The Year 9s have enjoyed a smooth start to Term 2. Our new Personal Endeavour Courses have begun with students eagerly attending their first classes this week. Our "Ceramics" class is the first cohort to engage in our Cafe Program, and they have already spent lessons learning about safety, service and coffee preparation, oh, and some sniffing of coffee beans! It was great to see our students engaging in this program in our beautiful new Cafe/Restaurant, "Kaizen". In Week 2, it wil be the students of "Build it and they will come" who will have their turn on the machines. All students who complete the work module and practical experience and achieve Competency for their work will receive a Certificate of Completion to add to their folio of achievements. The schedule for all classes is provided below:

Week 1        Ceramics (SWADJO)

Week 2        Built it and they will come (GARRMO)     

Week 3        First Aid (SAYECA)

Week 4        Food and Nutrition (WELLCO)

Week 5        Sound Production (MATHSO)

Week 6        Specialist Coaching (GOUDRE)

Week 7         Film Production (POWETH)

Week 8         App Development and Game Design (NEWTLI)

Week 9         Food and Hospitality Practices (FOERTR)

Week 10       Continuing Japanese 1 (YOSHMA)

The weather will be cool once we return to school after the Easter holidays – please ensure that your child has the Foxwell sports jacket or wattle knit jumper ready to wear in the upcoming cooler months. No other jumpers will be permitted.  

The appropriate hat is required to worn at all times when students are outside of the classroom.

Black, plain leather shoes – jogger style or formal are required to be worn with the formal uniform and in workshops, kitchens and Science laboratories. Black plain sports shoes are to be worn with the sports uniform. Should students have a practical lesson on the day in which they are wearing their sports uniform, they must ensure that they have plain black leather shoes for their practical lesson, even if this means changing shoes before entering a lab, a kitchen or a workshop.

The required bag for school is a Foxwell SSC logo backpack or a plain navy backpack.

We appreciate your support in maintaining the high expectations of our College.

Please check our website for the most up to date opening hours of our Uniform shop as well as price lists.

Our first round of Student-led Conferences will be held on Wednesday 27 April 2022 (Wednesday of Week 2). More information will be provided at the start of the new term. During the break, work with your child to explore their term's work: what went well? What didn't? Which strategies might help? What does the teacher need to know about how i learn? What else is having an impact?

You can see your child's work efforts by accessing their class OneNote and Seesaw. We look forward to seeing you on April 27 in the Sports Performance Hall. 

SWEL Update

On behalf of the Student Wellbeing, Engagement and Learning team we congratulate our Foxwell students on their perseverance and resilience through a term like no other. We wish them a holiday filled with fun, family and relaxation as they prepare for what we hope, is a regular Term 2!

Leadership Update

Over the last few weeks, we have worked through our 2022 Leadership Application process. Congratulations to all students who applied. Regardless of whether you were successful in your application, it is clear we have students demonstrating leadership qualities right across the College. Student commitment to the Foxwell SPIRIT and their willingness to put themselves forward for selection only grows their character.

To our students who were successful in attaining Whole College Ambassador, Year Level Ambassador and House Captain positions, we look forward to celebrating this achievement with you at our Leadership Induction Ceremony in Term 2.

Kokoda 2022

Applications for Kokoda 2022 have now closed and students will be sent information regarding their team and teacher leader in Week 1 of Term 2. All students who have registered for Kokoda through Microsoft Forms will be allocated to a team. Permission forms will also be sent through at this time! Start stretching, team!

Vicki Wilson Shield Trials

Trials were held this week to select two teams to represent Foxwell in the Vicki Wilson Shield competition in Term 2. With over 50 students turning up to trial, and with incredible talent on display, we were unable to select two teams with the limited time we had. Instead a squad of 25 students has moved through to the next round and will train from Week 1 of next term. These students have been notified of their selection by email to their school email account. Students who have not been selected for the team, should be proud of their efforts and are encourged to remember that there are plenty of other netball opportunities throughout the year!

Extra-curricular and Lunchtime activities

Below is the calendar of activities that are starting in Term 2 as well as how to register your interest. Key details about location and time will be shared via Student Sharepoint Notices in Week 1 of Term 2.

Mrs Elle Bullock - Head of Students

Why is my Teenager Withdrawn?

Teens need a certain amount of time and space to pull away from their parents or carers – not totally away, but enough to form their own opinions, identity and values. So, it’s important to realise that your teen withdrawing from you is a normal part of their emotional development.

At the same time, having your teen withdraw can be frustrating and worrying. (What’s my child up to behind closed doors? How will I know if they’re in trouble if they’re barely talking to me?) Teens withdrawing can also produce feelings of grief, as you realise that your child is growing up and that you are getting older, too. So, how can parents respond when their teen withdraws from them, and when do we need to worry?

Tips for dealing with a teen who is withdrawing

• Don’t take it personally: Your teen withdrawing is not your fault, and it’s not a personal rejection. It’s just a part of adolescence.
• Manage and let go: Teens may say they want you to totally leave them alone. That’s unrealistic. You still need to keep an eye on them, but you also need to know when to keep quiet and let them handle their own lives.
• Take care of yourself: Take time out and do something you enjoy – perhaps surfing, meditating or hiking – to make you feel good and replenish your energy.
• Get support: Get as much support as you can to help you through this challenging stage of your child’s life, whether that’s talking to other parents of teens, or heading to your local library or bookstore and finding some reading material on parenting teenagers. You could head to the ReachOut Parents Forum to talk to others who have been there too. ReachOut also offers free professional personalised support to help you support your teen through a tough time.
• Manage your own stress: If you’re having trouble in your own life, it’s even harder to manage a teen and the negative emotions they can trigger. Try to address your own relationship, work or other life issues, and consider reaching out to your support network as it is likely other teenage parents can empathise with your position.

How to Help a Withdrawn Teenager

• Stay in touch: Find creative ways to connect with your teen. Try to find some common ground, such as talking about something you’re both interested in, or doing an activity together that you both enjoy – even if that’s just watching the same TV show.
• Pay attention to the positive: Ensure that you have some positive interactions with your teen, instead of just asking them to unstack the dishwasher/do their homework/go to sleep.
• Don’t push them too hard: Work out what’s really non-negotiable in your family and choose your battles. For example, is it really necessary for your teen’s bedroom to stay tidy?

When to Worry About Your Teen

It can be hard to know when your teen needs professional help, and you might be wondering whether their behaviour is more serious than the ‘normal’ teenage changes. Indications that might help you in identifying whether it would be appropriate to seek professional help are;

• Has your teen been isolating themselves in their room more than usual?
• Do they consume a lot of social media or games, or are they mostly just observing? (‘Just observing’ is an issue because even though they aren’t using the sites to connect, they are still comparing themselves to others.)
• Are they participating in class?
• Have their school marks dropped?
• Have they withdrawn from friends?
• Have they become distant or hard around younger siblings and extended family members?
• Are they leaving the home and not telling you where they are going or who they are with?
• Are there signs they could be injuring themselves?
• Are they losing weight or going on extreme diets?

 Seeking Professional Help

If you’re concerned about your teen – or you’re struggling to cope with them pulling away from you – there’s no shame in seeking help. Be aware that Medicare helps with the cost of some mental health treatments. You can visit your GP and see if you and/or your child are eligible for a mental health treatment plan, which lets you get a rebate on up to 20 sessions each calendar year with a mental health professional, such as a counsellor, social worker, psychologist or psychiatrist.

If you would like support, please email Pascale Street (Guidance Officer) to arrange an appointment – ppier6@eq.edu.au or contact 5555 3333 and request a return phone call in relation to supporting your child.

What a term it has been!  To think that it was only eight weeks ago that our Year 7s joined the Foxwell family is mind blowing.  In that time, Ms Wilson, our Head of Year 7 and I have had the absolute pleasure to see the Year 7 students adapt to not only a new school, but a new day structure with varying subject, classroom and teacher timetables.  They have learnt new procedures and expectations as well as new ways of working and learning, with iPads and OneNote. 

We have seen new friendships being made, amazing team work and challenges being overcome daily.  We have seen Year 7 students embody our Foxwell SPIRIT values, demonstrate great resilience as they deal with the ongoing challenges COVID provides us all and absolutely flourish in their classes, extra-curricular activities and programs.

Ms Wilson and myself have both loved getting to know you all better.  We can’t wait to see what you can achieve in Term 2! 

We hope families and students have a very well-deserved and restful break.

Mrs Russell 

Year 7 Deputy Principal

In Review

Our Year 8s have stepped out of being the youngest of the school into the role of being mentors and role models for our new Year 7 students. It is heart-warming to have watched this transition and the level of kindness which they have shown to each other and the newest members of our Foxwell community.

Our Year 8s have been great role models in demonstrating our three school rules:

Being Responsible

In the main, our Year 8 students have been arriving to school and class on time, wearing their uniform with pride.

Turn Up Tuesday activities have been introduced this term which allows students to view their own attendance data, identifying if there is any room for improvement and if so to consider strategies or supports that they might require. We ask that you have conversations with your child around supporting any improvements in attendance which they identify.

It is wonderful to see, despite the challenges that Term 1 has thrown at us, that our children continue to have high rates of school attendance. From our perspective, once students are at school we can provide a safe and supportive environment and students can access support for both their wellbeing and academic needs.

If you are having any difficulties in getting your child to attend school, please contact either our Guidance Officer, Mrs Street ppier6@eq.edu.au, or Deputy Principal, Zana Schroeder zschr2@eq.edu.au or Head of Year, Bryce Berrell bdber0@eq.edu.au.

Thank you for your ongoing support in ensuring your child attends school when they are well and for continuing to keep unwell children at home, as we continue to live with COVID in our community.

Being Respectful

In the main our Year 8 students demonstrate respect in all their interactions with members of our community.

Students, this term attended a special assembly with Mrs Amor who spoke at length about the importance of being respectful in our relationships and in our interactions with each other be it - face to face, or online. On the occasion when students are not respectful, consequences are put in place. We appreciate your support in this regard.

Being a Learner

Our Year 8 students have shone this term in classrooms across the school. It is always a privilege to visit their classrooms to watch them working independently and in collaboration with each other. I look forward to hearing their success stories once they have received feedback from the tecahers on their assessment.

Looking Forward:

Date claimer: Monday 17^th- Wednesday 19^th of October - Year 8 Camp 2022

I am excited to announce that the Year 8 Head of Students, Mr Berrell has found the perfect location for our Year 8 camp later in the year.

We will be attending Marantha Camp near Yandina, in the Sunshine Coast Hinterland. The great thing about this venue is that it will be cater for our whole cohort together instead of splitting our group into two. Students will engage in both rope and non-rope activities over the three days.

If you would like to see some of what Marantha Camp offers you can do so by visiting the website at https://www.maranatha-camp.com/yandina

More details will be provided early next term, including final pricing, which at this stage, we can confirm, will be less than $300 and payment plans can be arranged.

Please be on the lookout during Week 1 of next term for an Expression of Interest form for camp. At this point we will ask that you confirm your interest in your child attending camp by completing the form and making a $30 deposit to secure a place.

Take care and enjoy the break.

Ms Zana Schroeder - Deputy Principal - Year 8

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

This year between Tuesday 10 and Friday 20 May, students in Years 7 and 9 will be participating in NAPLAN Online. NAPLAN is a national assessment that assesses the literacy and numeracy skills that students are learning through the school curriculum, and allows parents/carers to see how their child is progressing against national standards and over time. NAPLAN also provides schools, education authorities and governments with information about how education programs are working and whether young Australians are achieving important educational outcomes in literacy and numeracy.

In the first week of Term 2, we will be providing students with the opportunity to familiarise themselves with the NAPLAN Online Portal by participating in two practice tests:

• Writing
• Omnibus (Reading, Numeracy, and Conventions of Language combined test)

This is an excellent opportunity to familiarise students and teachers with the online testing process. Please be assured that there is no marking and no data recorded for these practice tests.

As Foxwell State Secondary College operates a Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) Program, students will use their iPad. All students will require wired headphones (no Bluetooth or earbud style headphones) for some NAPLAN tests. We require students to bring their own device-compatible, wired headphones (including any required headphone jacks).

During the NAPLAN testing window (10- 20 May), students will be involved in four tests sessions in classrooms with trained Test Administrators. Our goal is to conduct the tests with minimal disruption to our regular timetabled classes. Further timetable information will be sent to students and families closer to the testing window.

Parents and carers of children in Years 7 and 9 also need to be aware of other key important information. Earlier this week, two documents which contain important information about NAPLAN, privacy and the use of personal devices were emailed to you. We encourage you to read the documents which should provide clarity around NAPLAN testing.  Please contact admin@foxwellssc.eq.edu.au if you would like these to be sent to you again.

NAPLAN is for all students in Years 7 and 9. ACARA supports inclusive testing and adjustments are available for students with disability. The school will work with parents/carers and students to identify, on a case-by-case basis, reasonable adjustments required for individual students with disability to access NAPLAN. For further information on adjustments for students with disability or the process required to gain formal exemption, please contact HOD Inclusion, Victoria Leadbeatter vlead1@eq.edu.au .  If for any reason your child will be unable to participate in any of the NAPLAN tests, please contact Deputy Principal and NAPLAN Coordinator, Di Russell via druss121@eq.edu.au  

Further information regarding NAPLAN can be found on the NAPLAN Online website’s https://www.nap.edu.au/naplan/parent-carer-support.

ACARA have also provided a Public Demonstration site which parents, carers and students are able to access to see what is involved in the tests (https://nap.edu.au/online-assessment/public-demonstration-site).

We will keep you up-to-date in the lead-up to NAPLAN Online, however if you require further information you can contact the school at admin@foxwellssc.eq.edu.au

Myths, fables and folk tales have been passed down through generations for a reason.  We tell them over and over because we keep finding truths in them. Cultures around the world use myths and fables to help explain the world around us - often making sense of a senseless world.

Year 9 Visual Art students have been studying how Artists have played a vital role in retelling and communicating ideas and viewpoints about myths and fables and their relationship to cultures, times in history and place.  Our students delved deep into the world of myths and fables to research how artists use materials, techniques, and processes to represent and communicate ideas through their art.   After critiquing a range of artworks, and exploring a range of art mediums, students developed and refined their chosen art making techniques and processes to represent their own ideas about a myth or fable from the past or in some cases created new ones for the future. 

We had a lot of fun this term, learning how to sculpt out of plaster, recycled cardboard and papier-mache. We also experimented with the use of drawing and painting mediums including charcoal, water colour, soft pastels, oil pastels, graphite, and paint pens.

To celebrate the success of our students, we participated in a Face and Body Paint workshop with the very talented Gold Coast based artist, Bodhi Del Mar.  We are so proud of the grit, tenacity, and perseverance our students demonstrated throughout the term and the courage to try new things.  Well done!

Miss Swader

This term, the Year 9 Drama PEC has run for the very first time. We are so fortunate to have been the first curriculum subject to use the brand new Performing Arts Centre allowing students to learn the ropes of a real stage and performance space through dynamics of space, lighting and sound. The students have demonstrated grit, tenacity and perseverance in an unpredictable term completing three assessment tasks all of an incredibly high standard. We can’t wait to see the amazing work these students create in the coming years in this amazing new space.

Ms Cara McLennan

What an active and engaging term for Year 9 Health and Physical Education (HPE) and Personal Endeavour Course (PEC) students!

This term, Year 9 HPE students put Australian sport underneath a magnifying glass, linking junior sport participation to the varied Australian perspectives on sport, Australian media messaging, and the contributions of Aboriginal and Torres Strait People (ATSI) sports people in Australia. By demonstrating the movement sequences and movement strategies of cricket, students were able to explore how different factors can influence our own and other’s participation in sport and physical activities. Plenty of boundaries were made and classic catches had!

Our first run of Year 9 students through Eat to Save the World PEC discovered how to leave a positive footprint in the world through the nutritional choices made daily. Mr Anderson led informative learning experiences this term on how to fuel the body for high performance, as well as ensuring choices of nutrition are sustainable in a larger, global context.

This term, Year 9 Train Like a Pro PEC students engaged in challenging training programs, exploring optimal heart rate zones and training principles and how these inform the creation of personal fitness plans. Mr Goudge delivered hands-on learning experiences in fitness planning, helping students to look for innovative ways to connect with natural and built environments and develop healthy, active lifestyles.

Our Year 9 First Aid PEC students put their term’s understanding towards completing their First Aid CPR certificate with our partners at Paradise First Aid. It was a fantastic opportunity for our students to use the knowledge and skills they had acquired throughout the term into practice. Thank you to John, our trainer, for making the course engaging and fun. First Aid is one of our Personal Endeavor Courses (PEC) thoughtout each term in Year 9. It is a great opportunity for students to learn life skills that one day may save a life. Thank you to both Ms Furtado and Mr Saye for also making this opportunity possible.

From all the Healthy World/Health and Physical Education staff, we wish a happy, safe and active Easter break.

This term our English students have been looking at humour and what makes us laugh.  Students were tasked with writing a narrative that contained an element of humour.  Our students were challenged to follow the narrative format AND include humour, which is not an easy task, but they rose to the challenge and we have received some wonderful stories. We will share some of these stories in future issues of the newsletter. 

Next term, students continue their investigation of what makes us laugh and how humour changes over the years by analysing different TV shows from the past and creating a podcast that argues for the remaking of an old TV show for a modern audience.  This week, students began looking at the 1964 TV series Bewitched to examine and analyse how the series has been re-envisioned for different audiences with the 2005 movie Bewitched and the 2021 series WandaVision.  The changes in themes, characters, humour, TV tropes and our attitudes, values and beliefs about the world we live in are all interesting and thought-provoking topics we will be exploring.

Ms Goddaer and the Year 9 English team

Year 9 Activate

Activate is a new program we are exploring with our Year 9 students this year.  It is an entrepreneurship program that embeds future capabilities of;

• communication and collaboration,
• creativity and innovation,
• critical thinking and problem solving
• and flexibility and adaptability in learning.

Activate culminates in an exciting national pitching competition where the best student-led enterprises can win the funding and support to take their ideas out of the classroom and into the real world. 

Recently our Year 9 students were asked to select a problem they are interested in helping solve and/or about which they wish to raise awareness. As you can imagine, this is not an easy task and many of our students have been in the ‘learning pit’, struggling with coming up with their own solutions to their chosen problems. To try and help students out of the ‘learning pit’ classes completed various activities to gather new insights and solutions.  Some classes wrote their problems in the middle of a piece of paper, created a paper airplane, stood at the front of the room and threw their plane. Students then chose the first plane they saw, picked it up and in five minutes wrote as many solutions to the problem as possible. This was a fun and engaging way to get students interacting with and helping each other. It is always easier to solve someone else’s problem rather than your own!

We look forward the next exciting step in our Activate journey in Term 2.

Ms McIntosh and the Activate team

 Year 9 Humanities

‘What Does it Mean to be Human?’ – Ancient History and Philosophy

This term, in our Humanities elective ‘What Does It Mean to be Human?’, Year 9 students have been studying a hybrid subject combining Ancient History and Philosophy. During this unit, we have been focusing on Ancient Rome and using Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs to examine and compare how ancient Romans met these needs and compare this with how we meet these needs in modern society.

To further engage our students in their study of Ancient Rome, Mrs Arndt and Mrs Goddaer organised for students to clean and examine a range of genuine Ancient Roman coins. Students have been using the archaeological method of distilled water and toothbrushes to gently clean their coin. We have all really enjoyed uncovering the engravings on these coins and using these primary sources to learn more about the Ancient world we are investigating and how to interrogate primary sources for research.

Ms Arndt

Year 9 History

In History this year, we are studying the period 1750-1918, taking us from the Industrial Revolution to the end of World War 1.  Recently, our students started researching the ‘big change’ or ‘new idea’ from this period that they have chosen to investigate. Students have been enjoying their ‘deep dive’ into their chosen time period and area of focus over the past two weeks.

For their assessment, students will be creating an artefact for our museum exhibit to show towards the end of Term 2. We have already heard many interesting ideas ranging from creating trenches from World War One in Minecraft to creating posters full of information regarding the Women’s Suffragette movement in Australia, to dioramas showing the landing at Gallipoli. 

Unfortunately we had to postpone our museum excursion, but students are incredibly excited to visit the Queensland Museum in Week 2 of next term.  Please remember to return forms for this excursion ASAP so as it is not forgotten. We look forward to seeing our students apply their research skills and creativity next term with this interesting and exciting project. 

Ms McIntosh and the History team

 ‘Youth Justice” 

How young is too young for criminal responsibility? In Australia, the criminal age of responsibility is 10 years old.

After watching a news report on A Current Affair, and the destructive and criminal behaviours of Australian youth, students discussed their opinions about whether young people should be responsible for their actions like adults and whether 10-year olds should be held criminally responsible for their actions.

Through their discussions, students realised that they held conflicting opinions and their critical thinking was put to the test, as was their ability to communicate effectively and collaborate. Some thoughts students shared on this important issue:

• No – children’s brains are not developed enough to make decisions until they are older;
• No – the media influences their actions and they do not fully understand the consequences;
• Yes – they know their behaviours are wrong and they need to learn a lesson, but the punishment should not be the same as adults and needs to help support youth that are in trouble.

It has been very motivating and exciting to listen to these discussions as students embark on investigating an issue within the Youth Justice System. Students will explore one of the key focus areas - Socio-economic status, Remoteness, Out-of-home care or Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander and how youths in these groups are represented in the youth justice system and community or detention supervision. Students will examine the factors that influence and contribute to youths in these groups ending up in the criminal justice system and propose ways to help them become active and informed citizens to help reduce crime rates.

Well done to all of our Technologies students! Despite floods and COVID issues impacting all of us, students and staff have excelled in creative work this term with much to celebrate!

Year 9 Build it and They Will Come students have designed and created their camp chair solutions.

Year 9 Sustainability students have repurposed wooden pallets and turned them into several solutions for each student including shoe racks and planter boxes.

Year 9 Maritime Engineering students designed water craft that could remain buoyant, move in several ways and methods and perform an action.

Year 9 Hospitality students designed and cooked several recipes, building confidence and skills in the kitchen.

Year 8 students studying the Technologies, Food Specialialisation strand have created and cooked their pizzas while the Year 8 students studying the Technologies, Materials Specialisation strand have designed storage boxes.

Year 7 Economics strand have studied entrepreneurs and are working towards their own experience of this as school camp creators.  While Year 7 Digital strand have investigated networks and what goes on with binary code applications.

It is always exciting to see students working both together collaboratively and individually to design, create and produce solutions to real world problems!

In Social World this term, our Year 7 and 8 students have been immersed in the world of narrative writing as they have explored various text types such as poetry, images, song lyrics, picture books and plays. They have demonstrated their perseverance through the drafting process creating some incredible writing samples that have extended character’s journeys.

The Arts components have allowed students to deepen the learning of their texts from English by bringing them to life through Visual Art portraits, Drama performances, Media films and Dance pieces. This term has allowed students to exhibit teamwork, grit and tenacity as they have jumped out of their comfort zones and learnt new skills in the Arts.

Ms Cara McLennan

In G-STEM, we are constantly asking questions, such as, ‘Why do all bubbles form spheres?’, ‘What ingredients would make the strongest, largest bubbles?’ and ‘How could these concepts be applied elsewhere?' 

This term, G-STEM students explored the physics and geometry behind bubbles, spherical air pockets that (due to surface tension) occupy the smallest possible shape for the volume of air trapped inside. When you blow a bubble, the sphere uses the least amount of energy to enclose a particular volume of air, so that’s why you’ll never find square or triangular bubbles! Students had such a great time exploring all different methods of releasing their bubble to form the desired shape.

Glycerine, one of the ingredients in our bubble recipe, lowers the surface tension of the sphere by spreading apart the distance of the water molecules. Ultimately, creating larger and stronger bubbles! Students tested this by carefully selecting different proportions of ingredients, to test this chemical theory.

Soap molecules have two very different ends: one end attracts water (hydrophilic) and the other end repels water (hydrophobic). When soap mixes with water, the opposite ends of the soap molecules sandwich a thin layer of water between themselves. A similar phenomenon can be witnessed when observing the phospholipid membrane of a living cell. It’s fascinating observing a STEM concept and being able to link it to something else completely unrelated! This is what helps create a robust understanding of how the world around us works.

We will be exploring these concepts and more next term in G-STEM, as well as counting our brine shrimp hatchlings!

Our Year 7 and 8 Advanced Learning Program (ALP) students have been hard at work developing a variety of tailored skills they have identified to assist in their preparation for TEDx. Our Year 8 ALP students have collaborated, communicated, and consolidated their skills to deliver feedback and improvement strategies as mentors for their Year 7 counterparts. Our Year 7 ALP students have eagerly adopted the advice to further develop their community outreach presentations.

Both groups have eagerly identified key topics in the local and global community with the hopes to reach the minds of students, parents, and lifelong learners all around the globe.

Stay tuned for the final product. TEDx Foxwell at the end of Term 2!

Mr Power and the ALP team