The celebrations continued as Friday culminated in a wonderful evening at the Lowther Hall Foundation Christmas in July. With a “virtual fire” adding to the ambience, guests enjoyed a Christmas dinner, carols provided by a string quintet and various Christmas themed activities. The evening raised over $6000 for the School and also inspired many families to make a long term pledge of financial support to the School. At the moment the Foundation is raising funds for improvements within the Cultural Centre, so these funds will make an excellent contribution to this project. I would like to thank everyone within the School Community, and particularly the members of the Foundation Committee, who helped to make the night such a great success. 

This week we welcome students and staff from our sister school, Shin-Ai, in Osaka, Japan. The girls and teachers will spend approximately 2 weeks at Lowther Hall, participating in classes and cultural activities which will help them to build language skills and develop an understanding of Australian life. Our visitors were welcomed on Tuesday in a Senior School Assembly, where our Senior School Japanese Captain, Rebecca Tang made a speech in Japanese and each girl was presented with a Lowther Hall bear. During their stay, the Shin-Ai students will be hosted by Lowther Hall families – an enriching experience for all parties! 

In Senior School, girls have been involved in the election of the 2015 Prefect Body – which will be announced in its entirety on Friday this week and published in the Bulletin next week. It has been a privilege to hear the election speeches of so many girls who are passionate about their School and who are keen to make a tangible contribution through a leadership role. Of course, it is a risky process to put yourself forward for a position of responsibility, and along with the jubilation of those who are elected, there is disappointment for those who are not. The resilience of all the girls involved in the process has been most impressive and I would like to commend each girl who has participated for demonstrating such a preparedness to serve our community. What impressive young women we have here at Lowther Hall! 

In Junior School it has been lovely to catch up with many parents at the first evening of Learning Conferences and to hear the buzz of conversation as teachers share news of each girl’s progress to date. I have also enjoyed talking to the girls themselves about their learning this week and hearing many tangible examples of students being challenged and engaged in their classroom programs.