One of the things I love most about moving towards the end of the year is the increased opportunities for coming together as a community for various celebrations.

It was lovely to return to school after a long weekend with girls and staff refreshed and eager to return to the busy schedule of the week! Girls in Years 10 and 11 are now well into their examinations and the very excited Year 3 girls left for camp before school this morning! I am looking forward to visiting them later today. I would like to thank those parents who undertook the survey about reports which was sent out a couple of weeks ago. As you know, it is important to us to listen to feedback about our processes and procedures and to strive to improve everything we do. Approximately 150 families responded to the survey, with slightly more than half of those having Senior School daughters only and the remainder having daughters in Junior School or in both Senior and Junior Schools.

Christine Nixon attended our latest Parent Forum this week to discuss the vital role men play in shaping the world for our girls.

We extend our congratulations to Kelly Lam (Year 7) who over the School holidays competed with the SSV (School Sport Victoria) Under 12 Girls Soccer team in the SSA (School Sport Australia) National Championships in Bendigo and came away with first place.

The inaugural Lowther Hall Parents & Friends' Association Twilight Festival has arrived.

Our Year 12 girls finished their final day at Lowther Hall with their annual tradition of throwing their hats from the Mansion balcony.

This week, we bid our final farewell to the class of 2014. We have recognised them at formal assemblies and watched them toss their hats off the Mansion balcony and at their Valedictory service yesterday afternoon they were given a lit candle as they left the Cultural Centre which they symbolically carried out into the world, ready to shine!

Congratulations to all our Kindergarten to Year 12 Visual Arts students who worked so hard to produce work for this year’s exhibition.

Our Year 12 girls were recognised for their achievements and contributions to the School at the Year 12 Recognition and Presentation assembly.

We know that feedback is one of the most effective strategies when it comes to teaching and learning. Not only is it important for teachers to give feedback to the girls about how they are progressing and what they need to do to improve, but it is essential that teachers also collect feedback from their students to assess their progress. This “cycle of feedback” is central to the way we operate in classrooms at Lowther Hall, and helps to ensure that each girl is being challenged at just the right level and that every girl is learning.