Deputy Principal

Over recent months, schools across Queensland have noticed an increase in vaping among young people. It is a concern we are taking seriously because our primary focus is always the health, safety and academic wellbeing of our students.

Vapes are sometimes marketed in ways that can make them seem harmless or flavoursome. The best available public health advice tells us vaping can expose the lungs and the developing brain to harmful substances, and many vapes contain nicotine, which is highly addictive. Young people are particularly vulnerable to the effects of nicotine, impacting attention, learning and mood, and dependence can develop quickly. These devices are relatively new, and researchers are still building a clearer picture of the longer-term health impacts. There is much we do not yet know and that uncertainty is also a risk.

Our secondary concern is about the law and school expectations. Vaping by students at school is a breach of Queensland law and is therefore treated as one of the most serious breaches of our Student Code of Conduct where enrolment may be in jeopardy. This is not about punishment for its own sake. It is about safeguarding the dignity and wellbeing of every student, protecting a safe learning environment, and being consistent with our responsibility of care.

Like many schools, we are aware that vaping can occur in student bathrooms because these are spaces away from adult supervision. Recently, we wrote to students to remind them that bathrooms are shared spaces where every student should be able to access a cubicle as a right, without crowds gathering, blocking access or creating an environment that feels unsafe or intimidating. When staff intervene in bathrooms in response to congregating, suspected vaping, or other unsafe behaviour, it is a reasonable and necessary step to protect students and restore a calm, respectful environment.

We ask families to partner with us in a proactive way. Please speak with your daughter about vaping: what it is, why it is harmful, how dependence can begin and why “everyone’s doing it” is often a myth that spreads through social pressure. It is also worth discussing the unknowns that vapes have not been around long enough for anyone to confidently promise it will not harm.

We also encourage conversations about identity and integrity: the person your daughter is portraying should she engage in an illegal activity for under-18s, and the deception and risk-taking behaviours that often sit around it: hiding devices, meeting in unsupervised spaces and normalising secrecy. These behaviours can quietly shape habits, relationships and decision-making.

At Mount Alvernia College, guided by our Franciscan charism and Gospel values of courage, joy, respect and service, we want every student to grow as a hope-filled, resilient young woman who makes life-giving choices. Thank you for your ongoing partnership and for the important conversations you will have at home.

Every blessing,

Michelle Licina

Deputy Principal Student Development and Wellbeing

Sources for family reading: 

• Queensland Health — Vaping and e-cigarettes: Information for parents and carers | Vaping Exposed
• Australian Government Department of Health and Aged Care — E-cigarettes and vaping: About vaping and e-cigarettes | Australian Government Department of Health, Disability and Ageing
• Cancer Council Australia — Vaping: E-cigarettes and vaping | Cancer Council Australia