Dear Parents,
Good morning! I hope that you all enjoyed some time with your family over the Labor Day break! My family and I enjoyed a couple of nights in the Qinling Mountains. We are very lucky to have these beautiful mountains so close to us!
May and June are very busy months at XLIS as we look to complete year-end assessments and create the new classes for the next academic year while continuing with our community initiatives and events. In today’s letter, I will be highlighting a parent workshop, Student-Led Conferences, assessments, class arrangements and the upcoming Summer Fair!
Parent Workshop
This Thursday at 8:30 am, Ms. Nancy Jing, the head of our Mandarin Department, will lead a workshop for parents called “Instructions on the Use of School-Based Textbooks”. In this session, Ms. Jing will introduce to parents the standards and procedures for writing school-based Chinese textbooks for advanced primary school students, as well as the requirements and methods for student use in order to facilitate parents in providing family counseling and supervision.
Student-Led Conferences
A very important event that is coming on Friday, May 10th is our Student Led Conferences. This is an exciting time of year, when our students have the chance to showcase their learning to their families! This is so exciting because it is an opportunity for your child to show you all the things he or she does in the classroom and around the school. Student Led Conferences are beneficial for reasons such as:
- Students can demonstrate their achievements through a variety of work samples such as journals, projects, and selections of work that show growth and skill development
- Students use the presentation skills they have learned in class
- Students develop a sense of pride in what they have learned and a feeling of ownership of their learning
- Our students build confidence and positive self-esteem by showing the responsibility they have taken over their learning
You should already have a scheduled time where you may come to the school and have your child lead you through their learning journey for the 2023 – 2024 school year at XLIS. Please remember this is not a time where you and the teacher will sit to talk about your child’s learning. If you would like to have that opportunity, you may contact your child’s teacher to set up a meeting at another time. There will not be regular classes this day.
We hope that you can make it!
Assessments
We are now into one of the busiest months for assessment at XLIS. This month, these are the assessments that will be happening:
- WIDA assessments for all students whose first language is not English from P2 to P6. This assessment will test children’s proficiency in speaking, listening, reading, and writing and provide valuable data for our language support team
- The third round of assessments in Writing and Mathematics that align with the Ontario Learning Outcomes
- The third round of reading benchmark assessments that give us the students’ reading levels according to the Fountas and Pinnell system
These assessments are not reported on in the final report cards, rather, the data is collected and analyzed by our teachers in order to create the best possible learning plan for our students. The data allows us to identify the strengths and challenges of each student and of our student body as a whole. At the end of May, please reach out to your child’s homeroom teacher if you would like to know your child’s progress on these assessments.
Classes for the 2024-2025 year
The students’ social-emotional well-being is very important to us at XLIS. There are many factors that we consider when making the classes for the next academic year. We must ensure that the classes are well balanced with boys/girls, English proficiency level, nationalities, behaviours, etc. Now is the time our teachers will look at their current classes and make decisions about which students learn well together and which students may be better in separate classes next year. I am happy to receive feedback from parents about students your son or daughter gets along well with and would like to be in a class with. You may send this to me before May 24th, as after this time the classes will be made and changes will not be possible. Please do not send me teacher requests as I am not able to assign students to teachers based on parent requests. I am only seeking feedback on peer relationships and believe that having a friend in the class is important for children to feel happy at school.
Summer Fair – A Community and Culture Celebration
We are excited to have our final whole-school event of the year to celebrate our wonderful XLIS community this Saturday. The Summer Fair is quickly approaching, on Saturday, May 11th, 2024. This is a family event, that will include performances, activities and games, and delicious food from a variety of restaurants and vendors. It is sure to be a lot of fun and a fantastic way to end the 2023-2024 school year.
Location: this year, Summer Fair will be hosted at our XLIS Campus to ensure the safety, well-being, and comfort of all in attendance.
Schedule:
8:30 AM: Start of Event: Tent Activities & Visual Arts Exhibit
8:45 AM: Start of XLIS Performances
9:00 AM: Start of Creative Visual Arts Activities
9:15 AM: Start of Open Mic performances
9:30 AM: Food Stalls Open
12:00 PM: End of Event
Have a lovely day and I look forward to seeing you at one of our events this week!
Sincerely,
Marly Song
Primary Principal
Email: marly.song@xalis.com
WeChat: principal_marly
