American International School of Guangzhou
| Established | 1981 | |
|---|---|---|
| School type | Private School | |
| Head of School | Joseph Stucker | |
| Address | No3 Yan Yu Street Ersha Island, Guangzhou, China |
|
| Enrollment | ~1,000 | |
| Organizational Membership |
National Association of Independent Schools |
|
| Athletic/Activities Conference | APAC SDRC PRC ACAMIS |
|
| Colors | Red Blue |
|
| Mascot | Rams | |
| Homepage | Official Site |
The American International School of Guangzhou (AISG) is an international school in Guangzhou, China. The school is an IB World School which uses an English curriculum and serves the expatriate community in Guangzhou. AISG's current student body consists of approximately 962 students from over 40 countries. Only foreign passport holders are able to attend the school.
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The school was founded in 1981 to educate the children of the staff of the US Consulate. It was then based in the Dong Fang Hotel. Students of other nationalities were later admitted and the school relocated to the Garden Hotel in 1985. In 1987 the school received accreditation from the Western Association of Schools and Colleges to teach Kindergarten to Grade 8. In 1994 AISG moved into a purpose-built school in the Greenery, a housing estate in the Tianhe District. Enrollment was then 102 students from 21 different nationalities. The high school was accredited and added in 1996-97. AISG became an International Baccalaureate World School in 2001.
It moved to its current location in Ersha Island in 2002. Rapid growth fueled the need to identify a larger site able to accommodate the school’s size over the long term. In 2007 the Middle and High School moved to a more spacious purpose built facility in Science Park, north east of the city center. Construction of a new Elementary School and complementary facilities have been planned as a second phase of construction on the Science Park Campus.
AISG is accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges and is registered with the Chinese government as a School for Foreign Students. It is a member of the Council of International Schools, the East Asian Regional Council of Schools (EARCOS), the Asia Pacific Activities Conference and the Association of China and Mongolia International Schools (ACAMIS). The school is an authorized provider of International Baccalaureate (IB) programs at primary and high school levels. The school also offers Advanced Placement (AP) courses for students who entered an AP course before 2010. AP courses are only offered to these students as the school has decided to phase out Advanced Placement classes and to fully embrace the IB program.
At the Elementary School, there are various activities such as arts, sport, community or academic thread. Some of the after school activities include drama, choir, sudoku, chess, a Service Learning Club, and a newspaper organization.
Middle and High School students are involved in many extracurricular activities, from student government to a strong performing arts program. Student have opportunities to be members in active Music and Drama Clubs as well as in Model United Nations groups. Community service initiatives include Habitat for Humanity, Roots & Shoots, and working with mentally challenged adults in Guangzhou. There are also opportunities to participate in a wide range of both recreational and competitive sports such as football, basketball, badminton, tennis, and volleyball. High School and Middle School students also participate in China Trips where each grade of students travel to an area in China (including Hong Kong, and Macau).
AISG is a member of the Asia Pacific Activities Conference. Participating international schools include International School of Beijing (ISB), Western Academy of Beijing (WAB), Concordia International School Shanghai (CISS), Shanghai American School - Puxi (SAS-PX), Shanghai American School - Pudong (SAS-PD), Hong Kong International School (HKIS), Brent International School (BISM), Taejon Christian International School (TCIS), Canadian Academy (CA), Seoul Foreign School (SFS) and United Nations International School of Hanoi. APAC sponsors many athletic and fine/performing arts events throughout the school year. For each event, competitive high school students from all participating schools travel to a designated school for the year's event, housed by volunteer families of the host school and competing as well as enjoying the culture of their destination. The APAC athletics activities are Basketball, Volleyball, Football, Badminton, Tennis, Swimming and can include others such as Baseball, Cross-country, Rugby etc. The arts is represented by Band, Choir, Drama, Forensics and Orchestra.
Club involvement is considered an integral aspect of the educational experience at the American International School of Guangzhou. As of the 2008-2009 school year, AISG has many clubs to join, with an especially strong focus in community service. Some clubs include:
Beacon The American International School of Guangzhou's student-run newsmagazine, is published regularly throughout the academic year.
Mosaic is the American International School of Guangzhou's yearbook.
Artistic License (Literary Magazine) publishes poetry, prose, and artwork by members of the AISG community. It is published annually.
Quarterback is the American International School of Guangzhou's student-run middle school newsmagazine. It is published each semester.
At the Elementary School, after school sports include volleyball, soccer, floor hockey, taekwondo, table tennis and badminton.
AISG fields sports a large number of teams at the High School and Middle School level. Some of the sports that many students participate competitively in are volleyball, basketball, soccer, tennis and badminton, in which they play against other International Schools and Chinese Universities in the region. AISG has recently been invited to join APAC, the Asia Pacific Activities Conference. This allows the students to compete against the top International Schools from China, Japan, South Korea and the Philippines. APAC also includes activities such as Drama, Forensics and Debate, Orchestra and Band. AISG has withdrawn from ACAMIS for the high school teams since it is member of APAC. The middle school has become member of the Southern Delta Region Conference (SDRC), which provides opportunities to play other international schools.
AISG has hosted these APAC events
Each grade level has their own team.
Both campuses are wireless environments and there are computer labs at both campuses for student use. A one-to-one laptop program began in grade 5 in the fall of 2010, and will launch in the secondary school in the following years. The Middle and High School are scheduled to implement the one-to-one laptop program in the 2011-2012 and 2012-2013 school years respectively. At the moment classes may borrow laptop carts or go to the computer labs around the school. Students may also bring their own laptops to school should they choose to do so. In the 2008-2009 school year, the school implemented Moodle, a Course Management System (CMS), also known as a Learning Management System (LMS) or a Virtual Learning Environment (VLE). Technology is introduced starting from kindergarten.[1] The use of the touch sensitive SmartBoard has been implemented into science classrooms.
AISG is currently working on providing the students with one on one computers, the product being Macbooks or Macbook Pros. They have run a demo with the Elementary campus, and finds it productive. They will add the computer fee on the tuition and plan to add one on one computing with middle school campus starting from year 2011~2012. The High School will be adding the one on one computing program in 2012~2013. During the wait, high school students of AISG can purchase Macbooks or Macbook pro at the Tech Department with 30 percent discount.
Catering services on both campuses are provided by Eurest. Students have the option to bring food from home or to purchase foods from Eurest at lunch. Catering is available in a cafeteria and at the cafe. Eurest arranges different menus for every day in the school year.