Foxwell State Secondary College is proud of its culture and reputation for high expectations around behaviour, respectful relationships, student engagement, and of course kindness.

The vast majority of our school community lives and breathes our SPIRIT values and needs little reminder to live with integrity and do the right thing whether someone is watching or not.

Others, for a variety of reasons, need reminders, support and sometimes consequences to ensure they meet our College Community expectations.

To continually improve our school culture and ensure the safety and well-being of every member of our College community, we monitor and address inappropriate behaviours and acknowledge and reward positive behaviours. Our Student Code of Conduct clearly outlines our expectations and processes. 

Over the past month we have swiftly addressed some inappropriate behaviours reported to us including harassment, IT misconduct, offensive language, physical misconduct, and misconduct in the bike racks and on buses.

Be assured that these incidents have been investigated and consequences as outlined in our Student Code of Conduct have been imposed.

Where appropriate we have involved QPS and Queensland Health via our School Youth Health Nurse.

We have also worked in partnership with parents to address these behaviours.  

Whilst, due to privacy, we can not disclose the specific consequences to the community or even all involved parties, rest assured we take all breaches seriously. We remain proud of our proactive and responsive approach.  

One area of growing concern across Australia is vaping. Until recently, we were not aware of any instances of this in our College community.

Immediately after becoming aware of a student who was in possession of a vaping instrument. we acted in accordance with our Code.

Parents were involved, and consequences and an Education program were implemented.

I urge parents to be vigilant in relation to vaping and speak with your children as a matter of urgency.

As a school, we will deliver education to all students with the support of Queensland Health and QPS.

"Puff bars that are used to vape are becoming popular with teens on the Gold Coast. Puff bars are easily purchased online, some sites selling them for less than $10.00.

Each Puff Bar uses nicotine salts a formula that allows for much higher levels and efficient delivery of nicotine. Nicotine strength can be as high as 5% in Puff Bars.

Young people who vape are not only risking nicotine addiction — the effects of nicotine exposure could also be harming brain development, altering nerve cell functioning and changing brain chemistry"

Vaping is treated the same as cigarettes when considering disciplinary action at our college. This includes during school time and while travelling to and from school.

The second area of serious concern is social media and cyber bullying.

Although we can assist in this space through targeted education, and addressing incidents that cross our gates, we cannot address this alone.

I join parents in their astonishment and frustration about what I see students send or share via Social Media. 

Parents, you need to be vigilant.

You need to monitor and address your child's online interactions and behaviour.

It is not only your right to monitor their phones and iPads, it is your responsibility. 

You need to educate your child about the implications for them and others when misusing social media.

And, where necessary, you need to report cyber bullying or illegal social media behaviours, (including sexting or threatening messages), to Queensland Police Service. 

Whilst our school has a role to play in educating your child about the implications, we are not responsible for what your child is doing from your home or at the local shopping centre on the weekend. 

But let’s work together so we can make a difference and keep everyone safe and well.

Please remember that social media sites including TikTok, Facebook, Instagram and SnapChat, have clear age restrictions which are in place to protect children from harm.

Make sure your child is not breaching these restrictions and accesssing apps or sites that are not age appropriate.

Please remember that if your child observes inappropriate behaviour at school or on the way to and from school, they are encouraged to report this, even ‘anonymously’.

This gives us the opportunity to address any issues immediately.

Let’s encourage our children to be upstanders, not bystanders. Parents, if you have concerns about student behaviour, please speak directly to one of Heads of Year, a Deputy Principal or me.

We cannot address behaviours of which we are not aware. 

I applaud members of our community who continue to proudly represent and promote our school in the local community. We are proud of our Foxwell College community and all that we are doing to provide a World of Opportunity for the secondary students of the Northern Gold Coast.

Until next time

Kym Amor

Foxwell State Secondary College is celebrating Harmony Week from Monday 15 to Friday 19 March, with a range of activities to celebrate Australia’s cultural diversity. 

A highlight of this week will be our celebrations on Wednesday 17 March: 

• Parents and Carers are invited to join our students and staff at our Harmony Week and Leadership Assembly at 9.00am. As part of this ceremony, we will enjoy a Japanese dance and drum performance. 
• At lunchtime, our students will then enjoy a free performance by Passado Afro-Latin Dance in the amphitheatre. 
• Our chef, Alessandro, is offering a Harmony Week Canteen Meal deal on Wednesday, including either an Italian Meal Deal or Japanese Meal Deal for $10.   

We will finish the week with our marking of the National Day Against Violence and Bullying where students are invited to wear an orange shirt on Friday 19 March in support of our commitment to this day. Students will still be required to wear their school shorts/skirt, school hat and regular school shoes.

We’re looking forward to this week where inclusiveness, respect and a sense of belonging for everyone is celebrated! 

The eSafety Commissioner is hosting a new webinar for the NDA 2021- eSafety's parent guide to cyberbullying and online drama.

This webinar will look at how parents and carers can support young people to have safe and respectful online relationships and what to do if things go wrong. 

It will cover: 

• starting conversations with your child about their online friendships and positive ways to deal with changing relationships
• understanding the rights, laws and community expectations that govern social media use
• where to seek help if your child is involved in a cyberbullying incident. 

The webinar will include case studies, research and targeted advice so you can support the young people in your life to have safe, enjoyable online experiences.

This live webinar explores the latest research and they are a great way to learn how you can help your child develop the skills to be safer online.  

All sessions are delivered by eSafety's expert education and training team. 

Dates (Australian Eastern Daylight Time): 

Tuesday 16 March 7.30 to 8.30 pm 

Wednesday 17 March 12.30 to 1.30 pm 

Wednesday 17 March 7.30 to 8.30 pm 

Thursday 18 March 3.30 to 4.30 pm 

Monday 22 March 12.30 to 1.30 pm

Please follow this link to register 

https://register.gotowebinar.com/rt/2898435107213971215 

It is with much excitement we introduce our 2021 Student Leadership Team. This year, our leadership team consists of a combination of Year 7 and Year 8 students. The positions of School Ambassadors and House Captains are reserved for the oldest cohort; in 2021, our Year 8 students.

Leading our student body for 2021 are our four School Ambassadors:

Ashvyn Roy, Bonnie Smeltz, Edwina Vassallo and Yoyo Chang.

Congratulations to all successful candidates!

We would like to take the opportunity to thank the large number of candidates and commend them on the high standard of not only their application, but also the leadership qualities which bring through our gates on a daily basis.

Leadership is more than having a badge and a title and all about actions and integrity. We acknowledge that all candidates will continue to be leaders in their own right in our College and will have opportunities made available to them over the course of the year to further develop their leadership skills.

We understand that from time to time, a student may be absent school. In this instance parents/carers are required to comply with their compulsory schooling obligation by providing a reasonable excuse for these absences.

We do however understand, in these COVID times, that students who are unwell are best to stay at home.

Current Foxwell students are of compulsory school age and are required to attend every school day, unless an alternate agreement has been entered into with the college. Under the law, parents/carers must make sure their child attends school on all school days unless there is a reasonable excuse, which is to be communicated with the college by following the relevant processes.

School absenteeism can impact significantly on students' learning and wellbeing.

Did you know that missing one day of school each week adds up to 2 months missed over a year?

Research shows that in Queensland, higher student attendance is associated, on average, with higher student achievement. Additionally, attending school every day helps children to build social and emotional skills such as communication, teamwork and resilience.

The Department of Education provides some good resources to support student attendance at school.

Regular school attendance (DOC, 304KB)

Anxiety about going to school (PDF, 291KB)

How can I get my teenager to go to school? (PDF, 863KB)

If your child is having persistent challenges attending school, please contact Deputy Principal Zana Schroeder zschr2@eq.edu.au  directly to discuss how best to support you and your child.

It has come to our attention recently that a small number of Foxwell students are not demonstrating our SPIRIT values whilst traveling on buses. In particular, some students are behaving in a way that is both irresponsible and disrespectful. This includes, but not limited to, eating and drinking on the bus and leaving rubbish behind, smearing food onto glass and seats, damaging others' property and use of profanities. This kind of behaviour is unacceptable. Students who engage in these behaviours have had and will continue to have consequences applied in keeping with our Student Code of Conduct.

At Foxwell, we have high expectations of student behaviour and are explicit in ensuring that all students know what is expected of them in all areas of our College and when traveling to and from school. Last week, Mrs Amor and Ms Schroeder travelled on the buses, with students, to remind them of the expectations and to manage any behaviours that were inappropriate.

In addition to the College’s high expectations of students, The Department of Transport and Main Roads publishes The Code of Conduct for School Students Travelling on Buses.  If you have a child who travels to and/or from school on buses, please familiarise yourself with this document. Bus operators are within their rights to apply consequences for breaches of the Code of Conduct which could include:

• a written caution
• a period of refused bus travel
• a behaviour agreement
• other consequences as agreed to by stakeholders

Please be advised we continue to advocate with the bus operator and TransLink for additional bus services to reduce overcrowding on the bus to Coomera Waters and to provide a new service route to Upper Coomera.

This is a busy time of term for assessment for our students. In order to support students, we would like to draw your attention to the parent responsibilities as outlined in our Learning Policy. It is important that school and home work in partnership to provide the best opportunities for success, for our students.

Parent Assessment Responsibilities:

• At the commencement of each term, become familiar with the Assessment and Learning Calendar. This includes accessing this calendar via Student SharePoint and syncing to a personal native calendar and/or accessing a copy from the week 2 school newsletter.
• In consultation with your child, identify when summative assessment submission due dates or examination periods fall, and plan for this as a family.
• Discuss the Assessment Task Sheet with your child to clarify understanding, set goals and assist with developing home support.
• Monitor your child’s progress towards the completion of both draft and final assessment by regularly checking feedback on student work in Seesaw.
• Please monitor emails for teacher communication in the event your child has not sumbitted a draft.
• Follow the requirements outlined for Year 7 - 10 Special Provision requests and Year 11 - 12 AARA requests for both summative assessments and examinations.

As explained in the previous newsletter, our process of continuous reporting involves teachers providing students with feedback on work completed in class and for assessment, as well as results, across the term. Please ensure that you are accessing this information and discussing your child's progress with him/her, not only when assessment is due but during the entire term.

Please see the upcoming assessment dates for next week.

Year 7

If you have any questions or concerns, please contact our Heads of Students: Year 7, Mr Braiden Ruge bruge3@eq.edu.au and Year 8, Mr Dane Anderson dande230@eq.edu.au.

Last year, students in our Excellence Programs, as well as any other students who wished to be involved, completed ICAS assessments in a variety of subjects.  Unfortunately, the results and certificates for these did not arrive until the end of the year and we were unable to present these until this year. 

Our students sat assessments in Science, Mathematics, English and Digital Technologies and are to be congratulated on the way that they approached participating in these assessments; all were highly engaged and demonstrated great perseverance.

Students were presented with their participation certificates in class and those who received certificates of achievement at a higher level were presented with their certificates on assembly.

ICAS awards the following certificates:

• High Distinction – Top 1%
• Distinction – next 10% (top 11%)
• Credit – next 25% (top 36%)
• Merit – next 10% (top 46%)
• Participation – all remaining participants

Student who received these certificates were:

 Distinction Certificates – top 11% of participants

• Yoyo Chang – Digital Technologies

 Credit Certificates – top 36% of participants

• Paige Gatti – Science
• Cooper Hayden – Science, English and Digital Technologies
• Sidharth Singh - Science

 Merit Certificates – top 46% of participants

• Maikayla Campbell – English
• Elizabeth Pomeroy – Science
• Sidharth Singh – Digital Technologies

Students will participate in ICAS assessments again this year.  If students are in an Excellence Program, one of these assessments will be covered by their program fee.  All students may participate in the ICAS assessments if they wish but will need to pay to participate.  The fees are $17.05 for each of the English, Maths, Science and Digital Technologies Tests and $21.45 for Writing. The assessments and will take place in August this year.  You will receive more information regarding ICAS in Term 2 .

We are excited to announce that we have confirmed a date for our 2021 Year 8 two-day expedition camp. Students will sleep in tents under the stars and will get back to nature and enjoy a range of outdoor adventure activities.

When: 13-15^th October 2021

Cost: TBC in the vicinity of $320

The focus of the camp will be challenge, resilience, confidence and leadership. These skills will be developed by incorporating onsite activities and expedition experiences away from the distractions of technology and modern conveniences.  

More details will be provided when the Letters of Invitation are finalised. These will be emailed to parents/carers so please ensure that your contact details are up-to-date. Payment plans will be available.

FOXWELL Instrumental Music

Our growing strings and instrumental ensemble groups have been making musical waves as the students have started working on new music conducted by specialist teachers Mrs Cindy Kerkow and Ms Helen Wyatt. These students have been committed to their weekly lessons and group rehearsals and hope to collaborate throughout the year with our other amazing Arts groups.

FOXWELL Dance Troupe

Our very first Dance Troupe commenced in Week 5 after a resounding number of students auditioned over a two-week period.  Choreographed and directed by Mrs Lauren Riches, our group of 19 talented dancers have been rehearsing each Thursday lunch time, preparing various dance pieces to perform both on and off campus this year.  The students are looking forward to showcasing their dance works soon.

FOXWELL Drama Festival

Directed by Ms Collette Wilson, ‘Paper Cranes’ is a collaborative piece that tells the story of Sadako and the Hiroshima bombings and the impacts on civilisation. The 30-strong cast of students is really enjoying learning more about the Japanese culture through movement, voice, music and projection and have utilised the inquiry process to mould the story. We can’t wait to see their competition performance in Term 2!

FOXWELL Art Club

Mrs Jody Swader has been busy helping students create a Foxwell Tree of Life, inspired by artist Gustav Klimpt. This project allows students to create a lovely working space and to learn techniques and processes of Art using oil pastels. The students meet each week during Monday lunchtime and are also working towards entering competitions such as designing the poster for NAIDOC Week 2021 and ‘Design a Library for the Future’.

FOXWELL Creative Voices

An amazing group of students across Years 7 & 8 is collaborating every Enrich lesson on a Wednesday and early each Thursday morning in their Creative Voices classes to devise and rehearse in one-of-three amazing Drama projects.  Lead by Ms Collette Wilson, Mrs Lauren Riches and Mrs Cara McLennan, the students are exploring the themes of identity, status and resilience, and refine their on-stage techniques. 

FOXWELL Choir

Under the guidance of Mrs Kate Shaw, our talented choir has been preparing for its first official performance at the upcoming Harmony Day parade.  Our early Monday morning practices have been well attended and has been a wonderful way to kick-start the week for students and staff.

FOXWELL Social World – Year 7

What a fantastic start for our newest cohort in Social World as they dive into the dramatic yet comedic play, Compass by Jessica Bellamy, a wonderful text that explores the themes of trust, friendship and leadership and encourages us to question our own moral compass.  In Drama, students have been busy identifying core relationships within the text to establish how our actions and behaviours impact our daily life and create dramatic tension.  Students studying Art are creating a 2D folio using drawing, painting and mixed media techniques to create artworks that explore the concept of ‘self identity’.  In English, students have been considering their own conclusion for the play Compass, using script techniques to engage their audience. 

FOXWELL Social World – Year 8

The year has started by immersing ourselves in one of three novel studies to guide our exploration of the inquiry question: What is my footprint? Students will use their knowledge and understanding of language features to devise a prologue, epilogue or a chapter intervention during English.  Moving into the Dance space, students have been taking on the role of historical leaders Alexander Hamilton or Aaron Burr as they learn the choreography for Ten Duel Commandments from the musical, Hamilton.  Students have demonstrated great teamwork and commitment as they learn and prepare for their duo performance later this term.  In Art, students have been working collaboratively using various materials to create a stop motion animation to highlight an important teen message.

Interschool Sport at Foxwell

Last Thursday, students at Foxwell were given the opportunity to sign up to inter-school sport teams. We had over 270 students nominate for their preferred sport. Interschool Sport will be a four-day cluster competition with schools around the area.

They are scheduled to be held for a full day on four Tuesdays throughout Terms 2 and 3.

We are currently finalising teams and will distribute  permission letters to students as soon as possible.

Any students still wanting to sign up, should email as soon as possible their name, year level and sport to stayl328@eq.edu.au

Tonie Carroll Cup

Congratulations to Mr Way and his Year 7 Rugby League team on competing in the Tonie Carroll Cup last weekend. There have been great reports from parents and students about how much fun they had. Our team should be proud of their first competitive effort, coming away with a win against Beenleigh and plenty of important lessons from the losses.

Titans Schools League Competition

All Year 7 and 8 boys who are interested in playing for Foxwell in the Titans School Cup in Term 2 need to sign up as soon as possible with Mr Way via his email jtway0@eq.edu.au. 

Inferno National Touch League

It is not only our students who demonstrate excellence through their sporting endeavours. This week we also celebrate Physical World & Healthy World staff member, Cameron Saye, who is playing representative Touch Football in the 2021 Inferno National Touch League competition in Coffs Harbour! Good luck Mr Saye!

Kokoda Youth Challenge

Kokoda permission forms have been distributed to the 40 students who will be representing Foxwell SSC in 10 teams in the 2021 Kokoda Youth Challenge: Gold Coast in July this year. Training information will be shared with families, direct from each team’s teacher leader, once permission forms are returned.

9v9 School Soccer Competition

Weather has not been our friend, but we persisted, and trials were held this week to select a girls and a boys team to participate in the 9v9 Pacific Pines Soccer competition to be held at the end of April. Students who have been successful in making this team will receive a permission form and competition information in the coming days. 

Extra-curricular AFL

Extra-curricular AFL will be commencing in Week 10 of this term and continuing throughout Term 2. This program is open to all interested students (prior experience is not necessary) and will take place on Monday afternoons from 3:30 to 4:30pm at the College. We are proud that this extra-curricular program can be offered free of cost, courtesy of our ongoing relationship with the Gold Coast Suns. 

Broadwater Representation – Touch Football

Well done to Chezaan Kainui in Year 8 who has been selected in the Girls Touch Football Broadwater team. She will now attend a South Coast selection trial in the coming weeks. Good luck, Chezaan.

Broadwater Sport Trials

UPCOMING TRIALS:

Nominations Due - Week 10, Tuesday 30th March

Nominations Due TERM 2 Week 1 Tuesday 20th April

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  

Thank you

Mr Taylor

2021 Gold Coast Debating Competition Update – changes in blue