Our girls are back! What a wonderful start to Term 1 today, with lots of happy smiles and excited reunions between friends as well as our whole school assembly at which every new student and staff member to our community received their Lowther Hall bear. We look forward to an exciting and energetic year ahead.

VCE results rankings were released today and reflect the outstanding work of our girls and staff. Lowther Hall is ranked in the top 20 schools in Victoria, and #1 in Metropolitan Melbourne’s North and West. Congratulations to the Class of 2022, and their teachers!

​I am certain that all who attended St Paul’s Cathedral for our annual Carols Service last night will agree that it was indeed a “night divine”! The girls, as always, made me incredibly proud as they lifted their voices together in song with great enthusiasm.

​As we head into the State election this weekend, I have been reflecting that I often take for granted the fact that we live in a society in which each voice is valued and can be heard.

This week a record number of parents and caregivers came together to celebrate the end of the school year at a fundraiser luncheon hosted by the Parents and Friends’ Association. It was delightful to be able to gather with members of our community and to reflect on the ways in which everyone has worked together to support the girls throughout the last twelve months.

​Today is Remembrance Day, and across the School there will be various ceremonies and assemblies, as well as a minute in silence at 11:00am to reflect on the cost of war and the sacrifices made by those who have fought in various conflicts around the world. For me, this moment that marks the end of a war that was supposed to “end all wars” is all the more poignant when observed in community at school, where the tragedy of lives lost and cut short is juxtaposed with the hope and possibility that is present in each vibrant Lowther girl.

This week I hosted visitors from one of our partner organisations, the Australian Himalayan Foundation (AHF), including a representative from Rural Education and Environment Development Centre (REED) Nepal and the youngest Australian to summit Mt Everest, Gabby Kanizay.