As we continue to grow and welcome new students and staff to the Foxwell State Secondary College community, I often spend time reflecting on the ‘Design your future school day’ we held on the YOT Club in mid-2019. In many ways this seems like so long ago, but in others it feels like yesterday. On this day, we listened to our incoming parents and students, our foundation staff and members of our future school community. We pondered what we wanted our school culture to be like and what we wanted most for our students. The thing that continues to stand out to me was that as The Foxwell Community, we wanted happy, strong, successful learners who had the skills and knowledge to be able to learn, think and act independently in a constantly changing global world. Whilst we never expected that 2020/2021 would challenge us in unexpected and unprecedented ways, we should be very proud that our Foxwell Community is making the most of every situation and ensuring that every child has the chance to 'succeed'. 

Quality learning and teaching is happening here in every lesson, every day, by teachers who are among the most inspiring and motivated teachers I have ever seen in my career. Making the most of 2021 at Foxwell SSC comes down to all of us working in partnership. The support, guidance, mentoring and coaching of our students is the joint responsibility of the College staff and parents/families, and from my experience the more we work together, the better the outcomes.

Attendance every single day is an absolute priority not just for individual students, but for the entire family unit. Sometimes, it does take a little more oomph to get our children out the door for school on time and completely prepared for the day, believe me, I know! But with clear expectations, support, encouragement (and after a full night's sleep and a healthy breakfast), our students will be best prepared for the day ahead, ready to take advantage of every opportunity available to them.

MADONNA KING PARENTING SESSION

On Thursday evening I attended Madonna King's parent forum related to her best selling books 'Being 14' and 'Ten-Ager'. She spoke passionately, and from her experience and research, about the important transitions our students go through on their way to adulthood. She covered the topics of resilience, peer relationships, parental boundaries, self-esteem and body image, social media, and friendships. She also reinforced the critical importance of the positive relationship between parents and their child's school, especially reminding parents to be aware of the language and messages shared with students about their child's teacher, school and education in general.   

I am very proud to have been included in this research and book and will share one of my quotes from the 'Ten-Ager'. Asked if given a wand, and one magic spell, what would I bring to every ten year old girl. My response, in fact, resonates with every child and young adult.

"My magical power is a personal superpower that allows them to retain their inner beauty and innocence, vulnerability and hope, whilst able to provide a force field of strength, courage, determination, grit and resilience that will allow them to know their self-worth, stand true to their beliefs, and always aspire to fulfill their own aspirations."

After a request from a member of our school community, I have asked Madonna King to present her parenting session to our Coomera Community to be hosted here at Foxwell. This will be open to our parents and families and also families from the local primary schools. Keep a look out for further information in the coming weeks.

OUR SPIRIT

We are proud of the supportive and caring culture of Foxwell, and equally proud that our students generally meet, and often exceed our high expectations for them. We are committed to our SPIRIT values and ensuring ‘SUCCESS’ for every student. Our culture of belonging, and pride in our school, ensures that students can achieve extraordinary things in a safe environment. We continue to focus on developing students who are well in both body and mind, and our commitment to Positive Education, and our strong stance against bullying, support this endeavour. We celebrate the diversity of our community and truly believe that ‘Our Diversity is our Strength’.

LEADERSHIP

Last week at our Assembly, we celebrated the leadership demonstrated not only by the elected leaders of 2020, but by all of the students in Years 7 and 8. You don’t need a badge to lead – you lead by your example, your words and your actions. I acknowledge and thank the elected leaders of 2020 and I look forward to welcoming and developing the Foxwell SSC Ambassadors for 2021. Knowing the calibre of students at our school, I know we are in safe hands.

I congratulate our wonderful students and exceptional staff on a brilliant start to 2021. From the individual students who were celebrated for their achievements on Assembly last week, to the quiet achievers who are meeting their learning or life goals, I applaud you. What I have observe in and out of the classroom makes me exceptionally proud to say that I am the Principal of Foxwell State Secondary College. Keep up the excellent work.

A THOUGHT TO PONDER

Our lives are complex and at times we face obstacles and challenges that seem to come from nowhere. Noone is exempt from this and people respond in many different ways. This week I share a strategy that helps me to be resilient and to cultivate optimism. My 19-year-old son once told me that the key to his successful life was to "LOOK UP". Looking up can mean different things to different people at different times. Look up to observe and celebrate the beauty of the world we live in. Look up from our phones and the potential negative influences of social media. Look up and truly engage with our family, friends, and strangers on the street. Look up in wonder at what our next adventure or achievement may be. Look up, because looking down will hold us back from what is possible in our lives. 

Until next time

Kym Amor

At the end of last year, we engaged in a review of our reporting processes. The decisions which emerged from this review were shared with our community and included:

• Report Cards will be issued at the end of each Semester (end of Terms 2 and 4);
• Report Cards will provide an A-E result for all key learning areas studied as well as a result (Excellent - Unacceptable) for Effort and Behaviour, according to our specific Guide to Making Judgements for Effort and Behaviour;
• Teacher-Parent interviews will be held early in Term 2 and Student-led Conferences will be conducted in Term 3.

As a College, we are moving towards the process of teachers engaging in the continuous reporting of students’ progression in learning to families. The way in which progression is reported by each faculty will differ according to their individual Learning Design (or Unit)  Plans. Continuous reporting aligns with our intentional approach to improving the progress of students and our focus on Kai-Zen – ongoing, continuous improvement. While a Report Card reports on a student’s achievement, continuous reporting allows teachers to report on a student’s progression at more frequent intervals. According to research, this approach is more impactful; students and families can track and understand the student’s progression and plan for next steps during the learning phase. Continuous Reporting also aligns with our College definition of success as well as our focus as a community: to provide students with every opportunity to experience accomplishment. Our staff are unrelenting in their focus as passionate professionals who are committed to supporting students in achieving their personal success.  

The key aspects of Reporting via a Report Card and Continuous Reporting are outlined below:

To ensure that you are able to access the information provided by your child’s teachers, please check your emails and child’s Seesaw regularly. As always, you are welcome to contact your child’s teachers at any time. Please also ensure that we have your current email address on our system so that your child’s Report Card is received by you at the end of each semester.

Thank you to those families who ensure that their child(ren) meet our Code of Dress on a daily basis. Thank you also to those families who follow our process when their child(ren) are unavoidably out of uniform.

For your information, we are now issuing 20-minute detentions to students who present to school in the incorrect uniform and who have not brought a note of explanation from a parent/carer. This process is clearly outlined in our Student Code of Conduct pp60 and 63. If you are unsure of the process please refer to the Student Code of Conduct which can be found on our website via the quicklinks section at the bottom of the home page. It can also be accessed here.

All students should have their hat every day and it should match the uniform they are wearing; wide brimmed hat with formal uniform and bucket hat with sports uniform.

If you have any queries regarding our Code of Dress and Appearance Policy, please contact our Heads of Students: Yr 7 - Mr Braiden Ruge and Yr 8 - Mr Dane Anderson 

We wish to remind you that our College officially opens at 8.15am as per our website opening hours. Students who arrive prior to our large double gates being opened must wait outside the school. This area is a public space and there is no supervision available. Students waiting in this area ought to be demonstrating responsibility and care for themselves and their peers.

Once the gates are open, students may enter the Learning Hub, remain in the Foyer area or transit to the Canteen precinct. Student lockers may be accessed and students must then leave the veranda area and move to Learning Hub or Canteen precinct or the Foyer.

Any student who needs to access Student Services may do so.

Students attending school early for excellence classes or extra-curricular activities must proceed directly to the prescribed area. Thank you for supporting the safety of our students.

All students need to join their Seesaw House Class.

They do so by following these instructions:

1. Go to app.seesaw.me
2. Choose "I’m a Student"
3. Sign in using school email address
4. Click on profile icon on the top left 
5. Click on the +Join Class button
6. Type in the code below that is relevant
7. Codes expire 9 August

Broadwater District Swimming Team

Last week saw a number of Foxwell students attend the Broadwater District competition for swimming.

Congratulations to Lachlan Potts, Jacob Inglis, Riley McMinn and Montana Atkinson who will be representing Foxwell and Broadwater District at the South Coast Swimming Trials on Monday. 

Tonie Carroll Cup

Unfortunately, last weekend the Tonie Carroll Cup was postponed due to the wet weather. We would like to wish our Year 7 Rugby League team luck as they continue training to participate in the Tonie Carroll Cup next weekend.

2021 Northern Gold Coast Netball Association (NGCNA) Representative Team

Congratulations to Aneta-Rose Austen, Charli McRae, Jahnae Hunt, Layla Mathias and Lily Haines. These Foxwell students were successful in being picked for the u12s NGCNA representative squad for 2021. They will be training for the State Age Carnival to be held on the Sunshine Coast later in the year.

Broadwater Sport Trials

UPCOMING TRIALS:

Nominations Due: Week 6 Monday 1st March:

Students interested in trialling for Broadwater District representation need to see Mr Taylor in the staffroom at lunchtimes or email their interest to trial to stayl328@eq.edu.au  

We have some keen debaters this year, which is fantastic to see and I’m sure the number of students participating will only grow in years to come. In fact, we are proud to be fielding four teams this year with both Year 7 and Year 8 students involved in debating.

The dates and times of upcoming debates are listed below. We ask that students arrive 10-15 minutes prior to the debate to ensure they are organised, prepared and settled.

There will be three long preparation debates to begin the competition, followed by two short preparation debates before the finals.

Students will be learning about debating this year and rotating through different roles. When we attend the competition, we are also expected to provide a chairperson and/or timekeeper for each debate as well as the speakers. Students willl be trainined in how to perform these roles.

Our debating teams currently meet each Friday during lunch and additional training sessions may be added in the future as we get closer to competition debates.

We look forward to keeping you abreast of our progress once the competition begins. We are very sure that our teams will make us proud through their demonstration of perseverance and teamwork.

The first round of The FUSE Cup required our competitors to come out with all dance moves blazing! Fierce competition, epic dance moves and relentless players helped spur on and strengthen the resolve of the Foxwell Mariners E-sports Team! Caitlyn, Lynia, Lochlan and Angel showed just how good they were in the face of adversity. Each player ‘Superstarred’ and ‘Megastarred’ their heats to progress to the semi-finals where they faced their biggest challenges. Only 200 points separated each round against strong opponents. Each player demonstrated their support and SPIRIT values, which led Foxwell to taking the overall second place spot in the first round of The FUSE Cup!

Congratulations and well done, Caitlyn De Reuck, Angel Noble, Lochlan Seyeg and Lynia Karaitiana! You should be proud of your sportsmanship and perseverance.

The Foxwell Mariners Esports team will be back stronger than ever for the next round of The FUSE Cup – Mario Kart!

We have a large number of items, hats and drink bottles especially, which have not been claimed and we cannot return to students, as they are unnamed. These un-named items will be disposed of, or reallocated, as previously advised.

Please ensure all of your child's belongings are clearly labelled for ease of return, should your child misplace them.

We have an ongoing concern with students accidentally taking other students’ bags due to the lack of obvious naming/identification. Again, please ensure your child has something on their bag to make it easily identifiable by them, such as through the addition of a key chain, name tag, written name or a ribbon.

Parents and Carers,

Head lice has been detected in the school. 

It is extremely important for you to check your child’s head for head lice.

If you do find head lice, commence treatment immediately and be sure to complete the process of treatment. This will help prevent head lice from spreading.

Remember to keep checking your family members' heads every 2 days until there are no head lice found for 10 consecutive days.

For further information regarding treating head lice, refer to the Department of Health’s factsheet attached to this article.

Your local pharmacist can provide advice regarding head lice treatment options and head lice combs.

To reduce your child’s risk of getting head lice, make sure that long hair is tied up and discourage children from sharing their brushes and combs and having head-to-head contact with others.

Remember - Anyone can get head lice: they have no preferences for cleanliness, hair colour, hair type, ethnicity or age.

If, for any reason, you are having difficulties treating the head lice on your child effectively, please contact the school on telephone on 07 5555 3333.