The Week Ahead 21 June 2019

Dear parents Thank you to all those parents who attended the recent morning briefing on the school’s development plans for 2019/20. I hope you found it useful. One point which I mentioned in the session was that, from August, our briefings to parents will undergo something of a change. The first is that they will take place every two weeks, with the time (09:00hrs) and the venue unchanged. The shift to a two-week cycle will also see a change to the programme, with a greater emphasis on the academic course content and assessment forms across the school. This is in response to feedback from parents who would like to know more about the school’s courses and teaching programmes. This will be supported by more detailed handbooks, available online from August, which will help to outline the learning journey at Wellington in greater depth. The third change will be the introduction of more university briefings for parents of younger children. We recognise that planning for university admission starts early and, as a result, we will be offering twilight sessions at 17:30hrs across the year for parents and children of all age groups to come along and meet the university team and hear about the ways the school supports the application process.  I have listed the various briefing sessions for parents below; all parents are welcome to attend any session. Finally, the weekly Meet the Master sessions will continue as they have this year, with a monthly opportunity to meet the Bursar included to offer insight on non-academic matters. As ever, full details are in the term diary, published in August, or on our website, which shows events up to three  months ahead of time: (https://www.wellingtoncollege.cn/tianjin-international/school-life/calendar/).   Parent briefings 2019/20: Michaelmas term Wednesday 21 August 2019 14:30 - 15:30 Nest parent briefing: Getting your child ready for school Wednesday 28 August 2019 09:00 - 10:15 Parent briefing: Assessment at Wellington Wednesday 11 September 2019 09:00 - 10:15 Parent briefing: English language development at Wellington Wednesday 25 September 2019 09:00 - 10:15 Parent briefing: The Junior School numeracy programme Wednesday 09 October 2019 09:00 - 10:15 Parent briefing: Maths and numeracy in the Senior School 14:30 - 15:30 Nest parent briefing: Bilingual education Wednesday 23 October 2019 09:00 - 10:15 Parent briefing: Science at Wellington Wednesday 06 November 2019 09:00 - 10:15 Parent briefing: Mandarin courses for native speakers - Years 2-13 Wednesday 20 November 2019 09:00 - 10:15 Parent briefing: The arts in the Senior School curriculum Thursday 21 November 2019 17:30 Parent briefing: university applications (for parents of pupils in Years 7-9) Thursday 28 November 2019 17:30 Parent briefing: university applications and BridgeU Wednesday 04 December 2019 09:00 - 10:15 Parent briefing: How Wellington teaches life-long skills Wednesday 11 December 2019 14:30 - 15:30 Nest parent briefing: Parenting young children   Lent term Wednesday 15 January 2020 09:00 - 10:15 Parent briefing: The humanities at Wellington 14:30 - 15:30 Nest parent briefing How grandparents can support a child's learning & development Wednesday 12 February 2020 09:00 - 10:15 Parent briefing: Mandarin courses for non-native speakers - Years 2-11 Wednesday 19 February 2020 14:30 - 15:30 Nest parent briefing: Language acquisition in young children Wednesday 26 February 2020 09:00 - 10:15 Parent briefing: Technology education at Wellington Wednesday 11 March 2020 09:00 - 10:15 Parent briefing: The wellbeing curriculum at Wellington 14:30 - 15:30 Nest parent briefing: Learning through play - literacy Wednesday 25 March 2020 09:00 - 10:15 Parent briefing: Sports' education at Wellington   Summer term Wednesday 22 April 2020 09:00 - 10:15 Parent briefing: Annual Review 2020 feedback 14:30 - 15:30 Nest parent briefing: Fostering a growth mindset Wednesday 06 May 2020 09:00 - 10:15 Parent briefing: Managing successful transitions from Year 6-7 Wednesday 20 May 2020 09:00 - 10:15 Parent briefing What is independence in learning and how does it help children succeed? Wednesday 27 May 2020 14:30 - 15:30 Nest parent briefing: Learning through play - numeracy Wednesday 03 June 2020 09:00 - 10:15 Parent briefing: School development plans for 2020/21 Thursday 18 June 2020 17:30 Parent briefing University admissions - getting ready for applications to elite universities   I hope that these provide further opportunities for parents to learn more about the school and its programmes. You will know by now how important openness and communication are for us here at Wellington, and I think these are good ways to help keep our community informed of all the work going on within the school gates. All that it leaves me to do now is to wish all our families a very happy and peaceful summer holiday. I hope to see you all thoroughly refreshed and ready for the new year on 21st August when term starts for all pupils.   Best wishes   Julian Jeffrey MASTER *Reminder* This week the school for all pupils will finish at 1550hrs from Monday to Thursday, and the buses will departure from school at 1600hrs. On the final day of the term, Friday 28th June, school will finish at 1500hrs, and the buses will departure at 1510hrs. There are no ASA this week and pupils will have prep time instead. FROM THE DIRECTOR OF EDUCATIONAL TECHNOLOGY  Surface Pros during the holiday: Y10, 11 and A Level Induction Year Dear parents, as you are aware, here at Wellington College International Tianjin we value developments in technology which help our pupils to access educational content and support their academic success. We also believe in empowering our pupils for the future, one aspect of which is educating them on the use of new technologies. These are the reasons why we started our ‘anytime-anywhere’ learning programme, supplying your children with state-of-the-art Microsoft Surface Pro devices. In order to allow for revision and research over the long summer holiday, we have decided to allow all Year 10, Year 11, and A Level induction year pupils to keep their Surface Pros throughout July and August. I would urge all of them, however, to justify this trust placed in them and take good care of these devices, bringing them back on the first day of school. I wish you all a great summer holiday! FROM MS CHAPMAN, ENGLISH DEPARTMENT Macbeth Theatre 1320hrs, Monday, 24th June 1800hrs, Tuesday, 25th June Please come along on either Monday lunchtime or Tuesday evening of this week to watch the students perform Shakespeare’s classic tragedy Macbeth. The students have been working exceptionally hard on memorising lines of challenging Shakespearean language. The event is free and no ticket is required. Please note that the estimated end time of the performance on Tuesday is 1900hrs. There will be light refreshments available after the evening show. FROM THE HEAD OF SCIENCE DEPARTMENT Science Fair Black Box 1330hrs-1530hrs, Tuesday 25th June The Wellington College Science Fair is an opportunity for students to apply scientific method to conduct independent research and promote an ongoing interest in Science through exhibition and demonstration. Creative thinking is encouraged so that all involved think outside of the box to determine solutions to their chosen question. This provides exploratory experiences through self-designed models and encourages problem-solving teamwork. A further aim of the Fair is to develop a scientific approach to raise awareness of environmental challenges such as sustainability, global warming and an alternative to plastic, all of which promote a scientific mind. Pupils enjoy learning through such exhibition and feel a sense of ownership as they make the presentations with their own hands. The students get an opportunity to showcase their talent in front of others and feel proud of their achievements as well as learning in unique ways to find solutions to their challenge. Art Every Friday 8:30-11:00 MB125 Mrs Markovic ksenija.jakic@gmail.com Mandarin Every Tuesday 10:15-11:15 MB125 Mrs Yuan and Mrs Zhang yizhang001@foxmail.com EAL (lower level) Every Monday 8:30-9:30 MB231 Mr Findlay paul.findlay@wellingtoncollege.cn EAL (higher level) Every Friday 8:30-9:30 MB231 Mr Findlay paul.findlay@wellingtoncollege.cn Pilates Every Tuesday 8:45-10:00 Black Box Mrs Stofkova dstofkova@yahoo.com Pilates Every Friday 8:45-10:00 Black Box Mrs Stofkova dstofkova@yahoo.com Yoga Every Wednesday 8:45-10:00 Black Box Mrs Havlíková havlikann@gmail.com Yoga Every Thursday 10:45-12:00 Black Box Mrs Havlíková havlikann@gmail.com Glamour Handmade Course Every Wednesday 14:00-15:30 MB125 Mrs Chen kevingutongxuan@163.com Traditional Chinese Medicine Every Thursday 9:00-10:30 MB207 Mrs Markovic ksenija.jakic@gmail.com Notice: Any changes of time/date/venue please follow the notice according to the course organiser.

UPCOMING EVENTS

Monday 24 June 2019 All Day Year 12 Higher Education Day (ii) (JMS) (Main Building)   All Day Week B   8:30AM - 9:30AM FOW EAL (Beginners) (PF) (MB 235)   1:20PM Macbeth (LC)(Theatre)   3:05PM - 3:45PM Senior School Assembly (JMS) (Theatre)   Tuesday 25 June 2019 8:45AM - 10:00AM FOW Pilates (ES) (Black Box)   10:15AM - 11:15AM FOW Mandarin Class (ES) (MB 125)   1:30PM - 3:30PM Science Fair (CI) (Black Box)   6:00PM – 7:00PM Macbeth (LC)(Theatre)   Wednesday 26 June 2019 8:45AM - 10:00AM FOW Yoga (ES) (Black Box)   2:00PM Milepost 3 Trip and Exit Point (RA) (Main Building)   6:00PM - 7:30PM Jasmine Concert (FG)   Thursday 27 June 2019 9:00AM - 10:30AM FOW: Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) (ES) (WCA Room)   9:00AM - 12:00PM FOW Reading Group (ES) (MB 125)   10:45AM - 12:00PM FOW: Yoga (ES) (Black Box)   3:05PM - 3:45PM Junior School Assembly (RA) (Theatre)   Friday 28 June 2019 8:30AM - 9:00AM Nest Assembly (DZ) (Theatre)   8:30AM - 9:30AM FOW EAL (Advanced) (PF) (MB 231)   8:30AM - 11:00AM FOW Art Class (KM) (MB 125)   8:45AM - 10:00AM FOW Pilates (ES) (Black Box)   3:30PM Summer Terms ends (ES)   3:45PM Nest: Pupil reports published (DZ)   5:00PM Senior School reports published (DP)   5:00PM Junior School reports published (RA)   Saturday 29 June 2019 10:30AM A Level Scholarship Interviews (external) (YY) (Main Building)