Semester 1 Report Cards will be issued by 3pm Friday 22 July 2022 along with information regarding Student-led Conferences to be held on Wednesday 27 July 2022. Please continue to check your junk folder of your school-registered email to ensure that you do not miss this important email. We encourage all families to schedule meetings with teachers, particularly if there are concerns regarding your child's progress in specific classes. 

It's an absolute pleasure to be back at Foxwell State Secondary College after just under 12 months of maternity leave! 

For those of you who I have yet to have the opportunity to meet, my name is Kate Shepherd and I am lucky enough to be a part of the Deputy Principal team here at Foxwell State Secondary College. I very much look forward to meeting you, as well as reconnecting with students and their families over the coming weeks. 

For the remainder of this year, I will be working part time looking after the following portfolios:

• 2023 Enrolments and Transition 
• Our incoming 2023 Year 7 cohort 
• Programs of Excellence
• Whole School Events
• 2023 Staffing 

I joined the Foxwell State Secondary College team in July of 2019 when our school was yet to be built. I've been a Deputy Principal for over 7 years in South East Queensland, most previously working at Brisbane State High School and Southport State High Independent Public School. My background as a teacher is in the Creative Arts, most specifically Music. 

You will find me at school on Monday, Wednesday and Thursday in Administration. Please feel free to say hello or introduce yourself when you visit school - I'd love to see you or meet you.

Hello to all students, parents, caregivers and families

My name is Andrew Reinecker and I am excited to be working as a Social Worker at FSSC.

I’ve been working in the human services area for over 20 years in various fields including child safety, youth justice, out of home care, disability, pastoral care, mental health and addictions.

My passion areas are counselling, advocacy and facilitating groups and have personal and professional experience navigating the NDIS.

I have worked extensively with children and young people throughout my career and enjoy walking alongside students to provide vital support to enhance their learning journey and school experience.  I look forward to working within the school community. 

Welcome back to Semester 2 to all Foxwell students and families, and welcome to the new families who have joined us over the holiday break. Semester 2 is an exciting time in Inclusion with change to structures, systems and processes.

This term we have an Inclusion team of myself, 5 Inclusion teaching staff, an Inclusion Teaching Assistant and a team of in classroom Teaching Assistants. Across our team, and other key support personnel like our Chaplain, we will be rolling out a case management system for all Inclusion students. Where our previous inclusion model provided a case management structure for students with disability under the 6 EAP categories, our new model also captures students with ADHD, Anxiety/Mental Health, Foetal-Alcohol Syndrome and Dyslexia. Additionally, students in an identified learner group (in line with the Inclusive Education Policy) will also have access to a case manager. This includes ATSI students, students in out of home care, LGBTIQ+ students, and gifted and talented students.

Over the coming week, case managers will be contacting families of students who have been assigned a case manager based on the information we have at school regarding their eligibility to be captured within the Inclusion department so please keep an eye on your emails.

During the next week if you need to make contact regarding an urgent matter and you don’t yet have the details of your student’s case manager, feel free to contact me at emgil0@eq.edu.au and I will be able to point you in the right direction. Additionally, if you believe your student meets the threshold but we might not have the supporting documentation on file at school, or your student is new to the school, please don’t hesitate to get in touch by email.

If you are interested in reading more about the changes to the resourcing model that sits behind support of students with disabilities in State Schools you can find that information here: https://education.qld.gov.au/student/documents/rar-school-information-students-families.pdf 

Elle Bullock

Head of Inclusion

Impact of Media Violence.

When we talk about the relationship between media and society, the first striking fact we encounter is how violence portrayed in media can have a particular effect on people. Technological developments have enabled young people to access information with extraordinary ease, but it has also brought the downside of constant exposure to information with it. Unfortunately, a significant part of the media material contains elements of violence.

Keeping up to date on the news and staying informed is important, however, can come at a cost of consuming horrifying and traumatising content on a daily basis.

Though Australia has fairly strong filters and social standards as to what kind of content can and cannot be shown by news organisations, social media has circumvented a lot of those barriers and brought graphic footage and images straight to our students’ eyeballs.

Despite what our teenagers tell us, their brains are still trying to make connections and experience difficulty processing what they see. Exposure of violence in social media might leave a ‘mental imprint’ on them; particularly if they are caught unaware and feel somewhat ‘hijacked’ by the material.

Your teen might react to the exposure of media violence by feeling:

• anxious and worried
• sad and depressed
• scared
• helpless
• confused
• angry.

 Combine this with the normal ups and downs of adolescence, and your teen might be feeling like it’s all too much.

How can I help?

If you can sense that your teen seems down or that something is off, the first step is to figure out what the issue is.

• Acknowledge your teen’s feelings
• Switch off together
• Have ‘no media’ time and replace with an activity
• Discuss world news together
• Empower your teen to understand their level of control and their ability to disengage and avoid violent media content

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.

Vaping Forum for School Families

Driven by students as part of their student agency program to address community and global issues, Miami SHS and Pacific Pines SHS have put together a panel of passionate experts from our community to discuss this important topic.

Panelists include: Special Guest - John Safran Author of Puff Piece (Australian Writer & Filmmaker), Ann Wason Moore (Journalist and the forum's MC), Madonna King,(Author and Journalist) Emma Secomb (Surgeon and Educator), Scott Wiseman (QLD P&C President), Pauline Young (G.C Div 12 Councillor), Sue Dalton (Principal Miami State High School) & Mark Peggrem (Principal Pacific Pines State High School) and Student Representatives from each school.

Please follow the below link to register to attend the event.

https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/vaping-forum-for-school-families-tickets-372551009097

This term we are hosting our second colour explosion on the 16^th of September. Last year the students and staff had so much fun climbing over the A frame, crawling under nets, circumnavigating a web of tape, sliding through an ice bath and many more obstacles. Information on this fun day will follow soon, and students will also receive a booklet home in due course with details of the amazing prizes available. This year as well as colour we are including slime, the students will love it!

Our next P&C meeting will be held on the 26th of July at 7PM via zoom, please email pandc@foxwellssc.eq.edu.au for a zoom link. The meetings are designed to draw community feedback, opinion and consultation on matters relating to our school community. Your opinion counts. We have a free session at the end of our meetings that are open to discussion on any topic that is brought to the table.  You can attend as a guest or join as a member, we can email a membership form if you wish to join our amazing committee.

Warm wishes

Roz Rowe

P&C President

Term 2: Wonder of Science Regional Conference

Last term, G-STEM students presented at the Wonder of Science Regional Conference, hosted by Foxwell State Secondary College. PhD scientists and researchers from Queensland University judged this event, and commented on how articulate, clear and considered our G-STEM students were in their presentations. We received glowing feedback on the high academic level of the students' presentations, as well as their ability to not only follow the STEM inquiry cycle, but their ability to connect their STEM inquiry to real world application. We are so proud of all of our G-STEM students, and are pleased to announce that the following students will be representing Foxwell State Secondary College at the Wonder of Science State Conference, hosted by the University of Queensland later in the year.

Year 7:
Jaqueline Beaumont
Amelie
Hannah Cahill
Raine Davies

Year 8:
Yena Jung
Amritha Ravipati
Jelena Uzelac

Year 9:
Esther Rinatta
Mia Dos Santos
Qyn
Kailah Young

Term 3: Up & Atom G-STEM Fair

The fun never stops in G-STEM! This term, students in G-STEM have officially begun exploring their passion projects. All students have the freedom to expore any area of Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths that they are most interested in, and often their passion project encompasses multiple facets of STEM. All students in G-STEM will follow an open inquiry, and present their experimental and research findings at our Up & Atom G-STEM Fair in week 10, on Wednesday 14th September. We will have special guests from our partner universities attending including representatives from the University of Queensland and Griffith University, as well as distinguished scientists and special guests, and of course all of our G-STEM parents and family are encouraged to attend. There will be six People's Choice Awards voted on by guests of the Fair, and for one student in each year level, there will also be the SPIRIT of STEM Award, sponsored by Westfield Helensvale.

We are excited to provide you with further updates throughout the term, to showcase the amazing work the students are producing, as we develop the next generation of STEM specialists. Please enjoy some photos from the 2021 Up & Atom G-STEM Fair!

A reminder that year 8 G-STEM students are travelling to Moreton Bay Environmental Education Centre on Wednesday 20th July. Please ensure you have returned the permission note and paid the $24 excursion fee prior to this date. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me any time nmccl31@eq.edu.au

Warm regards,

Nahdia McClymont
Head of Physical World