The Week Ahead 24 April 2020

From the Master 来自校长 마스터

Dear parents I am so pleased that we have been able to offer some of our pupils a return to school this week. Whilst the environment is suitably sterile, the ability to interact with one another has been a real boost for both pupils and staff; I hope it is only a matter of time before we are able to welcome their friends and peers into the school too. As I have maintained throughout the extended online learning period, lessons away from the physical environment of the school need not mean any diminution in quality or slackening of the pace of learning. Looking around the lessons and activities that are happening across the school, it is clear that pupils have made some remarkable progress. Our data from registration, assessment and surveys show how positively pupils from all year groups have engaged with their teachers since early February. Whilst classroom conditions may largely have been dictated by forces beyond our control, the achievement of our young people is a testament to their determination and hard work. At the top of the school, our public examination candidates are still working hard to present evidence through their assessed work to help inform the grades they will be predicted. This process does not finish for some time, so they are working with their teachers to ensure that their final weeks of assessment are as fruitful as we can make them. The recent university offers from Imperial College; King’s College, London; Durham; Hong Kong university and Virginia in the USA show what exciting prospects face the top year group in 2020. Last year saw our debut in the USAP and USAD competitions, and I am sure you recall the jubilation that followed our successes in both. This year’s events have been online, unsurprisingly, but with the number of entrants from across China increasing by 1/3rd from 2019, the level of competition was significantly higher. Our teams, under the guidance of Ms Feng, have been working for months towards this goal and I am delighted to report that a number of them won awards in gold, silver and bronze categories. Particular congratulations go to the winners, Sam (Year 8); James, Frank and Coco (all A Level Induction); and Catherine (Year 11), but at the same time, their achievement would not have been possible without the support of other student leaders such as Ted, August, Hongyu, and Kaiser. Well done to all our determined competitors! Our pupils in Years 7-9 are also producing some exciting work, and I have been pleased to read of the awards in English and reading over the past two months. Building a strong vocabulary is so vital in improving the life chances of any young person, be it for examination success, confidence in interviews or the ability to write fluently and persuasively later in life. I cannot stress enough how central reading is to that process – not to mention the sheer enjoyment gained from reading - and thus I am delighted to see Ms Pulchna offer further access to the Library’s resources from this week (see below). In the Junior School, the Exit Point showcases from last week showed the commitment and hard work of the pupils and their teachers. There was such an array of wonderful work on show that it is sometimes hard to believe that these children have not had access to the school’s physical resources for over two months. I am sure that anyone lucky enough to see the work and hear from the children will appreciate how they have grown in confidence in their presentation work as well as their imagination and independence. Older children in the Nest have been busy with IXL and AET maths as they prepare to move on to life in the Junior School, whilst the younger ones have been engaged in everything from phonics programmes, exercise classes, learning about Spring and even doing some cooking with their teachers and parents. Anyone who works in schools will recognise how important it is to celebrate pupil achievement. It helps to give a focus and identity to a year of progress and hard work. I wrote last week about how I felt this term, and thus the end of the school year, would not be allowed to be diminished in this regard, and in the coming weeks, you will hear much more about the wonderful work your children have done. There are several exciting milestones still to go, including the award of our first Shuping scholarship in July, preceded by our annual internal scholarship round in May, as well as the prizes for effort and achievement to mark the end of the school year in June. I hope you can share our joy at presenting such positive news this week. Julian Jeffrey MASTER MEET THE MASTER AND BURSAR ONLINE MEETING 1400hrs-1500hrs, Thursday 30th April   The Meet the Master and Bursar slot is held online this week and is open to parents of pupils in all year groups. If you would like to attend, please confirm via email with Ms. Emma Shi (emma.shi@wellingtoncollege.cn) by Wednesday 29th April. MEET THE COLLEGE LIBRARIAN Library Service for Parents   We would like to offer Wellington parents and pupils our library service. If you would like to receive book recommendations, information about online reading resources or if you are interested in borrowing books from our library you can contact our College librarian: jola.pulchna@wellingtoncollege.cn. Requested books (2-3 per week) can be arranged for you and left at the school security gate for collection. FROM THE HEAD OF EARLY YEARS   Thank you to all parents who engaged in the successful Parent-Teacher meetings this week. The remarkable progress the children have made during this time is a testament to the collaborative efforts between home and school and we look forward to more. We invite parents who have yet to make an appointment to contact their class teachers. FROM THE DEPUTY HEAD OF THE JUNIOR SCHOOL The appointment booking process for Junior School online Parent -Teacher meetings Monday 4th May - Friday 15th May   Bookings are now open for the Junior School online Parent-Teacher meetings, to be held via Microsoft Team meetings (using your child’s account), from Monday 4th May to Friday 15th May. Please contact your child’s class teacher to make a booking. There will be 10-minute slots from 1600hrs – 1800hrs within the two-week period. Your child’s Lent term school report has been published, so this is a perfect opportunity to discuss your child’s progress and next steps with their teacher. Most pupils have engaged very well with e-learning and we thank you for your continued support. Those who have found challenges working online can discuss with their child’s class teacher further areas of support.

Jeffrey

Kevin

Rita

Junxi

FROM MRS PRENDI, YEAR 3   MP2 have all been imitating famous portraits in IPC this week! Some of the photos that Year 3 have created are amazing. I wonder how many of these you can recognise!

RyeongAh

Scarlett

Yoyo

Jaei

FROM MS CHAPMAN, ENGLISH DEPARTMENT Reader of the Week - Emily, Year 8   This is Emily’s second time being Reader of the Week. This is due to her continued commitment to reading and exploring novels outside of lesson time. In two weeks, Emily read ‘Three Days to See’, ‘The Old Man and the Sea’ and ‘The Little Prince’, completing book reviews for them all! Congratulations Emily.