Dear Parents

It is coming up to the time in the year when the appraisal of our teaching staff is completed. The process of providing feedback and assessment for our staff at Wellington is a year-long one. Individuals finalise their target-setting each November. A series of regular review meetings are built into our calendar over the next ten months to ensure that colleagues have the chance to develop their professional practice and hone their skills. The final stage of the appraisal process, a 1-1 meeting with me, gives time for all colleagues to reflect on their work and identify areas for development across the coming year.

Appraisals are an important way we at Wellington seek to foster the very best performance from our teachers, but it is far from the only way. The more eagle-eyed among you may have noticed that the Term Diary announces a CPD session on Wednesday afternoons each week. These are regular sessions for staff training – CPD stands for Continuing Professional Development – during which time is given to teachers to work on shared goals for the school's development of teaching and learning. At present, for example, we have action research groups working on creative thinking, ''flipped'' learning – an innovative way of placing more of the burden on pupils for prior learning so that lessons become more dynamic and collaborative; other teachers are contributing to an enhanced English language provision for pupils new to the school and those in key year groups. Independence in learning, an important initiative shared with our sister school in the UK, is another area of focus, with teachers working hard to develop resources and teaching methodologies to best support our pupils as they grow more self-reliant in their learning over time.

These internal research topics have proved to be some of the most powerful and effective ways to develop our staff, however experienced they may be, but our membership of the Wellington group of schools allows us enviable access to external provision of training as well. This term alone, teachers in Tianjin will have had the chance to work on middle leadership training, cultural awareness, peer-to-peer coaching courses led by senior teachers from Wellington College in the UK and collaborated on projects led by Wellington's own Institute of Learning, based in Shanghai. The results of these long-term projects in pedagogy will filter down to all age groups and help benefit generations of current and future Wellingtonians.

I have often spoken of my restless pursuit of excellence for the school, both inside and outside the classroom. The commitment to recruiting and training the best international teachers remains a central part of the school's pursuit of that goal. In this way, our appraisal process and the weekly CPD sessions help develop an internal culture intolerant of stagnation or complacency, working tirelessly to provide the best educational experience for your children.

Best wishes

Julian Jeffrey
Executive Master

Council of International Schools Preparatory Evaluation Visit
25th-29th October

Back in 2016, the College was granted accreditation by the Council of International Schools (CIS), the leader in school evaluation and accreditation worldwide. To put this into context, CIS accreditation is recognised by government ministries, education departments, and universities all over the world. It signifies a school's commitment to international education of the highest standard. It is a benchmark of quality assurance that communicates to all who are engaged in the educational industry, whether they be educators, universities, investors, governors or parents, that a school is entirely legitimate and operating against the highest international standards. 

Over the past three months, the foundations for our reaccreditation have been built, and at the end of September, we submitted a comprehensive, nearly one-hundred-page preparatory report to CIS that addressed thirty core standards across nine domains. The domains encompass every aspect of the College and include purpose and direction, governance, ownership and leadership, curriculum, teaching and learning, wellbeing and safety, operations, staffing, communications and boarding. The report is underpinned by evidence supporting the school's self-evaluation and enables external evaluators to appraise and make judgements about the robustness of the school's provisions.

Between 25th – 29th, October two evaluators from CIS will visit the school (in a virtual capacity) to validate our self-reflections and supporting evidence and assess our commitment to continuous improvement. They will be involved in meetings with a wide variety of stakeholders across the College.  They will observe teaching and learning, drop-offs, pick-up times, assemblies, ASAs and recreation time while also being accompanied by academic leaders through a device that gives live footage. They may have some brief conversations with pupils, although in all cases, an additional adult from Wellington will be present through any conversations.

CIS has four main drivers that form the heart of its accreditation. They are purpose and direction, wellbeing, learning and the development of global citizenship. All four sit within our school's mission "to create a caring, learning community that develops well-rounded individuals with strong values and the skills and identity to thrive within an ever-changing world." Next week, I will write more about the four drivers and share further details about the accreditation cycle and the self-study process.

Parents' Meeting Window
25th October – 5th November

We would like to invite parents to make a booking with their child’s class teacher during the Parent Teacher Meeting window, from 25th October to the 5th November, to discuss their child’s learning, progress and targets. This is a wonderful opportunity to find out more about how your child is tracking and what you can do to support them. We published your child’s Interim Report on 22nd October, so please do look at the scores of your child prior to the meeting. We are delighted to be able to offer you the option of an online meeting via Teams, during the school day, or an in person meeting after school. Please contact your child’s teacher directly to make a booking. Thank you.

Junior School and Nest Swimming Lessons Open Week
25th – 29th October

The swimming lesson open week will be taking place in the week of 25th - 29th October. You are invited to your child's swimming lessons to watch and support your child's performance. For the reason of keeping environment hygiene, please bring your flip-flops to wear on the poolside.

Nest Parent Briefing: Bilingual Education and Language Learning
Nest
1430hrs, Tuesday
26th October

Bilingual education is at the heart of our teaching and learning strategies in The Nest. We will share how we support bilingualism in young children and explain how they develop language at an early age. We will also talk about how you can help at home.

The session will take place on Tuesday, 26th October, from 2.30 pm to 3:30 pm in the Nest 202. If you would like to register or have any questions, please leave a T chat message to Ms Tina or email to tina.zhang@wellingtoncollege.cn. Seats are limited, so first come, first served. We hope to see you there.

House Art

This year's House Art takes place this week, with houses putting up a display inspired by Halloween. Each house will be given a set of simple of Art materials and a display board in the Black Box foyer to create their ghoulish exhibit. Pumpkins, cauldrons, witches and ghosts are expected to rear their heads, and the judging will take place at the end of this week. House points are on offer for the best Halloween artworks, so good luck to all the houses!

Mandarin Trip: Year11 and AL Induction Year
0830hrs-1300hrs
Wednesday, 27th October

To encourage further our pupils' interest in exploring modern Chinese culture and history, the Mandarin Department is organising a trip for year 11 and AL Induction Chinese native speakers to the Italian Town on Wednesday morning of 27th October. As a part of the A Level Chinese Curriculum, pupils will better understand the historical background of modern literary works they are learning by visiting former residences of celebrities in the Italian Town. Pupils will set off at 0830hrs and be back at school before 1300hrs. For further details, please see the parent letter that will be handed out soon. If you have any other enquiries, please contact with catherine.jia@wellingtoncollege.cn.

Autumn Concert
Theatre
1800hrs, 28th October

Come and experience cinema's most iconic films with the scores performed live by the Wellington Chamber Orchestra, the Wellington choirs, other chamber music ensembles and soloists on an autumn evening. Parents who wish to see the concert will need to bring the school parent ID card and show the health code at the school gate.

Halloween Activities
1700hrs – 2100hrs, Friday
29th October

Senior School Student Council will organise a series of activities on Halloween, from 1700hrs to 2100hrs after school on Friday. Food and drinks are provided for sale. All Senior School pupils are welcome if they have their parents' permission and a signed parent letter. The school bus will not be provided after the event, so students must be collected by parents or leave by themselves with parents' confirmation.