Secondary Bulletin

Arts Day 2025 – House Spirit Shines at Clayfield College 

Clayfield College came alive with music, movement, and creativity as students celebrated Arts Day 2025 with passion and pride. Congratulations to all participants for making the day memorable. 

Ashburn House – Overall Champions 

Ashburn House has proudly reclaimed the Overall Arts Day Champion Trophy, following their 2023 win. With strong second-place finishes in both Dance and Choir, this achievement reflects the House's depth of talent, teamwork, and school spirit.  

Campbell House – House Choir Winners 

Campbell House impressed with their uplifting and polished performance of Oh Happy Day from Sister Act, earning first place in the House Choir competition. A powerful celebration of harmony, energy, and connection. 

Youngman House – Dance Champions 

Youngman House delivered a dynamic and colourful performance that earned first place in the House Dance competition. Their energy, teamwork, and creativity lit up the stage.  

Thank you to all students and staff who contributed to an inspiring celebration of the arts at Clayfield College. 

Campbell House Fundraiser

As we know, Campbell House love their blue, and particularly, their blue jeans! Campbell House is proudly supporting our College Fundraiser for Jeans for Genes Day, on Friday 1 August. All Primary and Secondary students can come to school dressed in appropriate denim attire. Every dollar we donate goes directly to the Children’s Medical Research Institute and helps them find treatments and cures for children’s genetic diseases.

1 in 20 kids face a birth defect or genetic disease and kids just want to be kids, but instead of playing sports with their friends or catching butterflies on a sunny day, kids with genetic diseases are getting liver transplants, taking dozens of medications, or getting their next dose of chemotherapy. It shouldn’t be this way. By donating through Jeans for Genes, you can help the scientists at Children’s Medical Research Institute find cures, so these kids can go back to being kids.

Details:

• Pre-Prep to Year 12: Free Dress Day (wear your best, appropriate denim outfits)
• Years 7 to 12: Bake Sale at Lunch in the Middle Years’ Courtyard

To ensure everyone enjoys 'Jeans for Gens Day' while maintaining our College values, please follow these rules:

Travel to and from Clayfield College:

• If you travel by public transport, you must arrive and leave in your College uniform, changing into and out of your free dress at school.
• If you are dropped off, you may arrive and leave in your free dress.

Clothing:

• Jeans are permitted (no denim shorts or skirts). Jeans must not have rips, holes, or tears.
• Shirts/jumpers must be conservative and appropriate—no singlets, midriff tops, or shirts with inappropriate slogans/images.

Footwear:

• Shoes must be flat and enclosed, no thongs, flip-flops, Crocs, Birkenstocks, Ugg boots, or heels. Sneakers are preferred.

Other Expectations:

• Usual College rules apply for makeup, jewellery, and hair.
• If you have HPE or Sport, you must wear your regular sports uniform.

Earlier this week, we welcomed guest presenters from Batyr who spoke with our Year 9 students about the importance of looking after our mental health. Their visit offered an encouraging reminder that wellbeing is something we all need to nurture, and that small, everyday actions can make a big difference. 

Their key messages included: 

• Celebrate the Small Wins: It’s important to notice and acknowledge the little achievements in our day, finishing a piece of homework, showing kindness to someone, or simply trying something new. These moments help build confidence and resilience over time. 
• The Power of Relationships and Connection: Friendships, family support, and feeling part of a community all play a big role in how we feel. Taking time to talk, listen, and connect with others can have a huge positive impact on our mental health. 
• Seek Professional Support: Sometimes, we all need a bit of extra help, and that’s okay. Knowing how and when to reach out to a trusted adult, our College Counsellor, or a mental health professional is an important step in looking after ourselves. 

In addition to the above key messages, earlier this week a parent reached out to me to draw my attention to the powerful book about mental health prevention, Just One Reason, the key message being when things feel overwhelming, finding just one reason to keep going, a person, a goal, a moment of joy, can be incredibly grounding. It’s a simple reminder that even in tough times, hope and purpose can be found in the smallest things. 

By continuing to talk openly about wellbeing and mental health, we can continue to build our Clayfield community, where everyone feels supported, valued, and heard. I encourage you to reflect on your own wellbeing and to keep checking in with each other and our kids, noting that small steps can lead to positive change. 

Save the Date:

At the heart of every successful learner is a love of reading. Research consistently shows that reading for pleasure not only improves vocabulary, comprehension, and writing skills but also nurtures empathy, wellbeing, and imagination. A strong reading culture sets students up for success, not just in their studies, but in their future lives. We encourage everyone - staff, families, and students to read, talk about books, and share what they’re enjoying so that stories and ideas ripple across our community. 

Junior English Reading for Pleasure Program

Starting this term, all Years 7 to 9 English students are engaging in weekly reading lessons dedicated to reading for pleasure. Each student selects a text of personal interest- whether that be a novel, biography, or graphic text and immerses themselves in reading purely for enjoyment. Following their reading, students complete reflective journalling activities designed to help them make meaning, extend their comprehension, and develop their writing voice. 

Last week, Mrs Wood’s 8B English class visited the library to explore new reading options and enjoy some quiet time with a good book. A big thank you to all our Years 7 to 9 English teachers for embracing and supporting this new initiative with such enthusiasm.

Readers Cup Competition

In June, six of our talented Years 7 to 8 students proudly represented our school at the Brisbane North Readers Cup Competition. Competing against a large field of schools, our team demonstrated dedication, teamwork, and a passion for literature, finishing in an impressive fourth place.

5 rounds, 50 questions, and a Room Full of Eager Competitors!  

In June, Clayfield College participated in the Reader’s Cup Competition for Year 7 and 8 students, held at The Lakes College. The evening was full of teams from schools around North Brisbane competing to demonstrate their knowledge of 5 fantasy, historical fiction, and sci-fi books. 

 

Oliver Sproles (Year 8), Sophie Morizet-Morales (Year 7), Sophia Beavis (Year 8), Clare Burke (Year 7), Ruby Norris (Year 8), and I explored the adventures of The Apprentice Witnesser, Interned, Something Somewhere, Evenfall the Golden Linnet, and Six Summers of Tash and Leopold. 

 

To prepare, we met weekly to discuss the novels. The competition tested our memory, understanding, and collaboration, and we enjoyed listening to our guest speaker, author of Interned, Pamela Rushby. Congratulations to the final team: Oliver, Sophie, Sophia, Clare and Ruby, for achieving overall 4th place.   

 

Reader’s Cup was an amazing experience, and we are so grateful for this opportunity. We would like to thank Ms Smith and Ms Rossow for giving us this opportunity and for taking the time to support and coordinate this year. We look forward to competing again in 2026! 

Sari Weyer (Year 7)

Great Readers Become Great Writers in the 2025 QIEU/ETAQ Literary Competition

The link between good readers and writers is undeniable. Recently, many of our students embraced the opportunity to enter the 2025 QIEU/ETAQ Literary Competition. We congratulate Charlotte Lay (Year 12) who was awarded Second Place in the Years 11 to 12 category with her short story entitled The Hung Priest. She will receive her prize next week at the presentation evening to be held on Wednesday 6 August. Included below is a snippet of Charlotte’s creative entry. 

A shiver wracks my body, and I am reminded once again that several days have passed since I last sat down to a meal. And even then, the meagre morsels had been teeming with maggots that seemed to purge me of my insides rather than fill them.

Since the final dregs of gruel ran out, I have seen townspeople shovelling handfuls of grass into their mouths, turning away in shame when our eyes met. Others escape into the homes of the departed, returning with guilty expressions, faraway eyes, and distended bellies. 

 

We all have our ways of surviving.

Charlotte Lay (Year 12)

2025 Book Week Coming Up

Book Week is just around the corner and this year’s theme, Book an Adventure, promises to bring stories to life in creative and inspiring ways. In Week 6, we will be celebrating with a host of exciting events, including the incredible opportunity to Zoom live with acclaimed author John Green, joining us from the USA.

A highlight of the week will be our Book Week Dress Up Day on Friday 22 August, we can’t wait to see our students’ creativity on show as they step into the shoes of their favourite characters!

Please see the poster below for a full outline of Book Week events and how students can get involved in this celebration of reading.

Year 12 QTAC Applications

In Exit Prep we have been going over QTAC Key Dates and Open Days to be ready to apply for 2026 tertiary study.

QTAC opens applications for 2026 on Tuesday 5 August. Applications submitted by 30 September cost $70, and from 1 October, the cost is $150. 

Once students have applied to QTAC, they can change their course preference order up to three times for free. The fourth time, and every time after that, has a fee. For the full list of fees and dates.

University Open Days

QTAC has a list of all the university open days this term. 

Be sure to check the list:

If you can’t attend the scheduled open day, every university is more than happy to make time to give you a tour. Check with Future Students team of your university of choice.