Welcome Back!
As always it has been lovely to see all our staff, girls and families again as we commence Term 2. Yesterday I enjoyed hearing the Senior School girls cheer loudly as they participated in their House Athletics Carnival. It was a great day. It has also been good to walk around the School and see girls from Kindergarten to Year 12 enthusiastically re-engaged in their learning and taking part in the many activities that Term 2 offers.
Works at the Front of the Mansion
If you have been past the front of the School this week, you will have seen the new turf lawn that has been laid. The redesign of this area has been undertaken in consultation with the Senior School Student Council and has the primary goal of creating a space where the girls can run around and play soccer, cricket and football during breaks. The grassed area has been slightly expanded, dangerous trees removed, new trees planted, a “seat” installed under the remaining tree and the whole area fitted with an underground irrigation system. 20 trucks of sand were deposited for the Kikuyu grass to sit on top of. We have chosen this particular grass because it is considered one of the most drought resistant and hard wearing, lawns. It is well suited to Australia’s climate and is widely used in home lawns, nature strips, ovals, parks and schools. It is exceptionally fast growing and self-repairing. It recovers rapidly from any wear and damage. We must now wait 5 more weeks for the turf to settle and to knit together – then it will be ready for use.
New Flagpoles
You may also have noticed that we now have 3 flagpoles positioned at the front of the School. This was another request from the student council. It allows us to acknowledge, through the flying of the Aboriginal flag, that Lowther Hall stands on Wurundjeri land, at the same time that we continue to fly our Australian flag and our School flag (or other relevant flag). At the moment we have our exchange students from New Zealand visiting and so we will be flying the New Zealand flag (appropriate during this ANZAC period!) When other students from our sister schools are with us, we will fly their flags too.
Uniform
Now that the colder weather is approaching we are transitioning to the winter uniform. During the next 2 weeks girls are expected to make a sensible choice about which uniform to wear. We would expect the changeover to winter uniform to be complete by Monday 27 April unless the weather is unseasonably warm! Please ensure that girls have enough winter shirts to be able to maintain appropriate levels of personal hygiene. Also, please check that all shirts fit correctly – with enough room in the collar for a comfortable fit when the top button is done up. A reminder for the Senior School girls that skirts are to come to the knee and should not be “rolled up” – again please check that your daughter’s waist band fits her comfortably as she may have grown over summer.
ANZAC Dawn Service and Other Events
Today many girls in Junior School are participating in a special incursion to prepare them for ANZAC Day. This is one of many events taking place in the School and Community in the coming weeks. On Sunday our Senior School and Deputy Captains will represent Lowther Hall at the Moonee Valley ANZAC Ceremony and on Thursday next week the Year 6 girls will represent us at the Schools’ Service at the Shrine of Remembrance. On Friday we will hold our Senior School and Junior School ANZAC services at the School and at this time, the girls will each be issued with a special commemorative coin, marking both the 100th year since the Gallipoli landings and the Schools 95th Anniversary. I hope that many families will then join us for the special centenary ANZAC Day Dawn Service to be held at the School commencing at 6:45am. Please come along with your friends and families to mark this special day.
Other Forthcoming Events
I hope that you are also preparing to attend the Annual School Production and the Evening of Song – both major events within our School Community this term. I look forward to seeing you at these fantastic showcases of our girls’ talents and hard work!