Meet Mr. Tomalin

I’m sure you have all already met our new Principal Mr. Tomalin and heard about his wonderful hobbies and international life. If you haven’t, here are the basics: He has come from an IB school in Colombia with his husband and little boy Maxi. He speaks several languages including Swedish, Colombian Spanish, a bit of German, French and soon to be Portuguese. He also enjoys travelling as well as cycling. Oh, and he’s also a certified SCUBA rescue diver.   

Now that that’s covered let’s get to business. I recently conducted an Interview with Mr. Tomalin so that OIS can have yet another round of introductions as well as have a peek into the future of our school. 

Our new principal explained that he found OIS through some previous students who had recently transferred here. And that, through them, he was able to gain some insight into our school. Mr. Tomalin noted that many things attracted him to OIS, remembering to convey his appreciation for Portugal’s beauty, but also safety. As I mentioned before Mr. Tomalin has a son, Maxi. And being a parent, wants to ensure that his son is able to live a safe and enriching childhood, something that is currently difficult to guarantee in Colombia, but a possibility here. He also recognized and was charmed OIS’s “incredible, intelligent and caring” teachers, staff, and students as well as our small, almost family like community that he hopes to be a part of and contribute to.  

When asked specifically what his intentions for OIS are, he boldly stated: to become “The best school in Portugal”. This may seem ambitious, but he plans to achieve our goal by offering high quality education and sustaining a multicultural, academic, and ‘green’ school. On top of this, Mr. Tomalin wants to create the “safest, happiest and friendliest” school environment. In terms of materialistic objectives, Mr. Tomalin hopes to add to our facilities that can then be used to help students learn and develop new skills. There might have also been some hinting at another pavilion. Above all, our principal wants our school and community to demonstrate respect. And when asked what respect means to him, he explained that first we need to know that “We are worthy of respect” and to show that others are also worthy of respect. He went on to say that respect is a behavior that is commonly connotated with tolerance. However, to actually show respect we should not just tolerate people, but accept one another. He elaborated, saying that this doesn’t mean we shouldn’t challenge each other, but if there is a disagreement it should be handled respectively, remaining “cognitive” without becoming “emotional”. Overall, “just be nice to each other”. 

Now into the nitty gritty stuff. Everyone here at OIS has different opinions on how the school should operate. So, I asked Mr. Tomalin about his thoughts on some of the following popular issues… 

Dress Code & Uniform: 

The exact rules on what we can and cannot wear have been in flux ever since I have been at OIS. It is also a topic that has been and is in debate all over the world. So how are us students going to look in our near future? 

Mr. Tomalin says that overall, he is a fan of uniform. He believes that they are practical and avoid discrimination due to brand names or labels. He also believes they can give students a sense of “belonging” and that they should be something that we are proud to wear. Mr. Tomalin also knows that it shouldn’t just be his decision or input on uniform or dress code, but a whole school consensus. This idea of general agreement is something that Mr. Tomalin wants to apply to various aspects of the school, one being hair colours. He said he is not fond of the kaleidoscopic hair but understands it’s a form of expression. That is why he thinks it should be a privilege from year 11 upwards. And on top of that wants to ensure that if you dye your hair, it’s not just to ‘break the rules’ or that you are ‘insecure’ and wish to conform. That is why he also thinks that makeup in school is not ideal. Mr. Tomalin elucidated that he believes that “the media” places pressure on children to grow up faster and that there is an over sexualization of young people with make up on. He has said that he is happy to listen to the students’ voice by working with the Student Council on this topic.  

Virtual Learning: 

The current pandemic is something that everyone has been struggling with for the past three years. It has forced us, like many other schools around the world to commence in virtual learning during lockdowns. Mr. Tomalin noted that it is a privilege that our school community have access to the hardware and infostructure that make online learning available to us. Still, face to face education is the better option. It may be nice to wake up at 8:30 and sit in your pyjamas all day, but it can have a negative effect on students and teachers. Mr. Tomalin gave the example that introverted students are able to engage more in class engagement and use virtual platform as a safety net to avoid moving out of their comfort zone. It is also hard on teachers whose enthusiasm may be met by a static and silent screen. All in all, being at school in person is better and that is why OIS is doing all it can to keep people in it.  

Despite not being in lockdown, some students and teachers must quarantine due to covid. So we are fortunately able to utilise our online platforms so that our education can continue despite this. However, Mr. Tomalin stresses that this isn’t an excuse to take a holiday during school days. And it also doesn’t mean that if you have covid and are sick that you have to partake in virtual learning.  

Personal Social and Health Education: 

Being a human, let alone a teenager or pre-teen is filled with both physical and emotional challenges, and one way we can understand and learn to deal with them is through education. Currently our school doesn’t offer or has limited Personal Social and Health Education (PSHE) as Mr. Tomalin calls it. But our principal thinks that it is “really important” that this subject is taught at school. It is crucial that everyone learns about the biology of our bodies as well as the fundamental emotional components of relationships. We should also be educated on substance abuse. Because of Mr. Tomalin’s strong views on the essentiality of PSHE, don’t be surprised when it appears on your calendar.  

This brings us towards the end of this article, but before you go Mr. Tomalin wants OIS to know that he plans to “keep building on the wonderful school that opened its doors in 2010” and hopes “that people feel [he is] accessible to teachers and students”. He also hopes that we are patient and to know if Mr. Tomalin “make[s] a mistake it is not intentional”. So, from me, the writer, and I’m sure the entirety of OIS, a huge welcome to Mr. Tomalin.