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PVCC captains farewell school life

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Grace Frost
Grace Frost
Hi, I'm Grace Frost. I was honoured to report for the Review as their Digital Journalist from mid-2022 to the beginning of 2024. Ive since made a move to the Herald Sun.

By Grace Frost

MORE than 60,000 Victorian students are taking a united sigh of relief after year 12 exams concluded last week.

There was plenty of anticipation from Plenty Valley Christian College, PVCC, captains Adelaide Rees and Issac Henderson who, with the rest of their year level, said goodbye to friends, teachers and younger students a few weeks prior to commencing exam preparation.

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The captains said the final day of school for the cohort was riddled with excitement, nerves and sentimentality.

“I thought it was so funny just how we [went to muck-up day] and everyone’s excited about seeing the school after it’s mucked up, everyone’s wanting to show off their costume … everything’s funny and crazy,” Mr Henderson said.

“Then we get towards the end of the day and we get to the common room and people are bawling their eyes out, and it was this absolute crash of emotions that I thought summed up the year level and … our time in high school quite nicely – going from these incredible highs to these extraordinary lows,” he said.

Those ‘extraordinary lows’ refer to the COVID-19 pandemic, the class of ‘22 being the only year level to undertake every lockdown and wave of online learning throughout their senior school years.

Ms Rees and Mr Henderson said despite its resulting hardships, the pandemic had brought their cohort closer together.

“I think we’ve all got an appreciation for all of the social events and just hanging out and chatting in the common room,” Ms Rees said.

Exam preparation and stress lingered year-round for senior students across the state, with the captains indicating it showed its face at the end of term two.

“The teachers sat us down and said, ‘look guys, some of you are slacking, we just want you to know that this is the time, this is make or break, this is where students fall off, so it’s now or never’,” Mr Henderson said.

“We had one of our English teachers tell us we ought to be doing four to five hours of study from now until exams … I think from that point it became real.”

Ms Rees and Mr Henderson, along with year 12s on the school senate, had more than exams to contend with however, with countless hours dedicated to fundraising, events and assembly preparation.

A highlight for both captains was a Relay For Life fundraiser they organised.

The after-school event saw staff, families and students, past and present, walk laps of the school oval, participate in events and listen to live music, raising an astonishing $15,765 for Cancer Council Australia.

“Relay For Life was a lot of work and a lot of stress … but in the end it was definitely worth it,” Ms Rees said.

pvcc
The PVCC fundraiser, organised by the school captains and student senate, raised over $15,000 for Cancer Council.

Mr Henderson and Ms Rees said their captaincy roles meant they stepped out of their comfort zones and worked for change in the school community, aiming to fulfill promises they made when interviewed.

“I’ve had to really step up in terms of leadership and public speaking,” Ms Rees said.

“I put on my application that I wanted to add a lot of music to everything, I wanted performances at pretty much every assembly … I think upon reflection that’s almost happened.”

Mr Henderson said some aspects of captaincy surprised him, as he became involved in more of the school’s culture and events than he had expected.

“One thing I didn’t realise in stepping into the role is that people kind of look to you as a leader, whether it’s your jurisdiction or not,” he said.

Now passing the baton to the captains of 2023, the pair were eager to share their wisdom and advice with their successors.

“[Compare] yourself to how you were earlier in the year, improving continuously, not focusing on how you’re going to be perceived by others,” Mr Henderson said.

Ms Rees said future captains should go into the role with a clear idea of what they would like to implement.

“If you have something that you want to see happen, you have to get in quick,” she said.

“Make sure you don’t lose that throughout the year, because you can get swept up in what the role entails.”

PVCC recently hosted their presentation evening, with both captains taking home awards.

Mr Henderson was awarded the ‘Ampol Best All Rounder Award’, which is given to a year 12 student who excels in the classroom, on the sports field and in his or her contribution to their community.

Ms Rees took home the ‘ADF Long Tan Leadership Award’, which is given to a year 12 student who demonstrates ‘an outstanding capacity’ to lead other students in a range of pursuits and act as a role model.

The captains thanked their teachers for their ‘amazing’ assistance and encouragement.

Mr Henderson and Ms Rees said they hoped their efforts as captains had ‘got the ball rolling’ for future senate members, with projects to continue working towards including a school workout facility.

Official exam results and ATARs will be released on December 12, and first round offers to university released in January.

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