The Week Ahead
Saturday 13th March until Sunday 21st March
The Master's Voice
Professor Howard Gardner of Harvard University gave an extraordinary talk on Thursday evening. He is described by The Economist as “One of the most influential psychologists of his generation”, and The Financial Times as “…the man who changed our notion of what it means to be clever.” In his session, attended by some 200 parents, he spoke about the four subjects about which he has written most in his books: the qualities required for successful leadership, what creativity is and how to develop it, the thinking behind multiple intelligences, and his ‘Five Minds for the Future’ which will be required in the 21st century. On this last point, he stressed the importance of the ‘three Es’, Ethical conduct, Engagement (which Seligman calls ‘flow’), and Excellent technical and professional quality. For those of you who would like to know more about the work of Howard Gardner, his work at Harvard with ‘Project Zero’, the Reggio Emilia schools and much else, check out www.howardgardner.com.
The school calendar for next term has been sent to the printers. You should receive a copy with the end of term material, however if you need information now, an electronic version can be found here.
There was a very impressive field of Third Form Malim Prizes entries this year. The two winners were Scarlett Quarendon-Wheeler (C) discussing Henry VIII’s illegitimate children and Maxime Saxena’s (M) looking at Mathematics in Music. Others included a study of reality TV, a mustard expose and a history of Grubbies. Thanks to the archivist for providing the image of Malim when he was the fifth Master of Wellington.
General Events
The weekend of Saturday 13th March and Sunday 14th March is a weekend leave, albeit a short one. The pupils may leave after commitments on Saturday 13th March and the boarders should be back by 9:15 pm on Sunday 14th March.
On Sunday 14th March, there is the ISCO GAP Fair in the Newsome Sports' Hall. Please contact Matt Oakman if you want more details.
On Friday 19th March at 8.00 p.m. in the Old Gym there is a Jazz Concert in aid of Crowthorne community minibus, featuring the Wellington Jazz Orchestra directed by Will Heathcote and the Wellington Concert Band, directed by Jeff Oakes, with soloists and ensembles. Tickets are £7.50 available from Peter Hattersley (01344 775995 or The Toy Box, 235 High Street, Crowthorne)
On Saturday 13th March a group of ten Wellingtonians will take part in the Voice Festival UK at St Paul’s School . They will compete in the annual event’s first schools’ A Cappella competition in the afternoon and be entertained in the evening by the finals of the prestigious university competition. More details about the event can be found here. Entry is free to the schools’ competition so please feel free to come along and support Wellington.
The annual girls' sports dinner is due to take place this year on Saturday 20th March. All parents are warmly invited to join the celebrations in congratulating all girls who have represented Wellington College in the sporting arena this year at the black tie dinner. Please download and return the attached form if you would like to join us for this fun evening.
The Third Form have a closed Saturday night and Sunday morning with a social on Saturday 20th March and a chapel service at 10:00 am on Sunday 21st March at which the preacher is Peter Whalley. All parents are warmly invited to this service.
The Choral Society and Choral Concert will be on Sunday 21st March at 7:30 pm in the Newsome Sports' Hall. Parents and friends are warmly invited to hear the 'Wellington Chorus' sing Karl Jenkins' Requiem. Please contact the Music Department if you would like more details.
83 days ago Naomi Pendle (CR 2005-09) left the comforts of Wellington to take on a new challenge, South Sudan. Naomi will spend her Vodafone World of Difference year in South Sudan working at the Marol Academy where she will take up the position of teacher Trainer and Training Facilitator. Her goal will be to significantly raise the level of literacy in the area. Naomi will also seek to raise awareness of the project through organising placements for UK teachers to come over and share their expertise and experience in both teaching and training.To do this she requires the generosity of donators. As a result Geoff Hopkinson and Charlie Byrd will be attempting to static cycle for 24 hours on exercise bikes (each!!). They write "This task will no doubt be gruelling and uncomfortable, but worth every minute knowing the aid it could generate. Therefore, once again we ask for you to dig deep in to your pockets and help not only change the life of one of our friends but also the lives of the people she cares about so much. Donations can be made in two ways, either donate via http://www.justgiving.com/MarolAcademy online or pledge a donation by emailing byrdch@wellingtoncollege.org.uk"
Following the success of the Marrakesh Trip, the WCA are now taking bookings for the Amsterdam Trip from 14th May until 16th May. For more details and to reserve places please contact Denise Cook.
The classics department are running a classics trip to Tunisia and Sicily between 20th and 27th October for 5th and 6th form students. We will visit some of the best extant Roman sites in the Mediterannean including the amphitheatre at El Djem and the villas of Piazza Armerina, and Greek sites such as the Valley of the temples. There will also be a wider cultural aspect of the tour as we visit the great mosque at Kairouan, and see something of North African as well as Sicilian culture. The overnight ferry from Tunis to Palermo should be an experience!. This will have obvious benefits for Classics students but is also open to anyone else enthusiastic. For more information, please see this letter, or contact Simon Allcock. More details and a booking form can be found here.
The Wellington College Parent Portal is up and running and we have started the process of creating accounts for current parents. This means that parents will be able to log on to our website from anywhere in the world and view their child’s reports, internal and external exam timetables, results and other relevant information. Besides being more convenient for parents it will, in the long term, allow us to cut down on the amount of printing we do - all part of our sustainability drive. Our intention is that parents of pupils in the Upper and Lower Sixth will receive a letter within the next week explaining how to access the Portal. Parents of other year groups will receive their letter within the next three weeks. Follow the instructions and you should have access straight away. The few parents who have trialled this did find the process simple and clear and it did provide easy access to the module results for the Upper Sixth this week.
Easter break is going to see the start of the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award expedition season. Silver (5th Form) and Gold (6th Form) walking groups are heading to the Brecon Beacons where they will put into practice the skills they have been developing this term. At the same time Gold canoe expeditions will be making a descent of the River Wye and the Bronze (4th Form) groups will be enjoying CCF camp in Dorset. The expeditions, which culminate in a completely self-supported trip in the summer, are just a small part of the DofE scheme which is a great way to celebrate contribution to Skill, Physical and Volunteering activities within the College. At Wellington we have a vast range of activities to suit everyone and next year we will have an even greater choice of expeditions taking place. Signup for next year will be late in the Summer Term and will be open to Bronze, Silver and Gold entrants. For more information visit the DofE intranet site or contact Ben Attenborough.
We are always keen to welcome additional volunteers to help in our Charity Shop. if you do feel that you are able to get involved please read the file here with more details.
The Bursar reminds parents that the College requires one term's notice of a pupil leaving other than at the end of their Upper Sixth Year. Notice for any pupil leaving at the end of the Summer Term should be sent in writing to the Bursar on or by the first day of the Summer Term, Sunday 18th April. This is to ensure that you do not become liable for paying the following term's fees in lieu of notice. If you are unsure whether or not your daughter or son may be leaving, you may consider forwarding provisional notice that he/she may be leaving and will confirm the position later in the term. Obviously, it will help us to have such decisions as early as possible so that we can ensure that places are filled.
Sport.
On Saturday 6th March the Junior Colts rugby team beat an unbeaten Hampton School team 16-5 to reach the U15 Daily Mail Cup Final for the second time in 3 years. Wellington were appearing in their fourth semi final in five years at this age group, with the squad looking to emulate the U15 Cup Winning side of 2008. Of the 660 schools that entered the competition in September, Wellington will now face Wilmslow School from Cheshire in the final. The final will be played at Twickenham on Wednesday 31st March, with a 12:30 pm kick off. Details of how to get tickets will be sent out in next week's Week Ahead. Alternatively, tickets can be purchased from the ticket office at the RFU or on the gate.
Saturday 13th March has block fixtures for netball with Bradfield, hockey with Cheltenham and football with Brighton College. (Please note that the venues for the Cheltenham fixtures are the opposite of what the calendar says - apologies for this error in the printed calendar.) In addition the cross country team are entered in the Pat Bagnall trophy.
On Sunday 14th March, there is also a calendar addition of an invitational 1st VII netball tournament at Marlborough to add to the rugby 7s tournament at QE Barnet for the U16 and U14, the national schools polo tournament and the first eleven football game with the Corinthian Casuals.
Tuesday 16th March sees the lacrosse team back in action against Royal Surrey and the golf team taking on Winchester.
Our 1st VII play in the Surrey 7s on Wednesday 17th March whilst on Thursday 18th March, the rackets players welcome St. Paul's, the shooting team Harrow, the basketball players Winchester and the fencers Eton.
On Saturday 20th March, the cross-country team compete in the English Schools' Championships, the hockey and football players compete with Radley, the netball with Epsom and Pangbourne (The netball fixtures with Epsom have changed significantly from the calendar. At Wellington for a 2:00 pm start:1st VII, 2VII, 3rd VII, 4thVII, U16A and B. At Epsom for a 2:00 pm start: U14 A, B & C, U15A, B & C and for a 3:00 pm start:U15D, U14D and E.) To round of the Saturday sport, the basketball players welcome the OWs.
Sunday 21st March sees our U14 7s team in action at Sherborne and the rackets players start in the Public Schools Championships at Queen's Club.
Details of the matches can be found on the intranet.
Further Ahead
The calendar entry for the Ridley College, Canada, drama production of "Servant of Two Masters" changed. It was down to happen on Monday 15th March in old Hall but in fact the play was on Monday 8th March in Great School at 7:30 pm. Apologies for the change and you've missed it now!
Musical events coming up in the last week of term include:
Monday 22nd March: 6pm, Concert Room, Montgomery Competition heats
Wednesday 24th March: 7.30pm, Theatre, Othello, and Far East Tour open rehearsal
The final Master's Lecture of the term is on Thursday 25th March at 8:15 pm in the Theatre and is the Rt Hon Michael Howard, QC, MP talking to "What is at stake in the general election". He was elected Member of Parliament for Folkestone and Hythe in 1983. Following the 1992 election, Michael Howard was appointed Secretary of State for the Environment. In this position he played a major role in securing the participation of the USA at the Earth Summit in Rio which he attended on behalf of the Government. In May 1993 he became Home Secretary, a position he held for four years. During his term of office crime fell by an unprecedented 18%. When he left office, nearly a million fewer crimes a year were being committed than when he became Home Secretary four years previously. Following the 1997 Election Michael Howard was appointed Shadow Foreign Secretary until his retirement from the Front Bench in June 1999. In September 2001, under the Leadership of Iain Duncan Smith, he was invited to return to the front bench as Shadow Chancellor where he remained in post until November 2003. Michael was then elected as Leader of the Conservative Party, a position he held for over two years. He led the Party at the 2005 General Election, the first election in 22 years in which the Party gained a significant number of seats. In that election the Conservative won more votes than Labour in England. Indeed if just 14,500 votes in the 34 seats which give Labour its majority had changed their vote, Labour would have been deprived of its majority. The day after the election Michael announced his decision to stand down as Leader of the Party, but called for a debate on the future direction of the Party before the commencement of any leadership election. He submitted his resignation in November, and, following the election of David Cameron in December 2005, handed over the leadership to him. Michael continues to represent Folkestone and Hythe at Westminster.
Some of our parents are involved with a couple of charities that have siginificantly helped Wellington families in the past and on Saturday 8th May they are invvled with the Women's Windsor Twilight Walk. They wirte "Get your trainers on, join our Windsor Twilight Walk and help raise funds for Sebastian’s Action Trust and The Children’s Trust - charities which support children with life-limiting illnesses or multiple disabilities. Thousand of women don’t have the luxury of a good night’s sleep because their child’s condition means they often need 24-hour care. This is an opportunity for you to give up one evening and have some fun with your girlfriends to help us make life a little easier for them and their families! Starting and finishing at the Thames Valley Athletics Centre, Pococks Lane, Eton SL4 6HN. The warm up begins at 5.00pm and the walkers leave Eton at 6.00 pm.. Enjoy the amazing architecture of Eton College and Windsor, past the Castle and down the Long Walk. Watch the sun go down as you walk through the beautiful Windsor Great Park, back through the town, along the Thames, through Eton and arrive back at the Athletics ground. It costs just £10 for the 7 mile walk and £20 for the 13 mile walk to register (£15 for groups of 4 or more registering together). (There is a small processing charge of £1.65). Your registration includes a fabulous complimentary event T-shirt and a very exciting finishers goody bag. There is no mimimum sponsorship but you will be loved forever if you could raise £100! Please register now at www.sebastiansactiontrust.org or https://regonline.activeglobal.com/windsor_twilight_walk". Enjoy!
Letters Home
To try to cut down on the amount of paper we send out and to try and not bombard parents with large numbers of posting, e-mails and information generally, we try to use the Week Ahead to include letters we would normally send out - either electronically or by post. If there are parents who would still rather receive everything on paper, please e-mail the College Secretary. We still anticipate sending out paper copies of reports, bills and the Master's letters. To open some of these letters you will need to log on to the intranet as the page they are saved on is only viewable to those in the Wellington community. Do contact me if you need the password.. All letters home of this sort are stored here. If for any reason you want to see a back copy of the Week Ahead they are all available on the internet here.
Contact us
This newsletter and past editions are on the Wellington College website as is a version of the school calendar with details of all activities going on at Wellington for the rest of this term.
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