| The SMIC Private School 中芯学校 |
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|---|---|
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品格第一 · 追求卓越 ·胸怀世界？ 快乐成长
Honor . Excellence . Community . Joy
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| Location | |
| Shanghai, China | |
| Information | |
| Type | Private |
| Established | 2001 |
| School board | Shanghai Pudong New Area
上海市浦东新区社发局教育处 |
| School district | Third District |
| Principal | Yuan Han-RETIRED '10-'11 (English Track) |
| Principal | Yanding Zheng (Chinese Track) |
| Grades | K-12 |
| Team name | Sharks |
| Publication | SMIC Bridge
芯桥 |
| Newspaper | Xin Lang Scholar |
| Website | www.smic-school.cn |
The SMIC Private School is a company-run K-12 school located in the Zhangjiang Hi-Tech Park of Pudong, Shanghai, China. The school was founded by Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation (SMIC) in 2001 and by 2009 had over 1,450 students. 2011 marked its 10th anniversary.
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The School's initial purpose was to provide low-cost private education for SMIC employees' children in close proximity to the SMIC Living Quarters and company sites, but is now open to the public. The School offers lower-priced tuition than others in Shanghai while still maintaining a quality international school education. High school graduates have been accepted to schools such as Princeton University, Columbia University, McGill University, University of British Columbia, University of Toronto, Dartmouth College, Brown University, University of St Andrews, University of Virginia, Hong Kong University, UC San Diego, UC Santa Barbara, UC Berkeley, UCLA, Southern Methodist University, Rice University, Amherst College, Williams College, Wellesley College, Middlebury College, Georgetown University, Johns Hopkins University, Boston University, Duke University, New York University, University of Michigan, Macalester College, University of Texas at Austin, and many others. The school had a finalist, two semi-finalists, and several commended scholars in the National Merit Scholarship Program.
The School provides two academic tracks: an English track that uses an American curriculum with a Chinese requirement and a Chinese track that is based on the local academic curriculum but with strong English emphasis. The SMIC Private School is accredited by the Pudong Board of Education and was awarded as an "Excellent Private Elementary School and Middle/High School in China" in December 2009.
The school has grown rapidly since its founding. The school had 75 students in the 1st year, 150 students in the 2nd year, 300 students the 3rd year, and almost 700 students in its 4th year. The school had its first English track graduating class of 7 in 2006. In 2009, the school had over 1800 students from 22 different countries. Students come from all over the world, including various parts of China, Taiwan, Japan, Singapore, South Korea, England, the United States, France, Canada, and Italy, with a majority of the students from the U.S. ,Taiwan and South Korea.
In the school's short history, it has made a strong showing in both academics and athletics. The school is also well known locally for its tradition of community service, particularly the Annual Rock for Charity concert which benefits a different charity organization each year. The organizations benefited in the first two concerts were Huge Grace Orphanage and the Lynck Foundation.
In addition, the high school boasts some of the most experienced faculty ever assembled. Its English track principal, Dr. Yuan Han, boasts over 25 years of experience having taught at Philips Academy, Andover, one of the top preparatory schools in the United States and was its language department chair for many years there. In addition, Ms. Cheng-Yu Huang, SMIC high school's math department head, also had over 25 years of experience teaching at Philips Academy and served as one of the top teachers in its math department. Another math teacher, Mr. Ryan Muir, is one of the elementary school's rising stars in the profession.
SMIC's newspaper, the Xin Lang Scholar, received first place for Best Front Page and Second Place Overall award from the American Scholastic Press Association (ASPA) during the 2004-2005 school year, and received First Place Overall with Special Merit during the 2009-2010 school year.
The school is housed on a 80,903 square meter campus in Pudong New Area, on the east side of Shanghai. Academic facilities include: 2 libraries, 5 computer labs, an observatory, two auditoriums, and specialty classrooms for dance, music, and studio art. Athletic facilities include an indoor lap pool and recreation center, a gymnasium, tennis courts, all-weather basketball courts, and a 400-meter track.
The school has three divisions: preschool and kindergarten, elementary (grades 1-5), and middle & high school (grades 6-12). The elementary and middle/high school divisions offer English and Chinese tracks.
The middle and high school English tracks use California and Texas curriculum, which fulfills entrance requirements for United States colleges and universities. Combined enrollment with Chinese track students is offered for Chinese language classes, select elective courses, and sports teams. Students from both English and Chinese tracks come together for weekly assemblies and school-wide events.
The school offers accelerated and Advanced Placement in English, Mathematics, Science, History, and Chinese language. Advanced Placement courses include Calculus, Psychology, Calculus AB/BC, Statistics, English Literature, English Language and Composition, U.S. Government and Politics, U.S. History, Computer Science A, Chinese, Biology, Physics, and Chemistry. Except for AP Chinese and AP Psychology, students may not enroll in the AP program until their junior year. Students are recommended to take the AP exam but are not required.
Students must complete 100 hours of community service to fulfill graduation requirements. Past opportunities have included volunteering at local Shanghai orphanages as well as coordinating a charity concert. Some students volunteer as teacher's assistants during the English summer camps.
The School offers a variety of co-curricular activities for students.[1] Activities include Student Council, Model United Nations, Environmental Club,[2] Korean Culture Club, Community Service Club, Drama Club, Movie Industry Club, Cookies for Kenya, Creative Writing Club, and Photoshop Club.
The School has an English language student newspaper, Xin Lang Scholar. The newspaper received two awards from the American Scholastic Press Association in 2005, and was awarded First Place Overall with Special Merit during the 2009-2010 school year. The news is changed every month. Despite the controversy it started due to its single-issue focus on the gay right's movement, the Xin Lang Scholar remains popular among the student body, and many students have expressed their support for the school paper.
The School started its annual Art Charity Program in 2004. In 2008, through a partnership of SMIC Private School students and SMIC employees, the School donated 88,000 RMB to help sick and needy children in its 5th annual Art Charity Program through the collection of more than 1,600 pieces of art.[3]
The SMIC School is a member school of both SISAC and CISSA Athletic conferences. The SISAC conference is a competitive league primarily for high school students, while CISSA is participation based, non-competitive league primarily for students in grades 6 through 8. Students from the School participate in a variety of sports including volleyball, basketball, soccer, cross country, track and field, badminton, swimming, and table tennis.
The school conducts a Chinese summer program and partners with Dallas Baptist University to conduct the English summer program.
SMIC Private School in Beijing was established in September 2005. The Beijing school is a Pre-K to Grade 8 school, currently with a kindergarten and an elementary division up to Grades 5, offering two academic tracks. There were about 260 students enrolled in 2009.
The school has a diverse student body and a small student-teacher ratio which allows for a more creative and personable learning environment. The curriculum of each track stress each student's holistic development and also emphasizes the importance of morals and integrity in education.
SMIC Private School in Wuhan is located in the Dong-Hu Hi-Tech Park near the East Lake. The School was established in September 2008. It contains a Montessori kindergarten for children ages 2.5 to 6.5 years old and a bilingual elementary school (Grades 1-6). The school has a multi-cultural learning environment that offers the combination of Western and Eastern curriculum.