Dear Parents,
Good morning! I hope this email finds you all well! We are now into our final 8 weeks of the school year, and with all the upcoming events, it is sure to pass by very quickly! In today’s email, I would like to let you know of some upcoming events this week and to highlight two very important Learner Profile attributes.
Events this week
PYP Exhibition
Wednesday, April 24th
The PYP Exhibition marks the end of the students journey through the Primary Years Programme and gives the students the opportunity to showcase all they have learned in their time in the PYP. This year, the groups inquired into these 8 topics:
· Art
· Living Organisms
· Sports
· Technology & Renewable Energy
· History
· Gender Equality
· Science
· Human Body
The day is sure to be exciting as we watch our confident P6 students take the stage to present their learning to the XLIS community!
Parent Workshop – Makerspace: Sparking Creativity in STEM
Thursday, April 25th
Our Makerspace has been a vibrant hub of exploration and education, where students embark on an exciting journey of inquiry. Through hands-on activities, they delve deeply into various subjects. If parents are eager to understand how to nurture or reinforce their children’s interests in STEM – encompassing science, technology, engineering, and math – they are invited to join our workshop. Here, we will present cases and learning experiences from our school Makerspace, giving parents a glimpse into how their children are engaging with STEM at school. This may inspire them to envision new possibilities for STEM learning at home. Additionally, we will share resources that can support children’s STEM learning in the comfort of their own homes.
Junior Basketball U8 and U11 Tournament at XLIS
Saturday, April 27th
This Saturday will be the final sports event for our Primary Students as the basketball tournament is hosted at XLIS! The U8, U11 Girls and U11 Boys teams will all compete for the division title. Please consider joining us on Saturday to cheer on our Blue Dragons!
Learner Profile Attributes
This week I would like to highlight two of the Learner Profile Attributes that I find to be extremely important for our primary students to develop. Last week, Ms. Julia Fan led a parent workshop on our Learner Profiles and gave several tips for parents on how to incorporate the Learner Profiles in your daily activities at home.
The two I would like to highlight today are “caring” and “open-minded”.
Caring
The IB defines the caring learner profile as:
We show empathy, compassion and respect. We have a commitment to service, and we act to make a positive difference in the lives of others and in the world around us.
I encourage you to ask your child to give you an example each day of how they have demonstrated the caring attribute while at school. This final stretch of the year can be challenging, and we often see a rise in conflicts and disrespectful behaviours by our students such as using unkind words or actions. By highlighting the caring learner profile attribute each day, we remind our students how important it is to show empathy, compassion and respect towards others.
Open-minded
The IB defines the open-minded learner profile as:
We critically appreciate our own culture and personal histories, as well as the values and traditions of others. We seek and evaluate a range of points of view, and we are willing to grow from the experience.
As our XLIS community grows, our students are more likely to meet other students who have different ways of approaching situations and who hold different perspectives than themselves. It’s important to teach our students that it’s important to consider the views of others rather than only their own. Conversations can be had with one another without judgment or making someone feel their perspectives are not important.
I feel that the caring and open-minded learner profile attributes go hand in hand. Consider using this language with your children at home to help them develop these attributes further, outside of the school context.
I hope you have a lovely week and that I will see you at one of our upcoming events. As always, I enjoy hearing from you so please reach out at any time.
Sincerely,
Marly Song
Primary Principal
Email: marly.song@xalis.com
WeChat: principal_marly
