Years 5 and 6 Program Leader | Mr Brendan Ganley

Week 4 was such an exciting week for the College as we celebrated students receiving a record number of academic medals, not just for outstanding results but for those students from their respective year levels who had made the most improvement in their studies. These two weeks have also been an opportunity for Parent/Teacher/Student mentoring to take place. Mentoring is a significant component of the pastoral system for our young men at Terrace. Through all year levels, academic mentoring took focus. Tutors and class teachers have taken the time to work through each student’s results and to plan ahead with strategies for individual progress in mind. This mentoring has extended to the interviews in the Campbell Centre with class teachers.

This particular mentoring exercise may have been specifically academic focussed but personal supervision in all areas of school life for young men takes place each and every day and is a special feature of the Terrace community. From Edutopia it is argued that ‘mentoring is best when it is early and often’. The culture embedded in Terrace is that there is constant communication with our young men to provide them with the skills and knowledge for the days and years to come. These skills may be in the classroom, the school yard or even in our interactions on the sporting field. 

The building of positive friendships in the early years at Terrace is another important focus. At times, we would wonder how to begin and foster friendships. It is argued that the most important part of developing friendships is by being a good listener. Having the ability to take the time to listen to someone can be the beginnings of a friendship. To develop this friendship, and often checking to see how someone is travelling is also important. These can be very difficult aspects to practise, yet at Terrace where you could spend almost five to eight years together, the formation of good friendships is vital. Just by listening to someone could be the difference to someone listening to you.