Dear parents

This is the final Week Ahead of the old year: the year of the rat will soon come to an end, although it will inevitably live long in the memory. It has been a time that has tested each one of us. No life has been left untouched by the pandemic, many of course in tragic circumstances, millions of others with a long road ahead to recovery and normality. I am not even sure what 'normality' will look like in the post-pandemic world. Schools have - and are - changing in quite extraordinary ways. Online teaching is more sophisticated and responsive to the needs of pupils and public examination bodies have been forced to adapt their grading to meet the needs of the generations of candidates who have been unable to sit physical examinations. As a result of the global travel restrictions, expatriate communities across the world have shrunk, and the recruitment of international teachers has also changed significantly.

It may be that, in Charles Darwin's famous aphorism, it has been those "most adaptable to change" who have emerged stronger from the pandemic. Overcoming challenge, particularly acute and unpredictable ones, is a mark of resilience. Being tested, as so many schools and families have been during the past 12 months, may not be fun. It is certainly not easy, but what emerges is often far more powerful and capable of overcoming further setbacks. Learning not just to cope in the current situation, but to thrive within it, is something we have worked hard to instil in our pupils. Of course, helping children with their independence in learning and preparation for life beyond Wellington have long been important goals for us, but it has rarely been such an urgent and immediate task. As a result, I was so pleased to see the pupil and parent survey results, both of which showed overwhelmingly positive responses to questions around individual wellbeing, safety, independence, and progress in school.

As we move into the year of the ox, the qualities of that creature seem to me to be precisely the ones needed to help schools move on from Covid-19. Rarely can traits such as strength, reliability, patience and self-belief been more critical than they are in 2021. I think our community has shown all these and more over the year, and I am confident that we have never been in a better position to help all our children grown into the successful, happy young adults they each deserve to be. 

I wish all our families a restful holiday and a very happy new year.

Best wishes

Julian Jeffrey
MASTER

Online
1400hrs-1500hrs, Thursday
25th February

This week's Meet the Master slot is open to parents of pupils in years 2 to 6. If you would like to attend, please confirm via e-mail with Ms Emma Shi (emma.shi@wellingtoncollege.cn) by Wednesday 24th February.

Senior School Online Parent Evenings
Year 11
1700hrs Tuesday 23rd February

Years 12 and 13
1700hrs Thursday 25th February

There are two parent evenings in the Senior School in the week after the holiday. One is for parents of pupils in year 11, on Tuesday 23rd February. The other will be for parents of pupils in years 12 and 13, on Thursday 25th February. As a result of the restricted access to the school, the evening will take a different form to our conventional parent meetings. The majority of the sessions will be held online, and parents need to approach the teachers they would like to meet via e-mail, or through their child's Teams account. The respective teacher will then schedule a meeting and book it into your child's calendar. You can join the meeting using the Teams platform via your child's account. Each individual meeting should last between 5 and 7 minutes. The evening will start at 1700hrs and will finish at 1830hrs.

In addition, parents of underperforming pupils will be invited to come to school and discuss their child's progress with senior leaders. If you have any enquiries about parents' evenings, please contact Mrs Popovic, the Head of Senior School. dragana.popovic@wellingtoncollege.cn 

Junior School Spelling Bee
22nd-26th February

Inspired by the National Spelling Bee competition in China every year, the Junior School is delighted to announce our first Wellington Spelling Bee Competition! It will take place from Monday 22nd to Friday 26th February and involve all pupils in years 2 to 6. Class rounds will take place on Monday; year group rounds on Tuesday; Milepost rounds on Thursday - followed by a grand final in the Seldon Theatre on Friday. The spellings used will be taken from our Wellington curriculum and will support pupils in their Literacy, Maths and IPC vocabulary. Good luck, Junior School!

MP2 Famous Lives Theme Day
Thursday, 25th February

Milepost 2 will be holding an exciting cross-curricular Famous Lives Theme Day on Thursday 25th February. Our focus will be the lives of people who have made a significant difference to the course of history - and we will draw inspiration from scientists, inventors, writers, musicians, politicians, artists and sports' people. MP2 pupils will wear the costume of a historical figure who has inspired them, and they will produce an information card over the holiday about their character. Our teachers will lead an imaginative carousel of activities, in which all pupils will have the opportunity to participate throughout the day. Please do take the opportunity to discuss your child's chosen 'famous life' with them over the holiday, particularly the reasons behind why they feel inspired by them!

Safer Internet Week 2021

Most young people today are very active on the Internet, our pupils being no exception. We take their e-safety very seriously. We educate our pupils and raise awareness about online safety issues through our annual Safer Internet Week, which will take place between February 22nd and 26th. Safer Internet Week is an extension of the Safer Internet Day, an annual event observed worldwide on 9th February. Created by the UK Safer Internet Centre (UKSIC), it represents a celebration of technology and young people using the Internet responsibly, respectfully, critically, and creatively. Safer Internet Week 2021 is an excellent opportunity to focus on online safety with our pupils through learning activities, assemblies in the Junior and Senior school, and events in the Nest.

The theme for Safer Internet Day 2021 is 'An Internet we trust: Exploring reliability in the online world', and it celebrates the range of information and opportunities online, and its potential to inform, connect and inspire us, whilst also looking at how young people can separate fact from fiction. Our activities will focus on how we can know what to trust online, supporting young people to question, challenge and change the online world. They will explore how influence, persuasion and manipulation can appear online and why this may happen.

We know that misinformation and 'fake news' do not solely affect young people but that these issues have a significant impact on how young people feel about their time online. Through Safer Internet Week 2021, we want to help equip young people with the skills they need to spot inaccurate content, which can sometimes be a complex task. Once young people feel more comfortable spotting fact from fiction, it is essential that we then support them to take the next steps to create an Internet full of trustworthy and reliable information. The online world is an excellent source of information for young people and adults alike. Opportunities to research, learn new facts or skills and even broaden viewpoints are extremely important to all Internet users. We hope that, by highlighting the ways to spot inaccuracies online, we can help more people to harness these positives.

Onward, together, to a better digital future!

Online
0900hrs-1015hrs, Wednesday
24th February

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

Mr Gregor Markovic, the Director of Educational Technology, will present the current state of Educational Technology at Wellington College International Tianjin and our plans for the immediate future in a brief parent briefing video on Tuesday, 23rd February. The video will be subtitled in Chinese and Korean, and he will be available for questions afterwards. We are looking forward to hearing from you!

International Mother Language Day
Monday, 22nd February

A child's mother language is generally considered the language or languages they have been exposed to from birth. Development of the mother language is crucial in a child's cognitive and social development. When children develop their mother language, they are simultaneously fostering a whole host of other essential skills, such as critical thinking and literacy skills. It is now well-established that these skills are transferable to a child's second language. Far from stunting your child's second language progress, reading and talking with your child as much as possible in your mother language can be a powerful tool in promoting their second (or third) language development and school performance. The activities children are sent home with from school provide wonderful opportunities for multi-lingual language development. After listening to your child read their book to you in English, discuss the characters, themes or events in your mother language. Ask your child to explain the process and outcomes of the science experiment they conducted at school that day. These daily conversations provide the double linguistic benefit of boosting a child's mother language and reinforcing a child's learning in English. This is one of the ways the school-home partnership can create a virtuous circle of bilingual language development.

A virtual visit from Karen McCombie

On Tuesday 26th January, best-selling children's author Karen McCombie delivered a live, virtual talk to Wellington pupils in years 6 to 9. Karen spoke about her life as an author, including entertaining anecdotes that inspired some of her characters and storylines and writing advice for aspiring authors. At the end of the talk, Karen answered questions from the audience, ranging from 'do you have any pets? (incidentally, one cat and a new puppy!) to 'when did you first begin writing?'

It was an invaluable opportunity for the pupils to have a genuine connection with a famous author, living thousands of miles away in London. This event was the first of a series of virtual author and story-teller events planned by the English department; we all sincerely hope that these events will act as inspiration for our many talented young writers and promote a love of reading among our Wellington community.

Readers of the week

The English department is delighted to announce that this week's Readers of the Week are:

Anais in year 8, who Ms Chapman nominated for reading the very challenging novel 'The Tattooist of Auschwitz' and writing a book report for display in the English corridor

Michael in year 9,  was nominated by Ms Stevens for reading numerous novels in his spare time, including 'WWI' by H.P Willmott and 'The Life of Pi', which he much enjoyed!

Samuel and Lucia in year 7, who Mr Furse nominated for reading 'Two Weeks with the Queen'.

A huge congratulations to Anais, Michael, Samuel and Lucia – what impressive achievements!