Following the first day of school on August 26th, students and teachers alike were thrilled to be kicking off yet another year at Cape Henry Collegiate. Ms. Step, advisor and Spanish teacher, Abbey Trinidad ‘20, and Tori Winans ‘23, all share excitedly what they’re excited about for this upcoming year, what challenges they’ve been facing, and why CHC is the ideal place to work and attend school.

During advisory every morning, Ms. Step’s freshman advisees share their “nopes”, events they didn’t like about the day, and “dopes” events they loved about the day. When Ms. Step herself was asked to answer the same question, she noted that her dope was “meeting all of my new students and developing relationships with them”. From the perspective of a senior, Abbey’s highlight of the week was “hanging out in the senior lounge with all of my friends”. Tori Winans’s highlight was similar in that she loved “seeing all of her friends from different grades” while getting adjusted to the ins and outs of upper school. Tori’s least favorite part of the first couple weeks, her “nope” is making her way around lunch, which – understandably – she describes as “very jammed and confusing”. Abbey’s least favorite part of the week is getting back into the routine of doing homework, and Ms. Steps’ is getting back into the routine pace of each day.

Change is not always a bad thing as these three CHC interviewees reveals. There are experiences to look forward to and differences that build character within the upper school’s halls. Ms. Step looks forward to the “laughter each class brings”, and shares that a big difference for her is not “feeling like a newbie”, as this school year is her 3rd year working at Cape and she feels like she’s finally a part of the community the school provides. Tori looks forward to the new opportunities within the upper school such as the nexus trips, different clubs, and being able to sit wherever she wants during lunch unlike in middle school (finally free!). She regards high school in an extremely optimistic light, stating that she “has not found any challenges I can’t overcome”. As a senior, Abbey is looking forward to being done with college applications and feeling the relief that all her hard work has paid off. A difference for her is that she is now at the top of the upper school food chain, and she feels like it was “just yesterday I was in lower school”. 

The three interviewed women of CHC were asked: Why is CHC such an amazing place to work or go to school? Each one responded with unique perspectives and shared insight into the community CHC offers. Abbey, having been a member of Cape Henry Collegiate for more than 10 years, has the faith that “teachers are always there to help students, with classwork or other issues” and cites that is why CHC is such a strong community; the teachers build up the students. Ms. Step’s answer is a strong follow-up to Abbey’s, as Ms. Step regards that “every person in this school cares about the students”, “truly wants to help and challenge the students”, and “values the students’ opinions”. Tori believes what makes CHC so strong is that both “students and teachers can face new obstacles and search for new possibilities” together, to make the school worth attending and teaching at.