Saturday Activities Programme

From the Master: Tuesday, 11th October 2011   Dear Parents, Re: Saturday Activities Programme Taster Days, 15th and 22nd October I am delighted to provide you with details of the Wellington Saturday Activities programme, which is due to start this Saturday, 15th October. The precise timings for the programme is 10.30am to 12.00pm. The proposed activities are open for boys and girls in all the activities, while the specific age groups for each activity are indicated. You will be able to try out more than one activity at the Taster Days. Parents can join the Music activity. There are plans for other parent activities in the future. The individual activities are as follows: 1.      English Language Lessons  (All age groups) This activity will be conducted by members of our EAL department and will involve developing your English speaking, reading and writing in an enjoyable and effective fashion. We plan to start with groups at a basic and standard level of proficiency. In the longer term we are also planning adult classes in English. 2.      LAMDA Drama Classes  (10 years +) The London Academy of Musical and Dramatic Art (LAMDA) began offering speech and drama examinations in the 1980s. Since then the examinations have been refined and developed into a comprehensive system of performance evaluation by experts in education, acting and communication. In addition to being the UK’s leading statutory speech and drama awarding body, LAMDA Examinations has acquired a reputation for excellence worldwide. LAMDA’s challenge is to recognise achievement in communication and performance and to support the development of self-esteem of children, young people and adults across the globe. LAMDA’s mission is to: •    improve standards in communication through the spoken word •    foster an appreciation of literature, poetry and drama •    acknowledge levels of achievement •    support the creative, intellectual and social development of the individual as a whole. Our Saturday Drama classes will be led by Ms Georgina Chakos, a vocal instructor and dramatic coach with a strong pedagogue in the disciplines of classical voice and theatre. Ms Chakos has brought her experience, knowledge, humour and motivation to young artists throughout Europe and the United States, and is currently the resident Drama teacher here at Wellington College. A graduate of Indiana University with a Bachelor Degree in Performance, as well as a Postgraduate Certificate of Education from University of Nottingham, Ms Chakos has celebrated great success on stages in the United States, Germany, Switzerland, Spain and Austria, as well as a recent debut at the National Center for Performing Arts in Beijing. 3.      Film Society  (14 years +) An activity designed to develop an interest in all films, regardless of their country of origin. Although some entire films will be shown, always in their original language and, if necessary, with English subtitles, there will also be an emphasis in understanding and discussing significant moments, where direction and technical issues will be taken into account. There may, on occasion, be an opportunity to attempt some screen-writing. 4.      Music  (All age groups and Parents) The Music course involves an ‘Introduction to the Wonderful World of Music’. This will cover the history of Music, the works of famous composers, instrumental ensembles for winds and strings, all in an enjoyable and contributory way. We want to make Music! Open to all parents, students and friends. There will also be musicianship, music theory and basic composition, as well as singing for all (helping to find your voice and enjoy singing together). Nor forgetting guitar groups, which will cover folk and rock styles. There is a beginner Keyboard club too. Finally, we will highlight work on famous West End Musicals. So if you are a vocalist who wants to explore popular 20th-century songs from ‘Cats’, ‘Phantom of the Opera’, ‘My Fair Lady’ and ‘The Sound of Music’, this is the place for you. The Wellington Music team will be on hand to make all this happen. So join us 5.      Art  (All age groups) Improve your drawing and painting techniques using a range of media, including pencil, charcoal, watercolour, acrylic and oil. Studio work is based on drawing from direct observation - still life and from the world we see around us. Teaching emphasizes students making their own personal creative response to complete finished art work you can display at home. Mr. John Zermani has taught Art and Design to students of all ages up to A level and IB Diploma at leading international and IB World schools in Asia over the last 20 years. The Art department is establishing a link with the Faculty of Art at Tianjin University and teaching will be supported by their leading graduates. 6.      Football  (7 years to 11 years and 12 years to 18 years) Our senior (12 years to 17 years) and junior (7 years to 11 years) Saturday football activity is an opportunity for those want to build on the skills they have already developed during their normal school sessions. In this way we wish to welcome students from other schools to join us in an exciting opportunity for them to become part of the wider Wellington College Community here in Tianjin. The sessions will vary from week to week as we aim to stretch our footballers in all aspects of the beautiful game. This will include appropriate strength and fitness training, skills development and tactical understanding. We also plan to finish each session with a match in an effort to put what has been learnt immediately into practice. The coaches will be Mr David Cook, who played semi-professional and university football in England, before coaching Westminster School in London for ten years; Mr Adam Shaw, who played to a similar standard in the north-west of England, and coached youth-team football in Manchester and the United Arab Emirates for over fifteen years, before moving to China in August; and Mr Adam Tesdale, who has coached football at primary school level for many years. Our aim is to improve the technical, physical and mental attributes of all those who attend, as well pass on our passion for the game in an enjoyable and enthusiastic way. We all look forward to seeing you on Saturday. 7.      Basketball  (under 13 years and 14 years to 18 years) Basketball is one of the premier team sports in China, and this is reflected in our facilities, both indoor and outdoor at Wellington. In the short time the College has been open we have already established a strong basketball programme under our Australian coach, Mr Eddie  Zakarian, and he will be heading up our Saturday programme, where the focus will be firmly on developing both fitness and individual skills in a team framework. There will be two age groups, under 13s and  and 14 years to 17 years old. 8.      Touch Rugby  (All age groups) As befits a school with the traditions of Wellington, we are very keen to establish rugby in Tianjin. Our  Touch Rugby Club is an opportunity for anyone to play the game in a safe, fun and exciting environment. Touch rugby has become very popular over the last few years because it is an activity open to everyone, no matter what your age or ability. Touch Rugby is a non contact version of the game and it is a great way to improve fitness along with key motor skills. The Saturday sessions will be focusing on key areas of the game such as, passing, agility, strength, cardiovascular fitness, speed, co-ordination and knowledge of the game. Each week we will finish with a game which will help the players consolidate what they have learnt through the skills earlier on in the session. The course will be led by Mr Alex Lloyd, the Wellington Physical Education teacher, who has a firm pedigree in professional and semi-professional competitive rugby in England. He has also coached the Devon County Rugby team the UK, where a number of his  players went on to represent the country at U16 level. 9.      Swimming    (All age groups, from Saturday, 22nd October) There will be two groups in the Saturday Swimming Activity. There will be a class for beginners and also a competition group, where there will be coaching in technique in the various strokes, with an all-round emphasis on attaining swimming fitness and stamina. The details are as follows: (1)   Beginners: For less confident and non-swimmers the course is designed to promote ease with the pool environment, moving from initial water confidence to building a sound foundation of "water skills" which will be developed into good swimming technique. We aim to introduce basic orientation and movement skills and activities, developing breathing  the use of limbs for propulsion through the water. The lessons are conducted at the shallow end of the pool with the teacher in water, class sizes will be limited. For children who can swim 5-10 metres unaided on their front and back, can demonstrate breaststroke legs and submerge happily in water, we will develop the basic elements of propulsion, submersion, floatation  breathing to improve techniques on front crawl, back crawl and breaststroke. The lessons are conducted at the shallow end of the pool with the teacher out of the water. Class sizes will be limited. (2). Advanced and Competition Swimmers This is suitable for children who can swim over 50 metres front crawl, back crawl and breaststroke and 25 metres butterfly without pause or stress. The course introduces longer distance swims, develops a more efficient diving technique & correct turns including tumble turns for front crawl and timed distance swims. These levels also provide greater awareness in personal water safety survival swimming. The lessons are conducted in a lane deep water with the teacher on the pool-side, class sizes are limited. All courses will be led by Ms Sarah Wenham, who has a long background in competitive swimming as a freestyle swimmer. 10.  Ballet ( All age groups, from Saturday, 22nd October) The ballet classes will be aimed at all standards and will be conducted by our Wellington ballet teacher, Ms Yan Zhu, who has a professional background in ballet and contemporary dance. She has taking many leading roles in professional ballet productions, such as Swan Lake, Don Quixote, the Nutcracker Suite and Cinderella. We are still hoping to add gymnastics and golf to the programme in the next fortnight. This is a totally new venture for Tianjin and, with this in mind, the above activities will be held at 10.30am to 12.00pm from this Saturday, 15th October, when there will be the first of two taster days, for which there will be no charge. The second taster day, again free of charge, will be on the following Saturday, 22nd October, again between 10.30am to 12.00pm. We are still hoping to add gymnastics and golf to the programme in the next fortnight. This is a totally new venture for Tianjin and, with this in mind, the above activities will be held at 10.30am to 12.00pm from this Saturday, 15th October, when there will be the first of two taster days, for which there will be no charge. The second taster day, again free of charge, will be on the following Saturday, 22nd October, again between 10.30am to 12.00pm. The full eight-week programme will commence on Saturday, 29th October. Signing up for the full programme will involve a fee. The two free taster days are designed to show your children and you the quality of the Wellington facilities, the coaching and teaching, and how quickly your children can develop their skills and interests in an enjoyable way. The Saturday Activity programme is not confined to Wellington pupils, so students can bring their friends from other schools. We see the programme as a significant contribution to the Tianjin community. If you would like your child(ren) to attend one or both taster days, can you please fill out the accompanying form. If you are aware of children from other schools who would like to attend the activities programme on either day, could you ask their parents to send an email to emma.shi@wellington-tianjin.cn or to give her a call on 18722487836. Best wishes, David Cook