The Week Ahead 11th December 2020

Dear parents

Welcome to this last edition of the Week Ahead for 2020. Next week, parents will receive an end of term letter, reviewing the highlights of the past three months as well as publishing several key advance dates for 2021.

I wrote last year about the power of creativity in education. The learning experiences of a child studying music, art, drama or design can be genuinely transformative, embedding not only knowledge but also developing such crucial skills as independence, problem-solving and critical thinking. A child's time at Wellington encompasses all these skills as creative subjects feature heavily in the timetable across all year groups. I am sure that our goal of nurturing inspired young people comes in large part from their exposure to such subjects. Every child has the chance to perform on stage, or exhibit work, during their time in school. One of my biggest regrets about the impact of the school closure in February and March was that performances, including that of our musical, could not be staged and we were not able to have our annual art and design exhibitions.

As a result, I am sure that parents will join me in welcoming the end of term shows next week. The gradual reopening of the school to parents and visitors, although still closely monitored and limited, means that we are finally able to host families in significant numbers for the Christmas productions over the coming days. Hundreds of Wellingtonians will take to the stage to perform songs, poems, dances and ensembles, and for the first time in almost 12 months, we will be able to share these live with parents.

As I wrote last year, the benefits to children of creativity in their education are long-established. Subjects such as music, art, design and drama are no mere luxurious add-ons. A recent British report on the impact of Covid-19 on music in schools found that "beyond the intrinsic value of studying music for its own sake, there is a plethora of evidence that studying music builds cultural knowledge, creative skills and improves children's health, wellbeing and wider educational attainment." At the same time, 68% of primary school teachers reported a decline in music in schools, with one in ten schools offering no music at all. Singing has ended in more than a third (38%) of primary schools, and instrumental lessons have ceased in almost a quarter (23%). These results indicate another of the hidden, corrosive impacts of the pandemic and the subsequent disruption to schooling around the world. Children who are restricted in their access to creative subjects lose out on a world of learning which has not only cognitive but social and emotional consequences.

The performances in the end of term shows will be recorded and distributed to parents so that even if you cannot attend in person, you will be able to share in the talent of these pupils. The shows will be a fitting end, not just to the term, but also to the limitations we have been forced to place on such events as we look to end 2020 on a much-needed high point.

Best wishes

Julian Jeffrey
MASTER

Reports

Both Senior and Junior School pupil reports will be published on the last day of term and will be available through the parent portal. If you need further details on how to access this, please email

cissy.zhao@wellingtoncollege.cn.

Winter Prom 2020
1930hrs-2200hrs, Saturday
12th December

The winter prom this year has been organised by the Senior School Student Council. It is in the evening (1930hrs-2200hrs) of Saturday 12th December at the St Regis hotel and is an optional event for pupils from years 10 to 13. There will be teachers supervising the event, but the pupils are responsible for their own transportation.

Christmas Concert
Theatre
1800hrs, Tuesday
15th 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 way before the rest of the school, as preparation for various Christmas performances starts as early as September. The Christmas Concert provides a genuine performance opportunity for our young musicians to showcase their musical achievements. We look forward to seeing many of you on the day!

Buses have been arranged to drop off pupils at Yanlord, Aocheng and Meijiang after the dress rehearsal on Monday 14th December and the concert on Tuesday 15th December. There will be a bus monitor on board to supervise them.

Nest Pyjama Day
Wednesday 16th December

On Wednesday 16th December we invite the children and staff to come to school in pyjamas! There will be bedtime stories in the library with nightlights, hot chocolate, and cookies. There really is no better way to listen to a bedtime story. We hope you all join in the fun, but maybe add an extra layer underneath as we will be going outside to play too.

Milepost 2 Exit Point
Online
1300hrs-1400hrs, Monday
14th December

MP2 will share an Exit Point on their Material World module with year 3 and year 4 parents on Monday 14th December at 1300hrs. Learning on material properties, forces, electrical circuits, magnetism and air resistance will be showcased for the pupils' families to enjoy. A Teams link will be sent on the MP2 virtual classrooms.

Junior School Christmas Show
Theatre
1300hrs, Wednesday
16th December

We enjoyed a wonderful focused time on drama previously, culminating in our first rehearsal on stage for our Junior School Christmas Show. It is called the Winter Show and tells the story of two children experiencing the wonder of winter. It is fabulous to have these opportunities to showcase the talent of our pupils. Please put the Winter Show performance in your diaries for 1300hrs on Wednesday 16th December in the Seldon Theatre. We look forward to welcoming you all back into school for this event, although, as a precaution, we are limiting the numbers to two adults per family. Please show your green code and parent id card at the gate to enter.

Junior School end of term celebration
Online
0900hrs, Thursday
17th December

The last week of term is always a busy one, and we have many exciting things happening this year in addition to our Christmas concert and bazaar. Parents are of course warmly invited, but please note you will only be allowed entry to the concert by using your parent ID badge, and you will have to show your Tianjin green heath code at the security building. You may choose to pick up your child after the concert and take them to the bazaar yourself. If this is the case, please inform your class teacher before the day, so that they can plan for this. 

This year, there will be a celebration assembly on Thursday 17th at 0900 which will be broadcast via Teams to our parents. We would love to see as many parents as possible attend the event online. The term will end with a Junior School disco for our pupils in half an hour slots, in the Black Box. If your child is susceptible to flashing lights or loud music, please let the teachers know and they will make sure that alternative arrangements will be made. 

I would like to take this opportunity to wish you a very happy Christmas and new year, and hope that you have a wonderful break.

Readers of the week

The English department would like to congratulate everyone who has been nominated as a Reader of the Week during this term. Reading regularly outside of lessons has an extremely positive impact on pupils' performance in all areas of English, so we are thrilled by all your efforts. Thank you also to all parents who have taken the time to support their children in becoming mature and confident young readers.

We are delighted to announce that the final Readers of the Week for this term are:

John R in year 8
nominated (for the second time) by Ms Chapman for his sustained commitment to reading outside of lessons and his sincere interest in discussing different aspects of literature with his peers.

Nakisha in year 8
nominated by Ms Chapman and Ms Xu (for the second time) for finishing the novel 'Coraline' over this term, alongside the mainstream English year 8 pupils.

Irene in year 10
nominated by Ms Xu for working really hard on her independent reading journey this term.

Richard and Tony in year 10
nominated by Ms Jiao for their sustained commitment to extra-curricular reading over this term.

We are delighted to have the opportunity to present all of this term's Readers of the Week with certificates in assembly on Monday and there will also be prizes awarded for those pupils with multiple nominations.

The Readers of the Week scheme will recommence in the Lent term, so make sure you do lots of reading over the Christmas break in order to be in with a chance for a nomination!

Announcing the Festival of Education 2021
Live Festival: Saturday 17th April in Tianjin 
Virtual Festival: 18th-23rd April 2021

This year's Festival of Education will feature speaking engagements with thought leaders in education. A series of presentations, workshops and panel discussions will explore the latest ideas in progressive education. The event is designed to provoke questions, stimulate thought, and initiate dialogue about the challenges faced by education in the very near future and beyond. And all this will be supported with sessions from our usual strands of enquiry to help shape an occasion that is tailor-made for teachers, educators, parents of all children and indeed anyone with an interest in education. It's a festival designed to be progressive and purposeful, and at the very cutting edge of current thinking about education. The festival includes both our Wellington and our Hiba communities, with sessions in English and Chinese.