Mr Eugene Massi – Head of House – Taylor Boarding
To develop men of good character is the main aim of Toowoomba Grammar School’s new Head of Taylor Boarding House, Mr Eugene Massi.
“The unique environment of Boarding provides an opportunity unlike any other. It allows for boys to connect with each other, develop meaningful and long-lasting relationships and allows them to develop and grow as individuals,” said Eugene.
Eugene is grateful for his positive role-models in pastoral care as a young high school student. He said he was given a lot of care and compassion, which he needed, and he’s keen to replicate that with his boarders.
“The boarding dynamic has an impact on the rest of your life,” he stated.
“As a carer, I have the opportunity to get to know each boy on a personal level. I want to extend them beyond who they think they might be, to who they are and then to the type of man that they want to be.
“Essentially I’m helping develop good young men who will have a positive impact on their families, friends and within their community, when they graduate from TGS.”
Eugene has had a long involvement in boarding, from his days as a student to leading boys in boarding both here in Australia and overseas.
Spending two years casual teaching after graduating from The Australian College of Physical Education, Eugene decided to visit the UK for six weeks. That six weeks became six years landing an exciting role as a PE teacher and Year Coordinator Thomas More Catholic School in the UK.
“It was such a phenomenal experience and a great learning ground,” said Eugene.
“I was given opportunities that I never would have had until much later in my career if I had stayed in Australia.”
Eugene thoroughly enjoyed working with some very challenging children and it sparked his love for the pastoral care component of education.
“Some of these kids had really tough lives, so it was amazing to be able to guide them with care, compassion and attention. I helped extend their view of where they could go and the kind of people they could become. It showed them they didn’t have to be pigeon-holed.”
Eugene remains in contact with some of his past Thomas More students, now in their 30s, today.
His career took him to Appleby College and then Crescent School in Toronto as a Boarding Master and teaching PE, as well as coaching the snow skiing team and 1st XV rugby team.
Eugene decided to return home to Sydney in 2012 and began his Masters in Mathematics at the University of Notre Dame. He commenced at Saint Augustine’s College in 2017 where he was again heavily involved in pastoral care as a Head of House.
Last year Eugene, and his wife Karri, decided it was time for a change from city life to a more relaxing, family-focussed community for their four-year-old daughter, Emilia and they are thrilled to be part of TGS.
“There is a lot of history and tradition at TGS. I’m excited for this new generation of students to be able to continue those traditions and leave their own mark in a positive way, and developing new traditions that will also become part of the TGS experience,” said Eugene.
Latest News
Prestigious Bell Scholarship award for TGS Graduate
Toowoomba Grammar School 2022 Year 12 graduate, Ryan Murphy is one of only four aspiring young actors who have been announced as the winners of a prestigious scholarship with renowned theatre company Bell Shakespeare. The 2022 John Bell Scholarship is a life-changing opportunity for young actors from regional Australia to learn from some of the country’s most accomplished actors, directors, and educators. Ryan was selected alongside Joe Appleton from Ballarat Grammar, Victoria; Lilliana…
TGS celebrates ATAR Achievements
Congratulations to our 2022 ATAR students for excellent results, highlighted by an improvement in the median ATAR. We would also like to acknowledge the dedication and efforts of all the teachers who have supported and guided these students throughout their education at Toowoomba Grammar School. Here are some of the key details from the 2022 TGS QCE results. The median ATAR is 87.6 (an improvement from 84.1 in 2021), whilst the mean ATAR is 82.8310.4% of students achieved an ATAR of 95 or…
TGS Graduate Accepted to NIDA
Congratulations TGS Old Boy (2014-21) Hamish Wells, selected for the prestigious National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA) for 2023. Hamish will be studying Musical Theatre. He is the second TGS student in two years to be accepted into NIDA, joining Harrison Mills (2015-21) who commenced his studies there at the start of 2022 for a Bachelor in Performing Arts, Film and Television. TGS was also recognised as Toowoomba's Most Successful Drama school at the Toowoomba Eisteddfod this year.Hamish…
TGS Retains Tom Allen Trophy
A superb effort by the Toowoomba Grammar School 1st XI cricket team has seen them retain the Tom Allen Memorial Trophy on Tuesday, 22 November 2022. This was the 69th match between the two schools, with top players lining up for both 1st XI teams in the 50 over match. The final scoreboard: Downlands was all out for 57, TGS replied with 6 for 246 off 32 overs. TGS currently dominates the scorecard with 46 wins to Downlands 16 and seven draws/wash outs over the years. The Tom Allen Memorial…
New Program Showcases 'Cool' Career Opportunities for TGS students
On Wednesday, 26 October 2022 Toowoomba business NRG Services donated a mobile cold room valued at $17,000, proudly built by Toowoomba Grammar School students under close supervision of NRG tradespeople as part of a newly developed school-based training program. It’s part of a new forward-thinking school-based training program to address a trade skills shortage in the booming refrigeration industry, that also saw two students offered apprenticeships with NRG Services. NRG collaborated with…
Volleyballers Ace the Nationals
Toowoomba Grammar School volleyballers have come away with a swag of medals from the recent Australian Youth Volleyball Championships. Three TGS boys were selected to represent Queensland at the titles Beau Fowler (U18 White), Hussein Yusaf (U17 Maroon - captain) and Rory Webster (U15 Maroon) with Miss Jessica Russell-Croucher (U16 White) and Mr Eric Smith (U14 White) representing as coaching staff. Additionally, Old Boy, Mr Timothy Cottman-Fields was also a part of the 230 strong delegation,…
International Showjumping Champions
Toowoomba Grammar School is celebrating the achievements of Year 8 students Tom Sturgeon and Xavier De Ceuster who won the Royal Pacific Showjumping Challenge, along with their teammates Ellie Michel and Savannah De Ceuster from The Glennie School. The four equestrians, all from the Darling Downs, were selected to represent Australia for the Under 17 international competition held in New Caledonia on October 21, competing against Vanuatu, New Zealand, Tahiti and New Caledonia. Each competitor…
2022 GPS Basketball Premiers - TGS!
The Toowoomba Grammar School community is celebrating following a history-making win on the weekend. Our 1st V Basketball team has taken out the prestigious 2022 GPS Premiership, after a nail-biting victory over Gregory Terrace on Saturday. There are nine GPS Schools involved in the competition, regarded as the highest level high school basketball competition in Queensland, so this victory effectively rates TGS as one of the best basketball-schools in the State! The 2022 1st V is regarded as…
TGS is The School of Rock
Toowoomba Grammar School is proud to play a leading role in the production of Toowoomba Choral Society’s major musical production for 2022 - "School of Rock". TGS has five staff, two students and a TGS Old Boy involved in the Production: TGS Director of Performance, Mr Mark Chalmers is the On-stage Band Mentor and Guitar 1 in the Pit Band which accompanies the show;TGS Teacher-in-Charge of Music Curriculum, Mrs Wendy Evans is the Musical Director;TGS Old Boy (2009-13), Christopher Thomson is…
