The Week Ahead 23rd October 2020

Dear parents

I have been so pleased this week to see that groups of parents are gradually being admitted to the school estate once more. Whilst we are limiting numbers at this stage to 20 parents for any single briefing or meeting, the measure marks another step in the normalisation of practice in the aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic. Over the next two months, we will gradually ease restrictions further. As long as the school maintains its excellent health and safety record and there is no influenza outbreak to compound the risk of a second wave of coronavirus, the school will be able to accommodate ever greater numbers of parents at our events.

There is little doubt that we as a community have missed the daily personal interaction with our families and that the coronavirus has created an artificial barrier between us. As a result, parents new to the school have rarely been able to see how the school operates and how their child’s classes are conducted. Longer-standing parents have missed out on the regular opportunities to meet with staff and to catch up with one another through the FOW. Whilst our written communications between school and home have grown over the past nine months, I know how much we all value the connections we make through in-person meetings and discussions. They have been an invaluable part of raising mutual understanding, particularly in terms of communicating the often-complex school practices and curriculum information. Explaining a child’s pathway through learning in each year group is more engaging and accessible to parents if they can physically be in school.

As we open up to more parents, the food committees, Meet the Master sessions, parent briefings and university admissions’ sessions are all once again in-person events (although please note that prior registration for attendance is still required at least 24hrs in advance). One of the first events that will see parents here is our annual ‘bring your mother to school’ day for pupils in year 7 on Thursday 29th. Mums of this year group should register with Ms Shen (sophia.shen@wellingtoncollege.cn) if they wish to attend. The day will involve shadowing your child in lessons, as well as participating in class, having lunch, doing ASAs and PE and meeting Mrs Popovic and Ms Shen at the end of day. It is a great way to learn more about the education we offer here at Wellington and provides an invaluable insight into the busy nature of a typical day in school for your child.

There will still need to be some events online – most obviously, as a result of the numbers involved, our parents' evenings continue to be on Teams – but the aim in all our communications is to provide parents with more information about the school and its practices. We want to be as open and transparent as possible in sharing details of our programmes of study, pedagogy and expectations of each child, so if you do have any further questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Best wishes

Julian Jeffrey
MASTER

In School Meeting
1400hrs-1500hrs, Thursday
29th October

This week’s Meet the Master slot is open to parents of pupils in the years 2 to 6. If you would like to attend, please confirm via email with Ms Emma Shi (emma.shi@wellingtoncollege.cn) by Wednesday 28th October.

Online Meeting
0900hrs - 1015hrs, Wednesday
28th October

Parent briefings are held on Wednesday mornings usually from 0900hrs -1015hrs. Parents will have the chance to engage with the school in sessions that cover all aspects of your child’s education, from the Early Years to A levels and university admissions.

This briefing is about the Mandarin programme for non-native speakers at Wellington, including the Nest, the Junior School and the Senior School. By attending, you will gain an insight into the Mandarin curriculum (key courses, extended activities and Chinese Culture events) of whole school and how we apply it to pupils, as well as an explanation of exam options for pupils at Key Stage 4 and 5. Sessions will be recorded, and a link to the meeting will be shared.

Online University Fair

Due to travel restrictions this year, our University Fair will take on a different format. We are pleased to be offering a series of online presentations (three per week) from universities from all over the world. Over 200 universities from all over the world will be in attendance so this is a fantastic opportunity for our pupils to gain information first-hand.

Next week, there will be three presentations on applying to Korean universities. On Tuesday, there will be a presentation for students – how to apply to Korean universities. On Wednesday and Thursday, there will be presentations from Yonsei university and Korea university – these two sessions are for Korean pupils only and are pre-recorded. All pupils from years 10-13 are all welcome to attend the first one in the Sixth Form Seminar room. They will all start at 1320hrs, and early lunch is available. Pupils will need to contact a member of the university team if they wish to attend.

• Tuesday 27th October 1320hrs – How to Apply to Korean Universities for International pupils (English)

• Wednesday 28th October 1320hrs – Yonsei University (Korean)

• Thursday 29th October 1320hrs – Korea University (Korean)

Digital Parenting Week 2020

Last year’s e-learning period that spanned the Lent term was a difficult time for all of us. There was considerable stress and anxiety caused by the COVID-19 outbreak which presented a significant obstacle to the teaching and learning process. Our teachers’ and pupils’ desire to continue teaching and learning effectively throughout the e-learning period would not have resulted in such a success without the support of a group of people involved in this process, and a key stakeholder - our pupils’ parents. They did a tremendous job of supporting their children throughout e-learning, both by assisting them through the learning process and by supporting them emotionally when the burden of separation from peers, teachers, and friends, as well as increased screen time began taking its toll on our pupils’ wellbeing. We would like to offer gratitude to all parents by marking their enormous contribution to the e-teaching and e-learning process through a Digital Parenting Week which will present our pupils with the opportunity to express their appreciation to their parents through assemblies, thank-you cards, and kind words of gratitude.

Happy Digital Parenting Week 2020!

Halloween parade and fancy-dress day
Friday, 30th October

All pupils are welcome to dress up for the whole day in their Halloween costumes.

There will be a Halloween Parade led by the Junior School at 10:35. The Senior School will be joined by Milepost 3 in the Theatre at 1500hrs for the “Halloween’s Best Dressed Competition”.

Pupils are expected to donate 10RMB to dress up and class teachers and housemasters will collect on the day. Money will be donated to a local charity. Happy Halloween!

Junior School: Parent meeting window
26th October - 6th November

This is the second parent-teacher meeting of the year and will feed back on the baseline assessment information of your child, and progress made since the start of the academic year. Parents will be able to discuss work in books, ongoing assessments, and attitudes to learning. There is a two-week window to allow for greater flexibility, and the meetings will take place via Teams and arranged by the class teachers. If you need a translator, we will try and accommodate you, but it may be better for parents to try and bring a friend or relative, as translators cannot always be guaranteed. 


ISCOT Y4-6 Robotics Day
Wednesday, 28th October

As part of the ISCOT collaboration between schools in Tianjin, and building on the robotics and coding ASA from the last 2 years, this event will see Wellington participating in a robotics day with a number of other schools. Our pupils will be working in teams to explore programming and robotics which will develop their technical, problem-solving and collaboration skills. Mr Rowark and Mr Lane, who both have expertise in STEAM teaching and learning and project work, will be going with the pupils.

A listening walk along the river
0930hrs - 1100hrs, Monday
26th October

As part of our phonics learning of environmental sounds, Nursery children will go for a ‘listening walk’ to a nearby park, across the school along the river on the 26th October.

The main purpose of this trip is to develop children’s listening skills and their awareness of sounds in the environment. We will encourage the children to listen attentively to the sounds around them and talk about the different sounds they can hear. The children will be helped to make a list of all the sounds they can hear and note them down in their ‘Sound Booklet’.

Year 12 Art trip to Beijing

Wednesday, 28th October

On Wednesday, our year 12 artists will be travelling to Beijing for their first trip of the A Level Art course. Gallery visits are an important part of their study as they open up ideas of unlimited creative possibility. The trip will take in galleries at the world-renowned 798 Art district, starting with an exhibition of work by American portrait artist Liz Peyton at the UCCA during the morning and a selection of smaller contemporary exhibitions in the afternoon. We will be travelling to Beijing by train and full details are in the letter given to pupils.

Readers of the week

The English department are delighted to announce that this week’s reader of the week is:

Johnny in year 8, who was nominated by Ms Chapman for his commitment to independent reading and finishing all of the books on the reading list.

A huge congratulations to Johnny — what an impressive achievement!