From the Principal

It is incredibly exciting to announce the news about expanding the number of Primary classes for 2023.  There will be an additional class in each Year level from Prep to Year 5.  All teaching, non-teaching and corporate staff have played a key role in this enrolment interest and growth.  I am incredibly grateful to work with such a team of dedicated, caring and passionate individuals.  As a place of learning, we are extremely blessed to have such a brilliant team.  There are however a couple of key people who have been instrumental in making this growth in enrolment interest possible. 

I acknowledge the incredible leadership and creativity that our Enrolments Manager Emma Dixon has shown in this area.  For those of you who have not had the pleasure of meeting Emma, she is also an Old Collegian and current Primary School parent. 

Emma holds a Bachelor of Business (Accountancy)/Bachelor of Laws, as well as post-graduate qualifications in Legal Practice and Integrated Marketing Communications. She started her professional career as a lawyer, before moving into the fields of marketing and business development. Emma has worked in professional services firms including Deloitte and URS (now AECOM). Within the education sector, she was the Development Manager at Somerville House, before joining our College’s Enrolments and Marketing team. 

I also thank and acknowledge our Enrolments Officer Alice Wilson who joined the College at the start of this year. Alice has significant experience in student recruitment roles, having been part of the Admission teams at Brisbane Boys’ College, Marist College and Union College at The University of Queensland. Alice holds a Bachelor of International Hotel and Tourism Management, and is highly skilled in customer satisfaction and effective communication. 

The overarching success and enrolment interest in our Primary School is however the result of the leadership and vision of our Deputy Principal Audrey Fellowes.   Audrey commenced at the College in 2020 as Head of Primary and her significant leadership experience, both internationally and interstate, as a Primary school teacher, Head of Pre-Prep and Head of Primary Years has assisted in the development of new initiatives and programs at Clayfield College. With more than 30 years of experience in education, Audrey has also worked as a Secondary School teacher in English, History, French and Christian Education. Additionally, her tertiary experience where she was an Associate Lecturer in the Education Faculty, gives Audrey an understanding of life after Year 12 and how we can best prepare our students for whatever path they choose.

The role of Deputy Principal at Clayfield College has both whole school and sub-school responsibilities. It is a role that collaborates with me and other members of the Senior Leadership Team as we work together to achieve common strategic goals and provide leadership across the College.  We work together to develop and ensure that Clayfield is a place to learn, belong and experience. 

As Deputy Principal Audrey has responsibility for the leadership of the Primary School and Pre-Prep to 12 Pastoral Care.  In addition to these specific responsibilities, Audrey has a range of whole school operational, compliance and performance responsibilities.  

To complement Audrey’s role Lakshmi Mohan has moved from the role of Director of Teaching and Learning to the role of Deputy Principal.   In this new role, Lakshmi will have responsibility for the leadership of the Secondary School and Pre-Prep to 12 Teaching and Learning.  In addition, Lakshmi will also have a range of whole school operational, compliance and performance responsibilities.  Lakshmi has over 30 years of experience as an educator across multiple curriculums and assessment systems. She has taught at secondary and tertiary levels, across countries, in both co-educational and all girls schools, as well as across a broad range of education models including the State Sector, Independent Sector and the International Baccalaureate. 

These complementary Deputy Principal roles align with the College’s Pre-Prep to 12 vision of ensuring a seamless transition across the College where we prioritise the removal of the traditional sub-schooling barriers.  This change to the leadership team will support and strengthen the Pre-prep to 12 Clayfield journey and provide the opportunity to create additional whole school opportunities.      

Please join me in congratulating Lakshmi on her appointment to the role of Deputy Principal.