The Week Ahead 30 April 2021

Dear parents

I have recently been enjoying Lin Yutang's The Importance of Living. Although the book itself is well over 80 years old, the timeless insights and wisdom of the author are evident on every page. His playful reflections on China, its people, stories and traditions are beautifully rendered in prose, and the sensation of reading even a short chapter is akin to the pleasure of sipping a fine cup of Longjing tea: refreshing and soothing in equal measure.

His writing is shot through with self-deprecating humour. No reader could fail to be charmed by his description of himself as "studying philosophy – the incorrect way" because he focuses not on the great philosophers but the life and people around him. He is inspired by, among others, a Mrs Huang, who "has all the ideas that go into the breeding of a good woman in China", as well as a foul-mouthed Suzhou boat woman, his cook's wife and even a squirrel in Central Park in New York.

He makes enormous claims for the importance of a sense of humour, even going so far as to claim that "Germany lost the [First World] War because [Kaiser] Wilhelm Hohenzollern did not know when to laugh, or what to laugh at." In stressing the importance of humour, Lin Yutang champions the cause of those people he describes as "the scamp…wayward, incalculable, unpredictable free individuals" as a counterpoint to the "patriotic automatons" he saw around him. Of course, a part of this was deliberately provocative, but he goes on to argue that the contrariness of the scamp is a sign of our humanity, marking us out as different to the "cows" who go to the slaughterhouse without protest. Scamps, by contrast, militate at the mechanisation of modern living.

Why is this a suitable theme for my Week Ahead piece? I am not advocating for wayward children, each one answering only to themselves. Schools rarely seek to foster such anarchic pupils. I think that Lin Yutang's tongue-in-cheek message does resonate in his defence of individuality and independence, though. These are two of our core Wellington identities, and we do much to foster such a spirit here in the school. At our recent Festival of Education day on 17th April, two of our staff, Megan Gater and Madeline Churchill, used their sessions to focus on how we as a school are helping to develop pupil independence and creativity in their learning. These are essential skills in school children, but they are also much sought-after skills in the workplace. I suspect Lin Yutang would have approved of the way Steve Jobs' disruptive brand of leadership, for example, helped to establish Apple as a global leader in technology - although he may equally have abhorred the fanatical work ethic that accompanied this success. By thinking and acting creatively, such leaders embrace difference and see the unorthodox as entirely natural. Young people who are encouraged to experiment with their learning, as even our youngest pupils in the Nest are discovering, find they can open limitless doors to the world around them. Creative thinking and independence are not readily accessible without the support and guidance of teachers. Still, they can be fostered in the right environment, and Wellington seeks to offer just such opportunities to all its pupils.

Man, in the view of Lin Yutang, "is a curious, dreamy, humorous and wayward creature". By tapping into that spirit, we seek to foster the sort of curious and thoughtful young people who will go on to enrich the world with their talents and humanity.   

Best wishes

Julian Jeffrey
MASTER

Our children have lots of opportunities to learn through water play. It may seem like a simple thing to use but the things we can learn are amazing.
 

This week the children have used water to look after the plants they are growing from seeds. On April 22nd the Nest children worked with students from Year 10 to learn about Earth Day. The senior school student planted seeds with our children and have explained what seeds need to grow. The life science learning added to the work the children had completed as part of our healthy eating theme. A huge thank you to the International school science department and students who worked with all our children.

Playing with water our children can learn about capacity, volume and displacement when they have certain resources in a water tray. They learn about the properties of materials when given the opportunity to explore floating and sinking. We can solve problems by building our own boats to move things across the water, we can build bridges and explore the properties of water. Working with ice and water we can learn about the changing states of substances and reversible and irreversible changes. They can learn so much about science and maths. So, if occasionally the children have damp sleeves, we are sorry, but just think about everything they have been learning and know they had fun too.

Many families will have enjoyed the reception year group assembly on Friday. The children thoroughly enjoy the opportunity to showcase their learning for their families to see. I am sure you are so proud of them all.

Year one has been on a trip this week too. They have explored some of the local areas of Tianjin and had the opportunity to see the different buildings they have seen in photographs during the theme of building and construction. They have looked at areas around China using satellite images and looked at many different methods of construction ancient and modern.

Remember that there is no school on Monday 3rd May.

Have a lovely long weekend.

Old Common Room
0930hrs-1015hrs, Wednesday
5th May

Parent briefings are held on Wednesday mornings, usually from 0930hrs -1015hrs. Parents will have the chance to engage with the school in sessions covering all aspects of their child's education, from the Early Years to A levels and university admissions. We continue to pre-record the video with Chinese and Korean subtitles and share it with parents before the day. Meanwhile, parents are welcome to the campus to watch the video and afterwards, the presenters will lead a Q&A session on the day.

Mr Jeffrey will be delivering a brief outline of the findings of the 2021 Annual Review. There will be an opportunity for questions after the video presentation. The video will be available for parents from Wednesday morning at 0930hrs, with the live in-school session held in the old Common Room (room 214).