Educating for the Future

From the Master
来自校长
마스터

Dear parents

I have written a good deal about the importance of fostering a strong spirit of resilience in our pupils here at Wellington. During more normal times, my purpose is to highlight the need for young people leaving school at 18 years of age to be ready to face the wider world with a degree of self-confidence and with the certainty that they are armed with the tools to flourish at university and in their careers.

But these, of course, are not normal times and pupils, parents and staff have had to draw on deep reserves of resilience to help them through the long periods of uncertainty created by the spread of Covid-19. The experience of these past few weeks has taught me a great deal about our community, and in particular the calm and reasoned way that families have responded the challenges of the outbreak. Despite the inevitable frustrations that surround such an incident, particularly the difficulty in finding reliable, accurate news and information, people across the community have responded with a stoicism and sang froid that is admirable. Here in Tianjin, the city has been remarkably successful in limiting the number of infectious cases, and whilst the measures have restricted businesses and leisure activities, the rapidity of the measures and their comprehensive nature have served to limit the spread of the virus.

So, what is known at this stage, and what is still to be decided? The first, and most obvious, is the date for the physical reopening of the school. There is no set date, I am afraid, and thus the school’s focus on its teaching continues to be through eLearning. As soon as we have been authorised to do so, the school will reopen, and, as you will know from my letter earlier in the week, we will use the period scheduled for the Qingming/Easter holiday break as face-to-face teaching time. Secondly, there is now more clarity over the quarantine period required by the authorities. For all those returning from outside the city, there is a 14-day quarantine which must be observed; as the virus continues to spread to other countries, it is even more important than ever to observe this period. Thirdly, for those pupils and their families who have public examinations looming in May and June, please be assured that Mrs Popovic and Mr Ogando, the examinations’ officer, are in regular contact with the exam boards and Mrs Sabio is coordinating with universities. There are already a number of measures in place to support exam candidates, and as more details emerge, we will be writing to parents of those concerned in the next few days. Finally, it will come as no surprise to hear that a number of our school events have had to be cancelled or postponed. The much-anticipated musical, Chicago, will be postponed until October, so that we do not lose that invaluable experience altogether. For details of other events and trips that need to be cancelled, I will write to parents by the middle of March.

This is where we are as a community. Adversity tests each individual uniquely, but it is the way in which we respond to it that marks us out as people. I have been hugely heartened by the stream of supportive emails from parents, colleagues and even pupils throughout this difficult time; it is clear that the resilience we cherish so much here at Wellington is greater than even I could have dreamed. I look forward to emerging from this outbreak as a stronger Wellington community, each of us having been tested and not found wanting.

Best wishes

Julian Jeffrey

MASTER

FROM MRS IDDISON, 

DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY

Year 12 A Level Textile Work Showcase

Bela

The Year 12 pupils are currently under the topic of Fashion Illustration and they used chopped vegetables as the creative media to complete a selection of design ideas with different foods.

Kevin

Macey

Yuki