As the year 2021 comes to an end, students and their educators at XLIS reflect on the challenges and achievements they encountered while learning through enquiry and conceptual understanding. Many of us concluded that we had a lot to be thankful for, not only as individuals, but as a truly diverse and caring community. This is how the theme of this year’s Christmas show “Thankful” came to be!
An atmosphere of thankfulness had been present at our school for over a month and was illustrated by the numerous student and teacher led activities implemented to show kindness, care, and service.
Our primary student choir contributed to the spirit of the season by delivering two beautiful performances for the Christmas tree lighting ceremonies at the Ritz-Carlton and the Gran Melia Xi’an. Their renditions of Christmas classics such as “Our Gift to You”, “Happy Holidays to You”, and “We Wish You a Merry Christmas” were delightful to say the least. These were just the first steps to bringing our community together once more, after a long semester immersed in learning.
As a matter of course a truly spectacular culmination would take place on the morning of Saturday December 11, 2021. Since the start of the academic year, students from across the primary and secondary school had been hard at work preparing for this year’s Christmas show, an event that has cemented itself as a school tradition, one that celebrates the performing and the visual arts within the magical context of the Christmas season.
After countless hours of practice, rehearsals, and producing artwork, which included a brilliant group of primary students that designed the stage props and a group of secondary students who created the event’s poster and produced promotional school videos, it was time to finally celebrate. Following the careful execution of the event’s plan which centered not only on having a successful and jovial community building event but also on the safety and security of everyone in attendance, XLIS opened its doors to its extended family.
Smiling parents and their children quickly filled the school hall and the theatre lobby enjoying delicious Christmas patisseries provided by ADEN services while admiring the students’ art exhibition organized by the primary and secondary school visual arts and design teachers.
The clock was ticking…And in the words of Lailah Gifty Akita, it was time for our students to take to the stage and “take risks.” Because “whoever risk shall know how far they will reach.”
From the principals’ speeches to every single performance, our Christmas concert showcased our students’ talents which included a blend of instrument playing, dance, singing and drama. Their seamless acts and the diversity of the program were rewarded again and again by the audience’s clamor. This year’s Christmas show was memorable in every sense of the word.
Nevertheless, besides bringing the community together and showcasing our students’ finely tuned talents, there was still one objective that we needed to meet: demonstrating “thankfulness”. Dr. Liu, our Head of School was invited to share with the audience words of encouragement, hope, and gratitude. Along with the rest of the senior leadership team, she passionately thanked our previous PTA members for their support and welcomed the newly designated members with great enthusiasm.
And there was more to come! On Friday December 17th, it was time for our early-years students to shine like the stars they are. Dressed to impress, they owned the XLIS auditorium with their performances and their beautiful smiles. They sang and danced to Christmas classics and lit up the room with their sparkly costumes. We are so proud of our little learners, from ECE to P1, and their incredible teachers. They continued to celebrate by making Christmas arts and crafts in their homerooms while enjoying delicious seasonal pastries and snacks.
At XLIS we continue to be earnestly grateful to be part of a growing international community that can surmount any challenge through mutual understanding, empathy, and open-mindedness. “Alone we can do so little, together we can do so much” (Helen Keller)
Special Acknowledgements:
Program director and stage manager
Mr. Pyoung Gang Kim
Mr. Jonathan Lee Ching
Mr. Sam Wanamaker
Art and Design
Mr. Scott Ramon
Ms. Tracy Shi
XLIS students
Aden Company
The Resource Department
The Primary and Secondary School Teachers
The PR Department and Student Center
The XLIS Senior Leadership Team
The XLIS PTA
Art Exhibition
Visual Art Departments
Choreographers
Ms. Kitri Jiang
Mr. Nono Song
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Author: Alex Rambaud (Vice Principal )
