Thanksgiving Day Letter from the Head of School—Dr. Liu

Dear XLIS Family,

Although the outbreak of the pandemic has been effectively controlled, we have had to adapt to a different lifestyle. My heart feels heavy as I cannot meet with every parent on campus, regularly. This year’s PTA election had to be rescheduled to take place online, and many activities such as the 2021 Youth Conference on Global Sustainable Development in the Context of “carbon peak and neutrality”, had to be postponed as well. All of these challenges have made every opportunity for communication with parents, even more precious. Once more, I thank you for your kind understanding and continuous support toward the prevention and control of the epidemic.

During the past three months, I attended two Primary and Secondary parent coffee mornings. I have met with 53 parents individually to listen to their stories about their children’s education. I also actively participated in Chinese class, Performing Arts class, ECA classes, a swimming competition, and a variety of other activities. Every family education story was deeply touching and a learning experience in itself, while every coffee morning truly promoted the exchange between home and school. It is gratifying to see that the children enjoy every teacher, every class, and every sporting and cultural activity at XLIS. Through thorough communication with parents, I learnt that some of the issues that students are facing are common to their age group and can be handled based on prior experience. However, some are individual problems which require additional close collaboration between parents, the principals, the teaching assistants, and other supervisors, to achieve the exploration of new solutions. Obviously, these approaches can sometimes produce immediate positive results, but sometimes we need time to wait patiently for the flowers to grow and bloom. Thank you for your constant communication and collaboration throughout your child’s development journey.

When you get a chance to browse through our Secondary Student Diary, please turn to page four, it features a list detailing the five areas of learning skills and approaches that XLIS expects each secondary student to acquire: the first one focuses on thinking skills, with basic critical, creative, and transferable thinking; the second one explores social skills, the ability to work cooperatively in a variety of learning activities that require working with a team to accomplish a mutual goal; and the third one targets communication skills, the ability to communicate effectively with peers, teachers, and others in their lives, and to build good relationships based on trust. Needless to say, effective communication in English is the most basic qualification needed. The fourth is centered on self-management, which is the capacity for students to organize their time, manage their behavior and emotions, and reflect on these. The last of these afore mentioned skills is research which signifies the ability to search and locate reputable and accurate information through a variety of media and books, while demonstrating a high level of academic honesty and literacy. The Middle School programme at XLIS functions as a vital stage for children to establish connections between their Primary and their Secondary studies while building up their self-confidence. A good foundation in kindergarten and Primary school will mostly benefit their transition into Secondary and further promote their development. Rome was not built in a day. If we want our children to be ready for something at the age of 11, we definitely need to pay close attention to every little aspect of their growth during their childhood. Only through a balanced combination of parents’ genuine daily care and effective communication as well as cooperation with their teachers, will our children naturally master the learning skills and strategies needed to succeed in their Secondary school life.

I am delighted to share that XLIS is designated to hold the 2022 ACAMIS Chinese Conference next June, which is their first trial in North- Western region of China, let’s anticipate this marvelous event. Moreover, thanks to the heart-felt support of the current core PTA members and our Brand Development team, the organization of new XLIS PTA, is now actively under preparation. We are confident that the new PTA members will abide by our school’s mission and vision and continue to serve as a bridge between home and the school, by focusing on cultivating confident, open-minded global citizens through lifelong learning and a sense of community.

Happy Thanksgiving Day!

Click here for more details.