The Week Ahead 26 May 2017

  Dear Parents, Many of you will be aware that during the last year, the growth of our pupil body has resulted in the College becoming the largest international school in Tianjin.  I should like to share with you today an update that this increased interest in a Wellington education continues from prospective parents across the city, to the extent that we have had to run additional Open Days this term to accommodate the extra demand.  This means that if any of our current families, or their relatives or friends, wish to consider registering a new pupil with the College for the next academic year, or the year after, then early application is very much advised, especially in the Nest. We have taken the opportunity of the Open Days to share with prospective parents details of next year’s further enhanced curriculum and language enrichment programmes for the Nest and the Junior School.  We should also like to provide opportunities for interested current parents to spend extra time with us in School, to observe some demonstration lessons and to see our new video film of these. Please see below for the further details and dates.  If these dates are not convenient, then do take an early opportunity to have a look at our recently upgraded and expanded website, at https://www.wellingtoncollege.cn/tianjin. The new website contains detailed additional content concerning our curriculum, and I would for example recommend all Nest parents look at the section concerning the philosophy of our Early Years Foundation Stage programme, and how children learn through play. Next week is of course a school holiday up until we return on the Thursday, so today’s ‘Week Ahead’ covers the next two weeks.  Please note that tickets for our Summer Fair on 17th June, a highlight event of the year, go on sale from Reception straight after the break.  We do advise early purchase before a limited release to the local community, since this year entrance to the Fair will be by advance ticket only. With best wishes to all our Wellington families for a very happy Dragon Boat Festival celebration. Michael Higgins, Master

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Supporting our Community I write this fresh from an afternoon spent with some inspiring friends of Wellington, men and women determined to help others in our community. They are the patrons and volunteers of the Ru Hui Rehabilitation centre, a charity which has long-standing links to the College and whose cause we are supporting at this year’s Summer Fair on 17th June. The Ru Hui centre works with young people with autism, an incurable condition that affects some 1 in 70 children around the world. Autism is part of a spectrum of disorders (ASD), and for many sufferers, it can mean a lifetime of being, in effect, closed off from the world around them. People who are high on the autism spectrum can find it very difficult to communicate with others, experience poor motor skills and often appear to retreat into a silent world within themselves. Early diagnosis and long-term, sympathetic support through school age can help to make an enormous difference to children with autism, and often as importantly, their families. Educating the wider populace is also important, as there is still relatively little public understanding of autism and its impact on sufferers and their families. Our pupils have an important role to play in supporting children at the Ru Hui centre. Fundraising is of course one way to ensure that the vital work of the centre continues, but equally we have young people at school who seek to make a material difference to the lives of others, and in particular, to those less fortunate than themselves. We will shortly be launching a programme for pupils to be trained by staff from the Ru Hui centre in how best they can work with children with autism. The aim is to give youngsters a chance to work with one another at a local equestrian centre, where ASD children can benefit from techniques that are increasingly influential in the treatment of autism across the world. Multiple studies have shown that ‘Animal Assisted Therapies’ can have a significant impact on patients’ social, emotional and cognitive functioning, and in work with horses in particular, there was a marked development in the gross motor skills of those children involved in the studies. I wrote last week of how pupils at Wellington had the chance to ‘do good in the world’. An innovative programme such as this allows our pupils to think about the ways values such as kindness and respect for one another can have real-life benefits in their own communities. In this way, Wellingtonians can learn to give freely of themselves and their time, for no personal gain except knowing that they have enriched the lives of those around them. As a school – indeed, as a Wellington group  - we strive to instil such values in our pupils and, through our work with groups such Ru Hui, we demonstrate our determination to achieve those goals for all our children. The Summer Fair is from 1100-1500hrs on Saturday 17th June. Tickets must be purchased in advance from the school, and go on sale on Thursday 1st June. Parents keen to support the Summer Fair should contact Ms Polly Zhang (polly.zhang@wellingtoncollege.cn). Meet the Master 1400hrs Thursday 1st June This week, the Meet the Master slot is aimed at parents of children in the Nest. If you would like to attend, please confirm via email with Ms Emma Shi (emma.shi@wellingtoncollege.cn) by Wednesday 31^st May. Meet the Bursar 1400hrs Monday 5th June Our next Meet the Bursar meeting will be at 1400hrs on Monday, 5th June, please inform Lisa (lisa.liu@wellingtoncollege.cn) if you plan to attend and if you have particular questions or topics you would like to raise.  I will be presenting some of the coming changes related to security of the campus, which will affect entry onto the campus by motor vehicle and for those who walk onto the school grounds. For all parents using a school ID card that was issued before the current school year, please see reception about getting a new badge.  When we fully implement the new campus access procedures, you will need the new badge to gain access without signing in at the security gate. Parents’ Briefing, Common Room 0900hrs Wed 7th June Every Wednesday morning from 0900-1030hrs, parents will have the chance to engage with the school in sessions that cover all aspects of your child’s education, from the Early Years to A Levels and university admissions. The venue will vary according to the anticipated audience, and for this week’s meeting, parents will be in the Common Room for an important briefing on the safest ways for your children to engage with the digital world – whether it is through their phones, games or other media, it is vital that our children are made aware of the dangers of a life online. All parents are warmly invited to a briefing by our Head of IT, Mr Gregor Markovic, on the perils of the Internet, the best ways to help your children to understand the dangers that lurk on the Web, and an introduction to the ways the school is working to keep your children safe. It will be held in the Common Room on Wednesday, 7th June from 0900-1030hrs. Pre-Nursery Riverboat Trip 0900 – 1300hrs 7th June The Pre-Nursery children venture out on their first trip of the year with a picturesque cruise along the Haihe River on Wednesday, 7th June, as an extension of their learning about shapes. The class will depart the school premises at 0900hrs and return by 1100hrs. Parents are welcome to join.

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Open Days The Junior School is hosting two open mornings for existing parents on the following days: Monday 5th June 0930 – 1100hrs and Thursday 15th June 0930 – 1100hrs The morning will comprise of children and staff taking you around the Junior School, including the Nest, to show you the excellent teaching and learning taking place in all areas. If you would like to attend, please contact polly.zhang@wellingtoncollege.cn. Registration is very important, as we need to ensure we have enough students to show you around; places are therefore limited. Talent Show Theatre 1400 - 1515hrs Wed 7th June Years 1 to 6 children will be showing off their talents to the Junior School and parents on Wednesday 7th June at 1400hrs.  Only two performances were selected from each class by the class teacher and TA. It is aimed to present the very best talents we have at Wellington. All parents are invited to watch our first of many talent shows.  

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Senior Assessment Week 1st - 6th June  Assessment week for the pupils in the Senior School in Years 7, 8, 9, 10, 12 and Year 11 (A level stream) will be held from Thursday, 1st June until Tuesday, 6th June. Pupils are not going to have their ASA during this time.

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Wellington College Sailing Trip, 27th -  31st May  31 sailors leave Wellington for Beidaihe on Saturday, 27th May for our annual sailing trip. Please can parents make sure their children are at the side gate entrance by 0745hrs on Saturday morning so that we can be on the road in good time. We return to Wellington on Wednesday, 31st May in the afternoon.

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Mandarin Information Parents’ Meeting 1545 -1645hrs 12th June There will be a Mandarin information meeting for Years 1-9 native learners' parents on Monday 12th June (1545-1645hrs). This is to introduce the revised grade description and curriculum. If you would like to know about the latest information and the upcoming development of Wellington Mandarin Native curriculum, please join us for the meeting. The meeting location will be the Common Room.

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Years 6-9: Writing and drama workshops, 0830 - 1515hrs 8th June Students from across KS3 will spend a day and a half working together on a variety of writing, drama and crafting skills in creating their own fairy tales and performing them. This opportunity gives our students a chance to work with students across the Key Stage and we are delighted to have Year 6 joining us! Years 6-9: Theatre trip to Wicked, Beijing 1400 – 2200hrs  9th June As a fitting end to the work of our KS3 and Year 6 students, we are delighted to provide an opportunity for them to see the Broadway and West End hit, Wicked the Musical, adapted from Gregory Maguire’s novel Wicked: The life and time of the Wicked Witch of the West; a rewrite of the famous fairy tale, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. Wicked tells the tale of the unlikely, but profound, friendship between Elphaba, who later becomes the Wicked Witch of the West and Glinda, later Glinda the Good before either meet Dorothy, her friends and “that little dog too!”. As the show will be performed at the Beijing Tianqiao Performing Arts Center, we will be leaving school by 1325hrs to travel to the theatre by coach and returning at around midnight. Dinner is being provided by the cafeteria at the theatre. I am also very pleased to announced that we have been invited to meet the cast after the show for pictures and autographs!

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ASA in the Senior School ASA in the Senior School will not run from 1st - 9th June, as this is assessment week in the Senior School and we want to give students more time to revise for their exams.  ASA will resume and run as normal during the week of June 12th -16th, but will not run in the last week of school (June 19th - 23rd).  I want to thank all the students and the teachers for their enthusiastic participation in the ASA programme this year. ASA in the Junior School ASA in the Junior School will finish on June 9th. I want to thank all the students and the teachers for their enthusiastic participation in the ASA programme this year.

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The whole of the Junior School has been extremely sporty this week, with the Nest Sports’ day on Monday morning and the Junior Sports’ day on Tuesday. The Nest children had a fantastic time on Monday with a carousel of activities that the Sports team organized: target throw, speed bounce, javelin, standing long jump, chest pass, egg and spoon race, high steps and agility ladder.  All these events are to support children’s agility, stamina, strength and suppleness, which are fundamental to children’s physical development. All the children had a fantastic time and the atmosphere in the sports hall was electric. The Junior School Sports’ day was a little more competitive, with our older pupils.  All children took part in at least one event over the day. The morning was all the field events: high jump, long jump, javelin, discus and shot put, whilst the afternoon was all about running as fast as you can. The children competed in the hurdles, sprint, distance race, finishing off with a House team relay. The children were impeccably behaved, especially as they had to keep moving away from the sunshine, and sit for quite a while waiting for their turn in the races. Orange 328 Blucher 351 Wellesley 383 Stanley 409 Anglesey 410 Junior School also had several records that were broken: Thank you to all the parents that turned up to support your children. A huge thank you goes to the PE Department for organizing the Sports' Day for the Junior School; they were well run, all the children and staff knew what their roles were, and most importantly all the children had FUN. Year 2B performed an excellent performance about recycling on Friday. The children made and paraded their fashion items out of recyclable materials: we have some budding fashion designers and models in Year 2, as they paraded their garments with style and expertise. The children were also superb dancers, showing off their moves, dancing to several songs, that the audience clapped along to. Well done Year 2B.

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The World Scholar's Cup Competition This weekend saw 8 of our KS3 pupils travel to Shenzhen for the regional round of the World Scholar's Cup competition. After weeks of studying and research, our pupils took part in two days of competition on this year’s topic ‘An Unlikely World’, completing rounds of debate, collaborative writing and two trivia tests, both team and individual. Our pupils faced some tough competition from schools across China. Both staff and pupils were on the very edges of their seats for the awards ceremony and we are pleased to say that no one left disappointed. Our cultural day in Shenzhen was well deserved by our Scholars, and with bags a little heavier, students returned to Tianjin victorious in qualifying for the Global round of the competition. All medals won will be announced in assembly after the break.  A huge congratulation to all our teams! Thanks also go to Mr Findlay for being a Scholar for the weekend!

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Thursday 01 June 2017 All Day Assessment Week Begins (to 7th) (DP) 1400hrs - 1515hrs Meet the Master (Nest) (ES) (Master's Office) Friday 02 June 2017 0830hrs - 0930hrs Junior School Assembly: Singing for Fun ASA (YT) (Theatre) Monday 05 June 2017 0740hrs - 0800hrs Whole School Staff Meeting (Common Room) 0830hrs Junior School Reports open on iSAMS (YT) 0930hrs - 1100hrs Junior School Open Morning (YT) (Atrium) 1400hrs - 1500hrs Meet the Bursar (LL) (Bursar's Office) Wednesday 07 June 2017 0900hrs - 1030hrs Parent Briefing: Keeping Safe Online (JL/GM) (Common Room) 0900hrs - 1300hrs Pre-Nursery Riverboat trip (DZ) 1400hrs - 1515hrs Talent Show (YT) (Theatre) 1545hrs - 1645hrs TESMC Course (CN) (MB 335) 1600hrs - 1700hrs Staff CPD - PLCs (JL) Thursday 08 June 2017 0830hrs - 1515hrs Years 6-9: Writing and drama workshops (EP) 0845hrs - 1515hrs HM Training Day (Pan Pacific) (Pan Pacific Hotel) 1400hrs - 1515hrs Meet the Master (Yrs 2-6) (ES) (Master's Office) Friday 09 June 2017 0830hrs - 0930hrs Class Assembly-Nursery (DZ) 1400hrs - 2200hrs Years 6-9: Theatre trip to Wicked, Beijing (EP) Saturday 10 June 2017 0900hrs - 1100hrs Board SAC Meeting (Shanghai) 1600hrs - 1800hrs WCC Executive Board

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