Filter Content
Those who know me can attest to how passionate I am about education, student safety and wellbeing, positive relationships, and State Schooling. It frustrates me when I hear people say, ‘but isn’t it just a state school’. My answer is always that every child in Australia deserves the very best education and this can be obtained in a high performing/high expectation State School like Foxwell State Secondary College. I was a graduate of the State School system in Qld and will always be grateful for my education. At Foxwell we do not ‘try to be a private school’, we simply commit to being the very best school for every child who enters our gates.
As a result, I will not apologise for our high expectations. We will not lower our expectations regarding behaviour, uniform, learning engagement, work completion, bullying and harassment, our hands-off policy, mobile phone expectations, and personal and social interactions. Our school will strictly enforce our Student Code of Conduct and the Enrolment Agreement that every student and their parent/carer signed. We committed to offering a world of opportunities, and a safe place for your child to learn and flourish, and this will not change. If this means that Foxwell State Secondary College is not for everyone, then that is a call for individual families, but as a College community we will not be lowering our standards and expectations.
Our uniform is not just a way of identifying and keeping our students safe. It is far more than that. It is our brand – it is our identity. People in our local community comment positively about the way our students take pride in their school by the way they wear our uniform. This has long term benefits for our students as local businesses and employers will recognise this pride and reputation as they consider employment and partnership opportunities for our students, and our College, well into the future. Our clear expectations around our Student Dress Code provide clarity to students – there are no grey areas. This supports students to then focus on their learning and our SPIRIT values. We are proud of our College, and our uniform allows students to be loud and clear about who we are and what we stand for.
Our College SPIRIT values guide us and filter through to every aspect of the school day. Our staff, students and parents/carers all commit to these values upon employment or enrolment. We will continue to hold our community to these values as they are the foundation of our College and make our College the positive learning environment it is.
Our staff are committed and passionate educators who go way above and beyond to ensure the SUCCESS of every student at our College. Success at Foxwell is not just academic or sporting success. Our collective definition of Success is:
We are proud of the positive and strong three-way partnership between our staff, students and parents/carers at Foxwell. This doesn’t just happen though – it takes commitment and action on all parts. If one of these partners doesn’t live up, then our students suffer. So let’s all commit to doing our part and let’s watch our students flourish.
Our College continues to be a school of choice on the Gold Coast and we are proud of our reputation and the outcomes of and for our students. This year we have over 830 students from Years 7 – 9. Whilst behaviour incidents can still occur in any educational setting, I can assure you that we address these promptly and thoroughly, and we communicate clearly and in timely manner with all relevant parties. This high level of school management is what we pride ourselves on.
We may not always be able to tell all parties the specific details of an investigation or the consequences for any breaches of our Student Code of Conduct, but rest assured that they will be dealt with. If you ever have any issues, please address them with members of our Leadership Team, or me personally. Making unnecessary social media comments or posts only ever serves to damage the reputation of our College in the community, which as highlighted earlier would never be in the best interests of your children in the future. Those who know me and my team, know that we will listen, we will act and we will communicate openly and honestly. That is our promise to you. Remember Foxwell – Together we are great.
I want to leave you today with one of the best emails I have ever received from a student in my long education career. A newly enrolled Year 9 student wrote:Dear Ms..dDear Mrs.
Dear Mrs.
Today you asked me if I was enjoying my time at Foxwell State Secondary College. Being a new student is stressful and hard enough - when entering a new school it is normal to feel like and outside, like you aren’t wanted. On my first day at FSSC I was so scared, I had this idea in my mind that everyone would hate me. That very same day I went home and told my parents that I loved FSSC. I recalled how every student was kind to me, and how all the teachers made sure to check up on me. The best way I can describe it is it made me feel warm and fuzzy inside. Not once did I feel like I couldn’t ask for help, it let me feeling genuinely excited to go back the next day. Now after almost a full week of attending FSSC I stand by what I said. Each day I’m left with something happy to tell my parents, whether that be how all the teachers were incredibly kind, or how I made a new friend that day.
One of my favourite aspects of FSSC is the reset system. Some students can be distracting, and that’s not fair on the rest of the class to have to put up with. The new Foxwell reset system allows those students to converse with the teachers about their behaviour instead of the teacher yelling at them (where the problem never got fixed). I also love the other reset aspects. Being reset isn’t always a bad thing. Sometimes you need a mental break – I know I do. The orange and blue reset card are perfect for that. In previous years if a teacher could see I was struggling during class they would talk to me about it after class, but I would always get nothing out of it because it was too late – I didn’t get the 5 minute break I needed when I needed it. With the orange reset card that issue is solved – it allows not only me to get the short break I needed, but also allows the teacher to continue teaching without any interruptions.
Another things I adore about FSSC is the ability to converse with teachers. Multiple times I have been able to stop and have conversations with my teachers about my learning, how I feel I am progressing, or how I’m doing on that particular day. All in all I consider Foxwell State Secondary College to be the best school I’ve had the pleasure to attend, and I would recommend it to anyone that is looking to send their children. With a friendly atmosphere, amazing staff, and great systems in place Foxwell State Secondary College is the place I choose to continue my learning.
A 2022 Year 9 student
We are so excited by the year ahead and will continue to provide a World of Opportunities for your child. Thanks for putting your trust in us. Together we are great.
Until next time
Mrs Kym Amor
Principal
Foxwell State Secondary College
It has come to our attention this week that a small number of Foxwell students are not demonstrating our SPIRIT values whilst traveling on buses. In particular, some students are behaving in a way that is both irresponsible and disrespectful. This includes, but not limited to, eating and drinking on the bus and leaving rubbish behind, and throwing food. This kind of behaviour is unacceptable. Students who engage in these behaviours have had and will continue to have, consequences applied in keeping with our Student Code of Conduct. At Foxwell, we have high expectations of student behaviour and are explicit in ensuring that all students know what is expected of them in all areas of our College and when traveling to and from school.
In addition to the College’s high expectations of students, The Department of Transport and Main Roads publishes The Code of Conduct for School Students Travelling on Buses. If you have a child who travels to and/or from school on buses, please familiarise yourself with this document. Bus operators are within their rights to apply consequences for breaches of the Code of Conduct which could include:
- a written caution
- a period of refused bus travel
- a behaviour agreement
- other consequences as agreed to by stakeholders
We appreciate your support in ensuring that students travelling on buses uphold our Foxwell SPIRIT values and that all students feel safe commuting to and from school.
Just a reminder it is currently a Public Health Directive that masks are to be worn whilst traveling on public transport for high school students.
GETTING CONNECTED @ FOXWELL
Mr Harper, our IT Manager and his team of helpers have had an extraordinarily busy week onboarding the iPads of our 260 Year 7 students and the many new Year 8 and 9 students to our school network and learning platforms.
If your Year 7 child missed this session with Mr Harper, or if they are a new student and have not yet onboarded their iPad, they should visit him at the Learning Hub to complete this very important process.
TECHNOLOGY USE AT HOME
Education Queensland provides students with internet access through our school network, EQNET. This network has a number of filters and safety protocols designed to keep your student safe when working online.
We are aware that some students may be accessing a Virtual Private Network (VPN) to circumnavigate the protections of the school's network. Not only is this an example of IT Misconduct, it also compromises the security and protections of students by giving them unfiltered access to the internet and possible explicit content.
In order to support parents and carers to keep our students safe, we have blocked access to downloading VPNs at school and we remove all VPNs from your child's device when we become aware of the them. Additionally, we have created these helpful 'How To' videos that will support you to identify and remove a VPN from your child's iPad. Please follow this link to access the video.
IT Manager
Alex Harper.
Our first meeting of the year will be via zoom Tuesday 15th of February at 6PM. Please email us to obtain a zoom meeting code. For new families, we look forward to meeting with you and welcoming you into our school community.
Joining the Foxwell P&C committee is great way to be involved with school policies and decision-making, keeping up to date with what is happening, and feeling excited to be a part of your child’s learning journey.
The AGM is scheduled for the 8th of March 2022, however this may be delayed, we will confirm this shortly.
At every AGM, each executive position is open for any committee member to apply.
In order to keep the P&C functioning we will need to nominate members to fill the executive roles. If you are interested, or know someone who may be interested in learning more about each role and what is involved, please email us and I will send through information pertaining to the position.
Nomination forms can be emailed to interested committee members, and returned via email or delivered to the school office before, or on, the 7th of March.
Any families that are currently isolating, I wish you a speedy recovery and good health
Warm wishes
Roz Rowe
P&C President