Dear parents,
We are constantly working on developing a culture of inclusion at the school. In this newsletter, I would like to share our inclusion policy and tell you how we are working to support all students at XLIS. I would also like to invite you to watch some high-level sports. Brian Lalor here, the Deputy Head of School. I always love to hear back from you, letting me know how you and your child are doing. Please take a moment to reply if you can.
Enhanced Learning System
At XLIS we take a multi-tiered approach to student support. The vast majority of student support occurs at the Tier 1 level. At this level, teachers differentiate instruction in order to help students understand knowledge, concepts and skills, which they may be finding difficult. Differentiation is a fundamental part of any quality instruction and something all our teachers should understand.
Students new to the school or students who are new to the English language will often receive support at the Tier 2 level. In the elementary school, this takes the form of push-in EAL lessons. In the secondary school students are placed in different language phases in English and Chinese, so that they receive instruction at an appropriate level. Students have the opportunity to move up in phases according to their MYP grades. Teachers also provide push-in support when they are available to support students at the Tier 2 level. This happens in the language-heavy subjects, such as Individuals and Societies and Science. Each school leader at XLIS is also scheduled to support students at this level each week. I very much enjoy working with our MYP mathematics students.
We delight in the fact that we are an inclusive school and have a number of students who have special education needs, such as my daughter. These students receive Tier 3 support from our enhanced learning specialist and often our school counselor, Ms. Taylor. We were delighted to be able to welcome Mr. Wally Mann this academic year to support at the Tier 3 level. Mr. Mann commented about the current state of inclusion at XLIS, “In general, XLIS has a very good foundation from which to cultivate inclusionary practices. Many teachers are familiar with inclusion and are currently embedding methods within their own lessons across the whole school. In addition, the staff is eager to further build their knowledge and skills, so they can impact a broader range of students”.
Sports
Sports have taken off at XLIS this year in particular our girls’ teams. I am so proud to see about thirty girls and thirty boys training every Monday and Friday. Where I come from we have a lot of support for our children’s sports. This is something I would love to see at XLIS. It would give us a big advantage during home games. Have a look at some of the games this week and please come along to shout our little heroes on.
U19 Volleyball – Wednesday, October 11
We will host our first and only set of volleyball games this Wednesday after school against Maple Leaf. The girls will play first, from 4:30-5:30, and the boys will play second from 5:30-6:30 PM.
U14 Basketball – Saturday, October 14
The girls’ game will tip off at 9:00 AM and the boys’ game will tip off at 10:00 AM in the gym. Both games against our good friends over at Hanova.
Primary Soccer – Saturday, October 14
Our U8 and U11 heroes will be taking on Hanova from 9am on the XLIS grass pitch.
Thank you for being part of our journey to create and inclusive and open-minded school in our beautiful city.
Sincerely,
Brian Lalor (M.Ed.)
Deputy Head of School
Phone/WeChat 18691453987
