| Shanghai High School International Division | |
|---|---|
| Location | |
| 400 Shang Zhong Rd. Xuhui, Shanghai, People's Republic of China 200231 |
|
| Information | |
| Type | Public (Exam school) secondary |
| Established | 1993 |
| Principal | Ms. Lee Ying |
| Faculty | 100 (approx.) |
| Grades | 1–12 |
| Number of students | 2450 (approx.) |
| Website | [5] |
Shanghai High School International Division (abbreviated SHSID, 上海中学国际部 in Chinese) is an international school in Shanghai, China, of Shanghai High School. The school features two parallel curricula in Chinese and English.[1] It is the earliest government supported international school to be founded in Shanghai. Although still a relatively new school compared to the history of Shanghai High School, its students consistently matriculate to many of the top universities around the world.[2]
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On June 1, 1993, Shanghai High School (SHS) approved the establishment of an International Division. SHSID enrolls more than 2000 students from over 50 different nations and regions. Academics (grades 1-12) are separated into English and Chinese sections. The Chinese section is based on education in mainland China and education in Hong Kong. The English section is based on education in the United States, the IB Diploma Programme, and the Advanced Placement Program.[3] A division of one of the oldest high schools in Shanghai and all of China (SHS was established in 1865), SHSID is also known as one of the very first international schools established in the People's Republic of China and is a UNESCO school.[4]
"Established in 1865, Shanghai High School has been a key high school in Shanghai. With high-caliber teachers, fully equipped facilities, and a rigorous study schedule, SHS sets excellent moral and high educational standards. SHS alumni have moved on to become prominent scientists, politicians, writers, educators, and entrepreneurs. Today, thirty-one graduates work as scientists at the Chinese Academy of Sciences and forty four work as high ranking government officials. Following in a tradition of excellence, today's students are instilled with the same ideals of honesty, forward-thinking, and academic competence. Almost one hundred percent of our students pass the university Entrance Exam', and of those more than eighty percent are accepted by key universities."
The goal of SHSID is to “explore and seek out the best methods, domestically and abroad, to educate its students. Specifically, in areas such as, modern science and technology, in order to cultivate future talents of the 21st century.”
As an international school in China, SHSID developed educational goals to reflect a traditional background as well as goals to meet the needs of today’s talented students. We are committed to educate students for the challenges of the future. SHSID provides progressive education in a multi-cultural environment; preparing students with global perspectives; and encouraging them to accept responsibilities and become competent in their studies.
In the "Chinese Section," the senior curriculum are designed by Chinese Ministry of Education (text books are from People’s Education Press), the Junior High and Primary School curriculum the one used in Hong Kong (text books are from A&E Publishing Company). Students in the Chinese Section are mainly foreign students who wish to matriculate to a Chinese university, and so courses are mainly taken in preparation for the Chinese College Entrance Examinations. In the "English Section," courses are taken in preparation for the International Baccalaureate and AP programs which begin in the junior year and are modeled after the education system in the United States.[5] Typical courses taken by English Section students include Math, Chinese, English, Physics, Chemistry, History, Economics, Music, and Art. Biology and Geography are notable exceptions to the curriculum, and are available during the later years through choice. Both curricula follow a semester system.
SHSID offers a variety of IB classes, including English (A1 and B), Chinese (A1 & B), Mathematics, Computer Science, Physics, Chemistry, Biology (SL only), Economics, History, Visual Arts, Music, and Psychology(SL only). Students can take the classes for 11th and 12th grade in preparation for the IB examinations in the May of their senior year. The IB coordinator is 刘炼 (Liu Lian), who is also the IB Computer Science instructor. SHSID is also a test center for the IB examinations and boasts an average IB score of 40(2010). To prevent students from feeling over-pressured from the rigorousness of the program, and from failing, only the top 30% ranked students may apply for IBD.
An AP program was recently set up due to mounting pressures from parents and students alike. It offers a limited selection of AP courses on a 2-year program similar to the IB program that can be taken in students' junior and senior years. Courses offered as of 2010 include (but is not limited to) AP Calculus, AP Statistics, AP Chinese, AP English Language and Composition, AP English Literature and Composition, AP Chemistry, AP Psychology, AP Microeconomics, AP Macro Economics, AP US History, and AP World History. Non AP-Class students may also apply to take the AP test at SHSID. To prevent the occurrence of failing grades, the school requires applicants to take a preliminary test for eligibility.
SHSID has a test based curriculum, and students take 4 major examinations per class every semester: 2 monthly, 1 mid-term, and 1 final exams. Due to the usual 4-5 month length of one semester, each test is roughly allocated to a specific month. These tests take up a significant portion of the students' final grades, however, only the mid-term and final exam grades are sent to colleges during college applications. Taking into consideration the amount of classes each student is required to take, students will take approximately 32 major assessments each semester, or 64 major assessments per academic year.
SHSID is also a test site for TOEFL, PSAT, and SAT. The TOEFL internet-based testing is also open to students who do not attend SHSID. SAT is only available to non-Chinese passport holders attending SHSID.
SHSID offers a wide range of "optional" classes, or electives. They accommodate the great variety of student interests, with rather esoteric courses such as "East-West Comparative Philosophy," "Contract Bridge," and "Flower-Arranging." More popular courses include sports such as tennis and basketball, language classes such as Korean and Japanese, engineering courses such as electrical engineering and robotics, and culture-oriented classes like English movies and Chinese pottery and painting. Each student is required to choose one optional course every semester.
Zhong Xing Building (中兴楼 in Chinese), located next to the scenic Zhong Xing Lake, is the regular class building for SHSID's high school freshman and sophomores. It is considered a masterpiece of modern engineering and safety standards.
Xian Mian Building (先棉堂 in Chinese), located near the Laboratories and Shang Zhong road gate, is the building where high school juniors and seniors regularly have class. Room 211 is famed as the "Dungeon" of the building.
The Yifu Building of the school sports four stories of laboratories and an astronomical observatory on its roof. These laboratories allow for experiments to be conducted for chemistry, physics, and biology, which are roughly allocated to the first, second, and third floors, respectively. A modern analytical chemistry section was also opened recently for conducting advanced experiments. This includes mass spectrometry, IR and UV spectroscopy, gas chromatography,and atomic absorption spectroscopy.[6]
There are also classrooms dedicated to robotics, electrical engineering, and simulated driving (elective courses).
Students in Grade 7 and up, whose homes lie beyond the school busing areas, can apply to stay in the students’ dormitories.[7]
The Shanghai High School campus spans an area of 223617 square meters. The school campus has numerous buildings, a lake, several small meadows, several gymnasiums, and various sports facilities. The campus exists on what was once a Japanese Prison camp during WWII, Lunghua Civilian Assembly Center, years before the establishment of the International Division.
This scenic lake is named after the building it is located next to, Zhongxing Building. The water of the lake is said to be legendarily poisonous and consists of hundreds of different toxic chemicals due to the waste and garbage dumped in by various people. However, the fish in the lake seem immune to these chemicals surprisingly.
Also it is said that the ghost of a cat resides in the lake, awaiting its next victim. According to ancient sources, a drop of Confucius' tears fell to the ground on this exact spot millennia ago, thus creating the lake. Legend has it that a princess resides beneath the lake, luring students to ratiocination.
The school has a great number of facilities dedicated to physical education, including a myriad of basketball courts, badminton courts, indoor and outdoor tennis courts, a gymnasium, volleyball courts, gymnastics/martial arts training rooms, Badminton/Ping Pong Building, a standard 400 meter track with a sandpit, soccer fields, and an Olympic-sized 50 meter swimming pool. The basketball courts also provide a wide area of concrete in which various sports competitions such as tug-o-war and dodgeball are held. They are also known to host occasional mock military exercises.
SHSID's Art Center is a two-story building spanning a hundred meters across the verdant campus of SHS. It comes staffed with nationally renowned faculty including distinguished watercolor artist FuGang (傅钢) and experienced foreign art teacher Anthony Kelly who instructs the IB Program's Visual Arts curriculum. The structure is built with two-story high ceilings made out of wood and windows placed high above so to accommodate a peacefully lighted environment allowing artists from all backgrounds to unleash their creativity. Inside the Art Center, you will also find SHS History Exhibition. Oftentimes, the school's principal will lead a group of news reporters or the school's board of trustees into the Art Center to present them with SHS's famous alumni, martyrs, International Olympiad award winners, and principals.
Auditoriums of varying size dot the campus, the majority of them located in school buildings and are "assigned" to sections. The largest auditorium, the 大礼堂 (unimaginatively translated as "the big auditorium"), is located right behind the local division building and can accommodate many people. This is where school-wide events such as the Art Festival, Talent Show, and the Opening Ceremony are held. The auditorium building is also home to a media center on its second floor.
SHSID has a strong student governing body which goes by the familiar acronym, ASB, or Associated Student Body. Members of the ASB are elected every year in each grade and are classified according to their sections (primary, junior, senior, etc). The ASB are in charge of organizing school activities, such as inter-homeroom competitions, holiday parties/fairs, dances, academic competitions, and various services such as sending Christmas grams.
The Art Festival and Talent Show are held annually (separately for each division primary, junior, or senior). Students may perform a variety of performing arts from short plays and piano recitals to rock bands and dance routines.
The sports day is also held annually and organized separately for each division (primary, junior, or senior). Competitions include Track and Field (100m, 200m, 400m, and 1200m), Shot Put, Medicine Ball, High Jump, Long Jump, and 4×100 m Relays.
The school hosts an annual charity fair in which students set up stands and sell products to raise funds going to charity. This is often also a culturally active event, where international students put on display their respective countries' idiosyncratic foods, drinks, and trinkets. Similar to many other school events, the charity fair is specific to grade or section.
Every year, SHSID offers a group of volunteers and a big body of participants for ACE, an annual charity event held in Shanghai. SHSID is one of the primary supporting international school, contributing to tens of thousands in donations (RMB). In 2009, more than 100 SHSID students participated in the rapidly growing event. In addition, several performances and artworks in ACE are authored by SHSID students.
SHSID has an excellent variety of school clubs, such as literature club, art club, News club, tennis club, biology club, astronomy club, jazz club, math club, Model United Nations club, novel-T club amongst others. These various clubs have organized numerous school activities, such as poetry competitions, sports competitions, stargazing nights, math and science competitions, etc. This rich diversity of clubs and activities reflect the diversity that defines the school itself, the multifarious pool of interests, culture, and hobbies. Almost every student participates in several school clubs to satisfy their individual interests and curiosities, and during the lunch break the classrooms are often occupied with club meetings. The walls of the school building also give evidence to the great number of clubs, with wallpapers of all colors advertising club events.
SHSID's high school debate teams have won consecutive titles as champions in the Hong Kong-Shanghai Inter-city Real Time Debate on Net English Sections (8th and 9th sessions) [8][9]
Among the Shanghai High School alumni, there are 53 academicians of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Chinese Academy of Engineering, 31 generals and more than 100 provincial and ministry leaders.[10]
Writer Richard Gordon was a teacher at SHSID from the fall of 2005 until his death in February, 2009.[11]