Principal's Update

Term 1 has seen a busy and eventful start to the year with our students building on their learning and taking advantage of all educational opportunities inside and outside of the classroom. We have had many highlights, including the Swimming Carnival, numerous inter-school sporting events, the Year 8 Gumbuya World excursion, Year 7 Camp and Koorie Camp as well as running several groups such as Blue EDGE and Green Tradies. Lunchtime Clubs are growing with the Science Club joining the previously established Art Club, both of which run at lunchtime one day a week. We have continued our literacy and numeracy focus and key staff have recently attended a three-day Literacy Conference which will help maintain our best practices in literacy.

Congratulations to our Year 7 and 9 students who completed NAPLAN testing over the last two weeks. We are very proud of all our students and how they conducted themselves during the tests. Students were focused and demonstrated a positive attitude to succeed and showed a genuine desire to perform to the best of their abilities. 

Not only did the students successfully complete four NAPLAN tests, in Reading, Writing, Conventions of Language and Numeracy, but they also demonstrated Lowanna’s core values of Respect, Integrity, Determination, Growth and Excellence. I would particularly like to highlight two of the core values we observed in students. The first was Determination – students focused on the tests by managing their time effectively, using the whole time to complete all tests, not finishing early, and checking through their answers, persevering regardless of what test was in front of them. Our students also showed real commitment to Growth - they approached NAPLAN with a wish to show their growth and development in learning, particularly in the areas of Writing and Numeracy where students commented that they felt ready and confident to apply their skills and learning during these tests. I know that all Lowanna College staff were impressed and proud of Year 7 and 9 students’ growth, determination, and commitment during NAPLAN this year. 

The Swimming Carnival was enjoyed by all, with beautiful warm weather and a range of fun activities. Students and staff showed great determination and were competitive in the races, the novelty events were great fun, and the crowds enjoyed an entertaining diving competition. Thank you to the Year 12 students who cooked the BBQ at lunchtime and the Health and PE Team for assisting with the organisation of the day. Congratulations to all of those involved, our age group champions and the winning house – Blue Sharks. We had several students’ progress to the Regional Gippsland Competition with Zane Poxon, Darcy Connell and Indy Reid all receiving medals on the day.

Early in the term, Year 7 students set out for their annual camp, this year returning to Phillip Island. It was a great opportunity for students to get to know each other as a year level in a more informal setting and a great time was had by all. For many students, and staff, the highlight of the camp was the surfing lessons. All students returned a little tired but with plenty of smiles. 

School Captains, Year Level Captains, House Captains, and Home Group Leaders have all been elected for 2024. A selection of school leaders attended the GRIP Student Leadership Conference in Melbourne in February, and since then they have been applying some of the skills learnt and have been establishing themselves as links between students and staff. The Student Representative Council (SRC) are currently running an Easter Raffle to raise money for Beyond Blue and Year 12 Activity Day. They will be selling tickets at the college during Parent, Student and Teacher Interviews, so raid the piggy bank and bring your cash to buy tickets and go into the draw for the chance to win one, or all three, of the easter baskets that are filled with all kinds of eggs. Tickets cost $1 and prizes will be drawn on Thursday the 28th of March, just in time to notify the winners before Easter.

Parent, Student and Teacher Interviews are currently open for bookings via Compass. The interviews are a great opportunity to meet your child’s teachers and to discuss their learning progress. Interviews are being held on Wednesday 4.00pm – 7.00pm, and Thursday 9.00am - 1.30pm this week. 

Looking ahead to the remainder of this week and Term 2 we have several upcoming events. This week we are running the AFLX football competition, where students from across the Primary sector come together for a fun and competitive day of football. In the first week of Term 2 we will be holding our Athletics Carnival, in Week 2 all Grade 5 and 6 students from our local Primary Schools are coming to Lowanna for our Open Day, and then the following week our Year 11 VCE students have an opportunity to attend the VCE Camp in Melbourne. 

We look forward to seeing many of you at the Parent, Student, and Teacher Interviews this week. Enjoy the Easter break, stay safe and we will welcome you all back at school on Monday the 15April for a busy Term 2. 

Michael Lakeman 

Acting College Principal