Secondary School News

Dear Parents, Carers and Students,

Welcome to Term 2

We hope you have had a relaxing and refreshing Easter break and are re-energised and ready to seize the many opportunities this term has to offer.

We are delighted to welcome three new students to the Secondary School this term. We extend a warm welcome to these students and their families as they join the Clayfield College community, and we wish them the very best in their journey ahead.

Term 2 commences on Wednesday 23 April. We would like to draw your attention to some important expectations, procedures, policies, events, and dates.

For families new to Clayfield, if you need further clarification on anything, please contact Lisa Humphrys at Student Services on 3262 0262, who will then direct you to the relevant Head of Year.

Staffing Update

At the end of Term 1, Mr David Cunningham informed us that he will be moving on from Clayfield College. We wish Mr Cunningham the very best in his career journey. The College is currently interviewing potential replacements for Mr Cunningham, and we will inform you as soon as we have made a suitable appointment. In the interim, please rest assured that all steps will be taken to ensure the least disruption to student learning.

Communication

A reminder that the following forms of communication are used in the Secondary School:

• The College App
• Clayfield Collective
• Parent Lounge Portal
• Email/Phone

The College App

As a condition of enrolment, we request every caregiver download the College App (free download). The App provides current information about events and activities, as well as important notices and alerts (for example, training cancellations or venue changes, wet weather plans and ETA of buses returning from co-curricular activities). 

It also includes a live school calendar, absentee line and key school contacts. You are able to manage your notifications and subscriptions to ensure you are only seeing what is relevant to your family. Please refer to the College App Guide linked below for further information.

Clayfield Collective

The Clayfield Collective is our whole school weekly newsletter, sent via email every Thursday. This communication includes information/articles from our Senior Leadership Team such as: What’s Happening in Primary, What’s Happening in Secondary, What’s Happening in Boarding, Sport, Music and date claimers for upcoming events. It is imperative that you read the Secondary What’s Happening Section to be kept up to date with all events and information. This, together with the College App, is the main form of College communication for our families, with staff assuming that what is published in the Clayfield Collective has been read by parents.

Parent Lounge

Parent Lounge provides up-to-date information on College life. Such information includes your child’s timetable and teachers, policy documents, excursion details, school calendar and parent directory. Parents are also able to update their contact details and child’s medical details, view Report Cards and schedule Parent Teacher Interviews.

Please refer to the following link for information on and access to Parent Lounge.

Also provided is a Guide for parents on navigating key features of Parent Lounge.

Email

Staff can be contacted via email during the school week. Email addresses are the first initial of the teacher’s name and their surname with @clayfield.qld.edu.au. If you are contacting the teachers via email, please be aware they will be only checking emails throughout the day as their teaching schedule permits and therefore will not be able to reply immediately. Whilst staff are more than happy to communicate with you through email, there is a 48-hour response time. If the matter is urgent, please call Reception on 3262 0262, where a message will be passed on and the teacher will contact you when they are available.

Further, the Parent Code of Conduct outlines appropriate communication guidelines between parents and staff members, and we encourage you to review this document.

Behavioural Expectations and Policy Documents

Every student has the right to a safe, supportive, and nurturing environment. Clayfield College is committed to a culture of connection and care. Such a culture is the result of clearly articulated expectations combined with high levels of accountability. 

It is expected that students will behave in accordance with the PMSA’s commitment to achieving fair, collaborative, inclusive and respectful working and learning environments, and with the College values of Care, Integrity, Resilience and Respect. 

Behaviour of a high standard requires self-discipline, self-respect and respect for the rights and property of others. It is expected that all members of the community strive for excellence in actions, speech and appearance. Ultimately, the promotion of positive behaviours is a shared responsibility, with all stakeholders having a role to play.

Uniform Requirements

Clayfield College expects students to take pride in their presentation each day and meet the requirements of the Uniform Policy. Please read over the below expectations and ensure your child is prepared for the first day back at school.

• Students will return in summer uniform
• Shoes should be polished with laces tied
• Hair is to be kept tidy and tied up when touching the collar
• Students wearing the new uniform are to wear ties each day with buttons done up
• For students wearing the new uniform, the shirt must be tucked in at all times

No jewellery is to be worn at school, except for one ear piercing in the lower lobe – small silver or gold sleepers, studs or pearls. Pearl earrings are available to be purchased at the College Shop.

We understand students may have had false eyelashes, fake tans and acrylic nails through the holiday period, but these are not part of the Clayfield College uniform and students must remove these before returning to school. If students have received an extra ear piercing over the break, please ensure they do not wear anything in the piercing while at school.

Infringements and detentions will be applied if students are not meeting these expectations.

Please refer to the Uniform Policy for further information.

Please note: The date we change to the winter uniform will be communicated via the Collective. Students will be given a week to transition from the summer uniform to the winter uniform.

Mobile Phones

Students in Years 7, 8 and 9 need to hand their phones into Reception when they arrive at school and can collect them after school. The College has installed phone pouches for every student in Years 7 to 9 at Reception. Upon arrival at school, Years 7 to 9 students walk through Reception to place their phone in their pouch. 

Phones must be turned off. Years 7 to 9 boarding students will leave their phones in the Boarding House during the school day. Students in Years 10 to 12 are required to have their phones turned off, in their lockers and they are not to be used throughout the school day. The exception to this is students in Years 10 to 12 who require their phone for HPE lessons. It is then their responsibility to collect their phone from their locker before the lesson and return it back to the locker after the HPE lesson. 

If students are found with their phone, they will be confiscated and can be collected from the Dean of Wellbeing and Safeguarding in Room 20 at the end of the day. They will also receive an infringement. If they are found to have them for a second time, students will not be permitted to bring their phone onto campus until further notice. 

Smart Watches are allowed but are not to be used for messaging during the school day. If students are found to be misusing their smart watch, it will be confiscated, and the student may not be allowed to bring it on campus.

Pastoral Care Class

Pastoral Care (PC) time begins promptly at 8:30am every morning. This is an important time of the day when PC teachers mark the roll, provide ongoing support through group and individual conversations, promote connections through group activities, encourage organisation by reading the Daily Notices, help students with their daily routines and hold students accountable for the correct wearing of the College uniform. 

Thank you for making sure your child arrives at school on time. If students need to leave school throughout the day or will be late to school, please notify the College by using the College App.

Who Should I Ask?

Pastoral Matters 

Your child’s Head of Year should be the first point of contact for any general questions of a pastoral nature.

Academic Matters 

For general academic questions, contacting your child’s subject teacher is always the most effective first course of action. Please be aware, Heads of Department are available to discuss any academic matters; however, in most cases, they would obtain information pertaining to your child directly from the class teacher in the first instance.

General Matters 

General information should be directed to Student Services at the Main Reception, which can be found at the entrance of the College.

Years 7 to 12 Academic Policy and Procedures Document

The Years 7 to 12 Academic Procedures and Policies Document gives an overview of all procedures and protocols that need to be adhered to by staff, students and parents with regards to:

• Academic integrity
• Assessment
• Drafting, scaffolding, conferencing and feedback
• Subject changes, and
• AARA

You can access the document via the link below. It is also available in Parent Lounge and Student Café under Links: Assessment and Reporting.

Please be reminded that all students are required to adhere to the procedures and protocols outlined in this document with regards to submission of assignments and completion of exams.

I draw your attention to the following additions on Pages 2 and 3 of the document:

Authentication of Assignments and Practical Assessment

• Students will be interviewed by the classroom teacher to determine their understanding of the work they have submitted. This will occur on an ad hoc basis and will require students to answer questions to show knowledge and understanding of the work they have submitted. The Head of Department may be present during this interview.

Breach of Examination/Assignment Policy

In an assignment, if a student has completely or partially copied or altered another person’s work without attribution, including information sourced from Artificial Intelligence chatbots such as ChatGPT, the following will occur:

• The classroom teacher will organise a time to have an interview with the student.
• The Head of Department, Dean of Curriculum and/or Deputy Principal - Academic/Head of Secondary will also be present during this interview.
• During the interview, the student will be required to show evidence of their understanding of the work they have submitted.
• The student will be required to answer questions posed by the teacher and Head of Department/Dean of Curriculum/Deputy Principal to evidence their understanding of the work they have submitted.
• The onus will be on the student to show that the work is authentically their own.
• Following this, the sections established as plagiarised will not be marked. The student will receive a result based on sections of the work that they can prove are authentically their own.
• Parents will be informed of any breach, and the student may face disciplinary action.

Progressive Reports 

On completion of summative assessment across all subject areas, students receive a progressive report which provides valuable information on their learning. The Progressive Report is personalised for each student and provides student-specific and genre-specific feedback including:

• Student learning behaviours in the lead up to the assessment
• Feedback (strengths)
• Feedforward (future focus goals)

We urge you to view the progressive reports with your child, celebrate their strengths and achievements and discuss feedforward strategies/suggestions.

Progressive Reports are available on Student Café and Parent Lounge. Use the link for directions on how to access the Progressive Reports on Parent Lounge.

Clayfield College Home Learning Policy

At Clayfield College, we believe that home learning plays an important role in consolidating concepts and skills taught in the classroom. We also acknowledge that the expectations around home learning and the time associated with it are unique to different year levels, and as such will vary as students progress from Year 7 to Year 12. Please find below a link to the Clayfield College Home Learning Policy.

Application for Leave Form

We urge parents to avoid taking children out of school during term time to minimise the disruption to students’ learning. However, if it is necessary, parents are reminded that it is a requirement to submit a request for leave to the Deputy Principal - Academic/Head of Secondary.

Please use this form to apply for leave.

You can also find this form on Parent Lounge. Thank you for your assistance in this matter.

Criteria to Qualify for Academic Awards

Please find below the criteria to qualify for an academic award in Years 7 to 12. We draw your attention to the last paragraph which specifies the attendance requirements around qualifying for an award.

Years 7 to12 Parent Teacher Interviews

Student/Parent/Teacher Conferences for Years 7 to 12 will be held on Tuesday 29 April and Thursday 1 May from 3:30pm to 8:00pm. 

We are offering either a meeting in person or using the Zoom platform. Teachers will be seated in the Nancy Ashburn Learning Resource Centre (LRC) on both evenings.

Consultations will be 10 minutes per teacher and can be booked via Parent Lounge from 9:00am Tuesday 22 April for Boarding families, and 9:00am Wednesday 23 April for all families. Details on how to book interview times will be sent out to families and bookings will close at 8:00pm Sunday 27 April. We encourage your child to be present and to participate in each meeting.

Tutorials

Our dedicated teaching staff offer tutorials to provide small group and individual support to students. Please find here the 2025 Term 2 Tutorial Schedule.

Fundraiser Fridays 

Useful Contact Details

Policies and Procedures

All parents and caregivers are encouraged to familiarise themselves with the College's Policies and Procedures, all of which are available on our College's website at the link below. 

In particular, we refer you to the following: 

I look forward to working in partnership with you and to seeing our students embrace the enriching learning opportunities and experiences on offer throughout Term 2. 

Yours sincerely,

Mrs Lakshmi Mohan

Deputy Principal - Academic/Head of Secondary