Dear Parents,
As always thank you for joining us on our mission to enable confident, open-minded, global citizens through life-long learning and a sense of community. In this mail please find the following:
- XLIS current stance and beliefs on ChatGP (via Kriss Parker XLIS Head of Logistics)
- Healthy food reminder
- Sustainability at XLIS
- Library books return
Let us start with some information regarding ChatGPT and our school’s position on its use as a tool for learning. ChatGPT is a large language model trained by OpenAI that can respond to questions and generate human-like text. It has been shown to be a useful resource for research and learning, and we recognize that it can have safe and effective applications in the classroom.
However, we want to emphasize that it is essential to approach technology with caution and to consider the potential risks and benefits of any tool we use in our classrooms. We will not be asking our students to sign up or use ChatGPT directly for school work, but we encourage our staff to use their professional judgment and discretion when deciding whether to incorporate ChatGPT into their teaching practice. When used safely and appropriately, ChatGPT can offer several benefits to both students and teachers.
It is crucial to keep in mind the issue of academic honesty when using AI tools like ChatGPT. We urge all staff to emphasize the importance of original work and to provide clear guidelines for students on how to appropriately use ChatGPT. Though we as a school will not be asking our students to sign up or use ChatGPT directly, some students may already be using this tool, and it is important we are open with students regarding the uses of ChatGPT to minimize issues in the future. As teachers, it is important to monitor the use of ChatGPT to ensure that students are not using it to cheat or plagiarize, and to remind everyone that it is important to adhere to our school’s policies, guidelines, and academic honesty when using any technology in or out of the classroom.
Some safe uses of ChatGPT may include:
- Providing additional support to students who need extra help with certain concepts or assignments.
- To generate writing prompts and ideas for class discussions or writing assignments.
- To help students research a particular topic or concept.
Some potential risks associated with using ChatGPT include:
- ChatGPT’s referencing quality and accuracy is varied. Though ChatGPT can cite some sources, the quality and accuracy aren’t always reliable or appropriate for the content provided, and users must verify and cross-check the information and references that are provided (if any) by ChatGPT carefully before using them.
- Overreliance on technology. Students may become less independent and less capable of thinking critically and creatively if they rely too heavily on AI-generated responses.
- Plagiarism. ChatGPT can generate highly sophisticated responses that are difficult to distinguish from human-generated content.
- Inaccurate or inappropriate responses. ChatGPT may generate inaccurate or inappropriate responses, which could mislead or confuse students.
As a school, it is essential to recognize that there may also be potential risks associated with the use of ChatGPT, such as the potential for bias in the generated text or the possibility of students using ChatGPT to cheat on assignments. As such, we urge all staff to approach its use with caution and to consider the potential risks and benefits carefully.
ChatGPT and other AI tools will continue to develop, these will become more ingrained into our society and daily use. It is important we recognize this and guide our students to use these tools responsibly. Please feel free to contact kriss.parker@xalis.com if you have any further questions or concerns.
Healthy Food
It is our desire at XLIS for students to develop as healthily as possible. We do this by providing play, clean air in classrooms, HPE lessons and through our cafeteria food. Please remind students that no junk food may be brought to school. We consider instant noodles to be junk food and ask you to remind students not to bring them. Healthy balanced home lunches are advised for growing students who do not eat cafeteria food.
Sustainability
I would like to ask for your help in two areas related to sustainability. It seems that many students are ordering too much food each day in the cafeteria and are throwing much of it away. Please help us educate our children to take small portions and to get more later if needed. Please also help us by reminding students not to bring any single-use plastic bottles to school.
Library Books
Would all students please return their library books next week? We have 400 books overdue and our new librarian Mr. Yatar would like to get them all back to we can understand clearly what we have in our catalog.
Finally, I love o hear from you so please consider replying to this email to let me know how you and your family are doing.
Sincerely,
Brian Lalor
Deputy Head of School
