A holiday message from the master

 

Brendon Fulton

Master

 

 

2022 is almost behind us, and many of you will be taking a much-deserved break to be with your loved ones here in China or back in your home country. This has been a challenging year for everybody, despite how smoothly things have generally gone for us this Michaelmas term (recent closures aside). But I think the one thing that has gotten us through this year is the core Wellington Value of Kindness.

Kindness builds and maintains strong bonds. It instils in all of us a sense of duty to one another, of belonging to something greater than ourselves. This, in turn, gives rise to a sense of security in knowing that we part of a strong community. Thanks to Kindness, every Wellingtonian knows that no matter what happens, there is a family of pupils, parents and teachers looking out for them.  

It is no coincidence that we designated December as Kindness Month. This is the season when we open our hearts and share in the spirit of giving. We do this by offering meaningful gifts to our friends and family, of course. But kindness goes far deeper than that. We ask our children to actively and purposefully consider ways in which they can show kindness to and receive kindness from others. One way we ask children to reflect kindness is by always taking time to consider the perspective of others, and to show understanding and empathy in their interactions with them. Likewise, we ask our parents and teachers to model kindness and talk openly with our pupils about the importance of this value and the profound difference that it can make in others’ lives. We also ask everybody to commit time and effort to those who need us — both in the College and the wider community. But most importantly, we ask everybody to remember that Kindness Month does not end on 31 December. I hope the Wellington Value of Kindness is your compass for all your relationships all year round.

As we look back at the wonderful term that has been, you can find Kindness, Courage, Respect, Integrity as well as Responsibility, all of our Wellington Values in what we do each and every day.