Secondary Principal’s Letter

中学部校长来信

Introducing Xi’an Liangjiatan Middle School and High School

西安梁家滩国际学校初中部和高中部简介

Secondary Principal

中学部校长 

Daun Yorke

Dear Teachers, Parents and Students,

Throughout the history of XLIS (formerly XHIS) there has been a secondary school that covers seven grades of education. Moving to our brand new campus that covers a land area of 68,666 square meters, it became clear that we needed to look at creating two distinct sections within the secondary division. When we arrived at the beautiful new campus, our younger secondary learners were finding it challenging to navigate the three-story building and were letting us know through their actions that they needed us to pay attention to their unique stage of physical and emotional development. For the older students, the transition to the new campus seemed much smoother. We are reminded, through these observations that older students are at very different cognitive and social-emotional stages than their younger peers.

▲Secondary teachers talk about the benefits of middle school model

In December, 2018, the secondary teachers formed a think-tank to share their feedback regarding the single secondary division and how they perceived it was working. The question was asked if we needed to consider a Middle School, High School model for the coming years. Teachers completed surveys, talked about their own transition from primary to secondary school and considered how the transition was currently working for our students.

▲ Incoming Middle School Lead Teacher, Sarah Rigal interviews PYP 6 students about how they are feeling about the transition to secondary

▲ Principal, Daun Yorke & Teacher, Sarah Rigal lead Parent Coffee Morning about the Middle 

In January, teacher Sarah Rigal and I met with MYP One and MYP Two students and asked them questions about their transitions from primary to secondary school. We asked how the transition had gone from their perspective and any suggestions they might have for designing the transition for the future. Students completed individual surveys and took part in group data collecting activities. We held a Coffee Morning for MYP One and Two parents. The parents went through a mindfulness visualization activity to bring them back to their own Middle School experience and to help them recall their transition from primary school to secondary. Student and teacher data was shared with the parents. Next, we met with PYP6 students and asked them about their hopes and concerns about the transition to secondary. The students’ concerns were quite consistent throughout the grade levels regarding transitions. The things that stood out were concerns about increased assessment and workload in secondary.

▲ MYP One and Two Parents view the data about PYP MYP transition from PYP 6, MYP 1 & 2 students and Secondary teachers

Data from teachers, students and parents was shared with the senior leadership team and a proposal was shared for a distinct Middle School（MYP1-3）, High School （MYP4/5-DP）model with a lead teacher in each newly formed section. The proposal was accepted and next year, Sarah Rigal will be the Lead teacher for Middle School and Kevin McGarry will be the Lead Teacher for High School as well as the Head of Houses for our Dynasty Groups.  We are very excited about the latest evolution at XLIS. Teachers have been meeting and starting to plan for the separate Middle and High School divisions for several months now.  Part of the change will see Middle School students in smaller communities where they will have a homeroom space that they will help to design. They will see less teachers in MYP One and Two with a single teacher for Maths and Science and a teacher for Language Literature and Individuals and Societies. Instead of traveling to nine different classrooms over the course of the week, some teachers will come to their homerooms. Our goal is to make the middle school a kinder, gentler place for our young learners with a smooth transition from PYP to MYP.

▲Teachers discussing their findings

Last month, Sarah Rigal, Kevin McGarry and I travelled to Beijing to visit the middle school at the Western Academy of Beijing. WAB is famous across Asia and the world, leading with innovation and personalized learning. We learned a great deal about pastoral care initiatives and how to expand our Dynasty House program and utilize our library as a centre of learning. The teachers and leaders in the WAB Middle School were generous and inspiring. In the high school, we plan for a smoother transition as well. Some student surveys indicated that the transition from MYP 3 to MYP4 felt like a steep climb. We want to keep the climb from grade to grade more gradual for our students. 

▲ MYP3 students share their opinion openly

▲ Dp students share their wisdom

Our goal in setting up these two divisions is to be developmentally responsive to the needs of all of our learners. This is an example of data-driven and research-based school improvement. We have looked at the data from within the school and the research about cognitive development, social and emotional learning from around the world. From March through April, I held several Town Hall meetings with MYP3, 4, 5 and DP 1 school groups to gather data about their happiness factor and to collect their input about how we could build a strong High School section. A special meeting was held for DP2 students to gauge their happiness and also collect suggestions from students in their last year at XLIS about school improvement. The DP2 students were generally positive and happy as they prepared for their upcoming DP exams but they provided some sage wisdom with recommendations for future improvement.

▲Town hall meeting with secondary principal and myp4 students

▲ Dp1 students voice their opinions

The happiness rating for students in the seven grades of secondary is high with over 90% of the 123 student respondents indicating they are happy at school.  75% of students indicated that they were happy with the unstructured times (lunch and morning break and after school) while 92% indicated they are happy with the structured time (class time and teaching and learning). The happiness factor is high for students at XLIS Secondary but that does not mean that there are not areas for us to improve upon. Collectively, we will look at areas that indicated needing improvement from the surveys. What can we do to improve unstructured time for students and how can we help alleviate the anxiety around assessments? Students commented that they were most concerned about assessments and least concerned about learning English as an additional language. They are feeling like they are really being supported with their English learning through immersion at the school. 

▲ Daun Yorke hunkering down with MYP students

The goal for secondary is to continue surveying students, teachers and parents each year and to take on board their feedback in an attempt to constantly improve. Surveys will go out to all parents before the end of the year so we can incorporate collective feedback into our planning for next year and monitor our success rate, year after year. We look forward to sharing more information about the new Middle School, High School initiatives at the upcoming Student-Led Conferences May 17th and at the Parent Evenings in August. Thanks to all the secondary students, teachers and MYP One and Two parents for their honest and open feedback.

Introducing Xi’an Liangjiatan Middle School and High School

西安梁家滩国际学校初中部和高中部简介

西安梁家滩国际学校（前身为西安高新国际学校国际部）中学部共有7个年级。搬迁至占地103亩的新校区后，我们意识到中学部有必要细化为两部分。对于低年级的中学生来说，发现并熟悉新校区整体环境很有挑战性。他们用实际行动表示自己正处于身心发展的特殊阶段，因而需要获得更多的关注和关心；和低年级学生相比，高年级的中学生对新校区的适应力明显更好。两个阶段的中学生在认知和社交方面表现出了较大的差异性。

▲ Secondary think-tank about middle school/high school

2018年12月，中学部的老师们成立了教师小组，以便分享彼此对于中学部整体运转和工作方法的意见。有的老师提出，是否可以将中学部分为初中和高中两个部分。老师们针对这个问题进行了问卷调查，探讨了他们从小学部到中学部的工作感受，还有当下能为学生提供的升级辅助工作。

▲ Principal, Daun Yorke & Teacher, Sarah Rigal lead Parent Coffee Morning about the Middle 

2019年1月，我和Sarah Rigal老师询问了MYP一、二年级的学生们从小学升入中学的感受和适应情况，并且倾听了他们对于升学的看法和建议。学生们完成了个人问卷信息调查并一起加入到信息收集工作中来。在为MYP一、二年级学生的家长准备的中学时光分享会上，我们让家长们回顾了自己刚升入中学时的经历，和他们分享了学生和教师们收集到的信息。同时，小学六年级的学生们敞开心扉，表达了他们对即将升入中学的种种期望和顾虑。不同年级的学生对小学升入中学的反馈都很相似。大家考虑最多的是考试评估和学习负担方面的问题。  

▲ Principal, Daun Yorke, hunkering down with MYP5 students to discuss school improvement

▲ Dp students share their wisdom

▲ Secondary principal listening to student feedback

我们将从教师、学生和家长处收集到的反馈信息整理汇报至学校管理层，并提议将中学部分为初中（MYP一年级至三年级）与高中（MYP四年级至DP）两个部分，由两位教师分别管理。学校管理层通过了这项提议，这意味着从明年开始，Sarah Rigal老师将成为初中部的的负责人，Kevin McGarry老师将成为高中部兼“王朝项目”的负责人。我们对此感到非常高兴。几个月以来，教师们一直在一起讨论制定初中部和高中部的管理计划，我们的目标是让低年级的中学生在友善、温和的环境中，顺利完成从小学生到中学生的转变。大家将会看到一些可喜的变化，比如有些初中部的学生将为自己设计一间教室。MYP一、二年级的学生，我们只安排一名数学及科学教师，一名语言文学以及人文社科教师。不同于原来需要在九个教室走班的学习方式，一些老师们将会到学生所在的教室进行教学。

上个月，我和Sarah Rigal老师, Kevin McGarry老师前往北京京西学校初中部进行考察学习。京西学校以创新和个性化学习理念闻名全球，校领导和老师们非常热情地接待了我们，我们学到了许多行之有效的国际生关怀措施、壮大“王朝项目”的方法以及如何让图书馆的助学功能最大化。部分 MYP三、四年级学生的问卷结果显示，MYP三年级到四年级的层级跨度过大，我们希望在保留各年级之间的层级差异的基础上，让学生更平稳、更流畅的完成升级过渡。

我们设立初中部和高中部的目的是为了满足所有学生日益增长的学习需求，也是基于对全球认知发展、社交情感研究和校内数据分析结果而开展的教学提升措施。3月到4月，我与MYP三、四和五年级，以及DP一年级的学校小组进行过多次会议，倾听了他们对幸福感的理解，以及如何成功建立高中部的建议；与DP二年级学生一起进行了在校幸福感评估，他们在积极准备DP考试的同时，提出了许多具有参考价值的校园提升建议。

▲ Town hall meeting with daun yorke, secondary princiapl

面向中学部7个年级、123名学生的校园幸福感调查结果显示，90%以上的学生表示拥有快乐的校园生活；75%的学生对非结构化时间段（例如午餐、上午休息时间及放学后等）的安排感到满意，92%的学生表示他们对结构化时间段（课堂时间、教学与学习）的安排感到满意。XLIS的中学生校园幸福度整体比较高，接下来的日子里，我们会着重对问卷结果中得分相对较低的项目，开展有针对性的提升措施。例如思考“如何进一步提升学生在非结构时间段的满意度”，“如何缓解学生考前焦虑”等等。学生们认为校内沉浸式的英语环境，是非常有效的英语学习途径，考试和评估依然是他们最关注的事项。 

▲ MYP4 Students discuss their ideas with principal in Town Hall Meeting

每一年，我们都会坚持对中学生、家长和教师们进行问卷调查，倾听大家的意见并根据大家的反馈对中学部的工作进行完善。我们预计于今年年底向中学部的家长发送问卷调查，将收集的反馈需求列入明年的工作计划中，并持续跟踪改进成果。

在即将开展的5月17日的学生主导会议，以及八月份的家长会上，我们会分享更多有关初中部、高中部的信息。感谢所有中学生、教师、MYP一二年级的家长对中学部工作的参与和支持！

Daun Yorke

Secondary Principal

西安梁家滩国际学校 中学部校长

Author: 

Daun Yorke（Secondary Principal）

Editor：

Amy Li (Vice-director of Student Center)