Lowther Hall Anglican Grammar School

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Lowther Hall Anglican Grammar School
Motto	Non Nobis Solum 'Not for Ourselves Alone'
Established	1920
Type	Independent, all-girls, secondary and primary
Headmaster	Mrs. Carolyn Grantskalns
Founder	Archbishop Lowther Clarke
Students	c.700
Grades	K–12
Location	Essendon, VIC Australia
Colours	Gold and Blue
Website	http://www.lowtherhall.vic.edu.au

Lowther Hall Anglican Grammar School, most often referred to simply as 'Lowther', is an independent, Anglican girl's school, located in the suburb of Essendon, in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. The school currently has roughly 700 students from Kindergarten to Year 12.

Lowther Hall Anglican Grammar consists of two campuses: one campus on Leslie Road in Essendon, which is situated close to amenities such as Essendon Station, and a 13-hectare sporting campus on Overnewton Road in Keilor, which has a gymnasium, numerous tennis, netball and basketball courts and a large oval. There is also a hall, named the Cultural Center, which houses dance and drama classrooms, private music rooms, a lecture theatre, a changeroom, a stage, the sickbay and sports offices. The school musicals and plays are held in the Cultural Center, as well as the Art Show, daily assemblies and weekly chapel services which all students are required to attend.

Contents 1 History 2 Houses 3 School Structure 4 Subjects 5 Extra-Curricular Activities 5.1 Sports 5.2 Debating 5.3 Music 5.4 Charity 6 Uniform 6.1 Summer 6.2 Winter 6.3 Sports 7 School Hymn, Song and Motto 7.1 Motto 7.2 Hymn 7.3 Song 8 Notable Alumnae 9 External links

[edit] History

Lowther Hall is compromised of numerous buildings, each varying in age greatly. The center of the school is Earlsbrae Hall, commonly referred to as 'The Mansion' by students, parents and staff alike, which Collier McCracken constructed in 1890. Behind the mansion is the 'Monkey House', which today is used for music lessons as well as housing the 'Bookroom' where one may purchase uniforms and tickets to school events among other things. The building is named so as the original resident of Earlsbrae Hall, Collier McCracken, had an affinity for exotic animals.

Earlsbrae Hall was designed by renowned architect, R.A. Lawson. The exterior of the mansion is describe as a Greco-Roman temple with Corinthian columns. Inside the mansion, one can find carved woodwork and an extensive use of stained glass windows. 'The Mansion' houses the newly-refurnished drawing room, as well as the administration wing of the school, food technology kitchens, music classrooms and music staff rooms, a chapel and the principal's office. 'The Mansion' was refurbished recently, but access to the balcony and roof are limited due to the age of the building, which is currently heritage listed.

Earlsbrae Hall was sold for £6500 to the Church of England Trusts Co-operative for the Diocese of Melbourne to be used for educational purposes. The school was named after Archbishop Lowther Clarke who directed the purchase of the building. Blinkbonnie's Lady's College in Moonee Ponds and Winstow Girls' School merged in 1920 to become Lowther Hall Anglican Grammar School.

[edit] Houses

There are six houses at Lowther Hall, each with a House Captain - a year twelve student - as well as a Deputy Captain - a year eleven student - and an Assistant Deputy Captain in year ten. Selected students receive House Colours as a reward for house involvement throughout the year, and they are chosen with the help of the captains and principal.

The houses are as follows:

• Booth (Orange)
• Clarke (Green)
• Hindley (Red)
• Lees (Blue)
• Moorhouse (Gold/Yellow)
• Perry (Purple)

The houses are named after Anglican Archbishops.

The House Cup is awarded at the end of every year during the school speech night, Exeunt. The winner is decided through a point system, based on points gained during the House Performing Arts Competition, held at the start of the year, House Athletics, also held in Term One, and House Swimming, held in November.

[edit] School Structure

The student body is arranged in four sections.

There is a Child Development Centre for Kindergarten students located two houses down from the rest of the school. It is a dual-story building, with a second-hand uniform shop occupying the top floor. There is a large playground which is supervised at all times by the staff.

The years Preparatory to 6 are housed in what is now referred to as the Junior School Village. Prior to 2002, there was a building on the same site named Raymond House. It was demolished in 2001 to make way for a state-of-the-art modern educational facility which houses far more students than its predecessor.

Sampford House houses students from Years 7 to 10. It consists of two stories. The bottom floor includes two science classrooms, the Agora - a multi-purpose room - as well as four classrooms, a bathroom and a large open space named 'The Forum'. The top floor contains offices for the Year Seven and Eight coordinator, the Year Nine and Ten coordinator, a French classroom, a Japanese classroom, a German classroom, an Assisted-Learning classroom and four other classrooms as well as bathrooms and locker space. Sampford House was named after an old principal, Evelyn. E. Sampford. Each homegroup in years seven to ten ends with the suffix of S, M or P - letters drawn from the word 'S a M Pford'.

Grant House houses Years 11 and 12. The area of Grant House was recently expanded to include a two-level Staff Room and workspace for staff. There is a common room space where Year 12 students may spend their spare lessons, as well as acting as a social space for those in VCE. There are also two science laboratory classrooms, shared with the lower year levels, as well as a computer laboratory, which now lacks in computers as the use of laptop's is promoted from sixth grade onwards. Above the ground floor of Grant House, there is a Learning Resource Center and numerous offices for various heads of staff. On the top floor, there are two art rooms, a darkroom and three classrooms.

[edit] Subjects

VCE - Year 11 and 12: Subjects offered in VCE are numerous and include:

• Mathematics (General, Further, General Specialist, Methods, Specialist)
• Sciences (Physics, Chemistry, Psychology, Physical Education and Biology)
• Arts (Art, Visual Communication and Design, Theatre Studies, Dance, Music: Performance (Solo), Music Styles)
• Humanities and Economics (Geography, History: Renaissance, Accounting, Political Studies, Legal Studies, Business Management, International Studies)
• Religion (Philosophy, Unit 2 Ethics)
• Languages (English, French, German, Japanese)
• Other (Health and Human Development, Literature, Food and Technology, VET: Hospitality)

Students in Year 12 may also elect to partake in a university-level subject through the University of Melbourne. In year Ten, one may undertake VCE studies such as General Specialist mathematics, Business Management and Music Styles.

[edit] Extra-Curricular Activities

[edit] Sports

Lowther Hall is a member of Girls Sport Victoria (GSV). Twenty-four girl's schools participate in GSV alongside Lowther. Recently, Lowther has gained a reputation in the aerobics and hip-hop dance sport areas, with teams in state and national finals. The school also has had a successful hockey season, with the U-17's winning the VJHA finals. Lowther Hall has not come in many notable positions in GSV swimming and athletics due to the small size of the school student population.

[edit] Debating

Lowther Hall has been very successful in debating, with debaters in D, B and A grade taking out Swannie Award's in the Essendon region.

[edit] Music

Lowther Hall is a school renowned for its musical talent, and many music scholarships are awarded yearly to some of our most talented students. It also has a yearly music camp, where all the girls involved in music ensembles gather to hone their creative as well as performance skills, and prepare for the annual Spring Concert. Lowther Hall has many esteemed choirs and orchestras. All students must partake in an ensemble as well as an instrument from grade three to grade eight, however those in senior school do not need to be in an ensemble. The choirs take out prizes almost every year at the Geelong Eisteddfod among numerous other choral competitions, and have sung at major events such as the 100^th anniversary of the 1901 Federation.

[edit] Charity

The school currently supports various charities, as well as a school in Bangladesh. Term Three is designated as a fundraising term where various activities are organised in order to raise money for charities. These activities range from shaving the heads of teachers to student-run cake stalls, sausage sizzles, casual clothes days and an American Idol-esque singing competition named Lowther Idol. In 2006, the school prefect's helped raise over $15,000.

[edit] Uniform

[edit] Summer

The summer uniform consists of white anklet or knee-high socks and black lace-up or t-bar shoes, which were recently allows to be worn as part of the uniform, as well as a blue-and-gold checkered dress. The uniform also includes the standard navy school jumper, which incorporates a slightly different design for VCE students. A navy-blue blazer must be worn at all times whilst the student is out of school grounds.

[edit] Winter

Other than the standard shoes, blazer and jumper, the winter uniform also includes navy-blue stockings, a woolen navy-blue skirt, a lemon coloured shirt, a tie relevant to the year level - either junior, senior or VCE - and, at the choice of the student, a navy-coloured scarf.

[edit] Sports

The sport uniform consists of navy pants, or shorts, and a yellow t-shirt with a navy collar. The pants are often described as uncomfortable by students, who prefer the older Dobsons-style pants. Students also have the option of wearing a rugby jumper, which has blue and yellow stripes and a white collar.

[edit] School Hymn, Song and Motto

[edit] Motto

The school motto is Non Nobis Solum, which is Latin and translates to Not for Ourselves Alone.

[edit] Hymn

He who would valiant be ’gainst all disaster,
Let him in constancy follow the Master.
There’s no discouragement shall make him once relent,
His first avowed intent, to be a pilgrim.
Who so beset him round with dismal stories,
Do but themselves confound—his strength the more is.
No foes shall stay his might; though he with giants fight,
He will make good his right to be a pilgrim.
Since, Lord, Thou dost defend us with Thy Spirit,
We know we at the end, shall life inherit.
Then fancies flee away! I’ll fear not what men say,
I’ll labor night and day to be a pilgrim.

[edit] Song

Girls of Lowther Hall are we,
And ever shall our motto be,
both now and for the years to be,
Non Nobis Solum.

Not for ourselves alone we learn,
But for that each one may in her turn,
Help others on for knowledge burn,
Non Nobis Solum.

Not for ourselves in work or game,
To be a sport, uphold the name,
For Lowther Hall win for it fame,
Non Nobis Solum.

Our colours are the gold, the blue,
For loyalty and all thats true,
For honor and for kindness too,
Non Nobis Solum.

[edit] Notable Alumnae

[edit] External links

• Lowther Hall Anglican Grammar School
• Girls' Sport Victoria
• Debaters' Association of Victoria
• History of Lowther Hall