to abstain from some of my favourite restaurant’s menu items? Leaving my main source of income as work temporarily closed? These may come across as very ‘first world problems’, although I’m sure at least one of these remarks has crossed your mind before. However I thought to myself, ‘if some dumb teenager carelessly breached lockdown and spread the Coronavirus to any of my grandparents… I would be pissed off.’ Thus, I didn’t want to be the teenager in question and abided by the restrictions, I reassured myself that eventually the pandemic would be over in a few weeks. Unfortunately, a few weeks turned into a month, and a month turned into many months and from what the current news headlines are reporting, the pandemic truly seems like it’ll rupture well into next year. However, I did find myself relishing in the ability to wake up 5 minutes before class and turning the camera off so that nobody could see my eyes full of sleep (for administration purposes this is a joke). Of course, I still ponder and worry about when we will be able to go out freely again and enjoy things which we once took for granted; but for now, I keep my mask on for walks around the neighbourhood and stick to FaceTime calls with family.

My favourite way to keep in touch with friends is through online games. I’m sure many of us have heard of or played the trending ‘Among Us’; for those who haven’t - in short, it’s a game similar to a murder mystery where a random player is dubbed the ‘Imposter’ and secretly attempts to kill off the other players without getting caught. The nature of this game causes many (mostly) friendly disputes and can raise a lot of tension if played well. Lesson learned from this game: red is always ‘sus’ and orange is always innocent. Another multiplayer game that everybody and their aunty knows is ‘Minecraft’ - I admit that I only recently downloaded this onto my PC but I’ve owned the PE version since childhood. There are so many things to do and explore in this virtual world that it’ll never ever be boring, especially when playing with a group of friends. Sometimes it gets a bit hectic including the occasional friendly-fire or ‘accidental’ destroying of each other’s houses; however all in all, it’s one of the most fun games one could play. The new update even added lava-pigs! If you aren’t an avid gamer, I highly recommend that these two games are the ones to start with - they are definitely some of the best for keeping in touch with friends and family.

Surprisingly, I’m not as eager to emerge from lockdown as I thought that I’d be. In many ways, it’s given me an opportunity to rediscover many hobbies that I used to habitually enjoy before my routine of 6:30am-train-walking-classes-meetings-home-study-food-chill-12am-sleep-repeat (phewfp). There are a multitude of things that I have spent my new free time indulging in, however, the three of utmost importance to me right now are cooking, anime and family. Hold your thoughts for a moment to let me get this straightened out: my cooking is not on a Masterchef level yet and I am definitely not the type of weeb that will ‘Naruto run’ in the hallways once we’re physically back at school. Cooking regards all aspects of creativity and harmony, it is an anthology of flavours and obliges for hard work and knowing when to convert fahrenheit into degrees. Bingeing a good anime launches you into another world - dimension even - and can turn your brain upside down with it’s monumental plot-line or make you swoon over debonair or rebellious characters; yes, I am thinking of Attack on Titan while writing this. So thus, lockdown has allowed me to relearn and appreciate these things which I’d neglected to fully savour. Furthermore, it’s enriched the relationship between my family and I by forcing me to share my likes with them. Now my additional duty is to prepare dinners and lunches whenever I can or help my parents out in the kitchen instead; I’ve also learned to love baking with my sisters and everyone eating the pastries while we watch an episode of Gintama. Truthfully, this experience has been a much needed breather before I get propelled into the daunting streamline of VCE and I find myself loving a lot more in life.

Entry 4: Anonymous.

For me, the lockdown was very harsh in terms of adjusting to not having my friends around me when I needed them, but it was also very helpful in me realising my own goals and it allowed me to have a lot of me time. During lockdown, I developed a new interest towards home workouts, and also learnt to cook. After experiencing all of this, I realised that this experience is something that everyone needs at least once in their life time. Even though it made adjusting to the school a little difficult, I am grateful for the lockdown in many ways. The lockdown gave me time to improve myself and it allowed me to become a better version of who I already am.

Entry 5: Anonymous, Year 12.

While I agree COVID19 came at the wrong time, it was something we needed to experience at least once in our lives. We had a lot of time to reflect and learn whilst we stay in our houses away from forms of social interaction. A tough situation that tested our limits as young adults but allowed us to have a better understanding of the world, a new found appreciation for the most subtle human experiences. We could finally spend that extra hour talking to our parents or siblings, in some cases a period of time where the whole family can be at the dinner table for once. Overworked parents and burned out children found some time to take a breath, find a moment to relax in their world that ran non stop. Individually, many of us began to finally appreciate being able to just walk up the school stairs and smile at a friend or be able to get on a bus. We even missed the cold afternoons where we waited under the shelter for the delayed train. Sometimes we miss being able to ask a question in class without feeling anxious of pressing that unmute button, or turning on that camera. Some of us who spent most weekends at home realised that we indeed can't live without being able to socialise while others realised they were capable of living a life in isolation and that they in fact didn't mind the peace and quiet. Isolation exposed us to the reality of the types of people we live amongst. Selfishness became extremely apparent from the refusal to wear masks and inability to accept that for a while you can only buy two packets of pasta from the supermarket. To that I say, thank you COVID 19.

Entry 6: Katrina Danial, Year 12.

Your school captains still managed to stay connected during lockdown! We are super blessed and grateful to have been given the opportunity to lead in such a crazy year. Well done to everyone for making it this far :)

"Although the school year was turned upside down, our student body has grown enormously - that is worth celebrating!" - Katrina Danial, School Captain

"Despite the numerous challenges we have faced, it pays large credits to the ability of this community to persevere" - Matt Nguyen, School Captain

"Although this year has been an arduous year, it has truly been a blessing in disguise." - Edward Le, Vice Captain

"2020 highlighted our tenacity and resilience to accept and manage with our alternative reality. One day, we shall reminisce about the endless zoom calls and Google Classroom assignments!" - Nina Kostovski, Vice Captain

Entry 7: Jay Brendan Del Rosario, Year 12.

Luxuriating under cerulean skies before the second Kalends of Prosperina, composing these words in a vain attempt to write anything vaguely poetic; the inverted abyss gifts us their warmth, unreflecting of the hiemal forecast for the graduating cohort of 2020. Dearest Virgil, in an endeavour to stand where you once were, in a time of political strife and social upheaval, through what lexis will I elicit a canorous response from my viewership, rife with cynical pupils and enervated physiques? For what reason must our faction of scholars submit to Fate with its ominous, obdurate, ostinato? O laureate eponymous to fanatical perfectionism, bestow upon me the justification for our suffering so.

Though taunted by the hopes of normality after the dawn of the third quarter, alas, education from our confined realms was a future inevitable. Standardised assessments, once isolated upon pillars built from stress and anxiety, suddenly invaded our personal peripheries, imbuing our lives for days on end. The presaged infantry of November makes their threat transpicuous, and in concert arrives the false cadence to our education.

Aestas approaches in her testudinate ways, exemplary in this iteration. Though crestfallen we stand, sated with hollow optimism, the flow of time must remain linear – Fate exempts none from their impersonal discernment. Ambitions unrealised and episodes unsung; a solemn cadenza manifests before us. Reminiscences of valour will not be our commemorative memorabilia, but instead an apathetic hindsight indicative of innocent delusions will stain our vision hitherto.

It stands undeniable that this year was suboptimal. Yet, with continued innovation, the demonstration of passion continues. Not through ease does one find the limits of humanity, but rather when we find ourselves frozen with fear, unmoving from the locale defined by the screen. Here is where we prepare for an inclement tomorrow.

Somewhat inspired by Virgil’s Aeneid.

Reflection: Latin 3/4 is great.

Entry 8: Rydham Oza

Once upon a time, long, long ago there was a time where people stood next to each other, were able to roam freely and interact with people whenever they felt like it and hugged one another as a sign of gratitude. Suddenly, all of a sudden it feels like we’re in a horror movie where the villainous Coronavirus is killing thousands of people and we’re feeling helpless. It has turned our lives upside down. Even in our dreams, we could not have imagined ourselves conned to our homes, with no outings and unable to meet our friends and relatives. With the growing darkness of COVID-19 engulfing the entire world, forcing people to stay home, silencing the busiest places of the world with a wave of fear and death, there has been some ray of light on environmental issues.

Reasonably, the situation has given us a chance to look at things differently. In the beginning, this lockdown was considered as holidays by some children, like me. Once extended, it has made us realize the value of attending schools. We appreciate the hard work of our teachers who are trying their best to teach us through online classes and providing us with study material. Teachers are not leaving any stone unturned so that we do not waste our precious time sitting idle. Although initially taking online classes was a challenge for them, they have quickly adapted so that our academic path does not get elected. This has taught us never to run away from challenges when life throws them upon us and, to try to adapt according to the situation.

Entry 9: Ruhi Rodrigo, Year 9

When I reflect on the roller-coaster year so far, I can see the resilience of humanity. I can see our endless commitment and our core values shining through the sobriety of dark times (the COVID-19 pandemic). And perhaps more importantly, I can see our willingness to adapt to new environments that we may find ourselves living in. As of today, in the absence of face to face conversations with my peers, I have become rather connected to the outside world, though virtually so. Moreover, despite the challenges, surprisingly, I found remote learning to be a new and exciting method of education. In essence, COVID-19 has unlocked characteristics within myself that I never truly saw before. A piece of advice that I can give, is that organisation is certainly beneficial during difficult times. Make a routine and stick to it, for it is sometimes a sense of normality that can bring balance to a hectic world. Finally, I would like to acknowledge that almost every house hold is affected by Covid-19 one way or another and in varying degrees. If I have learnt anything, it is that you must not give up in the face of hardship, instead cherish the small positive moments that life has to offer, take heed to the advice of those you can trust and look towards a brighter future for there is sure to be one.

Suzanne Cory High School

Respect | Aspire | Contribute

Issue 11 · 11 Dec 2020

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