Dear parents

We are now firmly into the final third of the Michaelmas term. The remaining weeks are arguably some of the most intense and important of any school year. Pupils in the Junior and Senior Schools are involved in public and internal examinations. Those in year 13 are busy preparing for university applications and interviews, including the seven who have applied to Oxford or Cambridge this year. Preparations for the end of term concerts and shows are underway, with pupils and staff busy rehearsing for what promises to be another memorable end to a long term. ISCOT and other sports fixtures continue to feature each week.

These are all part of the fabric of any busy school year, of course, but as they come in such a concentrated period at the end of a lengthy term, there is potential for emotions to become heightened. In such an atmosphere, where tiredness impairs sounder judgement, tensions can emerge from even the most innocuous situations, whether in the classroom or on the playground. Any community experiences moments like these and recognising this inevitability, schools try and arm pupils with the skills they need to navigate such emotionally taxing incidents.

The school's pastoral programme is underpinned, as with all our most profound work, by the core values and, in such cases, specifically, respect, kindness and integrity. These are not just part of the education programme here at Wellington; they lie at the core of our purpose in managing the relationships between pupils and others in our community. They provide a clear, equitable base from which to conduct conversations between children when things go awry. The language of the values is universal – these are living values in that we not only adhere to them each day, but they carry equal significance in any language, culture or background.

For the values to mean something, we seek to highlight how they impact our lives every day, not just when we choose to observe them. In this way, it is precisely at those times when we need them most – at times of stress, or conflict, for example – that we need them most. It is easy to be kind and respectful, for example, when everything in our lives is going well; it is less straightforward when things are difficult. Integrity is even more challenging because we are only ever tested on our integrity when times are tough and we face unpalatable choices. Integrity means we are true to ourselves; it can involve making decisions that may not be ones we find easy, but because they are right.

As our pupils go into this last, long stretch of term before the holiday in December, we will continue to work with them to help them understand their emotions, manage their relationships with others and take responsibility for their actions. Parents and families can help by ensuring that children get sufficient sleep at night – poor sleep over time impairs good judgement – and work with the school to resolve matters when things do not go as smoothly as we all hope. At this hectic time of the year, it is worth reflecting that living together harmoniously as a community is as much a life skill as developing resilience or appreciating the need for service to others, but it is not achieved by accident. It takes time, hard work and a commitment to the ties that bind us – our shared values – to help our children become the adults we all wish them to be.

Best wishes

Julian Jeffrey
EXECUTIVE MASTER

While the weather may have become colder and winter is definitely with us in Tianjin, the children are still enjoying their time in the outdoor learning areas. During colder weather, we are able to adapt our provision to enable the children to remain active while learning. Active learning is a large part of our curriculum. We plan for active learning; for us, it has two meanings at Wellington College Bilingual Nursery Tianjin. Firstly we ensure the children are moving when they are outside in colder weather. The children are dressed for the cold temperature with coats, hats and gloves, and they are busy engaging with provision that needs them to move around. However, active learning has a second meaning in the Early Years Foundation Stage Curriculum. It is one of the core characteristics of effective learning and is linked to perseverance and resilience.

The curriculum states, ‘active learning is when children concentrate and keep trying if they encounter difficulties, and enjoy achievements’. In the Nest, this is linked to the work we do on ‘growth mindset’. To any parents who attended the briefing, you will recall this is how we support our children to keep going when something is challenging and to think of something that fails as an opportunity to learn. As adults, we learn from our mistakes and it is important we let our children learn this valuable life lesson.

Active learning is how we encourage the children to be actively involved in what they do, how they think about challenges, how they respond to a failed attempt and how they cope with their emotions when they feel angry or sad or frustrated.

Everything we do with the children is interwoven and the staff team look for teachable moments when children are dealing with challenges or difficult emotions. We must recognise the emotions our children feel and give them value. We would never dismiss an emotion as ‘silly’. Children feel and respond to situations with a range of emotions and as adults, we support them to understand and deal with them.

Winter is a wonderful time of the year but can bring about different feelings with the cold weather, dark mornings and evenings. It is therefore important we understand the emotions we feel and support each other to deal with them.

Together we are always at our strongest!

This week's Meet the Master and Bursar slot is open to parents of pupils across the college. Please confirm via e-mail with Ms Emma Shi by Wednesday, 17th November if you would like to attend.

(emma.shi@wellingtoncollege.cn)

2021 Christmas Bazaar

Christmas is just around the corner, and it is time for our annual Charity Christmas Bazaar, which is always one of the Wellington Community's favourite events.

When: 10th December 2021
Time: 1400hrs-1700hrs
Location: Sports Hall, Wellington College International Tianjin

*Under the current situation, it is for the Wellington community only

If any parents or friends from the Wellington community are interested in organising a stall or offering any other support for the event, please contact Eelco van Kuilenburg at

activityprogram.tianjin@wellingtoncollege.cn

The Nest
1430hrs, Wednesday
17th November

We will be hosting a meeting discussing Language, Phonics, and Literacy. We will be addressing strategies used in class to enhance literacy development during this meeting. Our discussion will examine how quality phonics instruction and metacognition teaching strategies in our Bilingual immersive environment enables your child to flourish. We will investigate how T4W (talk for writing) benefits children's learning. T4W is a way to enhance children's literacy skills by combining text-type language with actions. It supports recall, vocabulary acquisition and comprehension, thereby improving their communication abilities.

Each week we will have workshops and lectures on various and colourful topics held by our school parents and friends. This is to enhance our bonds as a Wellington Community, and we would love to welcome all of you to join us!

Christmas Charity Felting wool workshop
Old Common Room (MB214)
1400hrs -1600hrs, Friday
26th November

Why not have some fun by learning new knowledge while contributing to the Christmas Charity Bazaar. Make as many flowers as you want for the Bazaar, and enjoy the Art & Design side of life in the knowledge that you can make that extra step by helping others! All the materials will be provided. Just bring your happy smiles.

If you would like to participate, please send an e-mail to lily.lian@wellingtoncollege.cn by 18th of November.