The end of last week brought a magical flurry of snow that the children enjoyed very much. The gardens of the setting were dusted in a covering of white, resembling a pretty and festive Christmas card. The teams were quick to get out and use the sensory experience to promote the children’s learning. It was a day of fun and happiness all round, full of memory making opportunities. We have always advocated that there is no such thing as bad weather, rather there is only bad clothing. The children wrapped up to be warm and waterproof and were adequately protected from the cold. It is a common myth that being out in the cold causes one to catch a cold, however we now understand that colds and flu are caused by viruses spread through the tiny droplets sneezed and coughed out in to the air and on to surfaces. These germs can travel far and live on surfaces for up to two days, hence the importance of hygiene practices and habits.
I do feel that I have become rather persistent in my communication about cold and flu recently. The reason for this is two-fold.
As a mum, I understand the importance of allowing children to build up a natural resistance to diseases whilst supporting immunity with recommended vaccinations. I very much feel the anxiety of those parents and families who see their little ones under the weather and wish to do all I can to reassure them of the facts and support their parenting with evidence. As an educator and leader of the early years setting, I wish to calm the storm that can be sometimes spontaneously created within a close-knit community such as ours and ensure a level of perspective is always communicated clearly. I very much look to the teaching team, the parent representatives, WeChat, iSAMs emails and the Week Ahead to relay information to the Wellington community. I feel that we achieve this very well and believe that our partnership is strengthened by these methods of communication.
I promise that this will be the last week where I mention germs…. however, I’ll not go without providing just a couple more facts for consideration. Did you know that as many as 40,000 droplets are expelled by a single sneeze?
https://www.webmd.com/cold-and-flu/features/cold-and-flu-facts. These droplets can travel up to eight metres (a cough can travel up to six metres), remaining suspended in the air for up to ten minutes
http://www.sciencefocus.com/article/human-body/how-far-do-coughs-and-sneezes-travel. Next time, you feel a sneeze, or a cough coming on, please do try and use your cough catcher (the inside of your elbow) and encourage your children to do the same. It’s a simple yet very effective way of reducing the risk of spreading germs that can cause cold and flu.
Whilst the chilly weather hasn’t stopped us from being outside, it is unfortunate that air quality is inhibiting to any outdoor activities. Whilst the children are busy indoors, I love the opportunity to visit the classrooms and learning spaces to see what they are up to. With the help of Miss Tash and our IT intern Connor, the multimedia room is being developed to include a tinkering station. This will afford children the opportunity of open-ended creative play, where they can build, take apart and rebuild according to their own thinking and design. The language and literacy room has been converted in to a working life-like supermarket and café, with mark making to support development of communication, language and literacy skills. This will provide plentiful opportunity for role play, where the children will lead play in their own direction.
The classrooms are always changing in response to the projects and themes being explored by the pupils in each year group. Parents will see the changes at drop off and pick up and I feel sure that the children will be informing parents and families how they use the room during the day to promote their learning. It is worthy of note that the children may not consider what they do as learning, rather they will view it as ‘play’.
Play, to some, is seen as a distraction from academic learning. Here at Wellington College Bilingual Shanghai, we know that play is how children learn, how they discover, how they are motivated and how they learn to think critically. We are very proud to offer a learning experience which is embedded in hands-on, brain-active play and I think our pupils are the greatest evidence we have of our vision.
Welcome to our interns
I’d like to take this opportunity to introduce you to our interns from Wellington College in England. Diya and Amana have joined Oscar as part of the team here and will be working with the children in the classrooms to support and promote language development. I’m delighted to have them join us and feel that this continually strengthens the links between the Colleges here in China and in the UK. Do say ‘hi’ to them when you see them around the setting.
Funky Fridays
We continue the Funky Friday feeling with ‘Bring your pet’ day. What a day of furry fun the children and teams have had bringing their favourite cuddly friends to the setting to share in a day of learning and exploring. Next week, there will be no Funky Friday as we celebrate Chinese New Year in the setting. Chinese New Year dress up day will take place on Wednesday 7
th February. I’ll look forward to seeing the children in their traditional costumes to honour Chinese New Year.
Classroom News for week beginning Monday 5th February 2018
EY1 – Erica Ni writes about the theme Dear Zoo
We are going to do a lots of activities to celebrate Chinese New Year this week. EY1 will decorate our classrooms and learning space with Chinese character Fu, lanterns and fishes. We will read Chinese culture related books to the children. On 7
th of February (Wednesday), children and parents will have a special event together in the setting.
We are reading:
《年》、《谁偷走了我的包子》、Dear Zoo
We are singing:
《新年好》、《健康歌》、《春雨沙沙》、《我有一头小毛驴》、《幸福拍手歌》、
Hocky Pocky, If you are happy and you know it, Pat your Head, Let’s go to the Zoo, Walking in the jungle.
Special date: 7
th February Chinese New Year Event
A note from the EY1 team:
Happy Chinese New Year and have a wonderful holiday.
EY2 – Vivian He writes about the theme We’re Going on a Bear Hunt
Next week, is our Chinese New Year project week in EY2. We will be learning about the significance of Chinese New Year and traditional activities that we usually engage in this time of year such as receiving red packets from elders, making and eating dumplings, dancing with dragons, and making lanterns. Children will not only learn about these wonderful activities but also have the opportunity to create these traditional cultural legacies during activity time. In the spirit of the New Year and in light of Wellington values, we will remind children to use kind language when they exchange and receive gifts. We will also remind children about the importance of community and sharing as the Chinese New Year approaches.
We are reading:
龙的传说、十二生肖的故事、“年兽”的故事、Dim Sum for Everyone、Chinese New Year
We are singing:
大灯笼、新年快乐、十二生肖、If you’re happy and you know it, clap your hands、You are my sunshine、
Review songs from “We’re going on a bear hunt”
Special date:
7
th February Wednesday Chinese New Year Event (no uniform, traditional Chinese clothing or red)
EY3 – Nicole writes about the theme Blast Off into Space
This week is our Chinese New Year Celebration week. We will have a closer look into Chinese traditional cultures such as Shadow Play and Opera face painting and the children will have a chance to have a go. In the week children will learn about Chinese Zodiac animals. We will learn to use ordinal numbers in animal race. We will also learn about Nian’s story and make some red decorations for our classrooms.
We are reading:
《春节》、《团圆》、Chinese New Year Stories
We are singing:
《元日》、Chinese New Year song
Special date:
Wednesday 7
th February is our Chinese New Year Event from 9am to 11am.
Parents can come into classrooms from 8:50 and please remember to take your child’s snack from his/her cubby.
A note from the EY3 team:
You and your child are encouraged to wear red/yellow/gold traditional Chinese clothes on Wednesday 7
th February.
EY4 – Emily Gu writes about the theme We Are the Explorer of the World
Chinese New Year is here again! EY4 children will have lots of fun doing lots of cultured related activities. Zodiac story will be introduce to children and they will go outside to do the zodiac race if the weather permits.
Children also can design their animal faces on the mask and do the real face painting if they would like. (Pease let your class teachers know if you don’t want your child to do face painting on the face. Thank you!)
We are reading:
《十二生肖故事》、《年的故事》、Chinese New Year story (English version)
We are singing:
《十二生肖》、The Chinese New Year、Chinese New Year Dragon Dance Song
Special date: 7
th Feb Chinese New Year Event. Please wear red or Chinese style costume for the event.
A note from EY4 team:
Please let your class teacher know if you can’t come on the activity day, we will do some arrangement for your child.
Music and Movement – PeiHua and Sarah write about life in the music space
“
We are dancing, we are singing, happy new year to you all!”
Spring Festival is a joyful time for families and children. This week in Music we will continue to explore these celebrations through music, movement, and traditional instruments with the children as our community prepares to welcome the Year of the Dog. We’re delighted that a Chinese folk music ensemble joining us as part of our Chinese New Year celebrations at Wellington College Bilingual on February 7
th, and encourage you to stop by the MMR room to enjoy the sounds of the season with your child during the event. Performances will be held from 9:20 – 9:50 am and 10:20 – 10:30 am
我们将学唱的歌曲：
We are singing:
EY1 – 咚咚锵，新年好（双语）
EY2 – 新年好（双语）,咚咚锵，Ten in the Bed
EY3 – Blue White Planet，太极歌(二)，新年好（双语）
EY4 – Zoom-eh-Oh，恭喜恭喜，新年好（双语）
Special date: 7
th Feb Whole Setting Chinese New Year Celebrations
Special note:
Are you a musician, dancer, or creative performer? WCCBS needs you!
Our children are an enthusiastic and appreciative audience, and we would love to share your talents with them as we learn about music. Grandparents, family friends, and community members are welcome too! If you have a talent you would like to share, please e-mail
peihua.wang@wellingtoncollege.cn or
sarah.peel@wellingtoncollege.cn to discuss how we may be able to include you in our upcoming activities.
