At Toowoomba Grammar School, our staff know adolescence is a complex time in the lives of our boys.
As we approach the end of Term 3, we find it is typically a time when boys start to get tired and emotional and are most likely to make poor decisions that can lead to relationship challenges between peers. Comments and humour shared between mates that may have been received without concern in the first week of the term may change as boys start to tire and their tolerance levels decrease. This may lead to boys reacting with heightened and overly emotional responses. This is normal as boys are also navigating their position in social groups within different settings.
Our experienced Toowoomba Grammar School staff, who consciously choose to work in a boys’ school, address these challenges with the boys by suggesting strategies that will assist the students to navigate their way through these challenging situations. Our dedicated Head of Pastoral Care, working in close partnership with the Head of Senior School and other pastoral staff, focuses on building coping mechanisms and strategies to improve student welfare.
One of the primary goals of the Head of Pastoral Care is connecting with students through authentic and genuine relationships. The role requires a considered and measured response to incidents as they occur. Key staff are included in the building of plans to assist and guide students to make better decisions and understand how these decisions impact others around them.
Strategies to manage negative peer interactions
At TGS, we adopt different approaches to equip the boys with the skills to function socially with each other. Through the School’s explicit Wellbeing and Character Development program, we teach boys ways to address bullying as both a victim and a bystander. If a boy is comfortable addressing negative interactions directly with his peers, we initially suggest they refer to these strategies:
- Humour — a means to de-escalate the situation by learning the art of laughing at oneself will often lead to these challenging moments decreasing.
- Compliments — responding to a taunt with a compliment can be very disarming to the student who has made a negative or inappropriate comment.
- The “so” statement — asking a student “So what?” can be an easy way to shut down the student that is generating the negativity in a peer relationship. For example, when a boy says to another boy “You didn’t play very well on Saturday”, the student can respond with “So what?”. Often the implication of being asked a secondary question can catch the offender off guard and diffuse the situation.
Toowoomba Grammar School employs a very clear behaviour management policy across four tiers of comprehensive responses linking consequences to actions that may have impacted another student’s wellbeing.
If a student at Toowoomba Grammar School is experiencing difficulty and is challenged by attempting to manage this situation on their own, then the students are encouraged to complete an online bullying notification that is forwarded to Mentors, Heads of House and senior staff. These notifications are actioned by staff in a meeting with the student where they cooperatively develop an action plan to address the matter.
If you are worried about your son, bullying and his interactions with his peers, our SchoolTV channel offers great advice.
We also recommend the book Bullied: What every parent, teacher and kid needs to know about bullying and the cycle of fear, as it contains very practical advice.
Latest Blog
A Holistic Approach to our Boarders' Activities Program
A true education is about much more than just lessons in a classroom. It’s about providing experiences that challenge a child, physically and mentally. It’s about providing opportunities that build independence, resilience and that help develop their good character. Toowoomba Grammar School is proud to offer a broad and liberal education that stretches way beyond the walls of a classroom and equips our boys with the skills to flourish as an individual. We offer a diverse and engaging…
A Beginner's Guide to Manga
If your son has brought home a book with big eyed characters, and he seems to be reading backwards, chances are, he's discovered Manga. The Dent library has a Manga collection that would be the envy of many schools, with over 100 unique titles. It Is easily the most visited section in the library, over half of the top 100 titles borrowed this year are Manga! But what is Manga? Manga is an umbrella term for a variety of print comics and graphic novels originating from Japan. Unlike western…
A Safe, Welcoming and Joyous Community
Tell us about yourself My background, at least that associated with boarding and teaching, is long and varied with a number of different aspects leading to this chosen career path. For the most part, I was schooled in Canberra but had extended periods in Lesotho, Norfolk Island, and Samoa as a result of my father’s work in foreign aid. My schooling was quite disruptive, and I wasn’t a model student! I was always passionate about English; often distracting myself (amongst other things) immersed…
Facilitating Respect
Recently the 2022 TGS Prefect group spoke at the Headmaster’s Assembly about respecting individuality. But what does this mean? The foundations for a successful relationship with peers, family, co-workers, and others is framed and supported by a two-way street of respect. However, for this two-way street to be functional it is important to know that respect cannot be demanded, it can only be earned. Toowoomba Grammar School is no different and respect is nurtured in various forms such as in the…
The Benefits of Early Learning at TGS
Making a decision about our children’s education can be difficult; especially when there are so many options available. Once upon a time parents simply sent their children to the school that was a walkable distance from home. Much research has evolved since the early 1900s about what is best for our children to foster a love of learning and feel confident and safe in the classroom. Here at Toowoomba Grammar School, we take this very seriously. Pastoral care comes before anything else; we see…
Outside of the Text Book
“The limits of my language mean the limits of my world.” — Ludwig Wittgenstein There is no denying that learning a foreign language can sometimes be a challenging experience, particularly with limited opportunity to practise outside the classroom. However, learning a language is a skill that will add to many facets of your life, often without you even realising, and as part of a well-rounded education, the value of language learning cannot be underestimated. "A different language is a…
TGS Academic Enrichment Program for Boarders
Toowoomba Grammar School provides an inspiring and broad curriculum for boys, delivered by dedicated educators who understand how to engage boys in their learning. Our staff go above and beyond in providing an outstanding education and support network for our boys. They are regularly available to answer questions, assist with homework and assignments and provide academic support for all our students. This is particularly so for our boarders, thanks to our Academic Enrichment Program (AEP). All…
Teacher as a Student
As a teacher at Toowoomba Grammar School, I teach mathematics and business studies, and manage the GPS Chess team. Prior to teaching, I worked as a financial analyst. Recently I have completed a master's degree in science at the University of Southern Queensland. My study was focused exclusively on data science, and I have become an expert in the management of big data with a specialisation in modelling and forecasting using machine learning techniques. The motivation for this study was…
Developing Healthy Relationships
Healthy relationships are extremely important for the development of mental health in our youth. When you spend time with people you care about, who care about you, this can help you feel connected and supported. This term is one of the largest in regard to boys participating in activities and sports ranging from field, to court, to thought. This is in addition to music and drama programs. At Toowoomba Grammar School, we believe this allows for plenty of opportunity to develop the ability to…
