It is hard to comprehend that 11 weeks ago we began Term 2 with everyone learning from home. Since then we have completed many hours of remote learning, transformed our school site to promote distancing and hygiene requirements, transitioned back to on site classes, adapted our sport and music programs and started to embrace our new “normal”. Now, as we head into the break, the status of COVID-19 within the Victorian community is shifting again, and we feel uncertain about what lies ahead. I want to sincerely thank all our families and girls for their remarkable adaptability throughout Term 2 and to pay tribute to our magnificent teachers who have developed new practices and approaches in order to maximise learning for their students whether that be at home or at school. Never in my career have I seen a group of professionals up-skill so quickly, willingly take on hours of additional work and support each other and their community so positively. It really has been quite phenomenal!
One of the upsides of having major change thrust upon us, is that there are sometimes practices which flow out of the change that are both positive and lasting. For Lowther Hall, we have had to deal with the change of not being able to have parents on site, which has been a great disappointment. We have had to find new ways to deliver our Learning Conferences, our concerts and our other parent events. The feedback from parents was that undertaking Learning Conferences via zoom, worked well for many families, allowing them more flexibility to attend from home. We will continue to explore offering this service via videoconference moving forward. Similarly, our online concert series has been very sell received. During the break, live streaming technology will be installed in the Blinkbonnie House “burrow” and in the Cultural Centre, allowing us to bring you special assemblies and events as they happen during Terms 3 and 4 and into the future. We look forward to sharing this new aspect of school life with you once we return from the break. I have sent a separate communication to parents and guardians today, outlining our expectations for the forthcoming break and for the start of Term 3. Specifically, it asks that you alert your daughter’s Head of School via email if your daughter or a member of your family returns a positive COVID-19 test during the holidays. As we finish the term, I would like to thank everyone for their ongoing support. These continue to be challenging times, but the capacity of the Lowther Hall community to encourage one another as we work together to serve the girls, is a wonderful thing. Take care over the break and stay safe.
Ms Elisabeth Rhodes
Principal