The Week Ahead 22 November 2019

From the Master Julian Jeffrey

Dear parents I met with a parent recently who, after almost four years in Tianjin, is relocating to her home country as a result of her husband’s recent promotion. I am always keen to hear from parents about their experiences of Wellington – what they have liked, what they feel we could do better and what memories their child will take away from their time with us. “Mr Jeffrey,” she said, “when we arrived in Tianjin, we chose Wellington because we wanted the rigour of a British-style education. We felt our son would really benefit from the focus on English language and the high expectations of his teachers.” Obviously, I was pleased to hear such positive reasons for choosing the school, but what she said next really thrilled me. “But now we are leaving,” she said, “perhaps the thing I notice most is how he has changed as a creative individual.” Developing creativity is perhaps not the first thing that parents think of when choosing a school for their child. Most rightly value the quality of education on offer; the results in public examinations; university destinations; and a school’s ability to keep their child safe and settled. However, her comments struck a chord with me because I have increasingly come to see the development of creativity, and creative thinking, as a crucial part of the education any good school should offer. Norman Lebrecht is a leading contemporary writer on classical music in Britain, and I was inspired to look further into the subject of creativity after I heard his lecture at the Wellington College Shanghai Festival of Education in 2017. Lebrecht’s main focus was an impassioned plea for the protection of music education in schools, but it was his conviction that music education bred creativity and that creativity in turn fostered wider benefits for learners, which has remained with me over time. Of course, Wellington is a champion for creativity, from art and design courses, to music, dance and drama. Pupils have recently enjoyed a week of drama in the Junior School, and children from across the school will soon be participating in a huge range of musical events in the lead up to Christmas. The new art galleries and design corridor in the main school building offer a glimpse of the exceptional work produced by those departments. The annual school musical and the seasonal concerts, not to mention projects such as the recent Carmina Burana and last summer’s Macbeth, all highlight the strong emphasis on creativity across the school. Parents will be familiar with all of these and more in our school, but one area in which I find some parents still need convincing is in the wider benefits of creativity in learning. It is not simply a case of producing artistic or musical graduates, although that is a formidable strength in our community. A creative mind is far more adaptable, more reflective and better able to cope with complex problem-solving than a mind conditioned to respond in uniform, predictable ways. An IBM survey of global CEOs in 2010 found that, “successfully navigating an increasing complex world will require creativity…CEOs are confronted with massive shifts – new government regulations, changes in global economic power centres, accelerated industry transformation, growing volumes of data, rapidly evolving customer preferences – that, according to the study, can be overcome by instilling “creativity” throughout an organization.”[1] In this way, it is clear that an emphasis on fostering a creative mind is entirely consistent with our broader goal of making pupils ready for life beyond Wellington. Creative thinkers have been shown to have greater levels of intrinsic motivation - a joy in learning not tied to results – and to be ‘infectious’ creatives, by encouraging a similar mindset in others. So if you are one of those parents who chose the school for our British values and academic ambitions, you will be delighted to learn that, not only will your child thrive in the classroom, but our determination to instil creativity will also make them more employable, more engaged with their education and better able to think independently. Best wishes Julian Jeffrey MASTER   [1] https://www-03.ibm.com/press/us/en/pressrelease/31670.wss FROM THE FINANCE DEPARTMENT Tuition E-invoice   The tuition billing for the Lent term 2020 was sent out over the last weekend (16th/17th November). The deadline for payment is 18th December 2019; please kindly check your email inbox accordingly. If there are any problems with receiving the emails, please contact the Finance office by calling 022-8758 7199 (ext. 8002). Starting from the Lent term, parents can request electronic invoices on their own. When the payment is confirmed by the Finance Department, parents will receive a QR code email from school to issue the E-invoices. The QR code email is normally sent one week after tuition fee has arrived in school accounts. By selecting the payment transactions and invoice receipt email address, the electronic invoices will be sent automatically. The user guideline will be sent to parents through iSAMS. FROM THE HEAD OF EARLY YEARS Nest Christmas Show Theatre 1000hrs – 1100hrs, Friday 29th November   Christmas arrives early in the Nest this year as we celebrate the joys of this season with our much-awaited Nest Christmas Show. Nest families are invited to attend on Friday, 29th November from 1000hrs – 1100hrs in the Seldon Theatre. Nest children will serenade us with much-loved holiday music from around the world to warm our hearts this winter season. French Every Monday 8:45-10:00 MB125 Mrs Audrey Barthelemy audrey.barthelemy18@gmail.com   Art Every Friday 8:30-11:00 MB125 Mrs Markovic ksenija.jakic@wellingtoncollege.cn   Mandarin Every Tuesday 10:15-11:15 MB125 Mrs Yuan and Mrs Zhang yizhang001@foxmail.com   EAL (Beginner level) Every Tuesday of Week A 8:30-9:30 MB125 Mr Furse David.Furse@wellingtoncollege.cn   EAL (Advanced level) Every Thursday of Week B 8:30-9:30 MB125 Mr Furse David.Furse@wellingtoncollege.cn   Pilates Every Tuesday 8:45-10:00 Black Box Mrs Stofkova dstofkova@yahoo.com   How to use Chinese daily life Apps Every Tuesday 13:00-14:00 MB113 Mrs Kim donghong0904@naver.com   Pilates Every Friday 8:45-10:00 Black Box Mrs Stofkova dstofkova@yahoo.com   Yoga Every Wednesday 8:45-10:00 Black Box Mrs Havlíková havlikann@gmail.com   Yoga Every Thursday 10:45-12:00 Black Box Mrs Havlíková havlikann@gmail.com   Traditional Chinese Medicine Every Thursday 9:00-10:30 MB113 Mrs Markovic ksenija.jakic@gmail.com   Notice: Any changes of time/date/venue please follow the notice according to the course organiser. UPCOMING EVENTS Monday 25 November 2019 All Day Week 14 (B)   8:45AM - 10:00AM FOW: French class (LL) (MB 125)   11:00AM - 12:00PM Senior School assembly (JMS) (Theatre)   4:00PM ISCOT League HS Boys and Girls Basketball vs IST (a) (RG)   Tuesday 26 November 2019 8:45AM - 10:00AM FOW: Pilates (LL) (Black Box)   10:15AM - 11:15AM FOW: Mandarin class (LL) (MB 113)   1:00PM - 2:00PM FOW: How to use Chinese daily life apps (LL) (MB 113)   4:00PM ISCOT League MS Boys and Girls Volleyball vs IST (a)   Wednesday 27 November 2019 8:45AM - 10:00AM FOW: Yoga class (LL) (Black Box)   2:00PM ISCOT Tournament HS Basketball; Boys @ IST, Girls @ TIS (RG)   3:05PM - 3:45PM Junior School assembly: Class 5B (RA) (Theatre)   Thursday 28 November 2019 8:30AM - 9:30AM FOW: English class (advanced level) (LL) (MB 234)   9:00AM - 10:30AM FOW: TCM class (LL)   9:30AM - 10:30AM Nest Christmas Show (dress rehearsal) (DZ) (Theatre)   10:45AM - 12:00PM FOW: Yoga class (LL) (Black Box)   2:00PM - 3:00PM Meet the Master: Years 7-11 (ES) (Main Building)   5:30PM – 6:30PM Parents’ Evening (Y11&12): Higher Education choices in the UK   Friday 29 November 2019 8:30AM - 11:00AM FOW: Art class (LL)   8:45AM - 10:00AM FOW: Pilates (LL) (Black Box)   10:30AM - 11:30AM Nest Christmas Show (DZ) (Theatre)   1:10PM - 2:00PM Master's Society (ES) (Duke of York)   3:45PM - 4:45PM H&S Committee meeting (VW) (FOW room)   Saturday 30 November 2019 All Day University of California: applications close (JMS)   9:00AM Saturday Activity Programme (SAP) (EvK)