Wellington blossoms red for the CNY celebrations

The Year of the Rooster is over, with the Year of the Dog nipping at its heels! As always, Wellington turned bright red with wonderfully vivid lanterns, streamers, banners and all manner of decorations for the final week of school before the Chinese New Year holiday. Not only was the College looking suitably festive, there were also some very special events laid on this year for everyone to enjoy. The ever-popular CNY charity art auction was another great success this year. With the total amount raised RMB46,276, it’s clear that the generosity of the Wellington parents and community members will make a big difference to Shanghai Healing Home, the receiving charity chosen by the Friends of Wellington. We saw the Early Years pupils give their CNY performance in the College theatre. Dressed in fantastic outfits, including cats, pigs, dogs and tigers, each class had chosen either a classic or modern Chinese cartoon and briefly told its story through the medium of song and dance. The audience of appreciative parents and staff members were treated to the delights of the Monkey King’s adventures, the crime-stopping determination of Sergeant Cat and many other excellent displays. With equal style and confidence, the performances of years 1 and 2 quickly followed. Their chosen theme was to highlight the great ethnic and cultural diversity of China. This inspired a series of well-prepared songs, dances and short dramatic scenes exploring the different ways people from across China’s ethnic identities all celebrate Chinese New Year. Complete with gorgeous and authentic cultural clothing, our Pre-Prep pupils did a great job of highlighting and celebrating just how diverse China really is. On the last day of the half-term, the entire college enthusiastically joined in with a new event in the Wellington calendar: The Temple Fair. Devised by Mrs Hicks and brought to life through the support and hard work of parents, the inaugural Temple Fair was held in the Dome and was embraced by pupils. The event was opened by professional dancers performing the lion dance and the 1000-hand dance. Afterwards, pupils from every year group, many of them colourfully dressed in red jackets and qipao, were able to enjoy 19 workshops, stalls and activities as they soaked in the culture, cuisine and pastimes of our host country. Highly skilled professional artisans demonstrated to the pupils how to make decorative lanterns, origami dragons and lunar calendar animals made from spun sugar. Everyone enjoyed the alley games of shuttlecock hacky sack and even managed to pick up some impressive martial arts moves from Mr Wood, our lightning-fast instructor! There were also plenty of delicious dumplings, made possible by the generous donation of from incredibly supportive parents. All that remains is to thank everyone for entering into the spirit of the Year of the Dog celebrations with such enthusiasm, and welcome all pupils and staff back from what was hopefully a restful half term break!