Principal's Update

Term 1 has been a positive and busy start to the 2025 school year with exciting highlights to celebrate. Students have embraced the many opportunities both within and outside of the college gates such as the Swimming and Athletics Carnivals, inter-school sports, Year 7 Camp, Year 8 Gumbuya World excursion and the GRIP Leadership Conference for our student leaders.

Our staff have been working extremely hard during Term 1 to settle students back into routines and set them up for the year. I would like to thank our Junior School Team who have welcomed the largest cohort of Year 7 students into the school in Lowanna’s history.  

Thank you to our students, for following our high expectations and demonstrating our college values of respect, integrity, determination, growth and excellence. It is positive to see students being acknowledged by staff through RIDGE Awards. As we head into the colder months next term, I would like to remind students to continue to adhere to our uniform policy. Please contact Angela Skinner, Business Manager, if you have any questions about the college uniform.

Year 7 and Year 9 students completed the NAPLAN testing recently and we would like to commend them on the way they conducted themselves during the testing window. Students were tested in Writing, Reading, Language Conventions and Numeracy and the results from these tests provide valuable data about student learning and growth. The school hosted a BBQ for the Year 9 students to celebrate their final year of NAPLAN.

I would like to thank Melissa Rock for her work with us this term as the Assistant Principal in Teaching and Learning. During her time at Lowanna College, Melissa has worked with staff to review the college’s instructional model, facilitate staff professional learning and coach our aspiring middle leaders. Melissa has visited many classrooms during her time at the college, providing teachers with valuable feedback to improve teaching and learning across the college. We wish Melissa all the very best for the rest of 2025 as she returns to her Principal role at Yarragon Primary School.

On Wednesday the 26th of March Lowanna College introduced an exciting new program to our community. The launch of LIA (Lowanna Institute of the Arts) was well attended with over 100 interested students and families. The purpose of LIA is to ignite and nurture creative passion and artistic excellence among students by offering a dynamic, interdisciplinary program that bridges visual arts, music and drama. For more information, please visit the link to the LIA page on our college website where you can download an information pack as well as an application form. I would like to congratulate Heather Snowden and her team for working tirelessly to create the LIA program as well as facilitating the successful community launch last week.

Thank you to the families who booked in a time to speak to your child’s classroom teachers during the Parent, Student and Teacher Interviews this week. If you were unable to attend an appointment, I would encourage you to reach out to your child’s teacher to arrange a time for a conversation, whether it be via email, phone or to book in a face-to-face meeting. Success is not possible without the partnership between school, home and the community and we welcome families into the college to be part of their student’s learning journey.

Enjoy the Easter break, stay safe and we will welcome you all back at school on Tuesday the 22nd of April for a busy Term 2. 

Julia Niamh  

Acting College Principal