Acting Principal's Message

Dear Parents and Carers,

As the academic year progresses, it has been particularly pleasing to see how many students have embraced their studies and worked alongside their teachers to reach their individual goals. For some students, they find themselves navigating the choppy waters of exams and assignments. These times can be particularly challenging, not only for the students but also for parents and caregivers who witness their children grappling with anxiety. It's essential to recognise that these feelings are normal, albeit uncomfortable. By understanding the unique anxieties faced by Primary and Secondary students and implementing supportive strategies at home, parents can help their children weather these storms with resilience and confidence.

For Primary aged students, tests and assignments may represent their first significant encounter with academic pressure. They may feel overwhelmed by the prospect of assessments and the expectations placed upon them. Common signs of anxiety in younger children include mood swings, irritability, physical complaints like headaches or stomach aches, and avoidance behaviours such as procrastination.

Assessment anxiety may intensify for our Secondary students, due to increased academic demands, peer pressure, and concerns about their future. Teenagers may experience heightened levels of stress as they navigate complex subject matter and strive to meet academic expectations while juggling extracurricular activities and social commitments.

In Personal Development and Wellbeing and Foundation lessons, staff explicitly teach strategies to help students cope with their worries. Parents can reinforce these messages and some, are outlined below.

Maintain Open Communication

Listen without judgement about their concerns and feelings.

Establish a Routine

It is never too early to establish study habits that balance learning with relaxation and down time. Consistent routines provide structure and stability.

Celebrate Effort not only Results

Emphasise the importance of hard work and perseverance rather than solely on the outcome. Praise your child on their progress and dedication to their studies.

Encourage Self Care 

Relaxation and mindfulness techniques can be helpful, together with sleep, nutritious meals and engaging in sports and activity. 

Foster a Growth Mindset

Encourage your child to view challenge as an opportunity for growth rather than a barrier. Setbacks and mistakes are a natural part of the learning process.

College Counsellor

I would like to take this opportunity to thank Ms Shannon Edwards who has been a wonderful support for our students and community, whilst Ms Lahey has been on Maternity Leave this semester. We would like to wish Ms Edwards every success as she embarks on her next role in leadership. Please find an article from Shannon, where she highlights the importance of normalising anxiety which Dr Coulson also emphasised in April this year when he visited the College.

Riding the Wave: Normalising Anxiety in our Individual Worlds

Earlier this term, Clayfield College had the privilege of hosting Dr Justin Coulson, as he provided insightful and practical skills on coping with anxiety. As Dr Coulson affirms, fundamental to coping with anxiety is acknowledging that anxiety is a common and healthy human experience. We all have experienced stress and anxiety at some point in our lives. Children are, as Dr Coulson puts it, experiencing a crisis of confidence and competence. 

 

Normalising anxiety doesn't mean ignoring or minimising its impact. Instead, it's about recognising anxiety as a part of being human and learning how to cope with it in healthy and constructive ways. In a hyper individual and competitive world, there’s no surprise that anxiety is on the rise. However, at what point are students telling themselves that anxiety and stress are inherently bad, and therefore, struggling to cope. 

 

Central to my work with students, is utilising a strengths-based approach to life’s challenges. This means encouraging students to reflect on their own resilience, capability, and self-efficacy. Yes, there will be moments in life that are challenging and stressful. But it is what we do in those moments that matter the most. I encourage students, as they ride the exciting and sometimes precarious wave of adolescence, to develop an unwavering and profound belief that they will make it through. It is not the challenge itself that make us anxious – it is the fear that we will not be safe during those experiences. 

 

Through remembering that it is in fact, normal, that I am in fact – normal – perhaps we can move towards a future that embodies the antithesis of anxiety – safety. Safety in ourselves and who we are, trusting that I can ride the wave that is this wonderful life. 

Construction Update

I am pleased to announce that our new Design Technology Workshop and Classrooms Project will commence in the coming week. Construction fencing will be erected during the first week of the holidays, with the demolition of MU2 to be completed before the commencement of Term 3. Please note there will be some changes to pedestrian access in this area of the campus, as detailed in the plan below. However, the drop-off and pick-up zones will remain unchanged. We look forward to sharing updates with you as the project progresses.

Foundation Giving Day

My sincere thanks to the Clayfield College community for your incredible generosity during our Foundation Giving Day yesterday. We surpassed our Giving Day targets, raising an outstanding $254,733 with the support of 424 donors! Special thanks to our Foundation, Foundation and Alumni Manager - Meg Graham and Director of Marketing, Communications and Engagement - Emma Dixon, for their tireless efforts leading up to and on the day. 

Together, we have shone so brightly for the benefit of our current and future Clayfield College students.

Kind regards,

Mrs Audrey Fellowes 

Acting Principal