The Week Ahead 13 December 2019

From the Master 来自校长 마스터

Dear parents Welcome to the final Week Ahead of 2019. The Michaelmas term ends at 1515hrs on Wednesday 18th December. Aside from the prospect of a great holiday, there is still time left for the school to host three remarkable events next week. The first, on Monday, sees the official unveiling of the Wellington Tianjin A Level Centre Shuping Scholarship, an amazing opportunity for a local youngster to come and study at the school on a means’ tested scholarship that ultimately will offer financial support throughout their time with us at school. Thanks to the vision and commitment of the school’s founder and chairman, Mrs Joy Qiao, we will be able to offer applicants of outstanding academic and personal qualities, who previously would not be able to contemplate such access, the chance to access the A Level programme here. On Tuesday, we have our annual Christmas Concert, the third and final such production of the term after the very successful Nest and Junior School shows of the preceding weeks. This year sees our most ambitious programme yet, with orchestral, solo and choral sections combining to magical effect. As ever with the work of our Music department, the commitment to excellence means that you can be sure of a wonderful spectacle as over 180 pupils from across the Junior and Senior schools come together for this concert. It all starts at 1800hrs in the theatre and all parents are cordially invited. Pupils from the Senior School who are not performing will be supporting the event as well, with late buses and supper arranged for them on that day. Finally, on Wednesday, we have the privilege to be awarded Microsoft Showcase School status. We will be only the seventh school in China to win this accolade, and the first international school. This recognition from Microsoft reflects the very hard work done on boosting the IT provision and education across the school in the past three years, and gives us access to a range of Microsoft training and support programmes as well as opening up the school to visitors who wish to learn more about the ways educational technology is applied in a school setting. The initial emphasis for Wellington will be on the ‘classroom of the future’ and coding programmes such as Microbit and Kudo; I look forward to briefing our parent community further on this very exciting development in the coming months. With three such busy days ahead, it is little surprise that we all need a holiday, but I would like to remind parents of pupils in Years 11-13 that your children have important mock examinations as soon as we return in January. They should be revising for between 35-60 hours over the coming break. All pupils have been given access to exhaustive revision materials by their teachers, so please check that the work is being completely properly.   Best wishes for a peaceful holiday Julian Jeffrey MASTER FROM THE HEAD OF SENIOR SCHOOL Senior School Arrangements Next Week   The Senior School will finish at 1600hrs on Monday and Tuesday, and School will end at 1500hrs on Wednesday 18th December. Buses will run at these times. Senior School pupils will be attending a Christmas concert at 1800hrs on Tuesday 17th December, so Senior School pupils will leave school at 2000hrs on that day. Buses will be provided. End of Michaelmas reports will be published via Parent Portal by 1700hrs on Wednesday. FROM THE DEPUTY HEAD OF JUNIOR SCHOOL Junior School Arrangements Next Week   The Junior School will finish at 1600hrs on Monday and Tuesday, and School will end at 1500hrs on Wednesday 18th December. Buses will run at these times. End of Michaelmas reports will be published via Parent Portal by 1700hrs on Wednesday. FROM THE HEAD OF EARLY YEARS Nest pyjama day Wednesday, 18th December   Nest children are requested to come to school in their favourite warm pyjamas to celebrate literacy and encourage the joy of reading on the last day of term. The day will be spent reading books, learning songs, making gingerbread cookies, playing games and much more. This has been an annual tradition and is something that the children look forward to. Appropriate pyjamas should have a top and a bottom or leggings under a long sleep dress.  Please be mindful of outdoor weather as children will be outside at some points of the day. There will also be a special visit from the jolly man in the red suit and his trusted helper to greet everyone with a very merry Christmas! FROM THE HEAD OF SIXTH FORM Years 11-13 Mock Examinations 8th – 17th January   All pupils in Years 11, 12 and 13 will be sitting mock examinations from 8th -17th January. The expectations are that they spend the following amount of time on their revision during the holidays: Year 11 - 4 hours per subject plus past papers Year 12 - 10 hours per subject plus past papers Year 13 - 14 hours per subject plus past papers Please make sure that your child is sleeping and eating well and that he/she has somewhere quiet to do their revision. Why do we do mock examinations? They are a good way to find out where your child’s strengths are, as well as identifying the areas that require attention. Mocks are also a really good way to hone revision techniques and for pupils to familiarise themselves with the pressures of public examinations. Please support us in ensuring that your child understands the importance of these examinations. Pupils who do not pass their exams will have to re-sit them. FROM THE MARKETING DEPARTMENT Spring Festival Temple Fair Dining Hall 1500hrs – 1700hrs, Friday 17th January   A week-long celebration of Chinese culture starts on Monday the 13th-17th January in the College. The finale to the week is the much awaited ‘Spring Festival Temple Fair’ on Friday 17th January. Please come along and enjoy the celebration with us. Proceeds from the event will go to those charity organizations we have been supporting across the school. If any parents or friends from the Wellington community would like to be involved in organising a stall or offering any other support for the event, please contact Ms. Nina Lee in the Marketing department. nina.lee@wellingtoncollege.cn 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 16 December 2019 All Day Week 17 (A)   8:45AM - 10:00AM FOW: French class (LL) (MB 125)   11:00AM - 12:00PM Senior School assembly (JMS) (Theatre)   Tuesday 17 December 2019 8:30AM - 9:30AM FOW: English class (beginner level) (MB 234)   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)   6:00PM Christmas concert (FG) (Theatre)   Wednesday 18 December 2019 All Day Nest pyjama day (DZ) (The Nest)   8:45AM - 10:00AM FOW: Yoga class (LL) (Black Box)   3:15PM Michaelmas Term ends (ES)   5:00PM UCAS applications deadline (JMS)   5:00PM Reports published (RA)