College Updates

Last Day Term 2

Change to Afternoon Bus Times on Friday 26 June

Please be advised that on the last day of term, Lowanna College will finish the day at 2.30pm, as will all government primary schools. With this change to an earlier finish time, the school buses will also run earlier by 30 minutes.

*Exceptions to this will be St Mary's Primary School who finish at 1.00pm and families will be required to make alternative arrangements for their students travel home in the afternoon and St Kieran's Primary School who have a student free day.

Please note that morning travel and timings will be as normal for all schools and school buses.

As noted above, there will be a 1pm finish for St Mary's Primary School - families are requested to make their own arrangements for the afternoon, please.

For our students and other government primary schools finishing school at 2.30pm, the school buses will run as follows in the afternoon with an adjusted schedule:

Newborough Primary School & Newborough East Primary School interchanges - Depart at approx. 2.35pm
Departures from Lowanna College are to run 30mins earlier than normal (arrival times to the home stop will also be 30mins earlier)
- Moe Town buses to depart at 2.40pm
- YN & Erica buses to depart at 2.50pm
- MS & Rawson buses to depart at approx. 2.55pm
- MT & Willow Grove depart at approx. 3.00pm

Should you have any queries, please do not hesitate to contact the school on 03 5127 9200.

General Office Hours

The General Office will be closing at 2.30pm on the last day of school and will reopen on Monday 13 July at 8am. We hope you have a great break!!

Our normal office hours during the school term are 8am-4pm Monday-Thursday and 8am-3.30pm on Fridays.

Social Media Offline

Please be advised that we will be offline (social media) for the school holidays and during Week 1 and 2 of Term 3. We will be back on social media from Monday 27 July (Week 3, Term 3). Please contact the college via email or via telephone on 03 5127 9200 during the school term.

Breakfast Club

Breakfast Club is available for students every morning during the school term and will be returning on Tuesday 14 July in Term 3.

Book Week 2026

In Week 7 of Term 3, Lowanna College will be celebrating Book Week again. This year the theme is ‘Symphony of Stories’. Like previous years, the main event will be a Dress-Up Day.

We encourage all staff and students to get involved and dress up as their favourite book character or author, or to get together with friends and coordinate your costumes around a favourite book or genre.

More information about other activities and events happening in Book Week will be communicated soon, but we can confirm that Book Week Dress Up Day is Thursday 27 August. So, start organising your costumes now!

LIA Update

The year so far....

Students in the Lowanna Institute of the Arts continue to make excellent progress across all areas of the program. Preparation for the school production of The Little Mermaid JR. is in full swing, with students actively involved in rehearsals, choreography and line learning. Visual Arts students are contributing behind the scenes through ongoing set construction, as well as costume design and fittings, bringing the production to life through creative collaboration.

Pictured below are photos of students rehearsing for the musical and props students are creating.

Our LIA students have also begun mentoring NEPS Year 5/6 students, working together at Lowanna to develop instrumental skills and build confidence in performance. These sessions are leading towards a joint performance at NEPS in Week 10, showcasing the strong partnership between our schools.

Pictured below are photos from the recent NEPS visit.

In Visual Arts, students are continuing to develop their portrait projects, exploring multiple iterations through drawing and etching techniques. This process has encouraged refinement of technical skills alongside deeper consideration of composition and character.

We are proud of the enthusiasm and dedication students are showing as they collaborate, create and prepare for upcoming performances.

LIA Musical Production

We are very excited for The Little Mermaid JR. in September. Ticketing information will be available in Term 3.

Narracan Gardens Visit

Our LIA students have been busy building connections within our local community through their local visits and performances, including their recent visit to Narracan Gardens Aged Care facility.

Music and Arts Update

Art Exhibition and Soiree

Thank you to everyone who attended our Soiree and Art Exhibition. Our students (and staff) put on a wonderful show and should be very proud of themselves! It was a great night to showcase the talent we have here at Lowanna College.

Sports Update

Year 8 Boys AFL

Congratulations to our Year 8 boys who competed at the Gippsland AFL and have advanced to the State Quarter Finals in August!

Junior Girls AFL

Congratulations to our Junior Girls AFL Team who won all of their games recently and are going to the State Finals!

Lightning Prem

Our Sports Academy students and staff organised a sports round robin for our local primary schools a few weeks ago. Thank you to everyone who attended and well done to the students who assisted with coaching and umpiring on the day.

Senior Boys AFL

Congratulations to our Senior Boys AFL team who won the Gippsland Finals recently.

Gippsland Cross Country

Well done to all students on their awesome efforts at Cross Country. Congratulations to Olivia and Zoe for qualifying for the State Cross Country Championships in July.

Year 8 ArtVo and Ice Skating

Year 8 students had fun at their year level excursion a few weeks ago.

School Photos

Students should now have received their school photos either in homegroup or by collecting them from their Mini School. Please call the college if you ordered photos and have not received them.

Year 12 students can order their year level group photo using the below link:

https://geosnapshot.com/e/lowanna-college-2026/59550?source=event-eo-share

Access is provided via facial recognition, which allows families to order printed copies of the photo(s) their child appears in. Online ordering (for the Year 12 photo) will close on Friday the 26th of June at midnight. Please contact MSP Photography directly on (03) 9115 1642 if you have any questions.

Science Update

Year 12 Physics

The Year 12 Physics students went go karting before their mid-year exams to look at the practical applications of what they had been learning about in class. It was a great day to celebrate the end of the semester before exams.

Ag Studies - Out of this world experiment!

Mrs. Stewart's Year 9 and 10 Ag Studies students are learning a lot in class! As part of a 28-day Growing Beyond Earth experiment, NASA has sent the college a kit for students to measure the CO2 levels, humidity and air pressure inside the Growth Pod, where seedlings are being supported to germinate and grow. There is light and heat provided inside the Pod which are on from 7am-7pm each day and the class have to note the growth rate of the seedlings throughout the experiment. This is a great example of a real-world experiment where results will be sent back to NASA!

Update to School Bus Passes...

We would like to thank our students and parents/carers for their support and cooperation throughout the rollout of the new bus passes. All school bus passes have been made available to students registered on our school buses and the checking of these passes have been in place for the last 2-4 weeks across all school buses.

There were a few disruptions as we rolled out the bus passes and we appreciate how students took responsibility and their quick action and response to rectifying registrations. We are also very happy to see students take care of their passes, knowing the seriousness of having their passes and the implications if they don't. 'No Pass, No Travel.'

If students have misplaced their bus pass, a replacement can be easily arranged for them. To replace a bus pass there will be a fee of $10 which can be paid by cash or by providing your details over the phone.

There are a small number of students who are yet to collect their passes - we will continue to follow up with those students, however if you have a student who is still to receive their pass, please ask them to go to the Library to collect their bus pass.

If parents/carers or students have any queries, please do not hesitate to contact Mel Magnuson (Bus Coordinator) on 03 5127 9200 or via lowanna.co@education.vic.gov.au. Students are also welcome to see Mel in the Library.

What public buses are available to students?

The following are the current and updated public transport options that will be available:

Morning available travel options via Train and Public Bus:

Current Train

Traralgon – Moe Arrives in Moe at 7.32am

Pakenham – Moe Arrives in Moe at 7.42am

*Walk to Albert Street

Current Bus 14 – Regional Bus to Moe via Old Sale Rd.

Departs: 8.10am Albert Street/Town Hall stop (near Hungry Jacks)

Arrives: 8.15am (Newark Avenue, outside Lowanna College)

These are current timings and it is a great service as it arrives with plenty of time to get to school.

Current Trains

Sale – Moe Arrives in Moe at 8.11am

Pakenham – Moe Arrives in Moe at 8.22am

*Walk to Albert Street

*Updated Bus 14 - Regional Bus to Moe via Old Sale Road *available from Wed 17 June

Departs: 8.30am Albert Street/Town Hall stop (near Hungry Jacks)

Arrives: 8.35am (Newark Avenue, outside Lowanna College)

*This 8.30am bus service is the new time and will replace the service that departed at 8.50am. Students are encouraged to make their way to their lockers as soon as possible upon arrival so that they get to Home Group on time for the 8.45am start.

Afternoon available travel options to Moe:

3.00pm School Bell

*Updated Bus 14 – Regional Bus to Moe (via Old Sale Rd) *available from Wed 17 June

Departs: 3.07pm from Banksia Village/Newark Avenue stop

Arrives: 3.11pm at the Moe Station/George Street stop

OR 3.12pm at Moe Racecourse on Saviges Road stop or Moe Interchange (Coles) Albert Street stop.

*Note, this is the old 3.03pm bus/stop that has been adjusted by a few minutes to allow students to get to the stop in time. It still requires a quick transition after the school bell but it’s closer to the school gate and will arrive at the train station and Moe Town Center earlier.

Current Bus 5 – Regional Bus to Moe

Departs: 3.13pm from Newark Avenue/Old Sale Road stop

OR Northern Road/Old Sale Road stop (outside school oval)

Arrives: 3.17pm at the Moe Station/George Street stop

OR 3.18pm at Moe Racecourse on Saviges Road stop or Moe Interchange (Coles) Albert Street stop

The above afternoon options arrive at the George Street stop in time to meet the following trains:

Current Trains

Moe - Pakenham Departs Moe at 3.31pm

Moe - Traralgon Departs Moe at 3.45pm

*There is currently a later public bus that leaves Banksia Village on Newark Avenue at 3.41pm, arriving at Moe Interchange (Coles) at 3.46pm – this is to Moe and not a service for the train station.

We encourage students to use these available public transport options if they are required to get to the train station or need to travel to the Moe Town Center (for example, to get to work). The school buses are for residents only using their allocated bus passes.