Educating for the Future

From the Master
来自校长
마스터

Dear parents

I hope this Week Ahead finds you and your families safe and well.

Each week that passes brings better news about the fight against Covid-19 across China. The measures taken to combat the novel coronavirus are proving effective and much of the country is returning to a recognisably normal way of life. That is clearly heartening news for all our communities, both here in Tianjin, but equally across the Wellington College China family of schools. Outside China, the picture is less rosy, though, and there can be no let-up in the vigilance required to limit the spread of the disease across much of the rest of the world. I should remind parents that this means that, for those families returning to Tianjin, it is essential to observe the 14-day self-isolation period scrupulously.

School reopening dates

The physical reopening of the school estate and a return to business as usual remains a key priority for us. At the time of writing, we plan to ensure a safe and orderly return by staggering the return dates for pupils. In line with local schools, we will seek to invite pupils in the key public examination year groups (Years 11-13) to return on Monday 30th March. This is part of a phased return to school programme and will allow these pupils to receive face-to-face teaching in a clean, safe environment. We then plan to allow pupils from Years 2-10 to return on Tuesday 7th April. Pupils in the Nest will then be readmitted as soon as possible after that date. Please note, though, that these dates are still subject to change. I will keep families notified of any changes to this schedule over the coming days.

Online teaching survey

Parents will have received details of this short survey on Thursday. It is aimed at gathering feedback from the eLearning programmes we have been following over the past 6 weeks. The community has shown remarkable resilience and dedication to online teaching and learning, and this survey gives us an opportunity to reflect on the experiences of children from across the school. There are versions available in three languages – English, Chinese and Korean – and I would be very grateful if parents could take just 2-3 minutes to complete it; my thanks go to those who have already done so. The survey closes at 1800hrs on Sunday 15th March. The results will be available next week.

Summer Term fee schedule

I wrote last week of the developments in the calendar for the Summer Term, clarifying some of the amendments to our events and trips. Our commitment to teaching and learning within a safe school environment remains the priority, of course, and to that end I need to remind parents of the fee schedule for the remainder of the school year. My colleagues in the Finance office will be sending out billing details next week. If you have any questions about the process, please contact the Finance manager, Mrs Nancy Zhang

(nancy.zhang@wellingtoncollege.cn), by Friday 20th March.

The new term is fast approaching, and I am excited by the prospect of a term of great promise. Judging by the feedback from teachers, our pupils have maintained an admirable work ethic through the current term, and our candidates for public examinations remain well-placed for some wonderful (and richly deserved) results. The energy and determination to succeed is palpable across our community; I am confident of a truly marvellous term of effort and achievement ahead.

Best wishes

Julian Jeffrey

MASTER