From the Principal

Hello from Goondiwindi! The Clayfield College Council Chair and members of Council (Catherine O’Sullivan and Steve Wilkins), members of the Senior Leadership Team (Audrey Fellowes and Kathryn Searle) and I are in Goondiwindi for the regional show over the weekend. Kathryn will then continue onto the St George Show. We thoroughly enjoyed the opportunity to attend the Aspects Art Show last night, for which the College is a sponsor, and will spend time today and tomorrow attending and exhibiting at the Show. 

We look forward to engaging with the current, future and potential members of our extended Clayfield Community tonight at the Family Event.  This event will be held at The Queensland Hotel. If you are in town, we would love to see you. Our time in Goondiwindi has also been a wonderful opportunity to showcase our amazing music students. Thank you, Allegria Strings (Alice Gardner, Isabella Robinson, Hannah McDonald, Dimity Whitaker and Ava Gilbert), along with Angela Lockyer and Karen Gordon for joining us on the Boarder Marketing Tour.  

At a recent P&F meeting there was a significant discussion about Vaping. During the meeting, we discussed the education programs and guest speakers that have been at the College over the last 12 months as part of Care@Clayfield to discuss this significant issue with students. What flowed from the conversation was a request from parents at the meeting to provide further information about Vaping for their education as we continue to have open and honest conversations about this issue. I came across the following article in the March Edition of the Australian Boarding Schools Association ‘Lights Out’ Journal. The article clearly outlines the following areas about Vaping and provides a wonderful summary of both issues and information about this topic. 

• What is vaping?      
• Elements of a vape
• What do Vapers breathe
• The Law
• Vaping’s Impact on Health
•  The Financial Cost of Vaping
• Things that are said about vaping

I recommend this article to all parents as a way of being better informed about something which is facing adolescents today as we work together in partnership to assist students in better understanding the long-term impact and potential consequences.   

Please find below the first page from the article from ‘Lights Out’ and a link to this edition of the Journal where the article can be found on Pages 30 to 32.