Wellington prepares for the Year of the Dog
02 Feb 2018
- First language: for native Chinese speakers
- Second language: for expatriate pupils who speak Chinese fluently but not entirely colloquially
- Mandarin as a foreign language: for pupils with little to no prior knowledge of Chinese
By mixing pupils of different ability levels within these three appropriate subject streams, we’ve enjoyed great success in seeing all pupils at all levels make better progress than might otherwise have been expected. Additionally, our teachers are highly skilled at differentiation – i.e.: adapting the classwork and learning approach to suit pupils varied learning styles and needs. Our excellent exam results and the personal, anecdotal feedback from parents indicates that our approach has been successful.
However, no matter how well something is going, there is always room for improvement. Just as we maintain high expectations of our pupils, we hold those same expectations of ourselves as educators. Our next focus is the development of better teaching resources for Chinese as a first language, working closely with Wellington College in Tianjin as they’ve enjoyed great success in this area.
Gaining useful, practical language skills is only one part of our Chinese studies programme. It’s equally vital for pupils to develop a cultural understanding of China. You cannot separate the language from the culture, nor the culture from the language.
Our pupils absorb Chinese culture in every lesson, through the reading of Chinese stories, recital of poetry and the exploration of China’s history and its effect on the development of the Chinese language and dialects. Our CCA (co-curricular activities) offering also develops pupils’ understanding of Chinese culture as it goes from strength to strength, with Chinese dancing, painting, calligraphy and chess becoming increasingly popular.
In another example of how Chinese New Year gets everyone across the College involved, our annual charity art auction will feature 36 fantastic pieces of Year of the Dog themed artwork created by pupils ranging from Pre-Nursery to Year 5. And thanks to the incredible generosity of Wellington’s parents, the proceeds after costs from the auction will go to our chosen charity Shanghai Healing Home (SHH). I must extend my sincere thanks to all the parents and FoW members who have contributed so much to the celebration preparations, including genuine orange trees and 2000 freshly-made dumplings for us to enjoy at the Temple Fair!Our parents are as generous with their time as they are with their resources. It is always so heartening to see them participate in Wellington’s events with such enthusiasm. They come to see the performances, join in with the singing and dancing, and they throw themselves into helping with the preparation and running of events whenever we ask. They are always contributing great ideas too; we certainly couldn’t come up with such spectacular celebrations without these generous donations of time, resources and creativity.
To me, the coming Chinese New Year celebrations represent what we are always trying to achieve as a college and as a community. We are coming together to draw inspiration from our past successes, learn from our past mistakes (making a clean start where necessary!) and plan the best way to build a better, happier and more successful future for every pupil. Once again, I must thank everyone for playing their part in this. I hope that you all enjoy the celebrations and have a wonderful year of the dog.
Helena Hicks
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