SMA Negeri 8 Jakarta

SMA Negeri 8 Jakarta

Logo SMAN 8 Jakarta
Address
Jalan Taman Bukitduri
Tebet
South Jakarta, Jakarta, 12840
Indonesia Indonesia
Information
Type Public school
Established August 1, 1958
Status Rintisan Sekolah Bertaraf Internasional
Principal Drs. Tulus Winardi, SH, M.Si
Grades 10-12
Enrollment 1200
Campus Urban
Accreditation A
Yearbook Gema Cinta Smandel
Magazine Takitri
Website http://www.sman8jkt.sch.id

SMA Negeri 8 Jakarta (also known as SMANDEL) is a selective, coeducational public high school in Jakarta, Indonesia. It is located on Jalan Taman Bukitduri, South Jakarta. The school is distinguished by Ministry of Education as Rintisan Sekolah Bertaraf Internasional (RSBI), or pioneering international school, and one of designated Excellent Schools in the province of Jakarta. The school is colloquially referred to as Delapan (Indonesian: Eight) by Jakartans.

SMA Negeri 8 Jakarta is known for its selective admission process, rigorous academics, numerous achievements in science competitions, and an extraordinary performance of its students in Indonesian university entrance examination known as SNMPTN. The school has been ranked as one of the best high schools in the country for multiple times. Many of its students continue to study in University of Indonesia and Bandung Institute of Technology, considered Indonesia's most prestigious colleges[1][2] along with Gadjah Mada University, as well as universities abroad, such as in United States, Singapore, Japan, Germany, and the Netherlands, many of them pursue degrees in medicine and engineering.

History

SMA Negeri 8 Jakarta opened its door on August 1, 1958. At that time, the school was located at Taman Slamet Rijadi. The present school building in Bukitduri was opened by Governor Ali Sadikin on March 30, 1971.[3]

In 2004, this school became the resource center for the studies of physics and astronomy in Jakarta. Also in this year, SMA Negeri 8 Jakarta started the international program in cooperation with Cambridge University.

Principals

Academics

The school curriculum adheres to the standard Indonesian high school curriculum. The duration of study is three years. In the first year, students have to take up to 17 classes each semester, i.e. 3 science classes, 4 social studies classes, 4 language classes, integrated math class, religion, civics, physical education, music, and IT. In the second year, students are streamed into science and social studies programs, this reduces the number of classes to about 14 per semester. More than 80% of the students studying at SMA Negeri 8 Jakarta are streamed into science program. Tutorials are mandatory for all students in grade 11 and 12. Teachers from a partner tutor school come to class twice a week to help students learn. Students are required to take three foreign language classes, including English, German, and one elective foreign language class (Japanese, Mandarin, or French). At the end of senior year, students are required to take National Examination in order to receive diploma.

The school also offers Program Kelas Internasional (International Class Program) which is based on British curriculum, and academic acclerated program for gifted students.

As a pioneering international school, faculty of SMA Negeri 8 Jakarta is a mixture of both domestic and international teachers.

Admission

The selective and thorough admission process is one of the notable features of this school. Admission for RSBI class usually opens in April. This process could last until June. All the applicants have to take multiple examinations, which are designed to test their academic aptitudes, foreign language fluency, and computer literacy. In addition, every applicant must undergo an interview and a psychological testing. The admission officers will also take applicant's score in National Examination, a standardized test for all students who wish to graduate middle school, into account.

International Class Program opens its admission earlier, usually in March. All the applicants wishing to be enrolled in international class have to go a similar process as applicants for RSBI class.

Two months after commencing their studies in high school, students of 10th grade who are attending RSBI class are eligible to apply for acceleration program. They will then go through another selection process which involves their parents. Accepted students go to school six days a week (including lab on Saturday) and finish their high school in only two years.

Student life

One distinct characteristics of SMA Negeri 8 Jakarta is the significant number of students living in rental housings, known as kost, around campus. This is due to the fact that the school attracts many students from different part of country, and therefore they have to leave their respective hometowns to study and live in South Jakarta, arguably the most affluent part of Jakarta. SMA Negeri 8 Jakarta is not a boarding school and therefore it doesn't provide any dormitories for its students, but rental housings are very prevalent around its neighborhood.

SMA Negeri 8 Jakarta is also known for its leadership enrichment programs. Upon entering high school, students are welcomed with a leadership training organized by faculty members. They usually travel outside Jakarta to a camp and spend a night there. Later in the first semester, students attend a leadership program organized by student government on a Saturday. This is the prerequisite for students to be able to participate in student groups. This is also one opportunity for underclassmen to get to know more about their upperclassmen.

Students of 11th grade are required to participate in a trip to rural area called TeSIS (Temu Sosial Ilmiah Smandel), where they are hosted by local families. Students, in group, will then conduct a research in science or social studies, and later will present their findings to teachers and actual researchers, mostly from universities and Indonesian Institute of Sciences. When this trip is coming to an end, student volunteers from both 10th and 11th grades hold a charity event involving locals.

Extracurricular activities

OSIS or student government is one of the most important parts of student life at SMA Negeri 8 Jakarta. At SMA Negeri 8, Students are encouraged to apply for membership at student government, which consists of distinct executive and legislative branches. Pengurus OSIS is the executive branch with the membership of 18 students selected from a leadership development program to serve for 1 year. Perwakilan Kelas is the legislative branch, and among its duties are accommodating the aspirations of the student body and supervising events organized by student group. Membership of Perwakilan Kelas varies each year, but usually around 24 students are selected through a regeneration program commencing at the beginning of every academic year to serve for 2 years.

Students are required to take part in at least one of fifteen listed student groups and organizations designated as subseksi (Indonesian: subsection). These subseksi are popular among students as a way to network with other students, faculty members, and alumni. Students tend to identify themselves with their respective subseksi.

Student groups and organizations of SMA Negeri 8 Jakarta is quite complex. Students have to face an arduous process to start a new group, because school policy mandates every student group to be very active and productive. Every year, each subseksi must organize several programs involving civitas academica and/or general public outside campus. The proposal of these programs is discussed in a plenary meeting with student government and faculty members, and the programs are then reviewed in another plenary meeting. The latest addition to student organization, General English Syndicate (Genesys), was founded in 2011. The structure of student government at this school is a mixture of the standard Indonesian high school system and Indonesian political system, a concept which was born after the official visit of the members of student government to Indonesian Parliament.

Non-subseksi student groups are also prevalent at this school. They are not under the realm of student government and do not organize events involving external party. They include Study Club (for students wishing to compete in National and International Science Olympiad), Japan Club, and Bukit Duri Beavers (baseball and softball team).

List of subseksi

Student government of SMA Negeri 8 Jakarta are divided into 10 sections, each with assigned responsibility. Under each section, there is at least one student groups, designated as subseksi, which works similarly as clubs and societies in other schools, but with a more elaborate political structure.

Traditions

Student Groups' Regeneration

To be involved in official student groups recognized by student government and the school itself, students of 10th grade must undergo a regeneration process organized by the senior members of the groups, usually 11th grader. This regeneration period is another leadership program offered by the school which prepares students to be an active participant of student life at SMA Negeri 8 Jakarta. Activities often includes hands on training, forum, and several group assignments. On the last day of this event, students spend the night together and they are later inaugurated by the student government as official members of respective student groups.

Upacara Panji

Flag ceremony is conducted every Monday at virtually all Indonesian school, but at this school, with Independence Day Ceremony being an exception, there is one special flag ceremony conducted only once a year. Upacara Panji is the inauguration ceremony for all the officers serving for both branches of OSIS (central student government), where the names and positions of officeholders are officially announced by the Principal. It is also unique because it involves new students and it displays intricate military parade.

Event organizing

In total, there are tens of student organized events every year. Most of them are listed as student group initiated programs, but all of them fall under the responsibility of Pengurus OSIS, the executive branch of student government, and are supervised by Perwakilan Kelas, the legislative branch.

However there is always a single largest event being held annually, un which all parts of student governments, including all the student groups organize a large scale event which involves art and science in the format of school competition. The name of this event has changed during the years, and it is known as 8Schoolastic, which stands for 8 School Art and Science National Competition, now. The event has evolved from its original concept. Sporting events, such as basketball, soccer, and sport climbing were among the disciplines contested in its earlier years, but school administration decided to rule out these events. A music concert by popular Indonesian performers used to be conducted at the closing ceremony of the event, but after the provincial government changed its policy, an art performance by students of SMA Negeri 8 Jakarta under the name of Collaboreight was put in place of a concert. It has also grown into a national event involving students both from Jabodetabek and outside the metropolitan area. Some participants fly all the way from the easternmost provinvce of Papua.

School identities

School song

Hymne Delapan is the official song of SMA Negeri 8 Jakarta.

SMA Delapan giat belajar
 Demi masa depan bangsa yang besar
 Kami bersatu hati membangun negara
 Untuk pertiwi tanah tercinta.

English translation:
SMA 8, we study diligently
For the future of our great nation
We are united to develop the country
For our beloved homeland.

Partnerships

As a pioneering international school, the school has established close relationships with many schools abroad. Sister schools of SMA Negeri 8 Jakarta are located in Singapore, Thailand, Australia, and Turkey. Some foreign universities have also established partnerships with this school, and they regularly visit SMA Negeri 8 Jakarta and organize information sessions. Guidance department plays an important role to invite universities, especially from Japan, Europe, and United States to campus, to increase the number of students going to world's top universities.

SMA Negeri 8 Jakarta has a large number of graduates attending selective Indonesian universities, and each year there is a homecoming tradition for those alumni. They are given the opportunity to talk before the entire senior class to promote their colleges and help prospective university students prepare themselves for the admission process.

This school is one of the model schools in Indonesia. Many other schools refer to its academic and organizational systems, and annually SMA Negeri 8 Jakarta could receive tens of official visits from other schools, both domestic and international. In academic year 2009/2010 alone, the school received 45 official visits. Faculty members and the members of central student government of SMA Negeri 8 Jakarta have the liberty to visit other schools as a part of comparative study. Some faculty members have been invited to officially visit schools in other parts of Southeast Asia as well as Australia. The latest official visitation carried out by student government was in 2010, when members visit high schools in Yogyakarta.

The school also offers homestay and cultural immersion opportunities for its students on a regular basis. Students travel to the United States, United Kingdom, or Australia with teachers as chaperons. Under the partnership with Singaporean and Japanese universities, it is possible for teachers and student alike to attend workshops and summer camps abroad. Furthermore, a significant number of students at SMA Negeri 8 Jakarta is selected each year to participate in exchange program, where they can study in foreign high schools and stay with local families. Students of this school have been sent to the United States, Switzerland, Belgium, Italy, France, and Norway to name a few.

Aside from rigorous academic atmosphere, SMA Negeri 8 Jakarta has a strong tradition of traditional performing arts, such as saman. Student performers from this school have been invited to perform both in Indonesia and overseas.

Notable Alumni

References

  1. ↑ "707 Siswa Pandai Tapi Tak Mampu Lulus SPMB" (online archive in Indonesian). Sinar Indonesia Baru. 6 August 2006. Retrieved 2006-11-02.
  2. ↑ "Mencermati Peringkat Nilai Hasil Seleksi Penerimaan Mahasiswa Baru (SPMB) 2004" (online archive in Indonesian). Harian Jawa Pos. 13 August 2004. Retrieved 2006-11-02.
  3. ↑ Sejarah Singkat