Dear parents

It will not have escaped your notice that the school is looking distinctly festive this week, as Christmas decorations have appeared across the estate. For many people, particularly those from countries that do not mark Christmas as a major part of their cultural experience, it can seem little more than a time of commercialism and excess. Certainly, the ‘spirit of Christmas’ has changed a great deal from its roots in pagan ritual, marking the mid-winter and the Christian message of the nativity. The religious significance of the yuletide is still of central importance to many, of course, but as the world has become a more secular place, those seeking a deeper meaning to this season often look to charity and the practice of helping others.

At Wellington, a commitment to service projects and charitable causes is ingrained in the DNA of the institution. As much as anything, we recognise that an opportunity for an education at Wellington is one that very few children will be lucky enough to experience. As such, a young person’s time at the school is both a precious gift and a responsibility. I have often written and spoken of my belief that Wellingtonians have a wider role in service to others, not just in the selfish pursuit of personal goals. In charitable giving, for example, we have had some startling achievements this term, with events such as the Pink Day in October raising 34,000RMB for local breast cancer charities and the recent ‘Movember’, with its focus on men’s health, over 16,500RMB. These are enormous sums for a community of our size and reflect the deeper characteristics of Christmas - a tradition of generosity and giving.

Admirable as these figures are, I think we can still do more to serve the community beyond our gates. Cash donations are, of course, welcome, but we are determined to explore further learning opportunities from such events. As a result, the next steps for us involve a greater emphasis on service as a way of supporting our charitable causes. In this way, groups like the International Duke of Edinburgh (IDoE) Award scheme and the Eric Liddell project, both available as service-learning activities here at Wellington, can offer enormous opportunities for young people to help others (and themselves) by doing projects in the local community or further afield. A commitment to the IDoE, for example, can offer a real chance for Wellingtonians to show that they too can use their privileged status to make their world a better one for all. We heard last week that several pupils had completed their bronze and silver awards stages successfully: my congratulations to Joanna, Eric, Nancy and William for their bronze awards and Tony, Coco and Zachery for their silver. The Eric Liddell ASA sees our pupils organise and lead a project to help local children by raising money and awareness of the issues that many young people in our wider Tianjin community face.

As we move into the Christmas season, I hope that all our pupils have the chance to reflect on how they contribute to their communities, be it at home, in school, across the city or any other. Christmas need not be a hollow experience, dominated by a desire for gifts and food; it can be a time for us all to think about how we want our world to be and what part we can play in shaping it to that vision. 

Best wishes

Julian Jeffrey
EXECUTIVE MASTER

School ends at 1500hrs each day next week
13-17 December 2021

In the final week of the term, the school day will end at 1500hrs, and buses will leave at 1515hrs. I wish all our pupils and parents a relaxing winter holiday and a happy new year. I look forward to welcoming you all back on Monday, 3rd January 2022.

Parent Briefing for Junior School and Key Stage 3 (Year 7, 8 and 9) parents
0900hrs-1000hrs, Wednesday
15th December

I would like to remind parents that the Heads of the Junior and Senior Schools will be holding a joint briefing session for parents who wish to know more about the changes in the new style of reports for their children. The guidance will also be included in the reports themselves, but this is a further opportunity for parents to find out more and ask questions. Parents will need to access the Parent Portal for the reports. Details of how to join the meeting will be shared with you early next week.

Years 11-13 Mock Examinations
4th – 14th January 2022

All pupils in years 11, 12 and 13 will be sitting mock examinations from 4th -14th January. The expectations are that they spend the following amount of time on their revision during the holidays:

Year 11 - 4 hours per subject, including past papers
Year 12 - 10 hours per subject, including past papers
Year 13 - 14 hours per subject, including past papers

Please make sure that your child is sleeping and eating well and has somewhere quiet to do their revision.

Why do we do mock examinations?
They are an excellent way to find out where your child’s strengths are, as well as identify the areas that require attention. Mocks are also a valuable 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.

Winter Concert
Theatre
1800hrs, Thursday
16th December

The first term seems to have flown by so quickly, and before we know it, Christmas is fast approaching! The music department and pupils always get into the festive spirit every year well before the rest of the school, as preparation for various Christmas performances starts as early as September.

The Winter Concert celebrates the hard work of various school ensembles and soloists. The concert will start at 1800hrs with two fanfares, A Festive Fanfare and From the Realms of Glory, performed by the college orchestra with musicians from the Tianjin Philharmonic Orchestra, followed by festive songs from all the college choirs. The college ensembles will also bring us winter-themed pieces to kick in the festive atmosphere. The Wellatonics will sing three songs from their Christmas repertoire to round off the concert. Those who missed their performance at the St Regis Hotel should come and enjoy their beautiful singing!

Parents who wish to come to this concert will need their Parent ID cards and the health and tracking codes ready for the guards to check. Please contact Ms Stella at stella.sun@wellingtoncollege.cn for further questions.

Nest Pyjama Day
Thursday, 16th December

On Thursday 16th December we ask children and staff to come to school in their pyjamas. This is a special day when the children are invited into a magical winter wonderland created in the Nest, listening to stories and enjoying hot chocolate and gingerbread cookies! Ms Lisa and Ms Jan retell stories appropriate for the age groups while the children enjoy some traditional sweet treats for the festive season. It is a special day, especially because we wear our pyjamas in school. Please ensure your child brings a coat, too, as they will still have outdoor learning during the day.

I look forward to seeing all the colourful pyjamas on the day!

Junior School Christmas Celebration

The Junior School has a festive afternoon from 1300hrs – 1500hrs on 17th December. This includes one hour of Christmas arts and crafts activities in house rooms and a disco in the Sports Hall.

Computer Science Education Week and annual Hour of Code in Wellington

As announced last week, we hosted two Hour of Code events in partnership with Microsoft Education within this year’s Computer Science Education Week, one in Junior School and one in Senior School.

In Junior School, we had two parallel computer science activities with lovely year 4 and year 5 pupils – micro:bit and Microsoft Kodu Game Lab. Coding the micro:bit minicomputer works to develop pupils’ STEM capabilities. At the same time, Kodu Game Lab provides a visual programming environment for pupils to further their design process and computational thinking skills.

Parent Briefing: University Briefing for Parents of Year 11 and AL Induction
FOW Room (MB238)
1700hrs – 1830hrs, Tuesday
14th December

There will be a parent briefing on university applications from 1700hrs - 1830hrs for parents of pupils in year 11 and the A Level induction year. All parents are welcome to attend. Please contact lily.lian@wellingtoncollege.cn if you wish to attend. We would like to see as many parents there as possible. The meeting will take place in the Friends of Wellington (FOW) room, 238.

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!