Mini School Updates

Junior School Update

I would like to start by welcoming our new year 7 cohort and their families to the College. It is always an exciting time for us to get to know a new cohort of students. Our 2024 Year 7 cohort have approached the new challenges of Secondary School with determination and a smile on their faces. The Junior School Team would like to congratulate our new students on the great start they have made to the year. 

Thank you to the families and staff who attended our Welcome BBQ. On what was a lovely evening, staff, families and students had the opportunity to mingle and get to know one another. 

Last week we took 104 year 7 students to Phillip Island Adventure Resort for a 3-day camp. Students and staff participated in a range of activities across the 3 days with the highlight for many being the surfing lessons. We look forward to year 7 camp each year and the opportunity it gives us to get to know our students and their personalities outside of the classroom. It was amazing to see students challenge themselves and push themselves out of their comfort zone with many of the activities. I was really pleased to see students supporting each other to challenge themselves and give things a go. 

This year we have decided to run 3 seperate day trips for year 8 students instead of a camp due to a declining interest over the last couple of years. The first of these trips is our Orientation Day at Gumbuya World this week. The remaining days will be Ice Skating and ArtVo at the end of term 2, and a Phillip Island Beach Day, including a surfing lesson, in term 4. 

Our annual swimming carnival was last week and many of our students enjoyed the day, participating in both swimming and novelty events. Congratulations to all students who participated on the day and those who came away with ribbons. 

The first round of GPAs are being released this week. This is a great opportunity for you and your child to discuss what is working well and to set some goals for small improvements that can be made between now and the next round of GPAs at the end of the term. 

If you wish to discuss your child and/or their progress at school, please contact the Junior School Office on 5127 9240. 

Our Junior School Team (pictured below) is here to support you and your child, please don't hesitate to contact us if you have any questions and/or concerns.

Mrs Kristy Bannister (Junior School Leader)

Mr Joe Licciardello (Junior School Coordinator)

Deanna Korab (Administration)

Lauren Gibson (Student Support Officer)

Riley Baldi (Student Support Officer)

Kristy Bannister

Junior School Leader

Middle School Update 

Welcome to 2024 on behalf of the Middle School Team.

Mr Daniel Board (Middle School Leader)

Mr Jason Sands (Middle School Coordinator)

Ms Kathy Quinn (Middle School Coordinator)

Andrea Coad (Administration)

Andrew Berquez (Student Support Officer)

We would like to welcome the Year 9 students to the Middle School and a warm welcome back for the Year 10 students.

Congratulations to the Middle School captains of 2024. We know that these students will be fantastic leaders and ambassadors for our Middle School students. Their role will involve listening to suggestions and concerns from their peers and voicing these to our Middle School Team. 

Year 9 Captains - Connie Pryor & Jake Keily

Year 10 Captains - Declan Osborne & Brianna Leonard 

We would also like to thank and congratulate our homegroup captains for 2024.

These students can report any concerns or achievements to the Middle School Captains to address at formal assemblies.

Homegroup Captains

This year, the Middle School Team will have a focus on positive climate for the students. Homegroup competitions will be run to determine which homegroups are best at demonstrating our college values. Our top homegroup each term for Year 9 and Year 10 will be provided with hot chips for lunch. In addition to this, we will be looking for 10 students in each year level who are consistently demonstrating our college values throughout the year. These students will have the opportunity to go on an excursion (students will vote where to go) at the end of the year with the Middle School Team - we are currently looking for suggestions from students. In addition to the competitions, the Middle School Team will also be looking to have lunchtime music performances throughout the year to provide a nice lunchtime environment for the students out in the yard.

We would like to remind students of the phone policy; all student phones need to be in lockers, turned off, between 8.45am and 3pm, or they can be placed in the phone lockers at the Middle School office and picked up at the end of the day by a parent. Students are more than welcome to use the office phone if they need to contact home.

It has been very pleasing to see the majority of students in full school uniform with very few having to go to Uniform Exchange. Please be advised that 'out of uniform' notes will not be accepted; if a student is out of uniform for any reason, they are required to go to the Uniform Exchange where correct uniform will be provided to them.

We are hoping to run the Middle School Camp to Queensland to visit the theme parks and other attractions later this year. The camp is a fantastic way to celebrate a busy year and to reward students who have great attendance and behaviour, and who reflect Lowanna’s values. The camp is planned to run from the 4th until the 8th of November. We are currently looking for expressions of interest. If you are interested, please see the post on Facebook (and Compass) for further details. Please contact Mr. Board if you have any questions.

Upcoming dates:

• Tuesday 27th February – School Photos
• Monday 11th March – Labour Day Public Holiday
• Monday 18th March- Photo Catch Up Day

Daniel Board

Middle School Leader

Senior School Update 

A very warm welcome to the Senior School for 2024!

Students in the Senior School are this year, as in all their other years at Lowanna, supported by a dedicated, caring and enthusiastic team, who are committed to ensuring the best outcomes for your child in their senior pathway. This year the Senior School Team are:

Ms Nicole Taylor (Senior School Leader)

Mr Gary Garside (Senior School Coordinator)

Mrs Kerry Logan (Senior School Coordinator)

Julie Jeffrey (Administration)

Amy Jones (Student Support Officer)

As a team we feel very privileged and excited to be working with and assisting, encouraging and sustaining students through their studies this year. For those in Year 11 who are new to the Senior School, we know that the increased expectations and workload can be daunting. Perhaps for the first time ever, students are also starting to plan for their lives beyond the safety and security of Lowanna, which can create stresses and anxieties. If you are aware of any issues such as these, please do not hesitate to contact the Senior School, so that we can utilise the many supports we are fortunate to have for students here at Lowanna – Wellbeing, Careers, and academic tutors just to name a few.

Academic results are achieved by a consistent effort every day. It is not so much about putting in a huge effort just before a test or exam, but rather daily effort to remain organised, listening attentively in class, taking detailed notes and regular revision. Together, these efforts all contribute to terrific learning outcomes. We ask families to support their children to study at home by ensuring there is a quiet area where they can concentrate on homework and study. At school, our teachers will do their very best to support students' learning growth. I believe all students are already putting in a significant effort and I am looking forward to a wonderful year ahead. Many have attended the supervised study sessions that run every Monday and Wednesday from 3.15pm – 4.30pm. Both sessions are attended by a variety of staff as well as tutors and are a really great opportunity to get some extra help with any class work, SAC preparation and revision strategies. 

To support and motivate our students with their academic results, we will have Elevate Education speak with our Year 11 and 12 students on Wednesday the 21st of February. Year 11 students will learn about techniques for self-motivating, the role of belief and self-efficacy in performance, developing a growth mindset, how to increase motivation through goal attachment, and strategies for breaking goals into manageable tasks and deadlines. Our Year 12 students will focus on how they can support their preparation for exams throughout the year, including information about the highest value exam preparation tasks, how to fix mistakes to ensure constant improvement, time allocation during exam preparation and techniques for managing stress and time pressure in exams. Elevate will be returning in Term 3 to deliver additional sessions with our Year 10 and 11 students.

Our 2024 student leaders were elected at the end of 2023, but I would like to take the chance to reintroduce them here and thank them for their efforts so far. Our school captains, along with their peers, worked overtime at the swimming carnival to keep the hungry masses satiated with a barbeque, and there are already plans for other activities and events in the future. They are also excited to work with the whole school on events and activities during the year. Our Year 11 student leadership group has also been elected and introduced to their peers at an assembly last week. We look forward to working with them to learn more about the ways that we can continue to improve Lowanna and the experience for our students during their time here.

2024 School Captains above - Brooke Hunter, Stephanie Nowell, Oakley Vickery-Howe and Lachlan Wallace. 

Year 11 Leaders – Alyce Gannan (11A), Emily Allan (11B), Tristin McGrath (11C), Noah Parkinson (11D and SRC), Montana Maher (11E), Kaiden Welch (not pictured, 11F) and Phoenix Chak (11G and SRC).

Speaking of assemblies, the importance of regular attendance at school was discussed and it was excellent to recognise Bayley Russell (Year 11) and Shayla Buckton (Year 12) for their perfect attendance so far this term. For our VCE-VET and VCE-VM students the importance of maintaining high attendance at TAFE and work placement was also highlighted as these are all requirements to be able to successfully graduate at the end of Year 12. If there are any issues concerning attendance, please contact the Senior School.

I wish you all the best for a productive and safe 2024 and look forward to working with you all.

Nicole Taylor 

Senior School Leader