In Modern Theatre Styles this week students our Year 9 students were set the task of recreating a famous piece of artwork from which to develop a scripted performance. Upon selecting the work, the girls were tasked with outlining the key features and intended effect on the viewer. Students then identified and set about locating items and objects in their homes they could use to reconstruct the image. They certainly demonstrated their resourcefulness, creativity and imagination in meeting the challenge in their home setting.

Our Year 12 girls got a nice surprise when they came to the School on Saturday to collect some class materials and their Term 1 report - their long awaited Year 12 "hoodie", delivered drive-thru style by Ms Healy, Deputy Principal and Head of Senior School, and Ms O'Brien, Year 12 Coordinator. It was a great chance for a quick catch up through the car window!

​This week I have felt privileged to be able to touch base with so many families across the School during the Raymond House and Senior School Learning Conferences. It has been wonderful to “see” parents and girls and share our experiences of separation and remote learning.

Our Year 5 cohort experienced an interactive and engaging musical event today - via livestream! Renowned performance ensemble 'Taikoz' delivered a remote incursion to students, that included a thrilling performance of Taiko (Japanese drumming).

​What an amazing start we have had to this very unusual Term 2! Thank you to all the girls, parents and staff who have embraced the new platforms and approaches in our improved and evolving remote learning model.

​It has been an incredibly exciting week at Lowther Hall: Last Friday we launched the new history of the School, Rising Pillars, Open Doors, with 4 launches across the day for students, parents and the broader school community. The book was very well received with the “boxed edition” selling out and many people taking the opportunity to have the history signed by the authors at the Friday night Centenary Garden Party.

On Monday evening this week, I watched the ABC 4 Corners program that presented a troubling account of shameful behaviour at a Melbourne boys’ school. It gave me significant pause for thought during the week, particularly when, in my Year 8 Theology class on Thursday morning, we spoke about values and the way in which they inform our decisions and actions.

​On Tuesday 11 February 2020, Lowther Hall celebrated its 100th birthday! To mark the occasion, every current student and staff member gathered in the Joan M Garde Cultural Centre to enjoy a special ceremony celebrating all those who have contributed to the incredible history of our school.

​It would be easy to be feeling disheartened this week, as we continue to witness growing fear at the spread of the coronavirus around the world and increasing concern for the environment as we move into bushfire recovery around Australia. Our politicians, nationally and internationally do little to instil hope. At Lowther Hall, however, there are so many reasons for optimism and joy.

​Welcome to the start of the new school year! 2020 is a special year for Lowther Hall as we celebrate the school’s centenary – and it is interesting to think that 100 years ago, at the beginning of the 1920 school year, the very first cohort of Lowther Hall students would have gathered for their first assembly, with their Principal, Miss Florence Hutton, with many of the same hopes for the year ahead that our girls might have as they have commenced this week: academic hopes, hopes of happy days with friends and supportive teachers and hopes of involvement in school life that set up meaningful participation in the post-school, adult world. Our girls are part of a tradition that we can all be justly proud of and I am delighted to be commencing this new, centenary, year them.