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. 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 teachers about the importance of wearing glasses if needed, in order to increase the usage rate of spectacles provided by Stepping Stones’ I Care Program. 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.”