Message from the Principal
Dear Parents and Carers,
Welcome back for what is shaping up to be another extraordinary year in the life of Clayfield College. I particularly extend a warm welcome to the new families who are joining the Clayfield family. It is so wonderful to partner with you in the journey of learning. As of today, we look forward to welcoming an additional 150 students to the College during 2025.
I am grateful and filled with optimism as we commence another amazing year in the life of Clayfield College. I have often said this before, but I truly believe that we have so much to be grateful for, so many things to aspire towards and so many successes to celebrate together as a community including our Class of 2024’s accomplishments, continued enrolment growth, the completed construction projects and those which await for 2025 and most importantly, our unwavering focus on ensuring that each day at Clayfield is even better than the last.
As a learning community, we continue to pursue a bold, imaginative, and reflective vision of a thriving co-educational school – one that provides lifelong value to our motivated and conscientious students, who in turn will impact their world through lived integrity, sustainability, inclusivity and service. Clayfield College is a place where every student is encouraged to discover and develop their individual passions. Through the opportunities we provide, each child can shine in their unique way, supported by a dedicated team of educators and the strength of our entire school community.
As a PMSA school, we are guided by two overarching purposes - to advance education and the Christian mission. In essence we are guided by the favourable and confident expectation that through education, which is grounded by the values of the Christian mission, the future will provide us with new possibilities, and each student’s journey will lead to growth and progress. In many ways, the learning journey is based on hope.
Whilst we all know that hope is a fertile ground for growth, we also know that hoping for a great result on that maths test, that you will suddenly be able to proficiently play your band music or hoping you can shave two seconds off a personal best time will unfortunately not make it happen. So, I am not referring to the type of hope where we complacently wait patiently for a bright tomorrow, rather I am talking about the type of hope where action matters.
In other words, being hopeful doesn’t just involve imagining positive outcomes; true hope also involves willpower (a desire to bring about hoped for outcomes) and waypower (the charting of a clear path to achieve them). We need to not only believe that things might turn out well but also have the courage that as we face uncertainty, which we undoubtedly will, action matters. Together, as a school and parent community we can do this by:
- Setting goals that are grounded in our shared values,
- Finding ways to work together in support of our students, and
- Celebrating progress.
As we look ahead to 2025, I encourage you to embrace the power of hope and action. Let’s be fearless in supporting our children’s learning and growth, believe in each other as partners in education, and inspire every student to reach their full potential.
In the words of the French poet Anatole France…
"To accomplish great things, we must not only act, but also dream; not only plan, but also believe."
I look forward to connecting with you throughout the year as our community comes together in the fearless pursuit of learning and like the stars, illuminate the sky.
If you have not already, I encourage all parents and caregivers to put the P&F Welcome Evening scheduled for Friday 7 February in the Chapel Courtyard in your diary. This is a wonderful event run by the P&F and provides an opportunity to connect with old friends and welcome new members to our Clayfield family as we come together as a community at the start of the new academic year. It is always a fantastic event, and I look forward to seeing you all there.
Warm regards,
Dr Andrew Cousins
Principal
