Dear parents

We are now firmly into the final third of the Michaelmas term. The remaining weeks are arguably some of the most intense and important of any school year. Pupils in the Junior and Senior Schools are involved in public and internal examinations. Those in year 13 are busy preparing for university applications and interviews, including the seven who have applied to Oxford or Cambridge this year. Preparations for the end of term concerts and shows are underway, with pupils and staff busy rehearsing for what promises to be another memorable end to a long term. ISCOT and other sports fixtures continue to feature each week.

These are all part of the fabric of any busy school year, of course, but as they come in such a concentrated period at the end of a lengthy term, there is potential for emotions to become heightened. In such an atmosphere, where tiredness impairs sounder judgement, tensions can emerge from even the most innocuous situations, whether in the classroom or on the playground. Any community experiences moments like these and recognising this inevitability, schools try and arm pupils with the skills they need to navigate such emotionally taxing incidents.

The school's pastoral programme is underpinned, as with all our most profound work, by the core values and, in such cases, specifically, respect, kindness and integrity. These are not just part of the education programme here at Wellington; they lie at the core of our purpose in managing the relationships between pupils and others in our community. They provide a clear, equitable base from which to conduct conversations between children when things go awry. The language of the values is universal – these are living values in that we not only adhere to them each day, but they carry equal significance in any language, culture or background.

For the values to mean something, we seek to highlight how they impact our lives every day, not just when we choose to observe them. In this way, it is precisely at those times when we need them most – at times of stress, or conflict, for example – that we need them most. It is easy to be kind and respectful, for example, when everything in our lives is going well; it is less straightforward when things are difficult. Integrity is even more challenging because we are only ever tested on our integrity when times are tough and we face unpalatable choices. Integrity means we are true to ourselves; it can involve making decisions that may not be ones we find easy, but because they are right.

As our pupils go into this last, long stretch of term before the holiday in December, we will continue to work with them to help them understand their emotions, manage their relationships with others and take responsibility for their actions. Parents and families can help by ensuring that children get sufficient sleep at night – poor sleep over time impairs good judgement – and work with the school to resolve matters when things do not go as smoothly as we all hope. At this hectic time of the year, it is worth reflecting that living together harmoniously as a community is as much a life skill as developing resilience or appreciating the need for service to others, but it is not achieved by accident. It takes time, hard work and a commitment to the ties that bind us – our shared values – to help our children become the adults we all wish them to be.

Best wishes

Julian Jeffrey
EXECUTIVE MASTER

Duke of Wellington Room (MB109)
1400hrs-1500hrs, Thursday
18th November

This week's Meet the Master and Bursar slot is open to parents of pupils across the college. Please confirm via e-mail with Ms Emma Shi (emma.shi@wellingtoncollege.cn) by Wednesday, 17th November if you would like to attend.

2021 Christmas Bazaar

Christmas is just around the corner, and it is time for our annual Charity Christmas Bazaar, which is always one of the Wellington Community's favourite events.

When: 10th December 2021
Time: 1400hrs-1700hrs
Location: Sports Hall, Wellington College International Tianjin

*Under the current situation, it is for the Wellington community only

If any parents or friends from the Wellington community are interested in organising a stall or offering any other support for the event, please contact Eelco van Kuilenburg at activityprogram.tianjin@wellingtoncollege.cn

The Nest
1430hrs, Wednesday
17th November

We will be hosting a meeting discussing Language, Phonics, and Literacy. We will be addressing strategies used in class to enhance literacy development during this meeting. Our discussion will examine how quality phonics instruction and metacognition teaching strategies in our Bilingual immersive environment enables your child to flourish. We will investigate how T4W (talk for writing) benefits children's learning. T4W is a way to enhance children's literacy skills by combining text-type language with actions. It supports recall, vocabulary acquisition and comprehension, thereby improving their communication abilities.

Junior School Assessment Window
15th - 26th November

We hope you found the Interim reports and subsequent parent-teacher meetings helpful in understanding how your child is progressing in their learning against the 1-9 Wellington Scales. From 15th to 26th November, we will be assessing our pupils again to see how they have progressed from the baseline assessment, what next steps each pupil needs and what stretch and support we need to put in place. End of term reports will follow in December, including academic targets. There will also be another opportunity to discuss your child's learning with their teacher in January. It is imperative that we share information and build our parent-teacher relationships to support your child's education and wellbeing at school so they can achieve their very best academically, socially and emotionally.

Virtual Junior School Open Morning
Online
0830hrs-1030hrs, Thursday
18th November

We would like to invite all Junior School parents to join us on a virtual tour of the Junior School classrooms on Thursday 18th November from 0830hrs to 1030hrs. Our Head Boy and Head Girl will guide you around the learning and introduce you to the teachers and learning activities. You will hear from the curriculum leads and student council members and find out what classes are specifically focusing on at the moment. We are so sorry that we can't welcome you all in person at this time due to Covid-19 restrictions; hopefully, you will be able to visit the classrooms at some point in 2022.

Senior School Assessment Week  
15th - 19th November 

The assessment week for pupils in years 7, 8, 9, 10 and 11 A Level Induction group will commence on Monday 15th November and finish on Friday 19th November. Assessment is an integral part of instruction, as it helps teachers determine whether our pupils are meeting the learning objectives. We use the data from this process to initiate extension, intervention and support plans for our pupils. Timetables and revision guides have already been e-mailed to all the pupils to support their preparation for these critical assessments.

Virtual University Visit: University of Toronto
FOW Room (MB238)
1000hrs - 1100hrs, Tuesday
16th November

I am delighted to inform you that the University of Toronto (THE ranking - 16th; QS ranking – 26th) will be delivering an online information session next Tuesday, 16th November, from 1000hrs to 1100hrs in the FOW room (MB238). Pupils from year 10 and above are all welcome to join. We would also welcome any parents who are interested in the event.

Readers of the week

The English and ELA department is delighted to announce that we will reinstate the Readers of the Week reading scheme for KS3 and year 10 ELA pupils. Each week, the English and ELA teachers will nominate the name of a pupil who has particularly impressed them with their independent reading: for example, by reading outside of lesson time, engaging in discussions about a book they have been reading or writing a book review.

We are delighted to announce that this week's readers of the week are Eunice in year 7 and Nakisha in year 9. The latter were both nominated by Mr Furse for reading so far ahead in 'Northern Lights' all by herself (Eunice) and having been reading and writing a book review of 'War Horse' (Nakisha).

Congratulations to Eunice and Nakisha for being our first Readers of the Week this academic year – who will be next?

Each week we will have workshops and lectures on various and colourful topics held by our school parents and friends. This is to enhance our bonds as a Wellington Community, and we would love to welcome all of you to join us!

Christmas Charity Felting wool workshop
Old Common Room (MB214)
1400hrs -1600hrs, Friday
26th November

Why not have some fun by learning new knowledge while contributing to the Christmas Charity Bazaar. Make as many flowers as you want for the Bazaar, and enjoy the Art & Design side of life in the knowledge that you can make that extra step by helping others! All the materials will be provided. Just bring your happy smiles.

If you would like to participate, please send an e-mail to lily.lian@wellingtoncollege.cn by 18th of November.