The Week Ahead 29 June 2018

  Dear Parents I wrote to you all at the end of May about the ways in which the school will develop over the coming academic year, and I know that many of you were able to attend the subsequent briefing on 14th June which offered flesh to some of the bones of that initial letter. This letter seeks not to duplicate that information, but rather aims to share a sense of celebration of the year, as well as to offer my heartfelt best wishes to those pupils and staff who leave us this summer. Aside from keeping our pupils safe across the estate, the single most important achievement in any school is that of its public examination candidates. Anyone who shared in the memorable Graduation ceremony and heard all those marvellous testaments to our senior leavers from their Housemasters and mistresses will understand how profound their journeys with us have been. All of them have their next steps outlined for them. They leave us now to go to some of the world’s leading universities in the UK, US and Korea, as well as exploring new and exciting courses in a gap year; their legacy will be a rich one in terms of grades. As parents, you will hear of their achievements in the early part of the Michaelmas term, with full results due by the end of August. Working towards the next generation of university destinations has already begun, and as I write, the 37 pupils moving to Year 13 in August are busy writing their Personal Statements and drafting College application letters in earnest with our Sixth Form team of tutors and counsellors. Those of you with children of an age to start thinking about applications will notice a real development in the bespoke care we provide to our pupils at the top end of the school. In terms of extra-curricular highlights, you may be interested to know that when I went through the diary for the past school year, I found that we have put on 43 events in Music, Art and Drama; 63 sports’ fixtures with other schools; and 44 day and residential trips, with some as local as riverside walks to others which spanned the globe. The range and ambition of such programmes should not be underestimated in the education of the whole child. At an event I was speaking at last week, I outlined my views on how different education will become in the face of pressure from employers and the new world of technology. It was clear that what recruiters to university and businesses need in the mid-21st Century is self-confident, versatile young people, able to work collaboratively and communicate effectively. Young people with the opportunities available to Wellingtonians here in Tianjin are thus very well placed to take advantage of their time at school to develop themselves into the socially-responsible and successful adults so desperately sought by the world’s top employers. It is of course unfair to select any one event as the highlight of the year – the Christmas and Spring Festival shows, Autumn concert, Art exhibitions, the intense workshop production of the Caucasian Chalk Circle and the lovely Junior School Summer Gala last week all showed the breadth of talent of our young performers, musicians and artists. Having said that, Les Misérables, China’s first ever school production of this complex and challenging musical, left audiences grasping for superlatives. It was surely our greatest spectacle yet, with 190 pupils involved and unfailing support from their teachers and staff. It is hard to quantify the impact such an event has on its participants, but it is clear that the experience will stay with these young people forever. In this way, pupils can understand how perseverance and challenging oneself becomes part of their own growth, and that by overcoming nerves and setting ambitious targets, they can achieve great things both collectively and individually. One of the features of any school is that at the end of each year, a number of well-loved teachers move on to fresh challenges in other schools. Teachers at Wellington are much coveted by other schools because of their experience, proven track record of hard work and academic achievement and the enviable training opportunities they receive. As such, it is inevitable that a number move on, and this year we say goodbye to a number of long-term colleagues in David and Hillary MacKinnon, who take on new responsibilities at our sister school in Hangzhou; Robert Bradley and Ailsa Carr, who also stay in the Wellington family, albeit a little further afield in Bangkok; Matthew and Sonia Bradley, who are moving to Qatar; Katherine Gear, moving to Beijing; Dr Brian Howe; Zulia Arbon, heading to Moscow; Divya Jesudoss and Martinique Pretorius, who leave for new opportunities in New York and South Africa respectively; Helen Campbell, who is relocating to Shanghai; and Gary Wells, who returns to Colombia with his family. My thanks too to our dedicated interns, Hayley, Beth and Lauren; they have done sterling work for us this year. I wish all our departing colleagues every success for the future. Replacing them has not been an easy task, but I believe that the team of new teachers arriving in August have the experience and expertise to help your children reach ever greater heights of scholarship and achievement in the years to come. There have been many highlights of the past year, from our strongest recognition yet by the Annual Review, the success of our wonderful bilingual Nursery facility, and the restless pursuit of further pupil opportunities. These all add up to one thing: greater pupil achievement. I set that as my goal for the year and it remains at the heart of my philosophy of education. Parents too have played an integral part in building up the school, of course. I could not imagine anything like the progress we have seen this year without a strong and positive engagement by parents with the school. The extraordinary growth of the WCA (soon to become familiar as the Friends of Wellington or FOW) suggests that there is a continuing appetite among parents for a role in school, and I look forward to welcoming ever more parents and members of the community to the exciting events which happen each day in our school. Finally, details of the school’s new uniform are attached. It can be pre-ordered via the online shop: http://pc.halfrin.com/shop/login/login. I would like to wish all our families a very happy holiday. Best wishes Julian Jeffrey MASTER Wellington College International Tianjin Start of Term A reminder to parents that the Michaelmas Term starts at 0815hrs on Wednesday 22nd August. New pupils and their parents are invited to a special induction day on Tuesday 21st, details of which will be supplied by the Admissions’ office over the holidays. Help your child navigate the Senior School: Workshops for Year 7 parents Common Room 1315hrs Tuesday 21st August The pupil experience in the Senior School is quite different to that of the Junior School. To help the transition for parents, Mrs Popovic, Mr Lewis and Miss Payne will be offering a series of workshops designed to highlight some of the different practices and expectations of the Senior School. The sessions are informal but will help reassure those parents curious about the teaching and learning; tutoring and House system; wider pastoral care and how we assess pupils. Refreshments will be served in the Common Room. DB Primary  We have a 2-month trial of DB primary, to see if it will help our children learn independently at home over the holiday period, and beyond. The recommendation is that they should be spending at least half an hour each day online. The website is: http://wellington.international.dbprimary.com/international/primary/wellington The children should already know how to log in, and how to use the system. It should help with their Maths and English, and this can be the focus over the summer holidays. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact cissy.zhao@wellingtoncollege.cn who will be able to help you with any login issues.   School Library Open-Time During the Holiday School library will open from 1400hrs -1600hrs on Thursdays: 5th July, 12th July, 19th July, 26th July, 2nd August and 9th August for Junior school parents to lend some books for their children to read during the holiday. Nest ‘Meet the Teacher’  1000hrs Tuesday 21st August All Nest parents (new and existing) are invited to attend a ‘Meet the Teacher’ briefing on 21st August 2018. New parents will join the whole school induction at 0900hrs at the theatre and then continue with the class briefing, along with existing parents, at 1000hrs at the Nest. This will be specific to your child’s year group and will give parents a chance to ask questions, find out class expectations and meet your child’s teacher.   Nest Parents’ Briefing: Preparing your child for starting school Common Room 0900hrs-1000hrs Friday 24th August Starting school can be an exciting time for many families but it can be overwhelming as well. As we begin our new academic year, we would like to invite our Nest parents to an informative workshop on strategies they can use to help equip their children to be ready for school. This will be on Friday, 24th August from 0900hrs to 1000hrs in the Common Room. We hope to see you then! All Boarders are requested to return to Benson during the afternoon or evening of 21st August, no later than 2030hrs.