With such a busy start to the term both in and out of the classroom, it is important that students and families are taking time to plan out the remainder of the weeks left.  The Assessment Calendar is a great place to start.  Identifying when your drafts and final assessments are due and then mapping backwards from there can help students make sure they have an effective study plan and arent entering assessment periods feeling overwhelmed and stressed.  What can you start preparing for now to help alleviate some stress later in the term? 

I would also remind you that WIN time is an incredibly valuable tool at Foxwell that is open to all students in both morning and afternoon sessions.  If you need some extra support or guidance with classwork or homework or simply do not have enough time at home to complete your homework, WIN time is a great option to help tackle some of your work.  Both morning and afternoon sessions have teaching assistants on hand to help support and guide you with your subjects, all you have to do is ask.  I challenge you to try and attend at least one WIN time session each week to see the benefit of this great program.

Please remember that Foxwell has a strict no mobile phone policy.  If you havent already sourced a phone locker to ensure that your phone is secure during the school day, please arrange to do so.  Students found with mobile phones during the school day will be issued with consequences in line with our Student Code of Conduct.

Mrs Wilson

I would like to take this opportunity to welcome all families, new and returning, to Semester 2 at Foxwell. It has been fantastic catching up with many students across the beginning of this term and hearing about their holiday adventures. As we approach Week 4, I thought it would be timely to remind our Year 8 families about a few key points of information:

• Every day of school counts! It is important that we are attending school every day to make the most of our classes and learning opportunities. Our goal is for all students to have at least 95% attendance for the school year.
• We are seeing a rise in VPN apps on student devices throughout class time. As a reminder, VPNs at Foxwell are a form of IT misconduct and must not be on student devices. VPNs allow students to access a private internet server which impacts students ability to access Apple Classroom and other subject-specific apps. If students are found with a VPN, consequences will be issued. 
• It is really important that students are applying themselves in their learning and giving 110%. I encourage students to participate in class discussions, interactive learning experiences and class work to make the most of their academic pursuits.

Lastly, final invoices for Year 8 camp have been sent to families this week. The $30 non-refundable deposit and camp forms are now overdue. If your student has an outstanding form, they can collect a camp note from Student Services.

Like always, if the Year 8 team can support in any way, shape or form, please do not hesitate to make contact – Zana Schroeder, Deputy Principal Year 8: zschr2@eq.edu.au, Bryce Berrell, Head of Year 8: bdber0@eq.edu.au, Sharni Hughes

Athletics Carnival 2022

It was great to be able to hold our first ever Athletics Carnival on school grounds this year and it was a great day for all. The staff and students all came out ready to cheer on their respective houses with some great rivalry during the day. The students participated in a wide range of athletics events over the day with the champion house being CORAL. Final results were:

Age champions were announced at our assembly this week. Congratulations to the following students:

• 12yrs Girls: Kaysiyah N-K
• 12yrs Boys: Koby Cassidy
• 13yrs Girls: Layla Mathias
• 13yrs Boys: CJ Jackson
• 14yrs Girls: Montana Atkinson
• 14yrs Boys: Sean Hepi
• 15yrs Girls: Haylie Martin
• 15yrs Boys: Braxton Robin

Broadwater Athletics 2022

The Broadwater Athletics Team has been announced for students through SharePoint notices. Students have been asked to attend meetings, return permission forms and email Mr Taylor regarding their interest in competing at this next level. Good luck to the students competing on the 1^st and 2^nd of August.

Interschool Sport - Rounds 2 and 3

Round 2 and 3 of interschool sport were held recently and once again it was great to see students participate and show their Foxwell Spirit. Some great wins had by a number of our teams and fun and challenging games had by all.

Interschool sport centres around participation and trying new sports that students would not normally play, and so it was also great to see the students trying new sports for the first time and learning new skills. Well done to all teams and athletes who made the days a great success.

Colour Explosion 2022

This terms major sporting event is the colour explosion. This will be the second year of the college holding this event. It is a great way for the school and P&C to raise some much needed funds for our students.

Please keep an eye out in student notices for dates and when the fundraising booklets will be available.

You For 2032

In the decade ahead, the hosting of the Brisbane 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games will deliver unprecedented sporting opportunities for our State’s most talented athletes.

In partnership with Sports, the Queensland Academy of Sport is on a mission to systematically unearth and develop Queensland’s most talented athletes and prepare them for success in 2032 via Australia’s largest talent identification program #Youfor2032.

If you’re aged between 13-23 (Olympic Sports) or 13-30 (Paralympic Sports) you are eligible to apply. All that’s left to do is register online today. This could be the first step in your Olympic or Paralympic journey.

Visit: qld.gov.au/youfor2032

Mr Taylor

Sportts Coordinator

This term, Year 7 Sporting Minds athletes have been learning techniques of recovery and mobility and the importance to take time out to repair and rejuvenate – especially when they've got an intense training routine or competition schedule. An athlete’s recovery is key to unlocking peak performance and optimal wellness.

As part of learning recovery methods, students will be attending a series of excursions to Rigs recovery. Sessions will provide students with the means of decreasing inflammation, improving blood flow and oxygenation, enhancing their immune response, reducing stress markers and improving sleep quality - just some of the ways our Year 7 athletes are learning to maintain a healthy body and mind.

Year 8 Sporting Minds athletes have begun their work on breath training with their coaches and outside breath training professional, Dani Smith of Glow For Life. Dani has previously worked with professional sports teams including the Gold Coast Suns, Waratahs, South Sydney Rabbitohs, GWS Giants, and is a Certified Wim Hof Instructor and XPT Performance Breath Coach.

Sessions with Dani will focus on breath and recovery and will expose students to different techniques to help them to perform, focus, connect and relieve their body of stress to tap into their full potential. Key elements and values of these sessions include learning the importance of breath awareness, increasing functional breathing strength and understanding how breath impacts their sporting mind, emotions and performance.

Year 9 Sporting Minds athletes have been sweating out with our community partner Glen of GMG training to increase their foundation of power, speed and agility. Athletes that can optimise their quickness in the first couple of steps will always have the advantage in sports; the same goes for the athletes that can harness their top end potential with great speed mechanics. 

This term all students in Year 7-9 will be learning how geometry and measurement can help create sustainable cities in the world.  

Year 8 Sustainable City Investigation 

Students have investigated what it means for a city to be sustainable and have viewed different cities in the world to see how shape, angles and measurement can build sustainable feautures in cities of their choice.

 

Early this week, our SWEL and Healthy World team attended a Breath Workshop run by Danielle Smith.

The session focused on the power of breath and how we are able to use breathing techniques to regulate heightened emotions and stress.

During the session, we gained an understanding of our baseline measurements and learnt the biochemistry and biomechanics of our breath.

Danielle was fortunate to learn from Wim Hof himself and transferred her knowledge of his method to improve our mindset, focus, performance and resilience.

We were then provided the opportunity to implement our learnings by completing a two-minute ice bath challenge.

We look forward to sharing this knowledge and skills with our students to improve their wellbeing.

Year 7 Physical World students are practicing how to classify organisms in Biology and have physically created their own dichotomous keys in order to sort groups of organisms based on distinguishing physical characteristics. Students have also considered different points of view on Civics & Citizenship issues such as the need to protect endangered biological species in our community, proposing solutions to issues that encompass multiple perspectives.

Year 8 Physical World students are undertaking experiments involving chemical reactions, to investigate the way that particles behave differently in solids, liquids, and gases. Students mixed baking soda with vinegar and measured the volume of gas produced in balloons and linked this to the chemical equation explaining the production of carbon dioxide gas. Students have also explored contemporary Civics & Citizenship issues and have explained the actions they would take in creating change, including petitioning, lobbying, protesting, and writing to local members of Parliament.

Nahdia McClymont

Head of Physical World

Self-Care for Parents and Carers

Raising kids is challenging! Family life is too. Caring for ourselves sometimes feels like the absolute last thing on the list. By the time we’ve taken care of everyone and everything else, we are often left feeling depleted and exhausted, reaching for the quickest possible solution to our own needs. The problem is that relationships are a giving and receiving equation – we need both to thrive. We are built for healthy human connection but we are not built to sustain extended periods of emotional, physical and psychological overwhelm. So how can we tell if we are over stretched? And what can we really do about it? We know we are over the line when we move from feeling stretched to stressed, from hopeful to hopeless, from engaged to disengaged, from curious to furious and from caring to care-less.

Okay so step 1, whether we recognise these emotional shifts or not, we need to do a daily self-check-in. So breathe and pause, even just for 60 seconds and ask yourself, “how am I feeling right now”?, “is there anything triggering me in this moment”?, “what can I do differently to be safe”?, “what do I need”?, “who can I talk to”?, “am I remembering to breathe”? Step 2, breathe and turn your attention to making life giving statements that reinforce your value. “I am important too”, “I am worthy”, “I am capable”, “my feelings matter”, “I will get through this”, I have a lot to offer”, “it’s okay to ask for help”. You truly are valuable. Whether your journey so far has reinforced this or not, it’s the truth. You are valuable enough to take time to care for. Step 3, breathe and build something into your day that emphasises your unique value as a human being. Something that promotes connection – to yourself, your environment and others. It can be small. Whatever it is, it matters because it reflects and honours you.

Caring means giving, so while you are continually giving out to others, make sure you give to you as well. Because you matter too.

Keep breathing…

Andrew Rienecker. 

Our Year 7, 8, 9 Creative Voices students performed their drama performances on Monday 25th July to a packed audience of family and friends in the Performing Arts Centre. Students and teachers have been working tirelessly on their plays since Term 2, with students experiencing the audition process, blocking, learning dialogue, and demonstrating teamwork throughout the experience. Preparation for the upcoming Drama Festival competition in August has also been underway and we are so excited that students were able to share their progress so far to a live audience. The performances of "April Aardvark", Intermediate festival entry "Hoods" and the Junior festival entry "Overboard" were performed with courage as they used their skills learnt last semester to wow audiences with their characterisation. We can’t wait to see the next Creative Voices showcase in Term 4 and how far the students grow in their performing abilities.

Year 9 Science students are currently studying the theory of plate tectonics, as well as social and technological factors that have influenced scientific developments. This can be used to predict how future applications of science and technology may affect people’s lives. Students are preparing for their first Year 9 Science exam of the year, with all classes sitting this exam on Wednesday 31^st August. With this being 4 weeks away, it is important for students to remain on top of their class work and devise a revision schedule leading up to the exam, in order to perform their best on the day and avoid unnecessary exam stress.

Nahdia McClymont

Head of Physical World.