Dear Parents,
As this will be my final newsletter of the year, I would like to keep it light. First of all, thank you for sharing this, my eleventh year at XLIS. I am striving to get to know the name of each and every one of your children and work to provide a safe place where they can achieve their absolute best.
We finished our recruiting about a month ago, and we are delighted to be welcoming 18 new teachers to join us in August. We will sadly be saying goodbye to 12 teachers this year. Our turnover continues to be low, 8% this year. This stability helps us to build such a strong school and achieve our mission.
I have been studying the immense impact that collaboration between home and school can have on our students. A study by EFF (2019) identified three areas that were particularly worth focusing on:
• supporting parents to have high academic expectations for their children;
• developing and maintaining communication with parents about school activities and schoolwork; and
• promoting the development of reading habits.
https://educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk/education-evidence/guidance-reports/supporting-parents
As we go into the summer, I want to encourage you to promote a habit of reading in your home. Having access to information through reading is the single most important skill we can have, in my opinion.
I am always available through email, phone or Wechat if you ever need any support. I love to meet you face to face or to hear from you through email. I am committed to always reply to you within 24h so please do keep in touch.
Sincerely,
Brian Lalor
Phone/WeChat: 18691453987