Wellington Today Wellington Today 2018 en | Page 29

2018
WELLINGTON COMMUNITY
SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY
CHARITY CHRISTMAS MARKET
AT WELLINGTON COLLEGE
INTERNATIONAL TIANJIN
Wellington College International Tianjin was turned into a wonderland of adventure and surprise with
our second annual Charity Christmas Market. Over 50 seasonally decorated stalls offered a wide range of
seasonal gifts and refreshments throughout the afternoon.
WELLINGTON COLLEGE SUPPORTS
STEPPING STONES AT CHINESE NEW YEAR
Inclusiveness is one of the five characteristics of Wellington
College’s identity, and a genuine commitment to benefit others
in the broader community was shown during Chinese New Year,
when 40 pupils from a nearby school for migrant workers’ children
were invited to participate in our school-wide celebrations.
Wenhe Primary School (formerly Zhonghe Primary School) was
established in 1933 in Minhang Pujiang Township, which is about
9 km away from Wellington College. In 1998, it became a private
school for the children of migrant workers, with all fees paid by
the Shanghai Government since 2010. Wenhe School’s 550 pupils
come from all over China.
If you were in school on the day of the CNY celebrations, or
if you attended the Lower Prep show, you may have spotted
20 children from Wenhe School, who rounded off the show
with their rock & roll version of Swan Lake, and joined pupils
in Years 3-4 for their third morning lesson. They were warmly
welcomed by our pupils into their classrooms, and once the class
was underway, it was surprisingly difficult to tell the difference
between the hosts and the guests!
Before leaving, each young visitor from Wenhe School added
their New Year wishes to the wishing tree. Our guests loved
trying all the different lunch options in the canteen, and
altogether had a wonderful morning, leaving school with a big bag
of gifts and huge smiles on their faces.
teachers about the importance of wearing glasses if needed,
in order to increase the usage rate of spectacles provided by
Stepping Stones’ Care Program.
The Junior School’s Year 6 Choir and College Wind Band entertained over 600 guests, pupils and parents
around the Christmas Tree with renditions of Christmas songs, including Rudolf the Red Nose Reindeer and
Silent Night.
To the surprise and delight of the younger pupils, the event closed with the visit of Santa Claus himself to
check who had been naughty and who had been nice and to wish good health and happiness to all who
attended. A wonderful event to wrap up the year. Merry Christmas!
The art auction was a great example of our whole community
pooling their talents and resources to make a difference. From
the pupils and teachers who collaborated to produce such
impressive art, to the parent volunteers who assisted with the
auction logistics, especially in the excitement of the closing
minutes of the auction, not to mention the parents who bid so
enthusiastically on the artwork, with special thanks to parents
Maggie Wan, Rita Jia and Maya Tarabay-Schisano who worked
tirelessly with the art department to produce an incredibly high-
quality exhibition.
Stepping Stones has been teaching English to children of migrant
workers in Shanghai since 2006, and has also donated glasses to
149 pupils at Wenhe School since 2015. Stepping Stones’ director
Corinne Hua said: ‘We would like to thank all the staff, students
and parents at Wellington College who worked so hard to
raise money to help us to improve the vision of disadvantaged
children. While funding is essential, what was even more touching
was the way students, staff and parents all welcomed our
students to the school with open arms, and in the spirit of true
generosity. Wellington College staff, parents and students should
feel proud to be part of a school which is willing to share its
great privileges with the local community.’
Prior to the Chinese New Year celebrations, the art department
invited another group of 20 pupils to the art room for a lesson
in wood-block printing, where they produced two printed canvas
screens. The resultant artwork was included in the superb CNY
art auction, which made such a colourful display in the reception
before and after Chinese New Year.
Thanks to the incredible generosity of our parents, the art
auction made a staggering RMB50,000 for our sponsored charity,
Stepping Stones. This donation will be used to produce a high-
quality cartoon to educate migrant children, their parents and
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