Secondary School News

Dear Secondary Parents and Guardians, 

We hope you enjoyed a restful break and that your child/children are excited about the upcoming year's opportunities and challenges. We eagerly anticipate welcoming your daughters and sons to the College and would like to provide some information to ensure a seamless transition to 2025 and a smooth start to Term 1. 

For families new to Clayfield, if you need further clarification on anything, please contact Mrs Lisa Humphrys at Main Reception on (07) 3262 0262, who will then direct you to the relevant Head of Year.

New Students Orientation Morning

On Tuesday 28 January, all Year 7 students and new students in Years 8 to 12 will have an Orientation Morning. All new students are required to bring their textbooks, device, stationery and morning tea to school. Students are to meet their Heads of Year in the Chapel Courtyard at 8:30am. Dress will be full school summer uniform, with hat.  The day will conclude at 11:00am.

First Day Organisation

On Wednesday 29 January, all students commence the year. Students are required to bring their device, new textbooks, and stationery to school. Dress will be full school summer uniform, with hat. 

Please see the uniform items and FAQs below. 

Secondary Students are asked to assemble by 8:25am in House Areas as follows: 

Students must bring school bags to their House Area and are not to enter any Locker Areas before school. 

House Leaders will call roll at 8:30am and students will then move to a Welcome Assembly for the whole school. Following this brief Assembly, students will proceed to House meetings where lockers will be assigned, and further administrative tasks completed. Students will commence timetabled lessons from Lesson 4. 

Core Classes 2025

Please note that core classes will be published for students on the first day back at school, Wednesday 29 January. 

We understand that some Secondary students may have tried to access their timetable via Lighthouse. Please note that any class information that students can currently view does not reflect the final class allocations.

2025 Bell and Lesson Times

2025 Term Dates

To assist with your planning of the school year and holidays, please find below the school term dates for 2025.

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. 

Communication

Please note the following forms of communication used in the Secondary School: 

• The College App 
• The 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 Resource page on the College website for further information  

The 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 their child’s medical details, view Report Cards and schedule Parent Teacher Interviews. 

You should have by now received access to Parent Lounge; if you have not received this yet, please reach out to our IT department. Parent Lounge is accessed via our Clayfield College website or Clayfield College App by logging into Parent Lounge with your email linked to your child’s enrolment and College supplied email (new families only). 

If you experience any issues logging in, use the Forgotten Password link to reset your password or email the Clayfield IT Department at ithelpdesk@clayfield.qld.edu.au.

Please refer to the following link for information and access:

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 Main 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. If hair is longer than the collar, it must be tied up with a green elastic. For girls, green scrunchies or ribbons must also be worn (hair clips are not allowed).
• Students wearing the new uniform are to wear ties each day with buttons done up.
• 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
• For students wearing the new uniform, the shirt must be tucked in at all times. 

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.

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, students in Years 7 to 9 walk through the reception area to place their phones in their pouches.  Phones must be turned off.

Years 7 to 9 boarding students will leave their phone in the Boarding House during the school day. Students in Years 10 to 12 are required to have their phone turned off and, 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 to the locker after the HPE lesson. 

If students are found with their phones, 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 phones to campus until further notice. Smartwatches are allowed but are not to be used for messaging during the school day. If students are found to be misusing their smartwatch, it will be confiscated, and the student may not be allowed to bring it on campus. 

Social Media Laws 2025

Please read an important letter from the College, outlining the new social media Laws that will take affect from September 2025. 

Parent/Student Details Update and Student Permissions/Agreements

As an annual requirement for all returning students in Pre-Prep to Year 12, we require the following to be actioned by you in Parent Lounge.

Please see attached documents for details and Parent Lounge requirements. 

Would you please kindly complete this requirement by Tuesday 28 January 2025.

For new families commencing this year, these requirements have been completed through your enrolment process, and therefore, no action is required by you. 

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?

In most cases, your child’s Head of Year should be the first point of contact for any general questions of a pastoral nature. 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 and Heads of Year 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. Our teaching staff, Heads of Year and Heads of Department are committed to working with you and your child to provide the best academic outcomes and pastoral support for every student.

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

Crocs Café (Tuckshop)

The Café will be providing healthy and nutritious food options for Secondary students at breakfast, morning tea, and lunch time. The FlexiSchools online ordering system is available for all students. If you do not have a previous account, please log on to the FlexiSchools website where you will find all the details to order. 

You will notice there is a cut-off period at 8:30am every day; therefore, morning tea and lunch orders need to be placed before this time daily. Students may use their bank cards to purchase via EFTPOS, and there is the option to add credit to student cards via FlexiSchools. 

As per the Mobile Phone Policy, students are not allowed to use their phones to purchase items from the Café.

Staffing

An important strategic commitment of the College is to continue the development and capacity of our teaching staff. 

We are delighted to welcome the following staff to the Secondary School this year: 

Current staff who are changing roles and/or taking on additional roles of responsibility include:

Academic Procedures and Policies 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:

1. Academic integrity
2. Assessment
3. Drafting, scaffolding, conferencing and feedback
4. Subject changes
5. AARA 

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

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 below 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. However, we also acknowledge that the expectations around home learning and the time associated with the same, are unique to different year levels, and as such will vary as students’ progress from Years 7 to Year 12. 

Please find the Clayfield College Home Learning Policy here.

Fundraiser Fridays

Photographs

Secondary School class and individual photographs will take place on Monday 3 February. All students are required to wear full, formal school summer uniform on this day. 

Secondary Sport Overview 2025

Please see our Secondary Sport Overview for 2025 below

Useful Contact Details

Upcoming Key Dates

Warm regards,

Mrs Lakshmi Mohan

Deputy Principal - Academic 

Head of Secondary