The Week Ahead
Senior School Matters
Chinese New Year
This week I have enjoyed asking pupils about their sign of the Chinese zodiac and figuring out which animals belong to which person. Each child knew their sign and could tell me some of the character traits they most liked about their animal, revelling in drawing comparisons with their personality.
The animal signs of the Chinese zodiac and how strongly people identify with their animal’s character fascinate me. The upcoming year of the Tiger promises to be an exciting one with rapid change, intense emotions, daring escapades, and a penchant for events on a grand scale. It sounds great, and I cannot wait.
With so much excitement on the cards, we all must have a good rest over the Spring Festival holiday. But, before that, our short half term concludes with a day of Chinese New Year celebrations which staff and pupils alike are looking forward to. Our wonderful Chinese Department has ensured that the school is decorated and looking beautiful and is busy organising the traditional games and activities we will enjoy during the Chinese New Year extravaganza, which I am sure will be superb.
I wish everyone in our Wellington College International Hangzhou community a delightful and enjoyable holiday, filled with many opportunities to rest and relax with family and friends, and then a healthy, happy and prosperous Year of the Tiger.
Gong xi fa cai!
Stewart Brown
Head of Senior School
Sixth School Matters
On 13 January we hosted Wellington College Hangzhou's first university fair. 38 universities from 3 different continents logged in from around the world to speak to our pupils and parents. Our pupils engaged with the university representatives in conversations about various courses, accommodation and student life. It was wonderful to witness pupils and parents learn more about these institutions and begin to see the pathway to higher education more clearly. The event also helped parents understand fees, the application processes and graduate employment opportunities more clearly. The excitement around the participants was palpable! Thank you to all those who supported and attended.
It was a wonderful event and we are already planning for the next one!
Hatty Leung
Head of Sixth Form
Primary School Matters
Pupils have now reached the half-year point in this academic year. Therefore, it is an excellent opportunity to take a break and spend some quality family time together as we all celebrate Chinese New Year.
It is essential to make a conscious decision to rest. Rest can take different forms, such as exercise, watching a film or sleeping for a few hours. Choose what works best for you.
Deciding to rest can help with their pupil health and studies. Here are five benefits associated with rest, provided by Javier S Bautista, a PhD researcher at University College London:
Improves the memory
It has demonstrated that short, repeated learning sessions with breaks increase your concentration and facilitate memorising new content. The Podomoro technique can be an excellent way to study during productive intervals and rest during breaks.
01
Serves as energy boosts
It is very common to feel drained of energy when you focus all your attention on one task. Resting can be helpful to allow your body to recover.
02
Reduces stress
Constant worry can lead to chronic stress. Therefore, taking breaks can relieve and reduce levels of stress.
03
Improves your health
Rest and sleep have a positive impact on your immune system. It also reduces inflammation and decreases the risk of heart disease. Therefore, take advantage of the weekends and holidays when you may have more time to exercise and enjoy some sleep.
04
Boosts your performance and creativity
Sometimes, new creative approaches to problems may arise when doing different activities. Try to take a break, rest and do something different. Then, when you return to school, you may have some new creative ideas.
05
Matthew Coleman
Head of Primary School
Sport Matters
This week in Senior School physical education, the pupils studied the benefits of playing badminton. These included:
it is a total body workout
it is a social activity
it improves your mental wellbeing
it helps reduce health risks
it increases life expectancy
it improves mobility
While being active in physical education is important, discovering why physical activity is essential helps our pupils live a life full of action.
Primary pupils engaged in some dancing, they learned about the benefit of dance, including dancing can be a way to stay fit for people of all ages, shapes and sizes. Dancing can improve your muscle tone, strength, endurance and fitness. Dancing is also a great way to meet new friends.
Timothy Schulze
Head of PE
Dukebox Matters
Please click here to tune into our Dukebox radio throughout the week to enjoy various shows, including “Marty James breakfast show”, “The big yellow bus show”, “Motown/Rock shows” among others.
Don’t worry if you missed any of the live shows as you can access them on our exclusive “Listen again” service here.
Please click here to have a look at the some of the wonderful content available in our podcast section:
Here are the most recent podcasts created by our pupils and staff:
Martin Bailey
Dukebox Presenter
Service Matters
Spring festival is coming, and the holiday atmosphere is all around the campus. The school hosted the annual lunar new year themed lunch. On Wednesday, the Sodexo team prepared a variety of traditional Chinese new year dishes for teachers and pupils, including sticky rice lotus root with sweet Osmanthus flowers, meatballs, spring rolls, and chicken with honey sauce. Through the special foods, pupils learned about the spring festival customs of different regions. The catering company hopes the tasty food can satisfy the pupils' tastes buds of the pupils and let them feel the spring festival will arrive soon.
Service Team
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