Headmaster's Newsletter
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Headmaster Deputy Headmaster Head of Senior School Head of Junior School Director of Studies Established 1875 Director of Sport & Activities Director of Boarding Headmaster’s Director of Performance Library Newsletter Cadets Wednesday, 18 September 2019 Careers Adviser TGS Boarder Parents’ Support Group School Notices Uniform Shop At a Glance... Independent Schools and legislative requirements Engagement in the School - Boys, Parents & Staff The Sony Foundation Children’s Holiday Camp Parent-Teacher meetings - Tuesday, 8 October Term 4 - Summer Uniform Congratulations to all Year 12 students Year 11 students - Important information regarding Unit 3 in Term 4 Forthcoming Concerts in Term 4 Headmaster Deputy Headmaster Head of Senior School Head of Junior School Director of Studies Director of Sport & Activities Director of Boarding Director of Performance Library Cadets Careers Adviser TGS Boarder Parents’ Support Group School Notices Uniform Shop From the Headmaster Dear Parents, The following article refers almost exclusively to business principles both the government and the general public. These eight schools are and accountability and, as such, may not be of immediate relevance Toowoomba Grammar School, Brisbane Grammar School, Brisbane Girls’ or interest to many readers. If you do not want to know more about Grammar School, Townsville Grammar School, Rockhampton Grammar risk management and legislative compliance of independent schools School, Rockhampton Girls’ Grammar School, Ipswich Grammar School in Australia, then please ignore this article and look forward to a more and Ipswich Girls’ Grammar School. These eight Statutory Authorities interesting report from me in Term Four. Elsewhere in the newsletter in their Annual Report to the Government must include data and you will find reference to the commitment of our boys and their information relating to various legislative requirements involving the achievements and I always enjoy noting their involvement in both School’s Board of Trustees, Executive Management, Risk Management, and their academic studies and co-curricular pursuits. Somewhat sadly, Information Systems and Recordkeeping. The Annual Report must also a significant part of my duties as Headmaster now focusses around certify that the School complies with the prescribed requirements of the accountability and compliance with numerous regulations and pieces Financial Accountability Act and Financial and Performance Management of legislation. Principals and Heads of Schools across Australia have all Standard. The detailed financial statements of the School for the year noted this increasing trend. are also included in the Report together with an Independent Auditor’s Established 1875 Our School is a Statutory Authority and as such we must adhere to Report. A thorough account of the School’s enrolments, academic A GPS School for boys Prep - Year 12 numerous legislative requirements, far more than other independent profile, pastoral care and student wellbeing, boarding, community Boarders from Year 5 schools. You may be aware that as a Statutory Authority our School service, sporting and other co-curricular participation and so on are PO Box 2900, ToowoombaEstablished QLD 1875 4350 AUSTRALIA is required to produce an Annual Report and this is tabled in State also required in the Report. 24 Margaret Street, East Toowoomba QLD 4350 AUSTRALIA Parliament. This Annual Report to the Minister for Education and Minister Each of the eight Grammar Schools listed above is non- Telephone: (07) 4687 2500 Facsimile: (07) 4687 2666 for Industrial Relations is produced by only eight independent schools denominational by statute and all are governed in a similar way by Email: [email protected] in Queensland, notably the eight member schools of the Grammar a Board of Trustees. The Board of Trustees of Toowoomba Grammar ABN 86 510 299 250 - CRICOS Reg No. 00525D Schools Association of Queensland. No other independent schools in School to which I report is made up of seven Trustees who offer their Queensland are subject to such rigorous degrees of accountability by services on a voluntary basis. Four of these Trustees are appointed by Headmaster Deputy Headmaster Head of Senior School Head of Junior School Director of Studies Director of Sport & Activities Director of Boarding Director of Performance Library Cadets Careers Adviser TGS Boarder Parents’ Support Group School Notices the State Minister for Education and the remaining three are elected Relevant to the School’s Board of Trustees is the fact that the Chairman Uniform Shop from subscribers who are defined as any person who has donated of the Board, Mr Glen McCracken, has announced his retirement after more than $50 to the School. I take this opportunity to thank one of 31 years on the Board. At the time of his appointment on the Board, our School’s Trustees, Mrs Kym Murray, who resigned from this role in Mr McCracken was the youngest Trustee in the School’s history and August after over five years of dedicated service. A replacement Trustee he retires in December of this year following an incredible 21 years as has now been recommended to the Minister for Education and we are Chairman. Our School will have the opportunity to thank Mr McCracken awaiting confirmation of this appointment. Our Board of Trustees meets appropriately for his honorary and exceptional service over 31 years and monthly as a full board and three sub-committees also operate – Finance, in the hugely demanding role as Chairman of the Board of Trustees at Works, and Risk Management and Compliance. It is the last of these this year’s Speech Day and Prize Giving Ceremony. Please make a diary which increasingly takes more of my attention due to the legislative entry to note the date of this most important celebration. Our Speech requirements involved in school administration. Day and Prize Giving ceremony will take place at the Empire Theatre on Wednesday, 13 November commencing at 4:30pm. All independent schools in Australia also must comply with the Education (Accreditation of Non-State Schools) Act 2017. This is highly relevant at present as the Non-State Schools’ Accreditation Board (NSSAB) conducts five yearly reviews and Toowoomba Grammar School’s review is currently occurring. The review involves the preparation of documentation relevant to the operation of the School. Various criteria must be addressed in the supportive evidence and these criteria include Administration and Governance, Financial Viability, Educational Programs, Student Welfare Processes, School Resources, and School Improvement. The external validator of Toowoomba Grammar School’s report to the Non-State Schools’ Accreditation Board on this occasion was Dr Linda Established 1875 Evans, the Principal of Fairholme College, and I thank her for her efforts in assessing our submission. Continued government funding for the School is dependent upon successful reaccreditation by the NSSAB. One major part of the review by the NSSAB is an examination of the processes the School adopts for the reporting of sexual abuse, suspected sexual abuse, likely sexual abuse and reportable suspicions. Headmaster Deputy Headmaster Head of Senior School Head of Junior School Director of Studies Director of Sport & Activities Director of Boarding Director of Performance Library Cadets Careers Adviser TGS Boarder Parents’ Support Group School Notices The School’s webpage includes material relevant to this. Under section Uniform Shop 16 of the Education (Accreditation of Non-State Schools) Act 2017 the governing body of all independent schools must have procedures in place. School staff, students, students’ parents and guardians must be made aware of the written reporting processes and staff must be trained annually in implementing these processes. Such processes must be readily accessible to all staff, students, parents and guardians. Schools also must have a written complaints procedure to address allegations of non-compliance with the written reporting processes, which may form part of any of the schools’ other complaint procedures. Our school, as with all schools, has a legislative requirement to have strategies for responding to and reporting allegations of child abuse. Such abuse can be categorised under four areas namely physical abuse; psychological / emotional abuse; neglect; and sexual abuse or exploitation. All staff members have a responsibility to report suspected harm of students to me as Headmaster. The positive outcome of all of these legislative requirements upon the School is that it requires the School’s Senior Management (the School Executive) and the School’s Trustees to focus upon them for the sole purpose of enhancing student welfare and wellbeing. It is my wish that all boys attending our School feel engaged, valued, supported and academically extended and that their recollection of their school years will be most favourable and the efforts and sacrifices of their parents Established 1875 truly acknowledged. With best wishes, Peter B. Hauser Headmaster Headmaster Deputy Headmaster Head of Senior School Head of Junior School Director of Studies Director of Sport & Activities Director of Boarding Director of Performance Library Cadets Careers Adviser TGS Boarder Parents’ Support Group School Notices From the Deputy Headmaster Uniform Shop At Toowoomba Grammar School we seek for boys to be connected to The Queensland Independent Schools Parent Network (QISPN) the School and engaged in school life. Specifically, we aim for boys to