The Week Ahead 07 May 2021

Dear parents

I am so delighted that we can offer a charity Summer Fair once again this year.

Ensuring the collective safety of our entire community has always been our first priority, and it has been with an excess of caution that we have moved to gradually reopen the school grounds and facilities beyond our pupil body. We have successfully hosted recent sporting events, including memorable ISCOT tournaments with our friends from the other international schools in Tianjin as well as parent events and open days. These have passed off without incident, and I am sure that by managing access arrangements carefully, we will have an excellent Summer Fair once again.

It is perhaps worth reflecting on the aim of such events. In Britain, fairs and fêtes are commonplace, dating back to medieval England and the early summer tradition of buying and selling livestock or even as a time for matchmaking to find a spouse. Over the centuries, this has largely been replaced with more celebratory events, serving as a powerful and popular tool for drawing the local community together. Our school Summer Fair is firmly in this tradition. There are stalls and games for children, often run by the pupils themselves. Food and drink vendors will provide a wide array of meal options, all suitable for a summer picnic environment. There is also a long list of performances on our stage, ranging from singers to bands, dancers to soloists.

The mood is deliberately upbeat and fun, reflecting our shared pleasure at once again coming together as a school. There is a deeper theme, though. The Summer Fair is an opportunity for us in the Wellington family to give something back to the broader Tianjin community around us, and particularly those children and young people who need extra help to build successful and happy lives. This pandemic year has given people a chance to reflect on the psychological and financial difficulties caused by extended lockdowns and long periods of uncertainty. Even here in China, with such a strong record of fighting the worst of Covid-19, children have borne the brunt of this experience. Our community of pupils, staff and families have always shown a strong tradition of generosity of spirit towards the causes championed by the school, and I am confident that, as we come together in this year of 'our family – our community', the kindness and responsibility that we are known for will shine through.

Best wishes

Julian Jeffrey
MASTER

This week has seen our children begin new themes. Most of the children are finding out about wild animals and minibeasts (insects and other bugs) and Eaglets are now finding out all about different types of transport.

The exciting part of learning about different types of transport is getting to see them close up. Our Eaglets had an amazing time on Friday with an opportunity to visit the local fire station. They met the firefighters, saw the huge fire engines, learned all about the protective clothes and saw how firefighters use the pole to get to the trucks quickly in an emergency! What a great way to start a new theme.

When the children are learning all about minibeasts they will have a lot of opportunities to learn outside. During a staff training session last week, I was reminded of a wonderful quote, "the best-kept classroom and the richest cupboard are roofed only by the sky." (Margaret McMillan C 1925) This may have been said over 95 years ago, but it remains true today. The benefits to our children of learning outside are tremendous. Not only does an outdoor area provide increased activity levels and develop gross motor skills. The research carried out internationally into outdoor learning shows children have more opportunities to overcome fears and to learn to take 'calculated risks', exposure to light enhances health (and vitamin D supporting bone growth and muscle function)and mental performance, being outside reduces stress and improves our mood and concentration, it can give better sleep patterns and allows our children to develop a life long connection with nature. All aspects of our curriculum are delivered outside as well as inside. Outside provides enhanced opportunities to learn.

We are developing our outdoor provision each week and providing more opportunities for the children to learn and explore. We present all areas of learning and development outside- but in a bigger and often more natural way. There is nothing like mud between your fingers to learn new words like squish and squelch!

So if the children come home a little bit dirty or dusty, or a little damp from water play and sand play; ask the children what they had fun doing, what did they learn and did they have fun? Early years is all about hands-on experiential learning- the staff enjoy planning it and the children love doing it!

Duke of Wellington Room (MB109)
1400hrs-1500hrs, Thursday
May 13th

This week's Meet the Master and Bursar slot is open to parents of pupils in all year groups. If you would like to attend, please confirm via e-mail with Ms Emma Shi by Wednesday, May 12th.

(emma.shi@wellingtoncollege.cn)

Saturday, May 15th
1030hrs-1430hrs

Old Common Room (MB214)

1500hrs – 1700hrs, Tuesday

May 11th

"The interaction between parents and children is the deep connection of human nature". To celebrate Mother's Day which has just passed, we have planned a special parent salon event. We have invited two ace mothers, one is the mother of a year 13 pupil who just got an offer from the University of Cambridge; the other is a Korean mother who has successfully raised two outstanding young people, and she is also an experienced teacher who has taught in Wellington Tianjin for many years. They will talk about parent-child relationship, quality companionship, home-school cooperation and other topics related to children's education. Mothers are all welcome to register:  1500hrs – 1700hrs, Tuesday, May 11th in Room 214 of the Main Building. Contact for registration: 

emma.shi@wellingtoncollege.cn.

Please include your child's name and year group in your email as well as questions you would like to raise.