Term 3 seems to be flying by at a rate of knots!  With the public holiday tomorrow and the Student Free Day next Friday, it will be holiday time again before we know it.  

As such, we are already well into assessment time and students are busy working on demonstrating their newly-acquired knowledge and skills through a range of assessment.  We remind students that the key to success in all they do academically is working at a sustainable pace, developing and refining their work as they go.  It is this skill of progressively working on a task over a period of time that we often see that Year 7 students need the most support.  What strategies is your child using to plan their time at home or in WIN time at school to work on their assessment?  Do they have their assessment calendar in an accessible location, so they can track their progress and see when due dates are looming?  If things go wrong, injury or illness, please contact the school so we can support your child to submit their assessment on their return.

It is with much pride that I've seen the achievements of our Year 7 students, as they take on the stage, sports ground and lecturn to flourish in their chosen field, whether it be drama, instrumental music, choir, sports or debating.  Well done to you all.

Walking through the playground and verandas at break times, it's so lovely to see the friendships strengthening between students of our Year 7 cohort.  However, sometimes despite the best of intentions, friendships do face rocky patches.  We encourage students to seek assistance and support when things aren't going right.  The Year 7 team, Ms Tiller, Year Level Assistant, Ms Wilson, Head of Year 7 and I are here to support your child when they need it.  

I hope you all enjoy your long weekend and have a well deserved break.

Di Russell

Year 7 Deputy Principal

KEY REMINDERS

As we move quickly to the end of term, students are reminded of the following:

1) you must be in the correct uniform at all times. In variations must be validated by a Variation Pass, available through Student Serices, and explained by communication from home. There are too many non-uniform items, as well as jewellery and makeup appearing on students at the moment. This is not acceptable and students will be issued with consequences;

2) Punctuality to class is essential. Students are reminded that they should be moving to class when the bell goes. There is more than adequate time to use amenities and fill up drink bottles during the break. Students must be at the classroom and ready for learning, equipment in hand, at the start of the lesson.

3) Inappropriate and offensive language, whether directed at a student, staff member or said in passing, is not acceptable at Foxwell. This includes slang words often used in place of expletives. Please be mindful of time and place. 

4) Work completion should be everyone's primary focus. Students are reminded to seek and act on feedback, revise and practise their work, and try the absolute hardest they can so that they can optimise their opportunities to achieve success.

COURSE SELECTIONS 2023

We are right in the thick of course selections with all Year 8s and 9s finalising their courses for 2023. Thank you to Year 8s for being on top of the process; Year 9, it is now your turn! Please head to the Student SharePoint where you will find the button for Subject Selection 2023.

Once you click on the button, you will be taken to the relevant section of OneSchool. 

Please follow the steps outlined below to ensure that you enter all selections. Students will need their usual login details to access OneSchool. 

All selections must be finalised by 9am, Wednesday 25 November 2022. As explained previously, it is vital that you review, again, the course information in The Compass Years - Year 10 handbook to ensure you are making informed choices. 

The following instructions also appear when you enter OneSchool:

PERSONAL ENDEAVOUR COURSES:

*Choose one subject from each box.

*Do not select any course more than once.

*If you wish to study one semester of Japanese, select Japanese in Semester 1 PEC 1 only.

*If you wish to study Japanese for the whole year, select BOTH Japanese in Semester 1 PEC 1 AND Semester 2 PEC 3. To do this: Unfortunately, OneSchool will allow you to select it only once, in Semester 1, PEC 1. If you also want to study the second semester course, so that you complete the full year, pick any other course in Semester 2 PEC 3 (otherwise you won't be able to exit later) and then indicate in the notes section that you wish to select Japanese. 

*Select 3 additional preferences in case you do not receive your first 5 selections.

Instructions

1. Navigate to OneSchool oslp.eq.edu.au

2. Enter student username and password.

3. Read and agree to the Responsible Use Agreement

4. Select My Education Plan

5. Select Subject Selection

6. Select here to select the subject selection model and Save.

7. Select the 2023 Year 9 Subject Selections model.

8. Select Edit to add your subject selections.

9. Terms/Lines – select the radio buttons to make your choices.

Note: Instructions for completing the subject selections will appear at top of page.

10. Use the green arrows to list your subjects in order of preference.

11. Preferences—use the dropdown to select preferences. After selecting a preference you need to click on add. You will do this three times. 

12. Save—select to save your selections.

Note: Edit—select to edit selection choices any time up until the closing deadline. 

If you have any logon issues, please see Mr Harper. For all other questions, please see Ms Nicolas in Administration. 

Save the date!

Join us for a fun family evening of food, entertainment, activities and community representation as we connect during Queensland Mental Health Week at the inaugural Northern Gold Coast Mental Health Marketta, hosted by Foxwell State Secondary College. 

As part of the Northern Gold Coast community, we recognise that taking care of our students, staff and families is integral to our role in our community. This event will create a fun and relaxed environment for our local families to connect and learn, while at the same time changing the stigma associated with Mental Health. 

With Mental Health at the forefront of our priorities, we recognise the value in providing access and information to readily-available services in the community and we invite stallholders to showcase their support services to the community.

Please scan the QR code above for more information. 

As we move towards the end of the term, it is great to move through classes and see students so engaged in their work and assessment.  It has also been great to witness the success of our students outside of the classroom.  I would like to take a moment to congratulate our amazing debaters, our incredible Japanese language competition students, our Arts students who have absolutely shone at eisteddfods over the last couple of weeks, our interschool sports day teams and, of course, our superstar footy players who are dominating the footy field.

There are some important reminders for our Year 7 cohort.  

Please remember that students are not to touch other students' property. This includes iPads, pencil cases or other students' backpacks.

It is also time to remember that Foxwell has a strict hands-off policy.  Touching other students, even when the intention is harmless, can lead to injury.

Finally, please remember that your teachers and teaching assistants want nothing but success for all of their students.  If your child is struggling with the demands of assessment, please encourage them to reach out to their teachers and seek support.

Have a great long weekend!

Hi everyone,

Ms Nicolas, Mr Afu and I have once again thoroughly enjoyed seeing so many of our Year 9 students thrive in their classrooms and co-curricular activities over the last two weeks. We especially love seeing our Year 9 students working in our Project 4209 Cafe each morning and also cheered on our Year 9 Sporting Minds students as they conquered the ice baths on Thursday morning. We are so proud of all of their achievements this term, from Drama Fest to Eisteddfods and Interschool Sports, our students work so hard and deserve to be celebrated.

On Tuesday, August 30, during Year 9 Activate classes in Lesson 1, our wonderful team of School-Based Youth Health Nurses will be delivering a presentation to our students on how to manage their stress and all of the emotions that can come with stress. This ties to our curriculum and will be very beneficial to all of our students. If you have any questions about this presentation, please email me at hfbra0@eq.edu.au. 

Please also remember that your child has many different support services here at school if they ever need them, especially as we are in the assessment period of the term at the moment. This includes coming to Student Services to see us, requesting to see our Guidance Officer Mrs Street, or checking in with our Chaplain or Social Worker. 

Mrs Arndt and Mr Afu

Paul Halmos states that the only way to learn Mathematics is to do Mathematics.  This is precisely what our year 7-9 students have been doing in the last few weeks.  They have been applying their knowledge of Geometry and Measurement to the real world with various outdoor activities and discussions about how shapes and measuremet are used in creating sustainable cities.   

Year 7 students have commenced their assessment to design a garden bed which can grow fruit and vegetables to sustain the school community and canteen. In class students used various household and groceery items to investigate volume, area and perimeter.

Year 8 students have been investigating various circles in the school environment to prove that Pi (3.14 - ratio of a circle's circumference to its diameter) is in existence in every circle in the world, indeed showing that Pi represents true infinite beauty in the environment. They have also used the school's amazing outdoor facilities to demonstate their knowledge of quadrilaterals, which can then be viewed by year 7 students who are learning it themselves at present.

 

Year 9 students studied the philosophies of Plato to discover that platonic shapes were used to represent the elements of earth, air, fire, water, and ether and how these shapes are used in designs in sustainable cities in the world. 

A reminder that all year 9 students must have a scientific calculator for their maths classes as now they are studying trigonomentry, these functions are needed which are on the scientific calculator.  If you are unsure which one to purchase, please get in touch with Mrs Russell, Head of Department on txrus5@eq.edu.au

Lastly tutorials are available for Maths, they are held during WIN time as per the schedule below.  I would encourage any student who needs a bit more one on one support to consolidate a concept to come along.

Breathing powerfully affects every system in our body: the cardiovascular, nervous, endocrine, lymph, immune, digestive, and of course, the respiratory. Under the instruction of Dani Smith, our partnered Wim Hoff Method Certified Instructor and XPT Performance Breathing Coach, Sporting Minds students have been learning that the way in which they breathe has a lot to do with their athletic performance as well as their quality of life.

Proper breathing can decrease stress and muscle tension, calm the nerves, sharpen focus, minimise negative and distracting thoughts, reduce fatigue, and promote stamina – all essential qualities of peak performance in any sport. Evidence indicates that adopting a regular, long-term schedule of breathing practice could help improve the body’s ability to manage stress and anxiety often brought on by performance.

By learning proper breathing techniques, and engaging in an ice bath challenge, our Year 9 Sporting Minds students have seen first-hand how concentrating on your breathing slows down the body’s stress response and makes them feel calmer and in control. Well done to our Year 9 Sporting Minds students who bravely took this challenge head-on and stuck out the 2 minutes in the ice bath.

By transferring this skill to the sporting arena, athletes can respond positively to anxiety and provide a level of control they feel they have over a given situation, and their own response. This perception of control is important, because it reflects whether athletes see the situation as a threat or a challenge. This will ultimately change the way our athletes perform under pressure.

Thank you to all the parents/caregivers, students and school staff who completed this year’s School Opinion Survey. We look forward to sharing our survey results with you when we receive our school report later this year.

Last week, we celebrated National Science Week! The theme this year was Glass: More Than Meets The Eye.

Students had the opportunity to participate in workshops throughout the week. These included experiments such as creating hot glue glass fibres, creating a light bulb, and observing keynote speakers including Professor Michael Cowling, Executive Director of The Create Lab, and Professor Andrew Bulmer, from the School of Pharmacy and Medical Sciences at Griffith University.

Professor Cowling introduced Virtual and Augmented reality to students, bringing along his equipment for students to see. Professor Bulmer taught students about the amplitude and frequency of sound waves, and how these can be used in ultrasound machines to generate images. He even brought along a real ultrasound machine and generated sonograms in real time, much to the students' delight! Both Professors are proud Foxwell parents, and we are so grateful for their contribution to our College. Students also participated in National Science Week activities every morning during roll mark, learning about glassblowing, the history of the incandescent lightbulb, and the engineering behind recycling glass bottles in our yellow bins at home to be reused.

In Physical World, students have begun Geography, and what better way to begin than getting their bearings with all the places of the world. Students have been engaged in blended learning including digital technologies and good old-fashioned Atlases. They have also started learning about landforms, including patterns of weathering and erosion in famous landforms like Uluru 

In Science, students have enjoyed getting practical in the lab investigating chemical reactions, including burning magnesium, reacting bicarbonate soda and vinegar, and observing the link between salt solutions and rusting. Students have made links between these chemical reactions and the chemical weathering that occurs in rocks. An example of this can be seen in landforms where oxidation occurs, producing beautiful orange hues, a symbol of the presence of iron oxide

Year 9 Science have been exploring the theory of volcanoes and tectonic activity by modelling phenomena including liquefaction and eruption. A reminder that as per the assessment calendar, all year 9 students will sit their science exam next Wednesday 31st August. Attendance is important for every day, but especially important next Wednesday, to ensure no student misses their exam.

There is certainly a lot going on in this space at the moment, and we're so glad we are able to share it with you.

Nahdia McClymont

Head of Physical World

The Year 9 Creative Voices class competed in the Intermediate section of the Gold Coast Secondary Schools Drama Festival last weekend. Up against 13 other schools and Year 10 students as well, this committed group of students wowed audiences with their physical interpretation of an Australian Gothic play “Hoods” directed by Mrs Cara McLennan. The students were awarded Highly Commendeds for the entire ensemble, magic moments of the performance and Ava Van Klooster, Edwina Vassallo and Elisha Saville were awarded individual highly commendeds for their acting.

We are pleased to announce that Josie McMurtrie was awarded one of 8 Best Actor Awards in the section and the Foxwell Intermediate group took out 1^st place winning Best Overall Play in the Section. We are now undefeated winning the Junior section as well. What an amazing accomplishment for our Drama students.

On Tuesday last week, our concert band competed in their very first Gold Coast eisteddfod up against larger ensembles with senior students also. Our Instrumental Music ensemble were professional and demonstrated excellent teamwork as they played beautifully under the instruction of Ms Kerkow and received a Silver award. We are so proud of how far they’ve come and can’t wait to see the growth of the band in future years.

Term 3 has been a busy time for the Japanese team with a range of opportunities being offered to students in all year levels.

Speech Contest Congratulations

On Sunday 21 August, we had 8 students represent FSSC at the 41st Griffith University and Gold Coast MLTAQ Language Speech Contest.

We are excited and proud to announce the following results:

First Place in Year 7 Sakura Division - Hesandu Dunumalage

Third Place in Year 8 Sakura Division - Ainslie Ryan

Highly Commended in Year 7 Sakura Division - Emily Hehir, Allirah Holder, Cooper Larkin

Highly Commended in Year 8 Sakura Division - Taylan Ozturk, Alexis Tuisamoa, Jelena Uzelac

A big congratulations to all students who have worked hard over the last 6 weeks to memorise their speeches and present them to judges on the day in some tough competition! Thank you also to Mrs Mikami for her efforts in supporting and coaching our students!

Japan Foundation Video Matsuri Contest

In  our Year 7 and 8 classes, we are making a film and encourage students to get creative and enter the Japan Foundation Video Matsuri Contest to be in the running to win awards and prizes. This contest closes on September 1^st and class teachers can assist your child with this entry.

2022 Japanese Art Competition

We invite students from all year levels to join in the Foxwell State Secondary College's Japanese Art Competition.

To enter, create an artwork inspired by Katsushika Hokusai’s iconic piece The Great Wave off Kanagawa (1831) and share the artwork to any Japanese teacher (Seesaw or email).

Entries close at the end of Term 3. If you have any questions, email Ms Yoshino (myosh15@eq.edu.au).

Here are our past winners for inspiration.

2021 SPIRIT Award: Lacey Ellis

2021 Student Choice Award: Jett Murray

2021 Staff Choice Award: Amritha Ravipati

Participants and winners for all contests will be celebrated in Term 4.

We encourage you to join in, connect and contribute through learning Japanese. Please speak to your Japanese teacher if you are keen to join.

Thank you for being learners in Japanese.

Can you imagine a world without oceans to swim in and explore?

Do you ever ask yourself where all the plastic bottles and bags go after you use them?

Did you know that almost half the world’s population rely on fish for food?

How do you feel knowing that every year an estimated 5 to 12 million metric tonnes of plastic enters the ocean?

These are some of the questions and ideas Year 7 and 8 students will be investigating in Enrich this term, as we dive into learning about the student-chosen topic of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 14: Life Below Water. This SDG aims to conserve and sustainably use the world’s ocean, seas and marine resources.

At the end of last term, students in Year 7 and 8 Enrich classes were involved in voting for the topic they wanted to study in Term 3. It was clear to see that we have many students passionate about protecting our marine environments with the vast majority of both cohorts voting for Life Below Water as their topic of interest.

Our aim for this unit is for students to saturate the school community (and social media) with their ideas to build awareness of and make a difference in preserving our marine environments. They will learn and investigate thought-provoking facts and statements and be able to create a range of objects to showcase their learning such as:

• infographics
• comic strips 
• short films
• Developing different marine environments in Minecraft Education
• Designing a way of tackling a marine issue (e.g. plastic pollution) and pitching it to a ‘panel of experts’

The passion and interest for this topic that students have demonstrated so far is inspiring and we look forward to seeing their creations as the unit continues.

In addition to this, classes are assigned challenges in Enrich to ignite their creative and collaborative thinking skills. Congratulations to students who won the word challenge in Week 1, with winners from other challenges to be revealed this week.

Ms Vickers

Head of Department – Teaching and Learning

Hi Foxwell families,

READY SET GO, the Foxwell colour explosion is happening on the 16th of September and is sure not to disappoint! Last year was our first year hotsing this event and it was a big success with the participating students. 2021 saw a large climbing frame, a tape spider’s web to navigate, army nets to crawl under, hanging pool noodles, and much much more. Please register online at australianfundraising.com.au. Booklets have been sent home with details. No cash, online only. A minimum of $10 is required to participate. Please ensure that a payment is made to the students profile in order to be added to this amazing and fun event. The final day for registration and payment is midnight on the 14th of September.

Due to popular demand at the athletics carnival, the P&C will also be holding a tuck shop selling confectionary and drinks, cash and eftpos will be accepted.

This event is the biggest fundraiser of 2022 which not only supports the P&C but also provides a great experience for the students. There are some great prizes up for grabs that students can order, and we will also have prizes for the most participating class per cohort. Details to follow.

The next P&C general meeting will be on Tuesday the 30th of August at 7PM via zoom, please email if you would like to join in. New members are welcome, a membership form can be emailed, guests are always welcome to attend too.

Thank you for your support, please email pandc@foxwellssc.eq.edu.au if you need more details

Have a wonderful long weekend, stay safe

Warm wishes

Roz Rowe

P&C President