As Term 1 draws to a close, we recognise the innovative and engaging work of our students and staff who embarked on our Compass Years - Year 9 Program for the first time at Foxwell State Secondary College. Our Compass Years Program is certainly exciting and ambitious and, despite an unusual start to the year, our Year 9 students have taken their experience in their stride. They have engaged in their elected Personal Endeavour Courses, Activate, History or their Humanities elective, English, Mathematics, Science, and Health and Physical Education while also transitioning to our new Senior Precinct after much anticipation over the last 12 months. 

Term 1 PECs

It has been exciting and inspiring to see the dedication to their learning as Year 9 students engaged in their first elective courses in their education experience at Foxwell. In this newsletter and over the coming weeks, we will be showcasing the work of our students and their teachers who have persevered through a very challenging Term 1 to produce amazing outcomes in:

- All the World's a Stage

- Anime Japanese

- Build it and they will Come

- Eat to Save the World

- First Aid

- Food and Hospitality Practices

- Maritime Engineering

- Myths and Fables

- Sustainable Industrial Technologies

- Train Like a Pro

Please take the time to read all about the work of students in all of their Year 9 courses.

We now look forward to our second round of PEC courses in Term 2 including: Ceramics, Sound Production, Film Production, App Development and Game Design, Food and Nutrition, Food and Hospitality Practices, Build It and They Will Come, Continuing Japanese, Specialist Coaching and First Aid.

Cafe Program

Another exciting opportunity for our Year 9 students is our Cafe Program beginning in Term 2. Thanks to the amazing work our Industry Liaison Officer, Ms Furtado and our Technologies Officer, Mr Russell, all students will experience life as a barista for 4 or 5 lessons during their usual PEC time. This program will be conducted in our new Restaurant and Cafe space, "Kaizen" - how exciting!

The schedule for the program is:

Week 1: Ceramics 

Week 2: Build it and they will come

Week 3: First Aid

Week 4: App Development and Game Design

Week 5: Food and Nutrition

Week 6: Food and Hospitality Practices

Week 7: Film Production

Week 8: Specialist Coaching

Week 9: Sound Production

Week 10: Continuing Japanese 1

Students will need to ensure they have leather shoes for all lessons, even on HPE days.

As part of this program, students will engage in modules focusing on:

- The history and types of coffee;

- How to select, grind and extract coffee;

- Texturing milk;

- Serving and service;

- Cleaning and maintaining machines; 

- Working in a cafe;

- Customer service;

- Workplace health and safety.

Students who successfully complete all aspects of their training and module learning will receive a certificate outlining their credentials and experience. This certificate can then be presented to prospective employers when students apply for a job. Microcredentialling in this way allows students to gain real-life experience while also securing certification around their demonstrated skills. Opportunities to secure additional experience will be offered to Year 9 students in Term 2 and beyond. Watch this space! 

Excellence Programs - GSTEM, ALP, SM and CV

All students and families are reminded that attendance at Excellence Program lessons on Thursday mornings is a mandatory requirement of being enrolled in these programs. It is not appropriate for students to neglect their commitment by failing to attend a session in any week. As this is the only scheduled lesson for these programs, it is imperative that all students attend or reconsider their involvement. 

Ms Dianne Nicolas - Deputy Principal, The Compass Years