In preparation for our Year 10 Information evening it seemed fitting to reflect on the time we spent together as a community in 2019 designing our future school and the distance travelled together so far. I took the time to revisit our commitments to families across 2019, upon the announcement of a new school for Coomera and I was pleased to see that we have not faltered from our community vision for our school. Personalised learning continues to be a focus for our school, and is apparent in our unique Year 10 program. With students offered a diverse range of opportunities partnered with our strong cultural and community partnerships.

The following gallery of images are a collection of slides presented in May, August and November 2019. Our 'Design your Future School' event is captured in the below video. 

We continue to be guided by the five things that matter most to us at Foxwell: 

Our Year 10 Compass Years program is an exciting time for students in their preparation for senior schooling. In perusing the handbook you will find the introduction of language specific to Year 11 and 12 Queensland studies. It is important to recognise that the Queensland Curriculum and Assessment Authority (QCAA) outlines that the delivery of the Year 10 Australian Curriculum is the most appropriate and effective means of preparing students for their senior studies. Our program is developed in accordance with the Australian Curriculum, while also ensuring students have the opportunity to have exposure to courses linked to and preparing for the Queensland Certificate of Education (QCE) or Queensland Certificate of Individual Attainment (QCIA).

On Thursday 8th September our school community acknowledged R U OK?Day. This is our national day of action dedicated to reminding everyone that every day is the day to ask, “Are you OK?” and support those struggling with life's ups and downs.This R U OK? DAY we acknowledge that ‘There’s more to say after R U OK?’. We all have the ability to meaningfully connect and start a conversation with those who may be struggling. Using these four steps to start a conversation could change someone’s life:

1. Ask R U OK?
2. Listen
3. Encourage action
4. Check in

The end is most definitely in sight!  It has been such a massive term and I am sure that you are all on the count down until the holidays.  

Some reminders based on what has been coming across my desk in the last couple of weeks;

1. VPNs are not permitted at school.  This is a concern amongst Year 7s at the moment.  When a child has a VPN installed on their device, Education Queensland are unable to protect them from being exposed to inappropriate content.

2. Water guns and water balloons are not allowed at school.  These will be confiscated and consequences issued.

3. Online behaviour.  Students are reporting TikTok pages that sharing images etc from student's personal TikTok accounts.  Please ensure you are not engaging in this behavour.  Even liking or commenting on these pages can lead to consequences.  

Enjoy your last week!  I cant wait to see you out and covered in colour on Friday!

Hi everyone,

It was great to see and talk to so many of you at the Year 10 Subject Selection Information Night on Wednesday. It is such an exciting time for our Year 9s as they get to choose their PECs and Compass Courses for Year 10. I am so incredibly proud of these young people and how much they have achieved so far this year. 

End of Term Reminders:

• Please make sure that you have submitted/completed all necessary assessment tasks for all of your subjects. If you have been absent, please communicate with your teacher/s to ensure that you can submit your assessments correctly. If you need help in communicating with your teachers, please come and see me and Mr Afu in Student Services and we can help you with this.
• Please submit your SPIRIT card to myself or Mr Afu in Student Services if you have finished this, so that we can give you a prize before the end of the term. 
• Please ensure that your mobile phone is not on you or in your bag while you are at school - it needs to be in your locker or at home. 
• Please remember our expectations for lunchtime behaviour - you should never be out of bounds, or have any prohibited items such as deoderant cans, water balloons or water pistols. 

Thank you for a fantastic Term 3 Year 9s! As always - if you need anything, please email me at hfbra0@eq.edu.au. 

Mrs Arndt

What an exciting time for our whole G-STEM family, with so much happening in this space.

All G-STEM students are busy preparing for the Up & Atom G-STEM Fair next Wednesday 14th September. We are excited to be hosting Picnic Creek Primary School students throughout the day, to interact with our students' amazing passion projects, and to see what it would be like to study G-STEM at Foxwell. We will also open the event to parents and distinguished guests between 4-5pm, with University Professors, PhD students and Academics in attendance.

Our Year 7 G-STEM students have been individually partnered with their very own female mentor, matched to each student's particular area of passion, and have video called them every week, in class, to discuss the progress of their project. This critical learning opportunity is due to our program's unique partnership with Wonder of Science, which fosters the development and mentorship of aspiring STEM specialists, such as those in our G-STEM program.

G-STEM has also hosted it's first “Scientist in Residence” this term!

Foxwell is delighted to share that Professor Andrew Bulmer has joined Foxwell State Secondary College as its first Scientist in Residence, from the School of Pharmacy and Medical Sciences, Griffith University (Gold Coast Campus). Professor Bulmer is working with our GSTEM students in Yar 9, to help guide them in their research design and conduct of their projects. Professor Bulmer is a biomedical researcher, with a strong interest in heart, blood vessel and liver health, and works closely with industry and local hospitals. It is likely that you or your children might see Prof Bulmer at events throughout the year (i.e. Science week, awards presentations and excursions, and the Up & Atom G-STEM Fair), therefore, please feel free to introduce yourself and say hello. If you would like to find out more about Professor Bulmer’s activities please feel free to access the following link. https://experts.griffith.edu.au/7082-andrew-bulmer/about

Foxwell’s G-STEM partnership with Griffith University extends upon its existing relationship with the University of Queensland's Wonder of Science program, and demonstrates a strong commitment to raising awareness of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) in the community.

We are also excited to announce that G-STEM has become a First League Partner, and will be hosting multiple local schools on Saturday 12th November for the First Lego League competition. First League® inspires young people to be science and technology leaders and innovators by engaging them in exciting mentor-based programs that build science, engineering, and technology skills, that inspire innovation, and that foster well-rounded life capabilities including self-confidence, communication, and leadership. Students in Year 7 will participate in First Lego League, and students in Year 8 will participate in First Tech League, throughout term 4. 

In Year 7 Visual Art, students are applying a range of portrait drawing techniques and processes to create Artworks of iconic Australians.

Our Year 9 Ceramic students are just finishing the final colour glazing of their wide array of Ceramic pieces, ready for our upcoming display in Week 10 in the Gallery Walk.

We can’t wait to see the resolved works from all our students!

All Year 9 English students are reading a novel at the moment for their final English unit.  Please ensure that your student is reading their novel at home and is completing their retrieval chart so that they can hold their thinking about the novel in preparation for their assessment in Term 4.  Students have chosen one of the novels from those pictured below. Students are also reading a graphic novel called Escape to Syria.

A small but dedicated group of students went out into the Broadwater as part of the Geography - Sustainable Fishing unit and had a great day of trawling, yabbying and recreational fishing to understand the different impacts of fishing on the local ecosystem. All students caught at least one fish on the line with Hunter being the one with the biggest fish … that got away.

Our ALP students had a fabulous time at camp at QCCC Mount Tamborine on Monday and Tuesday this week.  We enjoyed Big Group Games, bushwalking, a survivor challenge, brain teasers and mental challenges as well as a scavenger hunt.  Students were wonderfully behaved and threw themselves into all activities with enthusiasm. They rose to every challenge and helped each other as well as collaborated with people they might not usually work with.  Mr Power, Ms Neville and Ms Goddaer are very proud of our students.  The kindness and eagerness to engage with any challenge put in front of them was a credit to Foxwell.