Dear Parents,
Welcome to the 2025 – 2026 academic year at XLIS! To all of our returning families, we are so happy to have you back! And to all of our new community members, thank you for choosing XLIS for your child and your family. We are all very excited for what lies ahead this year.
I am happy to be returning as the Primary Principal for the fourth year, and to be starting my seventh year with XLIS. For our new community members, my name is Marly Song, and I am from Victoria, BC, Canada. This is my 21st year as an educator in China. I have taken on many roles throughout my career – as a classroom teacher for each grade from P1 to P6, a literacy coach, a vice-principal, a team leader for teachers, and now as the principal of the primary school at XLIS. I am passionate about early literacy and language learning in children and am committed to creating an inclusive culture at school where all children feel they belong. One thing to know about me is that I love feedback and communication, so I encourage you to reach out to me anytime with both the positive things you are experiencing at our school and the questions you may have as we go along on this journey together for your children.
Today, I would like to highlight two important points for all of our families to become familiar with.
First, our number one school-wide goal for our students at XLIS is for us to support them in their development of XLIS’s language of instruction – English. More specifically, we are focusing on our students’ reading development across all year levels, from our youngest learners in ECEA to our oldest in DP. Reading is an essential skill for our students to develop in order for them to be successful in school and outside of school. So, how are we planning to achieve this goal?
1) Our teachers read aloud to our students often. Listening to stories supports students to develop their listening skills, comprehension, and fluency as they hear the tone and pacing of reading.
2) Explicit phonics instruction for our P1 – P3 students using a program called UFLI. This is daily phonics practice for students to help them build a solid foundation for reading.
3) Practice!! In classes, students have classroom libraries to choose books to read that are interesting to them, which is so important for them to develop a love of reading.
4) Phonemic awareness – for our youngest learners in ECE, although they are not yet reading, we are helping them build up phonemic awareness and pre-reading skills, so they will be ready for explicit phonics instruction in P1. This includes rhyming, songs, poems, and orally identifying the first, middle, and last sounds they hear in words.
5) Recommended books for our students to read – each email in semester one that I send, I would like to list some books that are appropriate for students at different year levels to read. These books are available in our school library.
This week, please see some recommended books that parents can read with their Early Years children:
The Very Hungry Caterpillar – Eric Carle
We’re Going on a Bear Hunt – Michael Rosen
Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? – Bill Martin Jr.
Goodnight Moon – Margaret Wise Brown
The Mitten- Jan Brett
Courduroy- Don Freeman Freeman
Gingerbread Man- Jim Aylesworth
Runaway Bunny- Margaret Wise Brown
Press Here – Hervé Tullet
At home, I highly encourage you to read with your children nightly. This may look different for children of different ages. For example, bedtime stories for our young learners up to 8 or 9 years old. For children in P5 or P6, I encourage the whole family to sit together for 30 minutes each evening, reading. When children see their parents reading too, it helps them understand its importance. Together, we can support our students to make progress in their reading abilities this year!
Second, we have our first event of the new semester ~ Meet the Teacher Night. This is on Friday, August 29th, from 4:30 – 5:30 pm. This event links to our first Primary Learning Principle: “Powerful learning happens when students feel safe and supported.” To start, upon arrival, parents will join all Primary Teachers in the Blue Dragon Theatre for our faculty introductions and then proceed to your child’s classroom. While there, you will meet your child’s classroom teacher and TA, learn about the important routines and expectations in the classroom, and understand how to communicate with your homeroom teacher when you have questions or concerns. When parents are clear about the classroom expectations and routines, they are better able to support their children at home.
Please note, as all teachers and TAs will be busy preparing for the event, children cannot remain at the school to wait for parents. They will need to be picked up or take the school bus home as normal. It’s important to attend the event, but only one member of the family is enough. To register to come, please use the XLIS WeChat app, sign up to attend, and use the QR code to enter the campus.
I would like to end today’s letter with thanks. Thank you for trusting XLIS for you and your child, and thank you for being a partner in their learning journey.
Please reach out at any time!
Sincerely,
Marly Song
Primary Principal
Email: marly.song@xalis.com
WeChat: principal_marly
