Here at Wellington College Bilingual Shanghai we've been super busy and I've taken the reins once again. As I write my final Week Ahead for 2015, I reflect upon all that has occurred in my life since my arrival in Shanghai in March. From momentous changes such as embracing new cultures, ways of life and the glorious experiences that I’ve been exposed to, to the more minor changes like having a garden and being able to watch birds and butterflies from my kitchen window. Life in this wonderful city has certainly had an impact on me and my family; it is our home and we are proud to be settled in such a vibrant part of the world.
Today is New Year’s Eve for many people around the world. For centuries, and in similar ways, people have been observing the end of one year and the beginning of another. Whilst each culture’s New Year celebration has its own flavour, there are certain common themes. By ending the year with respect and beginning the new one in the way we would like it to begin, we establish our intentions for the New Year.
In British folklore, all preparations for the New Year are made before midnight on New Year’s Eve. It is believed that you should not sweep inside the home on New Year’s Day or you sweep away good luck, nor should you take anything out of the home (even the garbage). You only want to bring new things in to insure abundance in the coming year. A New Year’s Resolution is a tradition, most common in the West but found around the world, in which a person makes a promise on New Year’s Eve to make certain changes or self-improvements in the year ahead.
The coming year holds such exciting times. A leap year, with February 29th marking our grand opening and March 1st set as the date to welcome our founding families to Wellington College Bilingual Shanghai. My New Year’s Resolution this year is to make memories from the moments not yet experienced. To all of you reading this, I wish you all the very best for the New Year; may it be filled with health and happiness in abundance.
Vanessa Szucs-Hussain
British Headmaster, Wellington College Bilingual Shanghai
