Dear parents

I am so delighted that we can offer a charity Summer Fair once again this year.

Ensuring the collective safety of our entire community has always been our first priority, and it has been with an excess of caution that we have moved to gradually reopen the school grounds and facilities beyond our pupil body. We have successfully hosted recent sporting events, including memorable ISCOT tournaments with our friends from the other international schools in Tianjin as well as parent events and open days. These have passed off without incident, and I am sure that by managing access arrangements carefully, we will have an excellent Summer Fair once again.

It is perhaps worth reflecting on the aim of such events. In Britain, fairs and fêtes are commonplace, dating back to medieval England and the early summer tradition of buying and selling livestock or even as a time for matchmaking to find a spouse. Over the centuries, this has largely been replaced with more celebratory events, serving as a powerful and popular tool for drawing the local community together. Our school Summer Fair is firmly in this tradition. There are stalls and games for children, often run by the pupils themselves. Food and drink vendors will provide a wide array of meal options, all suitable for a summer picnic environment. There is also a long list of performances on our stage, ranging from singers to bands, dancers to soloists.

The mood is deliberately upbeat and fun, reflecting our shared pleasure at once again coming together as a school. There is a deeper theme, though. The Summer Fair is an opportunity for us in the Wellington family to give something back to the broader Tianjin community around us, and particularly those children and young people who need extra help to build successful and happy lives. This pandemic year has given people a chance to reflect on the psychological and financial difficulties caused by extended lockdowns and long periods of uncertainty. Even here in China, with such a strong record of fighting the worst of Covid-19, children have borne the brunt of this experience. Our community of pupils, staff and families have always shown a strong tradition of generosity of spirit towards the causes championed by the school, and I am confident that, as we come together in this year of 'our family – our community', the kindness and responsibility that we are known for will shine through.

Best wishes

Julian Jeffrey
MASTER

Duke of Wellington Room (MB109)
1400hrs-1500hrs, Thursday
May 13th

This week's Meet the Master and Bursar slot is open to parents of pupils in all year groups. If you would like to attend, please confirm via e-mail with Ms Emma Shi (emma.shi@wellingtoncollege.cn) by Wednesday, May 12th.

Saturday, May 15th
1030hrs-1430hrs

Please come and join the fun at our charity Summer Fair. As a result of last year's hiatus, this will be our first fair since May 2019, and the theme this year reflects our shared desire to move on from the pandemic together: 'our family – our community'. All proceeds raised from the Summer Fair go to local children's charities, some of those worst affected by the upheavals of the past 12 months. In this way, our Wellington community can support the families and children in Tianjin who need our help most.

Tickets are available through the school's WeChat platform. No tickets will be sold at the gate, so please book in advance. The gates open at 1030hrs, with music and entertainment on the stage starting at 1100hrs.

Parents who would like to organise a stall should contact Eelco van Kuilenburg (activityprogram.tianjin@wellingtoncollege.cn).

We hope to see all our Wellington families and friends on Saturday!

Old Common Room (MB214)

1500hrs – 1700hrs, Tuesday

May 11th

“The interaction between parents and children is the deep connection of human nature". To celebrate Mother's Day which has just passed, we have planned a special parent salon event. We have invited two ace mothers, one is the mother of a year 13 pupil who just got an offer from the University of Cambridge; the other is a Korean mother who has successfully raised two outstanding young people, and she is also an experienced teacher who has taught in Wellington Tianjin for many years. They will talk about parent-child relationship, quality companionship, home-school cooperation and other topics related to children's education. Mothers are all welcome to register:  1500hrs – 1700hrs, Tuesday, May 11th in Room 214 of the Main Building. Contact for registration: emma.shi@wellingtoncollege.cn . Please include your child's name and year group in your email as well as questions you would like to raise.

Wellington Design Week
10th-15th May

The Design and Technology department is proud to announce that our first Wellington Design Week will take place from May 10th to 15th. It is an opportunity to witness fantastic pupil achievement, ideas, and products they have designed. The Wellington Fashion show will be the crown of the week and will take place during the Summer Fair (Saturday, May 15th). Please come to support our pupils through the various activities.

1. Design exhibition
Students' design work is on display in the Design corridor – in front of the design classrooms (1st Floor), 10th-15th May.

2. Design challenge - 'FUSION'
Definition: The process or result of joining two or more things together to form a single entity. For example, a mixture of different styles incorporating elements of both Eastern and Western culture, past and future, old and new, refine and rough, everything you would like to fuse.

If you would like to participate, you can do option A, or option B or both options!

Option A
Make your FUSION topic fashion outfit (find different pieces of clothing which you have never combined before and make a new style, wear it, take a selfie and e-mail it to Mrs Markovic (ksenija.markovic@wellingtoncollege.cn) by Friday, May 14th. The competition is open to the whole community - Nest, Junior, and Senior pupils, and parents and teachers can all send their Fusion outfit photos. Share your work to inspire others. Your e-mail should include: an image, author's name, year group, work title and a short Fusion outfit explanation showing which elements you combined. The best works will be displayed. The winning outfit will be announced at the Fashion Show, May 15th, a super prize is ready!

Option B
Dress day - Friday, May 14th. Think and combine the biggest opposites/differences, put them in a new and unique harmony and wear them on the Dress day. The winning combination will be announced at the Summer Fair.

3. Fashion Show at the Summer Fair

4. Activities in the Nest, Junior and Senior school – printed postcards – 'Good design matters because good design advances and benefits society'.

Readers of the week

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

Masa, in year 9, nominated by Ms Chapman for reading the whole of Shakespeare's play 'A Midsummer Night's Dream' in preparation for her drama exam!

Sarah and Queenie, in year 7, nominated by Ms Shen for respectively reading 'Wolf' and 'Little Princess', making excellent posters and recording their book review presentations.

Huge congratulations to Masa, Sarah and Queenie – what impressive achievements!