Educating for the Future

From the Master 来自校长 마스터

Dear parents You will have read in the recent parent letter from our Founder and Chair, Mrs Joy Qiao, that Tianjin has begun to allow schools to open once again, albeit in a strictly phased series of school year groups. At the time of writing, we are hopeful that pupils from our most senior year groups can re-enter the school, but this is subject to a stringent school safety inspection process, and we will contact families directly to inform them of the opening date for your child. This will be great news to our community. The past nine weeks have placed extraordinary pressures on pupils, their teachers and our families, in some cases pressures as profound as any living memory. There is an oft-quoted line, attributed to that champion of revolutionary change, Vladimir Lenin, which claims that, “there are decades where nothing happens; and there are weeks where decades happen". Whilst it is far from clear whether he actually said these words, the sentiment resonates with me as I look back over the past couple of months. The world has been turned upside down, and the previous certainties and optimism arising from the prospect of a new decade now seem to belong to a different era. We have lived decades in the course of just a few weeks. Most vulnerable to such a bewildering change in their lives have been children and young people. Wrenched from their classrooms and friendship groups by the closure of the schools which provided them with such a sense of security, companionship and learning, it has been a difficult time for them. Many have not had contact with family or friends for over two months, except through the telephone or internet; more have only just begun to take their first steps outdoors. Parents, already anxious about their child’s learning, have also had to cope with the financial pressures such a shutdown of national – and now, international – proportions has created. There has also been the inevitable human toll of worrying about the health of family and close friends. As the impact of the virus recedes in China, it races across the rest of the world, sowing more chaos and devastation in its wake. For many of our families, both among the parent body and the staff, the coronavirus is not a thing of the past: it is a living reminder that this disease has the potential to cause more harm than any other single event since the second world war and that it is now the turn of their loved ones to endure the impact. In this turmoil, the school can offer a measure of stability, a sense of community and a restoration of normality into our lives. The initial steps to the physical reopening of the school may be small ones, but they represent something far more substantial: that life as it was just a few weeks ago can be recovered and that the things were once so familiar to us can once again find their place in our world. Our pupils will be offered a range of pastoral support resources and sessions, as well as freely available counselling services, once they re-enter the school. Parents can find reassurance and support in the range of briefings and parents evenings outlined below, as well as have online access to the weekly Meet the Master series (starting from Thursday 16th April, for parents of children in the Junior School). These past few months have shown weeks can feel like decades. Our focus now, as a community dedicated to safeguarding our pupils and providing them with the finest educational opportunities, is to come together and drive forward to an ever-brighter future. Our families, pupils and staff have shown great resilience in this period. We will need to show still more before the world is once more as it was, but the news of the physical reopening of the estate means we are another step closer to that goal.   Best wishes Julian Jeffrey MASTER FROM THE SECOND MASTER Summer term parent - teacher meetings    This term, parent-teacher meetings will take place using Teams, and you will be able to use the account of your child to participate in them. Where translation is required, we will try our very best to accommodate this, but it would be preferable for you to arrange this if at all possible. The arrangements for the different parts of the school are as follows: Nest Parent - Teacher Meetings - All Year Groups 20th April to 24th April  Parents and teachers will have an opportunity to celebrate each child's success as well as identify any areas for development during our Parent-Teacher Meetings on 20th to 24th April. Teachers will contact parents to schedule time slots and will book the appointment accordingly. We invite all Nest parents to this upcoming event and if you are unable to attend, kindly contact your homeroom teachers so an alternative appointment can be made. Junior School Parent - Teacher Meetings - All Year Groups  4th May to 15th May  As on previous occasions, the SchoolBuddy system will be used to book meetings. To provide flexibility for both parents and teachers, they will take place over a two-week period, between 1500hrs and 1800hrs. Each session will last for 10 minutes each. We encourage you to attend with your child and urge you to have their report in hand. If you have not been able to access this, please contact Miss Cissy Zhao via email on: cissy.zhao@wellingtoncollege.cn. FROM THE DEPUTY HEAD OF JUNIOR SCHOOL Art Showcase in the Junior School   We have been truly inspired by the emerging artistic talent of our Junior School pupils. They have been busy being creative and have produced some incredible pieces of work using all types of medium. Ms Churchill, the head of art, has been reviewing the many posts and exhibits in the Junior School section of the online whole school Art Gallery and has selected the following standout pieces.

Soohyun, Year 5

Yoyo, Year 3

ShuTing, Year 5

Kira, Year 4

Sofie, Year 5

These artworks were selected as Ms Churchill felt they represented a range of imaginative and creative skills and ideas. Ms Churchill updates the activities in the Get Creative folder regularly to inspire and as a focus to develop new skills. She is very much looking forward to selecting some more striking pieces soon. I have noticed that our pupils have already been posting and uploading their most recent creations, so I don’t think Ms Churchill will have to wait long! Many congratulations and well done to all of the Junior School artists who have shared their creativity: it is enthralling to scroll through the variety of exhibits. FROM MS LATHAM, RECEPTION   Children in Reception learned about Spring through poems, exploration and creativity. Enjoying the beautiful Tianjin weather, the children ventured outside to marvel at the vivid colours of flowering trees and their blossoms. With this inspiration, they developed their writing skills by creating their poems about Spring and made sure the lines end in rhyming words. Other children made beautiful crafts such as a mobile with twigs and leaves and a spring coloured tie-dye. Finally, they used their creativity to paint blossoms using watercolours.

Spring Poems